Frequently Asked Questions
This page is to help increase the understanding of Polarity in its different features and usability. Often basic information is provided and it will be constantly updated when new questions arise.
Why does Polarity throw an error stating it cannot find 'CefSharp.Core.dll'?
This means that the the Visual C++ 2012 Redistributables are not installed. Go to www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/confirmation.aspx?id=30679&6B49FDFB-8E5B-4B07-BC31-15695C5A2143=1 to download them and then start Polarity.
How can I adjust the resize area of the browser?
Simply open the settings applet and click the "Themes" tab. Then, scroll down and adjust the border thickness accordingly.
Does Polarity support Firefox/Chrome add-ons?
Polarity currently does not support Firefox/Chrome add-ons, but Polarity will support userscripts and have its own add-on system after v.5.0.
Why is Polarity so slow?
This means that Polarity's cache is building up too much and it has to be cleared.
HOW TO CLEAR CACHE (Polarity v.2.2.2 and lower):
1) Clear it through IE's settings dialog or Polarity's settings dialog.
HOW TO CLEAR CACHE (Polarity v.2.2.3 to v.3.1.8):
1) Start > Run > Type: "appdata" > Local
2) Locate the "Geckofx" folder.
3) Delete the folder.
HOW TO CLEAR CACHE (Polarity v.3.1.9 to v.3.3.1):
1) Click the settings button.
2) Click the edit button.
3) Open the Polarity Cleaner tool.
4) Check to clear what you want.
*Polarity v.4.0 - v.4.4.8 and higher does not store cache.
HOW TO CLEAR CACHE (Polarity v.4.5.0 or higher):
1) Click the settings button.
2) Click "Actions"
3) Click the "Clear Cache" button at the bottom of the menu.
HOW TO CLEAR CACHE (Polarity v.2.2.2 and lower):
1) Clear it through IE's settings dialog or Polarity's settings dialog.
HOW TO CLEAR CACHE (Polarity v.2.2.3 to v.3.1.8):
1) Start > Run > Type: "appdata" > Local
2) Locate the "Geckofx" folder.
3) Delete the folder.
HOW TO CLEAR CACHE (Polarity v.3.1.9 to v.3.3.1):
1) Click the settings button.
2) Click the edit button.
3) Open the Polarity Cleaner tool.
4) Check to clear what you want.
*Polarity v.4.0 - v.4.4.8 and higher does not store cache.
HOW TO CLEAR CACHE (Polarity v.4.5.0 or higher):
1) Click the settings button.
2) Click "Actions"
3) Click the "Clear Cache" button at the bottom of the menu.
How do you open Trident mode?
Right click on a tab and click "New Trident Tab" or right click the new tab button.
What are the shortcut keys in Polarity?
Ctrl +: Zoom In
Ctrl - : Zoom Out
Ctrl T: New tab
Ctrl N: New Window
Ctrl H: History
Ctrl B: Bookmarks
Ctrl D: Add to bookmarks.
Ctrl W: Close Polarity
Ctrl 1-8: Selects Tab
Ctrl 9: Selects Last Tab
Ctrl Shift T: Reopen last closed tab
Ctrl J: Open Dev Tools
Ctrl L: Focus Address Bar
Alt P: Open Settings
Double Clicking Tab Area: Opens New Tab
`: Console (below v.5.3.0) Ctrl `: Console (v.5.3.0 and above)
Ctrl - : Zoom Out
Ctrl T: New tab
Ctrl N: New Window
Ctrl H: History
Ctrl B: Bookmarks
Ctrl D: Add to bookmarks.
Ctrl W: Close Polarity
Ctrl 1-8: Selects Tab
Ctrl 9: Selects Last Tab
Ctrl Shift T: Reopen last closed tab
Ctrl J: Open Dev Tools
Ctrl L: Focus Address Bar
Alt P: Open Settings
Double Clicking Tab Area: Opens New Tab
`: Console (below v.5.3.0) Ctrl `: Console (v.5.3.0 and above)
Why are no icons showing up on Youtube?
This is caused by a known bug that is getting fixed. A quick fix is to go to settings "three dot button" ---> Under the Hood ---> and click the "Polarity" button near the other user agent options. Then restart the browser.
What plugins are supported in Polarity (4x)?
- Flash Player (Adobe)
- HTML5 video codecs (A&V, W3C, WebM and more)
- Quicktime Player (Apple)
- Adobe Acrobat Reader
- Document Explorer Plugin (Built in)
- Ad Block Plugin (Built in)
- Silverlight
- WebGL Support
- Tab Recovery
- PDF Exporter
- Voice Recog. (Microsoft)
- Minimal Scrollbar (Built in)
How do I turn on/off the Web Filter?
Starting from Polarity v.4.2.1, the Web Filter will be off by default. To turn it off, go to the settings button at the top right ---> click "settings" in the menu ---> click "Page Load/Performance" ---> Check/Uncheck the Web Filter option.
How do I turn on/off Ad Block Mode?
First go to the settings button at the top right ---> click "settings" in the menu ---> click "Uncommon Preferences" ---> Check/Uncheck "Ad Block Mode". The browser will then restart to update your settings.
Why does Polarity keep crashing?
There are several reasons to why Polarity might be crashing. (Corrupted config folder/missing dll.)
A reinstallation of Polarity is recommended, but you may be able to fix your problem via editing the Polarity_Config folder.
Crash on startup/bookmarks/newtab and unable to close Polarity:
This is due to a corrupted config folder which is located in your user folder in the C:\ drive.
To fix this, back-up the Polarity_Config folder to another location
Change all text in "bookmarks.ini" and "bookmarks_ttls.ini" to "|".
Remove all text after the "=" in "topSites.ini" and "topSites_names.ini". The text remaining should be 0=,1=,2=,3=,4=,5=,6= and 7=.
Also try switching private mode on and off to fix your problem with Polarity.
If Polarity is crashing at random times while using it, it is most likely exceeding the GDI object limit and it needs to close. A way to fix this quickly is to turn on adblock mode.
If Polarity crashes when opening the bookmarks menu, it means that the bookmarks file has been moved/corrupted. Tampering with these files can also cause these problems.
A reinstallation of Polarity is recommended, but you may be able to fix your problem via editing the Polarity_Config folder.
Crash on startup/bookmarks/newtab and unable to close Polarity:
This is due to a corrupted config folder which is located in your user folder in the C:\ drive.
To fix this, back-up the Polarity_Config folder to another location
Change all text in "bookmarks.ini" and "bookmarks_ttls.ini" to "|".
Remove all text after the "=" in "topSites.ini" and "topSites_names.ini". The text remaining should be 0=,1=,2=,3=,4=,5=,6= and 7=.
Also try switching private mode on and off to fix your problem with Polarity.
If Polarity is crashing at random times while using it, it is most likely exceeding the GDI object limit and it needs to close. A way to fix this quickly is to turn on adblock mode.
If Polarity crashes when opening the bookmarks menu, it means that the bookmarks file has been moved/corrupted. Tampering with these files can also cause these problems.
Does Adblock mode conflict with anything?
It is not known to have many conflicts, but it may conflict with prepaid USB internet services.
If it is not working properly and not filtering advertisements, try deleting the cache from the settings menu in the actions section.
If it is not working properly and not filtering advertisements, try deleting the cache from the settings menu in the actions section.
Why can't I update Polarity?
It is caused by your antivirus blocking the download of the update package. Try disabling or downloading from other websites to update Polarity.
Why does the resultbox of the omnibar show no results in smart omnibox mode?
This could be the cause of your antivirus blocking access to retrieve live search results from the web. Changing the configuration or behavior of the AV for polarity.exe may help.
Why are some plugins unavailable in Polarity?
This may be the fault of the security settings in Polarity. To fix it, please toggle Web Security in the Page Load/Performance tab.
Another feature that helps to bring support of most plugins to Polarity is to enable plugin compatibility mode in the Page Load/Performance tab.
Another feature that helps to bring support of most plugins to Polarity is to enable plugin compatibility mode in the Page Load/Performance tab.
Why does Polarity refuse to upload files?
This is due to the security restrictions in the Chromium engine. Disable Web Secuity in the Page Load/Performance tab.
How do I enable Hardware Acceleration?
You can enable Hardware Acceleration under the Page Load/Performance tab in the settings menu. In order to get full hardware acceleration, please enable Plugin Compatibility mode.
Why do clicked links in Polarity not open a new page?
It means that the web browser has lost "focus" on the actual web page. Pressing the CTRL key can fix that issue.
Why does Polarity keep freezing on certain pages?
This is caused by a faulty flash player. A reinstallation of the flash player will fix it.
Why does Polarity render fonts weirdly?
This is caused by hardware acceleration being enabled. To fix it, go to settings and page load/performance and turn off gpu acceleration. Restart to browser to apply these changes.
Why do Netflix videos not load on Polarity?
(Polarity 7.2.5 or older) This most likely means that Plugin Compatibility Mode is disabled. You can enable it by opening the settings and open the "Under the Hood" tab and checking the checkbox there.
(Polarity 8 or newer) This is caused by a compatibility issue. Go to settings ---> under the hood and change the useragent text to "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; WOW64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/36.0.2272.104 Safari/537.36 Polarity/8.0.0" without quotes. Then click "Use Custom" and restart the browser.
(Polarity 8 or newer) This is caused by a compatibility issue. Go to settings ---> under the hood and change the useragent text to "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; WOW64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/36.0.2272.104 Safari/537.36 Polarity/8.0.0" without quotes. Then click "Use Custom" and restart the browser.
How do I turn on the web filter?
You can turn on Polarity's web filter in the Page Load/Performance section of the settings menu.
Why does Google Drive keep asking me to sign in?
This is due to a security issue where Web Security is currently disabled within Polarity. To fix this, simply go to the Settings tab --> Under the Hood and uncheck 'Disable Web Security'.
