shortcuts - Search engine short-cut missing in Firefox 34

In the past version of Firefox you could define short-cuts for search engines. (by clicking on the black small arrow/triangle) and then "Manage Search Engines" - then you could define short-cuts)

This allowed typing the short-cut character followed by a space and then the search phrase in the address bar.

With the update to Firefox version 34 the option to define a short-cut is gone. Old short-cuts defined in previous version are working though.

So how can you define short-cuts for search engines in Firefox 34 (and later)?

I noticed this change today (2014-12-18) in the standards release version 34 and developer edition 36.0a2. I wonder why they changed it in both versions and how to define short-cuts from now on.

Answer

Install the "Manage Search Engines" button extension, it will put a button that works like the pre-v34 drop-down button (the black triangle) in the search bar, giving you access to 'Manage Search Engines'.

Alternatively, go to about:config in the address bar and type browser.search.showOneOffButtons in the 'Search:' form. Double-click or right-click » toggle the resulting row to change its value to 'false'. This will restore the search bar back to its pre-Firefox 34 version, also restoring the drop-down button and 'Manage Search Engines'.