Opera 31: Remove default Search Engines?

Question

Up to and including Opera 30 you could follow this link here which simply directs you to delete some .json file containing the default search engines.

Starting today, with the latest Opera update 31.something, this trick does no longer work. If the default_partner_content.json file is missing (or things are deleted from it), Opera will complain on startup and ask for a reinstall. Putting the file back in place restores Opera to working, but the default search engines are there obviously...

Has anyone found a new way to get rid of the default search engines?

(If I accidentally search that ridiculous yahoo again instead of youtube, as configured by me, I will lose my sh**.)

Answer 1

Go to opera://about to display your installation paths

• From [root]/profile :

Remove default_partner_content.json and copy siteprefs.json to [root]/[version]/resources

• From [root] :

Remove default_partner_content.json then rename siteprefs.json to default_partner_content.json and set it read-only

---

As you may know, agreements with search engine providers are an important source of income for the company.

Answer 2

For Opera 36.0.2130.65 editing the %operaversion%/resources/default_partner_content.json succeed on Ubuntu and Windows.

Open the file in vim and remove lines, other than Google, from "search_engines": { constructs in that file, so it should look like the following:

{
  "version":8,
  "search_engines": {
    "location": {
      "at": {                  // a language code 
        "other": {
          "list": [
            "google_at",
            // yahoo and all others wiped there
          ],
          "speed_dial_index_list": [0]
        }
      },
      "au": {
        "other": {
          "list": [
            "google_au",
          ],
          "speed_dial_index_list": [0]

And so on in all language sections. Sorry I can not paste the whole file.

Edit this file, keep a copy and set the edited file to be read-only and/or set opera://flags/#first-run-partner-content-update to disabled.

Answer 3

It's a well known issue. It's driven a lot of people away!

Here's a 'hack' which involves changing the launcher in itself. It works though!

(Source: http://forums.opera.com/discussion/1848915/opera-25-remove-yahoo-from-default-search-engines/p1)

1. Hit "WINDOWS KEY" + "E" (to) open the Windows Explorer - browse to your own files or where you want the script to reside
2. Right click in that directory --> "New" --> "New text file" and name it "OperaLauncher.BAT.txt"
3. Open that file in Notepad (or preferably Notepad++ if you got that) Paste the following code to it:

@echo off & setlocal  set "OperaProgRoot=C:\Program Files (x86)\Opera"
set "OperaLauncherExe=%OperaProgRoot%\launcher.exe"  set

"GetV=%Temp%\GetV.vbs"  echo Set
objWMIService=GetObject("winmgmts:{impersonationLevel=impersonate}!\\.\root\cimv2")>"%GetV%"
echo Set colFiles=objWMIService.ExecQuery ("SELECT * FROM CIM_Datafile
WHERE Name='"^&Replace(WScript.Arguments(0),"\","\\")^&"'")>>"%GetV%" 
echo For Each objFile in colFiles: WScript.Echo objFile.version:
Next>>"%GetV%"  set Version=  for /f %%i in ('cscript //nologo
"%GetV%" "%OperaLauncherExe%"') do set "Version=%%i"  if defined
Version echo %OperaLauncherExe% - Version %Version%  del "%GetV%"  IF
NOT EXIST

"%OperaProgRoot%\%Version%\resources\default_partner_content.json"
GOTO LAUNCH_OPERA  : RENAME_DPC  ren
"%OperaProgRoot%\%Version%\resources\default_partner_content.json"
"default_partner_content.json.BAK"  : LAUNCH_OPERA 
"%OperaLauncherExe%"

I then took that .bat file and assigned the Opera 'O' icon to it, and removed the original shortcut.