Why Does Firefox Not Display the Full Address?

For most Web pages, Firefox doesn't display the full address in the address bar. The "http://" prefix doesn't appear and "www" is grayed out. Other protocols, such as "https://," do display. Not displaying the full address doesn't change your ability to browse the Internet or copy the complete URL. However, you can change Firefox to display the full address.

HTTP

Firefox doesn't display the Hypertext Transfer Protocol prefix because it's unnecessary. Most pages that you visit use the HTTP protocol. If you don't see an Internet protocol displayed, Firefox expects you to assume that the site uses HTTP. However, Firefox does display "https://" so that you know when a Web page uses a secure protocol.

WWW

For most purposes, "site.com" and "www.site.com" are identical in function. If you type either one in any browser's address bar, you'll go to the same Web address. Because these are identical addresses, Firefox grays out the "www" prefix as unnecessary and to place emphasize on the domain that you're visiting. For some websites, the "www" won't display at all because the website is configured to not use it by default. Anyone who goes to the WWW version of the site will be redirected to the non-WWW version.

Using the Full Address

Even though the full address isn't displayed in Firefox's address bar, you can still get the entire URL from the address bar. Highlight the address that does display and copy it. Your computer copies the full address to your clipboard. When you paste it somewhere, you'll see the full address.

Change Firefox's Behavior

If you prefer to see the full address in Firefox, you can change the default setting. Type "about:config" in the address bar and hit "Enter." Click "I'll Be Careful, I Promise!" Scroll down to "browser.urlbar.trimURLs" and double-click it to set its value to false. Firefox will now display the "http://" prefix. Double-click "browser.urlbar.formatting.enabled" to display "www" without highlighting.