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I have set up my Windows development system with VMWare Workstation to host a Linux server on which I edit test sites. I have assigned the domain "vm" to that virtual machine's IP address, so that any subdomain resolves to my virtual machine's servers.

The problem: When I type only "project.vm" in Firefox, Firefox does not recognize the ".vm" as a TLD, and it forwards my submission to the default search engine. Normally, I appreciate this feature, but what I would really like is to add ".vm" to the list of TLDs that Firefox ignores for searching, and just resolve the domain like it would a ".com".

Is there a setting in Firefox I can set that will let me use .vm domains for my virtual machine without entering "http://" in front, that still retains for all other submissions the ability to forward to my default search?

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2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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  • In the Firefox address bar, enter about:config
  • Right-click, select New -> Boolean
  • Enter network.IDN.whitelist.vm in the name and true for the value

this should make .vm a trusted TLD.

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  • 1
    I guess this is used for something else, no? kb.mozillazine.org/Network.IDN.whitelist.*
    – Snark
    Oct 21, 2009 at 19:34
  • gotta tack on the trailing .* to snark's url, markdown broke it: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Network.IDN.whitelist.*
    – quack quixote
    Oct 21, 2009 at 19:55
  • (still a broken link but at least it's a little easier to spot...)
    – quack quixote
    Oct 21, 2009 at 19:56
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I'm using Firefox 3.0.x and can't replicate your issue.

I believe that Firefox first tries to resolve the text typed into the location bar. If the resolver fails, that's when it performs a search on what you've entered. I expect your problem is not with Firefox, it's with your DNS resolver failing to resolve your .vm TLD.

  • Double-check that you can ping the .vm hostnames you're trying to reach.
  • Double-check that another browser (IE, Chrome, Opera) loads the hostnames properly.

If those don't work, fix the resolver problem, and Firefox should load your addresses.

Here's my test process: My home router is configured as a caching-DNS server and handles all local LAN lookups. I've configured its dnsmasq to do local lookups from its /etc/hosts file. My home server has a very basic webserver running, with an extra aliased network interface (eth0:0) on a static IP, but was given no additional configuration.

  1. Added x.x.x.x project.vm into the router's /etc/hosts,
  2. Restarted the router's dnsmasq process, and
  3. Checked that ping hostname.vm worked from all systems on the LAN.
  4. Putting project.vm straight into Firefox's location bar goes straight to the website, no searching involved.
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