Firefox View Selection Source returns blank window

January 4, 2013 1:18 PM

Weird problem in Firefox. View Page Source works just fine. View Selection Source returns a blank window.

Any ideas? Found very little in an online search. Currently running FFX 18.0.

posted by Chrysostom to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

I think... I can't remember if this is true, but I feel like View Source goes by what was on the page when it was fetched from the server. So if the content was added afterwards, like by an AJAX call, it won't show up.

At any rate, would you be able to get the info you need by inspecting with Firebug? It's really the best add-on ever.
posted by drjimmy11 at 1:22 PM on January 4, 2013

Could it also be that the source is formatted weirdly and scrolled off the page, and it only appears to be an empty window? That happens sometimes.
posted by drjimmy11 at 1:24 PM on January 4, 2013

Response by poster: No, this is on pretty generic pages with no Ajax. And the View Selection Source window doesn't even have scrollbars, just a blank Firefox window.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:37 PM on January 4, 2013

Consider starting a fresh profile. I was having some minor issues with FF around about version 17; when I looked through my profile and realized what a mess it was after continuous upgrades going back to about version 3, I nuked everything and started over. It's been a dream ever since--everything loads faster, it uses less RAM, and all the minor functions work as expected. (Of course, make a backup first, be prepared to import your bookmarks, make sure you note any particular passwords or cookies you might need, jot down all of your add-ons & customizations from about:config, etc etc!)
posted by bcwinters at 3:13 PM on January 4, 2013

just a blank Firefox window

This sounds like a memory error in Firefox, and not something to do with the page. I'd consider what bcwinters is suggesting. I'd also view the page in IE and Chrome to see if you can replicate the problem outside the browser. I'd imagine that either of those two are going to show you what your installation of FF isn't.
posted by thanotopsis at 3:46 PM on January 4, 2013