K-Meleon

FAQ


Frequently Asked Questions


Top

General


What is K-Meleon?

K-Meleon is a lightweight, customizable, open-source web browser. It's designed for Microsoft Windows (Win32) operating systems. K-Meleon can use the secure Goanna engine based on Mozilla's Gecko layout engine or Gecko itself. The popular web browser Firefox also uses Gecko. K-Meleon uses the native Windows (Win32) API for its interface unlike common multi-platform browsers.


What platforms does K-Meleon run on?

K-Meleon is designed for Microsoft Windows (Win32) operating systems. Current 64-bit versions of Windows are backward compatible and will run K-Meleon. The oldest version of Windows officially supported is Windows XP. There is an unofficial port of K-Meleon 74 for Winsows 2000 available.Check the forums for updates and support on the Windows 2000 build. Older versions supported Windows 9X systems and there is a Windows 98 version patched for TLS.

On Linux and other unix systems, K-Meleon must run via Wine or in a Windows Virtual Machine. For more information visit the forum for Linux Users. The older unofficial builds for Linux, like Fred's Unofficial K-Meleon variations don't use a current release of K-Meleon. Android is not natively supported.


What are the system requirements?

Active 76.X.g Goanna-based branch:

  • Windows XP SP3 or newer (Windows 2003, Vista, 8, 8.1, 10, and 11 are all supported)
  • 20 MB RAM
  • 100 MB disk space
  • SSE not required.

K-Meleon 75 (last official release):

(More details in forum: http://kmeleonbrowser.org/forum/read.php?19,148500,148541 )


What is new/improved/fixed in the latest version of K-Meleon?

Please consult the release notes in the forum for the active branch or the release notes for older official versions of K-Meleon. Active development is focused on improving the web engine and improving security.


How do I install/uninstall K-Meleon?

Please consult the InstallationGuide for instructions on installing, uninstalling, and updating K-Meleon. For additional support, vist the forums.


How do I set K-Meleon as default browser?

Go to Edit > Preferences (F2) >> Browsing and click Set as Default Browser.


Table of Contents

Features


Does K-Meleon support current Web standards?

Yes, K-Meleon can use the Gecko rendering engine developed by Mozilla, which is also used by Firefox or the secure Goanna engine. Both engines support current (X)HTML, CSS and DOM standards. K-Meleon does not support some recent technologies from Google including WebRTC.


Does K-Meleon support secure (encrypted) transmissions?

Yes. K-Meleon 1.1 provides SSL (version 3) and TLS support.


Does K-Meleon support tabbed browsing?

Yes, since K-Meleon 1.5 true tabs are used instead of 'layered' windows. Layer macros are obsolete and it is strongly recommended to not add them in modern versions. Since K-Meleon75 you can split a large number of tabs in multiple rows. You can configure tabs at Edit>Preferences (F2) >Browsing >Tabbed Browsing > Tab Bar.


Does K-Meleon support Java?

Yes. K-Meleon automatically detects Java if the plugin is installed on your computer. To see if you have Java go to Help > About Plugins'. For more information visit the JavaPlugin page. Because Java's plugin is no longer supported by Oracle, you should also read the Java sections in the PrivacyTutorial for tips on how to restrict most websites access to the plugin.

Note: Java may not work when you change K-Meleon's browser identification (UserAgent) string.


What is the K-Meleon Loader?

The K-Meleon Loader preloads portions of the K-Meleon browser and thus allows it to launch more quickly. In current versions of K-Meleon the loader must be set up manually. Older versions of K-Meleon used a slider to detemine how much of K-Meleon would be pre-loaded. Since K-Meleon 76.x the slider only turns the loader on or off. Some versions of K-Meleon (74 and 75) do not include the loader. Be aware that the K-Meleon browser keeps running as long as the K-Meleon Loader is running. Some changes to the configuration of K-Meleon will not take effect until you close and restart the browser. When using it, you also have to close and restart the Loader to make such changes take effect. Review the details here.)''


What privacy features does K-Meleon include?

Under Tools > Privacy you can quickly enable/disable privacy-related features such as cookies, Java, JavaScript and popup windows, frames and HTTP referers. The Privacy Bar provides even more direct access (View > Toolbars). Cookie acceptance, image loading and popup blocking can be configured in detail through Edit > Preferences. K-Meleon's UserAgent string can be quickly changed through Tools > User Agent. The Privacy Plugin empowers you to delete privacy-related data such as cache, cookies, history and passwords automatically at startup or at shutdown, or manually at any time (Tools > Privacy > Clear Data). Tip: If you'd like to check what your browser actually reveals to webmasters of visited sites, test your current privacy settings on sites like browserspy.dk

Important: Some websites will not work fully if you're blocking things like javascript, cookies etc. See below.
If you prefer to keep such blocks as global setting, you can add frequently visited sites to your personal Exceptions, a black/white list. You can "allow" or "block" certain sites there, as exception from your global settings. Exceptions for cookies, popups and images can be set in Tools > Privacy > Permissions. For other things, like javascript, you can install the optional extension called "Policies Manager", or manually edit the exceptions file in your profile folder: hostperm.1 Also see Configurable Security Policies for more details on advanced privacy features.

But you can also just toggle the global settings for a moment if needed (menu Tools > Privacy). For example if it's an unknown website which requires more permissions, and you decide to allow it, but not permanently. If that happens often, you may want to switch on the Privacy Toolbar (View > Toolbars), which contains buttons for most of the entries in the Privacy menu, incl. Kill and Clear commands. Not all buttons are visible by default, to show more or less of them look above.

Note: The flash-block is a bit tricky. It works fine if you have javascript enabled, otherwise it's useless and grayed out in the menu. There are several workarounds, more or less perfect, please search in the forum and extensions.


Why does K-Meleon not include feature "X" (e-mail client, etc.)?

K-Meleon is intended to be a fast, customizable, lightweight web browser. It is designed to be a browser only, not a suite. Thus, it does not include features such as an e-mail client or a web page editor, which could bloat and slow K-Meleon down. Users are encouraged to use their favorite applications for these and other particular purposes. The K-Meleon developers will consider enhancements that improve the performance and usefulness of the browser.


Table of Contents

Bookmarking Systems


How do I use my existing Firefox/Netscape/Mozilla Bookmarks?

The first time K-Meleon is run with the Netscape Bookmark Plugin enabled, it automatically creates a new bookmarks file in your profile directory. You also have the possibility of using your existing Firefox, Netscape or Mozilla bookmarks file in K-Meleon. Open Edit > Preferences > K-Meleon Plugins > Netscape Bookmarks and go to the Netscape Bookmarks File section. Click on Browse. This is where you can set the location of your bookmarks file. Specify the location of your existing Netscape, Mozilla/SeaMonkey or Firefox bookmarks file here.

Mozilla/SeaMonkey, Netscape and Firefox store their bookmarks file in their profile directory. Its location depends on your operating system. The following example is for the Mozilla/SeaMonkey profile directory:

Windows 95
C:\Windows\Mozilla\<profile name>\<random>.slt
Windows 98/ME
C:\Windows\Application Data\Mozilla\<profile name>\<random>.slt
Windows NT
C:\WinNT\Profiles\<user name>\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\<profile name>\<random>.slt
Windows 2000/XP
C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\<profile name>\<random>.slt
or
C﹕\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Application Data\Mozilla\K-meleon\<profile name>\<random>.<profilename>
Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10
C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Profiles\<profile name>\<random>.slt
or
C﹕\Users\<user name>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\K-meleon\<profile name>\<random>.<profilename>

Netscape creates its own folder in the same folder that contains the Mozilla folder. Firefox creates its folder within the Mozilla folder.

Note: K-Meleon's bookmarks plugin does currently not support Firefox's live bookmarks and favicons. Firefox3 uses a new system for bookmarks. To get a copy in the traditional (KM-compatible) style, open Firefox and click Bookmarks > Organize > Import and Backup > Export HTML


How do I use my existing Internet Explorer Favorites?

K-Meleon's IE Favorites Plugin automatically locates and uses your Favorites. This plugin does not import your Favorites, it allows you to share your Favorites between K-Meleon and Internet Explorer!

K-Meleon's Netscape Bookmark Plugin allows you to import your Favorites into your bookmarks file. Choose Bookmarks > Edit... and then press Import Favorites.


How do I use my existing Opera Hotlist?

The first time K-Meleon is run with the Opera Hotlist Plugin enabled, it will automatically create a new empty hotlist file in your profile directory. You also have the possibility of using your existing Opera hotlist file in K-Meleon. Open Edit > Preferences and go to the Plugins section. Select Opera Hotlist Plugin and press Configure.... This will open the Opera Hotlist Settings dialog where you can set the location of your hotlist file. Specify the location of your existing Opera hotlist file here.


How do I Backup my Bookmarks, Hotlist or Favorites?

Backup Favorites:
Click Favorites > Edit, this will open your file explorer. Right-click on your Favorites folder to copy and paste it elsewhere. If you see only the sub-folders, click the "Upwards" button first to get one level higher.

Backup Bookmarks or Hotlist:
If you use the default location, click Edit > Configuration > Profile Directory to open your currently used K-Meleon profile folder. Copy the file "bookmarks.html" or "opera.adr" (=hotlist) to any location you wish. To later restore, just copy it back.
You can also simply copy it renamed into the same folder, just keep in mind, if you accidentally delete this profile later, this backup would be lost too.

Backup Bookmarks or Hotlist with non-default path:
If you have set another path for your bookmarks or hotlist (perhaps to share them with another browser), click Bookmarks > Options or Hotlist > Options to find its location in the file field. Open your file explorer to copy and paste that file elsewhere.
(Highlight and right-click to copy that path. Open your file explorer, paste the path into the address line and crop the filename (after the last "\"), hit Enter to open that folder. Find your bookmarks or hotlist file there and copy it to another location. Tip: Or in the Options tab just click "Browse", right beside the path field, and paste the cropped folder name into the "filename" field to open that folder)


How do I search inside my Bookmarks, Hotlist or Favorites?

Bookmarks or Hotlist:
Open their menu and click Edit.... There is no search field, just start typing the word you want to find. To jump to the next one, hit F3.
(This works on-the-fly, already while you're typing it's jumping to the first matching bookmark. Note that only text in the first (x?) characters of a bookmark is found. Remember F3 means "Find Next" in most windows programs. Tip: Right-click on a bookmark for more options, e.g. to create subfolders.)

Favorites:
Click Favorites > Edit... The favorites folder will open in the file explorer of your system. As usual in windows programs now click Ctrl+F (or use menu) to search in it with your build-in file search. All hits will be listed together.
(You can also open a subfolder first, if you only want to search inside that one. Or right-click on a folder and find a Search command in the context menu, along with other options to rename or change the target URL etc. Note that this is just basic Windows stuff which has nothing to do with the browser, all KM does is call the file explorer. A double-click on a found Favorite will open it in the browser which you have set as default in your system.)


How do I open all Bookmarks in a folder at once?

Edit your Bookmarks or Hotlist and fill in the Nick field of a folder. Then if you want to open all those pages later, just type the nick into the URL bar and press Return. Also works for single bookmarks, also for "Hotlist", but not "Favorites".


What are Hotlinks?

Hotlinks are provided through the Macro Extension Plugin and are in a way K-Meleon's own bookmarking system. Very simple, yet efficient. Through Tools > Hotlinks... you have the possibility to assign an URL to each of the key combinations Ctrl+0, Ctrl+1, ..., Ctrl+9.
Note that javascript: URLs (bookmarklets) usually won't have the desired effect when set to open in a new window/tab/layer.
Hotlinks are not stored in a separate file, they are part of prefs.js in your current profile folder.


Table of Contents

Plugins


What do each of the default K-Meleon plugins do?

Bitmapped Menus
Displays icons in menus.
External Control Plugin
Allows programmers to interface with K-Meleon from within their own programs.
Fullscreen Plugin
Adds support for full screen display.
History Plugin
Allows to view the global history and adds right-click menus to the back and forward buttons.
IE Favorites Plugin
Provides support for Internet Explorer Favorites.
KMeleon JS Bridge
Allows XUL applications to manipulate K-Meleon's menus. Currently only used by the Advanced Preferences panel.
Layered Windows Plugin
Simulates tab-like behavior by grouping windows together and keeping most of them invisible. (Obsolete since K-Meleon 1.5)
Macro Extension Plugin
Adds macro language support which enables many additional features in K-Meleon, see the macro library.
Mouse Gestures Plugin
Adds the ability to perform commands and macros with a combination of mouse movements and right clicks. Configurable through Tools > Mouse Gestures....
Netscape Bookmark Plugin
Provides support for Netscape/Mozilla-style bookmarks, incl. older Firefox versions bookmarks. In Firefox 3.x "Export to HTML" your bookmarks to convert them to the traditional (KM-compatible) mode.
Opera Hotlist Plugin
Provides support for Opera-style bookmarks (Hotlist).
Privacy Plugin
Allows to clear privacy-related data (cache, cookies, history and passwords) etc.
Rebar Menu Plugin
Makes the menu bar a rebar (toolbar). This will allow you to move the menu bar around just like a normal toolbar, but this may break compatibility with screen-readers.
Session Saver Plugin
Allows to save and restore sessions, and to "Undo Last Closed" pages (e.g. if you accidentally closed it)
Toolbar Control Plugin
Provides support for customizable toolbars. See also the K-Meleon Themes.


How do I enable/disable a K-Meleon plugin or macro extension?

Open Edit > Preferences (F2) and go to the Plugins section. Select the plugin in question and press Enable/Disable. A green checkbox background indicates that a plugin is currently loaded. Click on Macro Extension to find the list with checkboxes for single macros. Checked plugins and macros will be loaded next time K-Meleon starts.


How do I make K-Meleon use a third party Netscape/Mozilla plugin?

K-Meleon automatically detects the Adobe Acrobat Reader, the Sun Java Runtime Environment, Apple QuickTime and Windows Media Player. Flash and Shockwave setup programs automatically detect K-Meleon.

If it's not working automatically, any Mozilla plugin should work by being copied into K-Meleon's plugins directory (not kplugins directory), which is located in the K-Meleon installation directory. You can check the status of any plugin by opening Help > About Plugins. All your plugins currently used by K-Meleon will be listed there. For more information please review the page about third party plugins.


Why can't K-Meleon open PDF files with my plugin?

It seems not all plugins work with K-Meleon. Read this forum thread for tips.


Table of Contents

Customization and Options


Does K-Meleon support skins/themes?

Yes. K-Meleon is very easy to skin. You can find quite a number of skins in the K-Meleon Themes Wiki. In order to install one, simply extract the provided ZIP archive into K-Meleon's skins directory (the files of the new skin must all end up in a new subdirectory of the skins directory). After a restart of K-Meleon, you can select the new skin in Edit > Preferences > GUI Appearance. Choose there also if you want icons in the menus (if provided by the skin), or an image as toolbar background.
Tip: the toolbars background you can customize freely, just take any image you like, open it in your image editor and save it as "back.bmp" into the folder of the current skin.
You have to restart K-Meleon for skin changes to take effect.

To add/remove menu entries, click Edit > Configuration > Menus.
Unlike toolbars and buttons, menus are independant from the chosen skin.


How to hide some buttons, or get more?

Single toolbars can be switched on or off in View > Toolbars
Have a look at the Privacy toolbar, if you often toggle javascript, cookies etc.
Have you already discovered the right-click menus on Go-button, Home- and other buttons? Lots of additional functions there.
To show or hide single buttons, click Edit > Configuration > Toolbars. Not as scary as it looks at first, just add or remove the #-comment-signs from the button lines.

(You can customize everything there, incl. create own buttons, new toolbars, or change left-click commands and right-click menus for every button. Because this "toolbars.cfg" file comes with the skin, it is also responsible for all the buttons it may contain and their associated functions - or which are missing. But you can always manually copy over button entries from other skins configs, if you make sure to also have a matching icon if needed, and the number of image lines must be the same inside a single toolbar.
Currently the most up-to-date list of available default commands can be found here.
You can also use macro commands for buttons, just ask in the forum for help if needed.)


Does K-Meleon support command line options?

Yes. Please review the page about command line options.
For example you can add " -new" in the shortcut to open a second browser instance that runs independendly with another profile, or simultaneously run different K-Meleon versions. Or include different profile versions in your shortcut icons. Or run KM in kiosk mode.


Does K-Meleon provide localization/multi-language support?

Yes. K-Meleon automatically attempts to recognize documents' character sets and display them properly. The browser's user interface is fully translatable since version 1.0 and supports multiple languages since version 1.1. Official localizations and language packages (to be installed additionally) can be found in the Download section. If you're interested in creating your own translation/localization, please refer to the Localization page.

TIP: Some websites offer different language versions, but depending on your browser settings. If you speak another language than english, check if you see the country flags under the menu on the left side here? Do they vanish if you click english? Then change this setting: Open "about:config" page, ignore the warning this time, and filter for "lang". This line is important:
"intl.accept_languages" Right-click and set it to something like "en-us, en, de, fr, es", depending on your languages, and the flags will show up again, and stay now.


Does K-Meleon allow to middle-click links to the background?

Yes. Mouse accelerators such as MiddleClick, Ctrl+LeftClick, Ctrl+RightClick to open links in new (background) layers, can be configured quickly throug Tools > Mouse Accelerators. Simply choose the configuration that best fits your needs:

  Default Firefox 2.0 SeaMonkey 1.1 Opera 9.2
Ctrl+LeftClick Open in foreground Open in background Open in background (nothing)
Shift+LeftClick Open in foreground Open in new window Save link target Open in foreground
Ctrl+Shift+LeftClick (nothing) Open in foreground Open in foreground Open in background
Alt+Shift+LeftClick (nothing) (nothing) (nothing) Open in foreground
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+LeftClick (nothing) (nothing) (nothing) Open in background
MiddleClick Open in foreground Open in background Open in background Open in background
Shift+MiddleClick (nothing) Open in foreground Open in foreground (nothing)
Ctrl+RightClick Open in background Open in foreground Open in foreground (nothing)


How can I open external links in a new tab instead of a new window?

Open Edit > Preferences (F2) > Browsing > Window Diversion > Open: URLs passed from external applications > in a new tab
Now links clicked in emails, or local html-files opened by a file explorer will open in a new tab.


How to automatically restore all windows and tabs from the last session?

Change setting in menu Sessions > Options > Open the following session at startup > Previous Session.
Or right-click the Home-Button > Start with Session > Previous Session

If you prefer to open it manually only when needed: (more info in forum)
Either click the big button on the default home page (about:home)
or use menu Sessions > Load Session > Previous Session (or any other)


How do I customize shortcut keys?

Key commands (accelerators) can be customized by editing the accel.cfg file in your profile folder. Choose Edit > Configuration > Accelerators to open it. Explanations can be found on the Configuration Files page.


How do I set up macros?

K-Meleon 1.1 provides support for modular macros to ease up macro installation (before they were all in one big macros.cfg).
You can install a macro (a text file with extension kmm) by placing it in your user macros folder (open Edit > Configuration > User-defined Macros). If you have writing rights in your programs folder, you can also place them into the K-Meleon/macros folder, to work in all profiles. A few special macros even only work from there.
To enable/disable installed macros, open Edit > Preferences (F2) and go to Macro Extension.
User-submitted ready-made macros can be found in the macro library, the forum (K-Meleon Extensions etc.) and the extensions archives, see links in the Resources page.

(To uninstall completely, delete the kmm file and, if it was part of a more complex extension with several files, delete those too.
Today many macros (extensions, KM add-ons) are offered as zipped 7z-files, and some contain additional files for the tools folder or a styles folder etc., where they land automatically if you unzip them to the K-Meleon root folder. To unzip, either install 7zip or use one of the KM extensions managers for installation and uninstalling.
If you'd like to modify a macro yourself, open the kmm file in Notepad or another editor. Be very careful with the code syntax, but a few things are rather harmless like changing path names for files, modify or hide single menu entries, shortcut keys etc. Important for special characters: the kmm encoding must be UTF-8. Make a backup copy of the kmm first, and don't hesitate to ask in the forum if you have questions.)


How do I set up profiles?

Profiles can be added, deleted and renamed using the profile manager (click Edit > Manage Profiles...).
If you like you can create several different profiles for a user. When creating a new one, don't forget to check "Ask at Startup", that's important for the creation.

If you do not want your profile folders placed in your windows user appdata folder (multi-user profile), but inside the K-Meleon program folder (single-user/portable version), create an empty file "profile.ini" in the K-Meleon root-folder. Consider you must have writing rights there. That way there may still be created a folder "K-Meleon" in appdata, but it's not used and stays empty. Instead you'll find a brandnew profile folder in K-Meleon/Profiles.
For advanced profile customization, you might want to review the details on profile location

(By the way you can copy over the contents of one profile folder into another, like bookmarks.html, history, userContent.css etc. The file "prefs.js" holds all your personal settings that are different from default, and also your typed URL bar history, sessions etc., unless you have them disabled. This file actually consists of the bold entries that you see in about:config. You can edit it either there, or per menu (Preferences), or -if browser is closed- with Notepad etc.)


How do I configure proxies?

For detailed proxy configuration open Edit > Preferences and select Proxy. K-Meleon only accepts hostnames for manual proxies. For proxies such as Junkbuster that do not support the most recent HTTP specification, you can set K-Meleon to use HTTP 1.0 instead of 1.1 on the General tab in Preferences.

Through Tools > Proxy you can quickly switch between several proxy settings. Note that the custom proxy settings are currently limited to the HTTP protocol.


How do I put Layer/Tab bar at the bottom?

Edit > Preferences (F2) > Browsing > Tabbed Browsing. Several tab options there, click on tab "Tab Bar" to find the one for top or bottom position.

Often overlooked: You can also set your preferences there for left/middle/right-clicking on a tab, change it if e.g. you want to close tabs with a middle-click and open new ones with double-click.

(Note for bottom tabs (as of Aug.2010):
Do not set minWidth for tabs smaller than 8, or you risk crashes.
And in K-Meleon 1.6, which is in development yet (Beta version), the prefs entry for "bottom tabs" has been modified. If you use KM1.6 with a profile from 1.5.x and this one was customized to use bottom tabs, without "Tab/Window buttons" attached, the browser may crash at startup. Solution: Delete "kmeleon.tabs.bottomBar" from prefs.js in your profile.)

Obsolete: To set "layers" to the bottom, look at the K-Meleon Preferences page. But it's been awhile that layers (pseudo-tabs) have been replaced with "real" tabs in K-Meleon.


How do to have a close button (X) in each tab?

This feature is included since 1.5.1 version. You must create a new pref entry in about:config.
Go to Edit -> Configuration -> Browser Configuration (or type about:config in URL bar)
Right click in preference list, and select New -> Integer.
Name it: browser.tabs.closeButtons
And set value to: 1
Restart K-Meleon to changes take effect.
Or see above for an easier tip.


How do I change default background color in pages or new tabs?

Three different ways are possible:
A) userContent.css
Paste one of the following rules to your userContent.css (Edit > Configuration > User-Defined StyleSheet):
1) This will only affect empty browser windows: 

@-moz-document url(about:blank) {
body { background-color: Window; }
}

2) This will effect all pages that do not have a background color set: 

body { background-color: Window; }

3) This will effect ALL pages: 

body { background-color: Window !important; }

You have to restart K-Meleon to make changes in your userContent.css take effect. 'Window' is the symbolic name for your OS's window color, whatever it actually is.

B) about:config
Alternatively you can change a pref entry. This will affect empty browser windows/tabs, and all pages that do not have a background color set:
Go to Edit -> Configuration -> Browser Configuration (or type about:config in URL bar)
Type "color" in filter line, right click on browser.display.background_color and set another color value in the format #XXXXXX (#RGB, 0-F).
Open new page or reload to see the new color (no restart needed).

Optional you can FORCE this color on all elements, not just the ones the author left undefined, by clicking "Block Page Colors" in menu Tools > Privacy. Be aware that this one also forces own colors for text and links and it will also hide all background images, probably useful only in special cases.
There are tons more native gecko prefs available in about:config, more info is available on the Mozilla website

C) Macro extensions, addons etc.
For finetuning the page styling. Additionally to macros K-Meleon 74 may also be able to use some Firefox Addons in the future (new testing feature since Sep.2014)


How can I mark visited links with a different color?

In future K-Meleon versions this may be handled easier via about:preferences. Currently (K-Meleon75) go to Edit > Configuration > User Defined Stylesheet (file userContent.css in current profile folder). Add the following with a color of your choice, save the file and restart browser: 

/* -- Links that have been visited are purple -- */
a:visited , a:visited * {color: purple !important;}

Colors can be either in hex-format like #cc00cc, or english html color names. If it doesn't work, check if history is enabled, in case of word-colors try other names or spelling in lower case (mediumvioletred). Other interesting link states: "a:hover" if mouse is over a link, "a:active" if a link was the last opened one.


How to stop K-Meleon from warning me about fonts not installed?

You must create a new pref entry in about:config.
Go to Edit -> Configuration -> Browser Configuration (or type about:config in URL bar)
Right click in preference list, and select New -> Boolean.
Name it: font.askWhenNeeded
And set value to: false


How do I reverse the mousewheel direction for zooming?

The default direction for zooming with Ctrl+mousewheel depends from the version of the gecko engine, that's why it switched between K-Meleon versions 1.5.4 and 1.6. There exists a hidden switch to reverse that direction yourself, if you prefer, but it takes a bit manual work. See explanations in Forum. There's also a little macro available that creates a simple menu entry for switching.


Table of Contents

Troubleshooting


Why does website "X" not display/work properly? Is it a K-Meleon bug?

Probably not. In most cases it's just your Privacy & Security settings:

  • Are you blocking Javascript? Many sites today insist on it. If blocked, they usually work only partly, or are completely empty, and a few even show funny reactions like redirecting you to their mobile version. Finetune your javascript settings in Edit > Preferences (F2) > Javascript, or toggle it in Tools > Privacy > Block Javascript, and try again.
  • Do you have blocked third-party Cookies (or all)? There are sites that insist in placing their ad-cookies in your browser. Try allowing "all" cookies, in Edit > Preferences (F2) > Privacy & Security, or toggle all-or-nothing in Tools > Privacy > Block Cookies.
  • You may also try toggling java, popups, referer etc., and if needed add certain sites to your personal exceptions list, see above.

If that doesn't help and a site is still not displaying/working properly, it's normally caused by one of three issues:

  1. The site is not compliant with current HTML standards.
    Try out how the site is looking in Internet Explorer (e.g. press Ctrl+Alt+I). Still a lot of websites use proprietary HTML markup and/or JavaScript code that only works correct in IE.
  2. The site is using browser-specific JavaScript.
    Try out how the site is working when you change K-Meleon's UserAgent string e.g. to Firefox' or SeaMonkey's. Still a lot of websites fail to detect K-Meleon as a Gecko-based browser. This is a typical problem in sites like Hotmail, Yahoo, Facebook, ...
    You can change this in menu Tools -> User Agent -> and check Firefox 2 or Seamonkey 1.1 and reload the site.
  3. The display problem is due to a Mozilla bug.
    Try out how the site is looking in another Gecko-based browser e.g. Firefox or SeaMonkey.

And more and more sites require the gecko engine 1.9.x to work fully, so they need K-Meleon 1.6 or newer. Currently (Nov.2010) this version is in development yet (Beta version), but many people use it already quite happy and such sites seem to work fine with it.

You can report such problems to the K-Meleon Forum - somebody may attempt to determine the source of the problem. Keep in mind that the particular authors are responsible for a website, not the K-Meleon developers.


Why can't I see the K-Meleon forum? It only shows an Error 403?

That infamous bug with a useless "technical support key" link? That seems to be caused by ancient useragent strings, e.g. containing "Win98" or "Windows 98". Until it can be fixed, please use any other string. Either in menu Tools>User Agent, or open 'about:config' page and create this pref:
general.useragent.override (type STRING)
An example value for faking IE7+XP: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1)


Why is youtube now hanging at 23min?

Yes the mysterious youtube 23min bug, a prob that affects the whole Firefox family.
Workaround: hit the left+right arrow keys to jump back 5 seconds.
Probably happens because youtube is now owned by Google. They now own several indispensable websites and services, and are frequently caught inserting little code snippets there which are non-standard, only coded for their own browser. If that causes glitches in other browsers, people will move over to use Google's Chrome. That trick works well of course, meanwhile they've reached an almost-monopoly for Chrome too. And due to this, most other website authors now also joined the train by coding exclusively for Chrome. Just like in the far past only for IE.


Since updating to a modern KM version it happens occasionally that a page doesn't fully load, stays all black, or still shows artefacts of the previous page mixed into the current one?

May have to do with hardware acceleration and Windows theme (forum example)
Open this as adress and toggle the pref to true:
about:config?filter=layers.acceleration.disabled
And this to false:
about:config?filter=layers.offmainthreadcomposition.enabled


Why can't I see that image, it works in other browsers?

Are "all" your images suddenly invisible?

  • You have accidentally hit F9, the shortcut to toggle Tools > Privacy > Block Images. Use this menu or hit F9 again and reload. Actually this doesn't necessarily block "all" images, those in your exceptions list will still be shown.

Only certain images broken, not all?
If it's really not broken on the server, it's most likely your privacy settings:

  • Click Edit > Preferences (F2) > Page Display, and tab "images". Have you checked "Load images from the original website only"? Uncheck it and reload.
  • Click on "Exceptions" and check if you have perhaps blocked the images from that domain.
  • Have you checked "Disallow scripts to change images"? Uncheck this and reload (needs also javascript).
  • Do you have javascript blocked? Some images need this, try if it works if you allow JS in Tools > Privacy > Block Javascript (F7). Reload again.
  • Do you have ads blocked? The image could wrongly be blocked by the adblock stylesheet, a "false positive" due to its name, dimensions etc. Try if it shows with ads allowed: Tools > Privacy > Block Advertisement. If this helps and you want to permanently delete that false entry, things get a bit complicated: click Edit > Configuration > AdBlocking Stylesheet. This opens the file "AdBlock.css" in your profile folder, which you can edit.
  • If still nothing helps or you need help, just ask in the forum (general section).


Why does K-Meleon forget my settings? (home page, bookmarks etc.)

Your settings will all be forgotten if you do not have writing rights in your profile folder. If you don't need a portable version and just want a quick fix: Delete the file "profile.ini" (not profileS.ini) in the K-Meleon program folder and restart. This will create a new profile in your user appdata folder, where you already have writing rights by default, and your settings will be remembered next time. More info here and here.


Why am I kicked out when using Backspace key in a input field (e.g. facebook wall)?

That happens on some modern sites when visiting them with older versions of the browser's gecko engine. Not all input fields are fully recognized as such anymore, and then "Go Back" is used instead of "Delete". A quick on-the-fly workaround is to press SHIFT+Backspace for deleting. For a permanent solution you can remove the default "Go Back" shortcut from the "Backspace" key:
Edit > Configuration > Accelerators
Add this line and restart:
VK_BACK =

(Notes: The above solution is just a profile setting, not global. Better but slightly more complicated: Remove that shortcut in all profiles by default and instead of "Backspace" use "SHIFT-Backspace" as shortcut for "Go Back". For this edit the file K-Meleon\defaults\settings\accel.cfg and change
VK_BACK = ID_NAV_BACK
into
#VK_BACK = ID_NAV_BACK
SHIFT VK_BACK = ID_NAV_BACK
By the way there's another default shortcut for flipping back pages: ALT+Left Arrow. Works fine, you just need both hands for it, unlike SHIFT+Backspace.)


Why does my personal firewall issue an alert that K-Meleon is requesting server rights?

The Personal Security Manager (PSM) in Mozilla, which K-Meleon is built on, uses sockets for communication between its security components. These communications are internal to the browser and do not go out to the Internet. There is no danger in allowing K-Meleon this access. All Mozilla browsers behave like that.


Why does K-Meleon refuse to run on my system?

Your system may be missing some "Microsoft runtime libraries required to run applications developed with Visual C++". Those dll's are not included in the ZIP/7Z versions of KM. Usually they exist already on newer systems, but uninstalling another program may have removed them.

KM 1.5.x needs: msvcp71.dll and msvcr71.dll
Just put the 2 dll's into the K-Meleon root folder. You can download it from some DLL files download sites, like for example: DLL-files.com (or see below)

KM 1.6 needs: msvcp80.dll and msvcr80.dll
Older system like Win98SE: put them into the K-Meleon root folder. KM1.6 may run with KernelEx on Win98/ME, but officially those systems are only supported up to KM 1.5.4.
Newer systems like Vista: you must install those dll's globally (see link to Microsoft VS2005 here or Alain's mini-version)

Unless you install the vcredist, you may find those dll's elsewhere in your programs folder or another computer, in internet dll-archives, or extract them from the "installer"-version of K-Meleon (e.g. with 7zip, instead of setup just right-click and unzip the exe).


Why is K-Meleon opening two windows or displaying a "Can't open..." error message when I open an URL from an e-mail program or an Internet Shortcut?

This type of problem is usually the result of the DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange) option being enabled in the Windows Registry for the type of URL that you are trying to open. In Windows Explorer, open Tools > Folder Options... and select the File Types tab. When you've found the type of URL in question (e.g. URL:HTTP ...), select it and click Edit.... In the list of Actions select open and click Edit.... Uncheck the Use DDE checkbox and press OK until you are finally out of the Folder Options dialog.


Why do the Bookmarks menu and/or other plugin menus not appear?

Your system is missing certain libraries. See the system requirements.
Also make sure that you have not accidentally disabled those plugins:
Edit -> Preferences -> K-Meleon Plugins. Click on the tabs for further configuration.


Why aren't links opening up in K-Meleon, it's set as my default browser?

The set-default routine in K-Meleon 1.5.x is outdated, it works only up to XP-SP2 correctly. If you're on a newer Windows you can use this autoit-extension for KM1.5.x: Defaulter2 (unzip with 7zip into K-Meleons root folder and restart)

(Or how to manually register "URL:HTTP(S)" filetypes:
Open up Windows Explorer and click the Tools button on the menu bar, then select Folder Options... In the Folder Options window select the File Type tab. Scroll down until you see "URL:HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol)" under the File Types column, it's extention is (NONE). Click the advanced button, then in the Actions: list box select open, then click the Edit button. In the new window click the Browse... button then navigate to the K-Meleon.exe in it's installed directory then click ok. The default location is "C:\Program Files\K-Meleon\K-Meleon.exe" (you can just copy this WITH QUOTES if you installed it in the default directory). Add "%1" to the The Application to preform action text box. Uncheck DDE and both Ok buttons. Do the same for the URL:HTTPS file type and then you're done.)


Why does the new Java Plug-In not work right?

The problem is Java's "Next Generation" plugin npjp2.dll. It seems to help to overrule that plugin with the "Classic" plugin: copy the file C:\Programs\Java\jre6\bin\npoji610.dll into K-Meleon's "plugins" folder (see forum).


Where can I get more help?

Please review the release notes of the K-Meleon version you are using for known issues/problems.

Submit your question to the K-Meleon Forums (registration is not required to post and providing an e-mail address is optional). Be prepared that it may take some time until somebody knowing the answer to your question will read your post. So, check back from time to time. Bookmark the thread you posted to in order to find it again later. If you are registered, you can mark "Follow Topic" to find it listed in your 'Control Center', since currently there are no notifications by email. (Note: German language had a 'Blindflug' problem, set new Forum Language HERE.)

If you think you've found a bug, ask in the Forums first. Most posted "bugs" turn out to be just simple HowTo questions or general troubleshooting, like bugs in websites or third-party plugins, not K-Meleon bugs. In any case, make yourself familiar with our Bug Reporting Guidelines before you file a report in our Bug Tracking System (requires registration). Be prepared that you are asked to provide more information - you have to help us to help you.


Table of Contents

Miscellaneous


Where do I find the command to .... ?

...duplicate a tab?
Right-click the Go-Button, click "Open in New Page" (Ctrl+Alt+N)
...open a text URL as link?
Select the full URL and hit the Go-Button. How it will open, in the same tab or a new one, depends on your settings for Selected Text
...search for a selected text directly?
Select it and hit the Search button. Or right-click the button to choose another engine
...translate a web page?
Click Tools > Translate. If you only need some lines, highlight them and Right-click > Translate
...delete a stored password?
Edit > Preferences (F2) > Privacy & Security. There are the Password Manager and the Cookie Managers, for viewing, deleting and exceptions for single entries.


Where do I find the configuration for .... ?

...opening various stuff either in the same tab, new tab or background?
Edit > Preferences (F2) > Browsing. Check the dropdown menus in "General" and "Window Diversion". For link handling have a look here.
...my home page(s) at startup?
Either in the menus, or simply right-click the "Home"-button to open a configuration menu. If at browser start you want to open several pages at once, choose "Start with Session...". You must have stored that session first: Open the pages you want at startup, then click Sessions > Save Session.
...my profile path? (aka 'Help my homepage doesn't stick' ;-)
Attention, you need writing rights in your profile folder, or your settings and bookmarks etc. will all be forgotten next time! (see here). To just find the current profile path, click Edit > Configuration > Profile Directory. If at setup you choose "multi-user" (default), your KM profiles are created in your windows user appdata account, where you already have writing-rights. This is best for most users. If instead you choose "single-user" they are created inside the K-Meleon root folder, wherever you put it. Most people choose the 'c:\programs' folder, but there you must allow yourself writing-rights manually (right-click folder and change "security", some machines need rebooting). To later switch profiles location, either remove or add an empty file named 'profile.ini' (no .txt ending) in the K-Meleon program folder. Fine-tuning, for experts only: profileS.ini in Profiles folder. See also above at setup profiles.
...my email program or webmail?
Your default program is automatically found by clicking a mailto-link. To change it, right-click on the mail-button and "Configure...". Enter a program path or the URL of your webmail login. Check if a webmail site (yahoo) may require javascript, faking user-agent, more cookies etc.
...automatic Find-in-Page?
To find a word in the current page, you can just start typing it out of the blue, no need to call the search function first. Find the configuration for this in Edit > Page Search (Find-as-you-type / Start automatically / Search Links only)
...the background image for toolbars?
Choose an image you like and save it as "back.bmp" in the folder of your current skin. It will show after next browser start if backgrounds are enabled. More info here: SkinsAndThrobbers.
...certificates?
In menu Tools > Privacy > View Data > View Certificates. There are various tabs for configuration, editing, import, export, etc. For example on tab "Servers" you can add an exception if a site requires it and you find it trustworthy enough.


What does "chrome" have to do with K-Meleon?

If by "chrome" you mean Google's new browser: Nothing! K-Meleon is 8 years older, and contained a "chrome" folder for its user interface long before Google even dreamed of creating an own browser and baptizing it "Chrome". To quote Wikipedia: "The visible graphical interface features of an application are sometimes referred to as 'chrome'". Regarding the Google browser it says: "The name is derived from the graphical user interface frame, or 'chrome', of web browsers."


Are you crazy to jump from version 1.7 up to 74?!

To quote Dorian: Some websites only check the version number for compatiblity. With "k-meleon 2.0" they complain you must update your browser, but they are happy with "k-meleon 10.0". So, k-meleon 74 will be fine for a while...


Is K-Meleon dead?

Nope. Once again it was revived after a longer break. In Dec 2017 an independant developer (roytam1) joined K-Meleon and created a new fork, embedding the Goanna engine of PaleMoon27, itself a fork of Firefox. This works well, and still runs on XP, only a bit confusing that he kept the previous version number. Before stalling, K-Meleon76RC was already stable in 2016, just never declared as final release. Now this much advanced new Goanna-build (naturally KM77) is once again called K-Meleon76, like the last Gecko version. Just now K-Meleon GOANNA 76 (KM-Goanna76, KMG76, KG76).

Since then, he's been posting weekly new builds!
Here: KM-Goanna subforum
Countless updates, mostly by importing github commits from related browsers like PaleMoon27 (now ended), Arctic-Fox, Waterfox, TenFourFox etc. His builds are unofficial, and will probably remain 'weeklies' forever, so don't wait for an official stable release. They work quite stable anyway, except for the hopelessly outdated user-interface, not revealing any 'hidden' new powers under the engine hood since ages. Simultaneously roytam1 is also managing some other browser forks weekly, posted in the MSFN forum. The goal of his forks is to keep them as compatible as possible for old systems like XP. And like the 'upstream' browsers also to keep useful features which Mozilla ripped out, to keep xul addons working (Firefox legacy addons) etc. Since K-Meleon is sharing the same engine with his NewMoon27 for XP, both just get identic updates, except for GUI-stuff. Here's the catch:

He keeps improving the engine only, so be aware that the GUI still remains badly outdated since a decade. With some important new features available under the hood, just still no user-interface for them, and other features broken due to engine updates. For example to block iframes, if you're not using a macro, you must now open "about:config" and create this pref yourself: "permissions.default.subdocument=1/2/3" (type INT: 1=allow, 2=block, 3=same domain) Or type "about:about" in the urlbar to discover "hidden" features like the "about:addons" page, for managing installed Firefox xpi-addons. Or "about:downloads", etc. Some features can be made visible with additional macros from the forum, mainly to create menus etc.


More questions?

You can post them in the K-Meleon Forum (no registration and no e-mail address required). The "General" section is usually best for most sorts of questions.


Table of Contents


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