AutoFill in Safari not working

Several users have reported Safari issues in which the AutoFill function does work properly. The feature functions properly for some time, and then suddenly refuses operate.

Ton Van Hest writes:

"Autofill is not working in Safari. The problem is that it has worked! It has stopped working some time ago and at some point it stopped working."

Users should always try forcing Safari to AutoFill a webpage by either selecting "AutoFill Form" from the Edit menu, or pressing Shift-Command-A on the form page to perform the same action. Hopefully this will spur Safari into functioning correctly; If not, there are several reasons this feature could be malfunctioning, because it is dependent on both Safari settings as well as external database information which is accessed to fill out the forms. Users have had success in resetting safari preferences, but there are other approaches users can try as well.

Fixes

Remove preferences Locate the file named com.apple.Safari.plist that is in the /username/Library/Preferences/ folder and remove it. Do this with Safari closed, and then open the program. Doing this will set the program's settings to the default, so if users have had any customizations to Safari's settings, they will need to be reset. Additionally, users might try removing the "Form Values" file from the /username/Library/Safari/ folder.

Reset Safari With Safari open, go to the "Safari" menu and select the "Reset Safari..." option. In the resulting options window, users will have the option to remove saved autofill information along with resetting other safari settings. It is recommended that users check all available boxes to reset everything.

Uninstall third-party Safari add-ons If there are any Safari plug-ins or other enhancement software that has been recently installed, try removing it. More than likely these add-ons will be located in one of the following locations:

• /username/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/
• /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/

Clear and Re-enter contact information in Address Book Since Safari accesses the "Me" address book vcard for contact information, if there are problems with the content of the card then this could lead to autofill problems. Therefore users can try either cleaning up this card or deleting it and remaking it in Address Book. When doing this, the new card will need to be selected and then the "Make This My Card" option should be selected from the "Card" menu to ensure the card is designated as being for the active user account.

Clear "Other Forms" list If users have not reset the Safari application, then clearing the contents of both the "Other Forms" and "User names and passwords" autofill sections might help. To access this, go to Safari's preferences and select "AutoFill". Then click the "Edit..." button next to the desired autofill type, and delete all entries in the resulting window.

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