Seems that the back function of the "Delete" key is no longer functional in the new Safari. Any clues as to how to get this back?
MacBook Air, OS X Mountain Lion
run this command in terminal and restart safari
defaults write com.apple.Safari com.apple.Safari.ContentPageGroupIdentifier.WebKit2BackspaceKeyNavigationEnable d -bool YES
Worked for me!
Except that there was a space before the last "d", fixed in the line below (perhaps just my cut/paste).
defaults write com.apple.Safari com.apple.Safari.ContentPageGroupIdentifier.WebKit2BackspaceKeyNavigationEnable d -bool YES
I received this when I tried:
2012-07-29 06:55:00.946 defaults[4284:707] Unexpected argument -bool; leaving defaults unchanged.
What did I do wrong? I really want the delete key to function the way it used to in Safari!
thanks,
Joe
PS- I tried both versions (which seemed the same) and both gave me the same result. This is on a MacBook Pro Fall, 2011 and mountain lion.
Message was edited by: jazzhand
The error is in my version as well (something with the way the forums formats posts).
You need to remove the space before the last "d":
Wrong : "WebKit2BackspaceKeyNavigationEnable d -bool YES"
Right : "WebKit2BackspaceKeyNavigationEnabled -bool YES"
Thanks so much, that worked!
Joe
Just to help clarify, this looks to be the proper command.
defaults write com.apple.Safari com.apple.Safari.ContentPageGroupIdentifier.WebKit2BackspaceKeyNavigationEnable d -bool YES
I am so glad to have my delete key back to its (in my opinion) proper function!
And I'm sorry to say, that it is still a problem with the format of the these posts :-)
You will have to remove the space before the "d" again...
Jensen Gelfond wrote:
Just to help clarify, this looks to be the proper command.
defaults write com.apple.Safari com.apple.Safari.ContentPageGroupIdentifier.WebKit2BackspaceKeyNavigationEnable d -bool YES
I am so glad to have my delete key back to its (in my opinion) proper function!
I am finally deciding to give Lion a go after downloading it to a second internal hard drive on launch day, but not really using it since except for the occasional boot-up so that I could check and apply updates (I'm a big SL fan and I have tons of applications that I just rather wouldn't re-install...but I finally did it this weekend and am acclimating myself to the OS now). The lack of functionality for the delete key in Lion's Safari is a pretty lame standard setup, in my opinion. I'm really glad there's a fix for it, as the delete key should be a back key. Yay, Terminal!
The script works perfectly. The line length in the forum post results in the word "enabled" in the script wrapping from one line to the next thus seeming to insert space between the e and the d. Just remember that the word is "enabled" not "enable d" and the script works fine. By the way I think it was Steve Jobs' legacy, since he envisioned an OS where all would be done with gestures rather than keystroke commands!
Are there other 'defaults write' options for Safari in Mountain Lion? I'm hesitant to update because I've seen already that they've once again changed things for the worse: making a combined address and search box, hiding the protocol, greying out parts of the URL, etc. (Basically, everything I already hate about Firefox and Chrome. 😟 ) But I've been using 'defaults write' tricks for ages for a lot of things (like disabling webpage previews) and I know it does a lot of handy things, especially un-doing recent UI changes. Thanks!
Any idea if the application Mac Secrets will work in mountian lion and allow this change with a gui interface?
Backspace (Delete key) in Safari Mountain Lion
