# So Chrome went and broke the f'n backspace key.. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 7, 2016, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-chrome-went-and-broke-the-fn-backspace-key/762020 "2016-08-07T09:36:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-chrome-went-and-broke-the-fn-backspace-key/762020/41 "2016-08-12T00:28:49Z")
I think this explains why I might be typing a post like this and it all suddenly disappeared and I never knew why. I have just disabled this function in my Mozilla browser. On the other hand it is an extemely useful when I click on an internal link in a pdf file and want to go back. I call it the comefrom button (this is an old joke instruction in Basic). ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-chrome-went-and-broke-the-fn-backspace-key/762020/42 "2016-08-12T00:43:35Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > There is a dropdown menu for "Date added (newest), Date added (oldest) and Most popular. Are you referring to the video page? That only lists them in order. It does not let you play one video right after the other in order. You have to hope your channel creator (or some kind soul) has made a playlist for you (and kept it up to date), or go to the trouble to make one yourself. For a while they had a feature that would play them in reverse order, but that doesn’t even seem to exist anymore. It’s a playlist, or click on each video separately. Those are the only options. You notice it less on LPs, since the next recommended video will often be the next part for the LP, since that’s the video most people have clicked on. But you do notice it any time you want to go watch a channel’s backlog in order. ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-chrome-went-and-broke-the-fn-backspace-key/762020/43 "2016-08-12T00:44:01Z")
> [@Rysto](#): > > What? No it doesn’t. I just tried it. I use Firefox, and rely on this function, and about a week ago, it appeared to have up and stopped. Fortunately, I figured out that Firefox allowed me to go into Settings -\> Browser -\> Shortcuts -\> Configure Shortcuts, and put the function back in. No idea whether Chrome allows similar shortcut mobility. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-chrome-went-and-broke-the-fn-backspace-key/762020/44 "2016-08-12T20:55:13Z")
I need the backspace key because I mostly type one-handed and can’t manage the trackpad well, so this was driving me crazy too. I can actually see the sense in disabling the backspace key, especially since I think it’s likely that those who have issues with deleting data due to it are less likely to be able to know how to disable it. I wish there had been a notification along with a link to an extension that changes it back, though. > [@BigT](#): > > It is fairly easy to fix in an extension, so I was sure there would be one. Here you go: > > [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/backspace-to-go-back/](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/backspace-to-go-back/) That didn’t work for me - you have to add a load of letters on the end. [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/backspace-to-go-back/nlffgllnjjkheddehpolbanogdeaogbc?hl=en](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/backspace-to-go-back/nlffgllnjjkheddehpolbanogdeaogbc?hl=en) But thanks for suggesting an extension. I’m kicking myself for not thinking to look for one before, though of course it’s possible the extension may not have been there when my Chrome did this at least a week ago because it didn’t come up when I googled more generally for solutions. ---
**Author:** ![Eclipse\_Chaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Eclipse\_Chaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eclipse_Chaser)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-chrome-went-and-broke-the-fn-backspace-key/762020/45 "2016-08-13T07:07:13Z")
I thought it was a problem with my PC, glad in a way to find out that it is not. I will be switching back to Firefox which I always used more until recently. Bye bye Chrome. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-chrome-went-and-broke-the-fn-backspace-key/762020/46 "2016-08-13T12:32:27Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > That didn’t work for me - you have to add a load of letters on the end. [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/backspace-to-go-back/nlffgllnjjkheddehpolbanogdeaogbc?hl=en](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/backspace-to-go-back/nlffgllnjjkheddehpolbanogdeaogbc?hl=en) > > But thanks for suggesting an extension. I’m kicking myself for not thinking to look for one before, though of course it’s possible the extension may not have been there when my Chrome did this at least a week ago because it didn’t come up when I googled more generally for solutions. Weird. I tested it before I posted, I’m pretty sure. But it doesn’t work for me now, either. Thanks for fixing it. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-chrome-went-and-broke-the-fn-backspace-key/762020/47 "2016-08-13T19:02:26Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Are you referring to the video page? That only lists them in order. It does not let you play one video right after the other in order. You have to hope your channel creator (or some kind soul) has made a playlist for you (and kept it up to date), or go to the trouble to make one yourself. In the video page, after choosing a chronological preference in the dropdown menu, add ‘&list=UL’ to the end of a video and it will play all subsequent videos in the preferred order. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-chrome-went-and-broke-the-fn-backspace-key/762020/48 "2016-08-13T21:42:56Z")
> [@Eclipse\_Chaser](#): > > I thought it was a problem with my PC, glad in a way to find out that it is not. > > I will be switching back to Firefox which I always used more until recently. Bye bye Chrome. That’s a pretty silly reason to switch browsers, as if you really want that functionality you can still have it (several methods for doing so including a link to an extension have been posted in this thread). Chrome is still much faster and cleaner than bloated old Firefox. They made this change because there were massive amounts of complaints from people who did not like it the way it was (countless numbers of people have lost work because of it). ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-chrome-went-and-broke-the-fn-backspace-key/762020/49 "2016-08-14T02:18:28Z")
Just to let others know that the extension was easy to install and works well, although I wish they would just have an option to check to enable the backspace key. I’m not giving up on Chrome, but reading the [Issue 608016](https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=608016) discussion with their developers drove me crazy. I’ve worked as a software developer, and telling users that “you don’t know what you want”, that “we know better than you do” is pretty arrogant. If there was an alternative to Chrome and everything else being equal, it might drive me to the other browser. I just hope they go all IBM or Microsoft with this kind of arrogance. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-chrome-went-and-broke-the-fn-backspace-key/762020.md?page=2)