Title: Setting HEADER_IMAGE to empty string causes Firefox to crash Last modified: August 19, 2016 --- # Setting HEADER_IMAGE to empty string causes Firefox to crash * [esmi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/esmi/) * (@esmi) * [15 years, 10 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/setting-header_image-to-emoty-string-causes-firefox-to-crash/) * Just started upgrading some themes ready for 3.0 when I came across a bizarre issue. The theme I’m currently working on doesn’t have a default header image but offers the standard custom header option so that users can upload their own. * In 2.9.2, this is achieved using `define('HEADER_IMAGE', '')`. Using the same approach in 3.0 causes my copy of Firefox (XP/3.6.3) to hang on the Appearance/ Header page initially without fully completing the page download. Returning to that page after accessing another Admin option is impossible and Firefox has to be killed via a commandline switch. * I can replicate the issue in TwentyTen by changing: * `define( 'HEADER_IMAGE', '%s/images/headers/path.jpg' );` * to: * `define( 'HEADER_IMAGE', '' );` * and also by simply commenting out the HEADER_IMAGE define. IE8 manages to remain stable but does display a js error on the second load of Appearance/Header. * Can anyone else replicate this behaviour? Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total) * Moderator [Ipstenu (Mika Epstein)](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ipstenu/) * (@ipstenu) * 🏳️‍🌈 Advisor and Activist * [15 years, 10 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/setting-header_image-to-emoty-string-causes-firefox-to-crash/#post-1528784) * Huh. It works on my site (which is using a child theme of twentyten), but I have a custom header. Once I killed that, I could repro this. * I almost want to say that a blank header_image is a strange call to make, and maybe making a default ‘CHANGE ME!’ would be better? I’m not sure… Definitely trac it though 🙂 * Thread Starter [esmi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/esmi/) * (@esmi) * [15 years, 10 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/setting-header_image-to-emoty-string-causes-firefox-to-crash/#post-1528805) * Thanks for the feedback. Now it’s been confirmed elsewhere I will Trac it. No sign of anything similar on Trac thus far. * I agree – a blank header is a little strange but I use this theme as a sort of minimalistic framework (the child themes contain all of the graphics). 🙂 * Thread Starter [esmi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/esmi/) * (@esmi) * [15 years, 10 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/setting-header_image-to-emoty-string-causes-firefox-to-crash/#post-1528808) * [http://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/13795](http://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/13795) * Moderator [Ipstenu (Mika Epstein)](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ipstenu/) * (@ipstenu) * 🏳️‍🌈 Advisor and Activist * [15 years, 10 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/setting-header_image-to-emoty-string-causes-firefox-to-crash/#post-1528842) * A workaround for now would be, obviously, a placeholder image 🙂 One would assume the parent framework could, and would, work on it’s own without the babies, and no header image where there’s a place for it would be … mmm … weird? I dunno, I can easily argue this both ways! * Thread Starter [esmi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/esmi/) * (@esmi) * [15 years, 10 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/setting-header_image-to-emoty-string-causes-firefox-to-crash/#post-1528846) * Yep – adding a placeholder image is the route I’m taking for the time being. 🙂 That said, there are (I’m sure) plenty of good pre-existing themes that don’t have a default image – thus allowing the user to either stick to a text header or upload their own images/logo. * And what if you want to create a minimalistic child theme without a graphical header? I’ve not tried it yet but I’m assuming any attempt to set HEADER_IMAGE to a null string in a child theme could well trigger the same bug. * Moderator [Ipstenu (Mika Epstein)](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ipstenu/) * (@ipstenu) * 🏳️‍🌈 Advisor and Activist * [15 years, 10 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/setting-header_image-to-emoty-string-causes-firefox-to-crash/#post-1528850) * In theory, if you don’t want a header, you wouldn’t bother defining HEADER_IMAGE, would you? * Thread Starter [esmi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/esmi/) * (@esmi) * [15 years, 10 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/setting-header_image-to-emoty-string-causes-firefox-to-crash/#post-1528888) * As a theme developer, I can’t make that assumption. Ideally a theme should be able to cater for both groups – those that want an image and those that don’t. Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total) The topic ‘Setting HEADER_IMAGE to empty string causes Firefox to crash’ is closed to new replies. ## Tags * [header_image](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/header_image/) * In: [Alpha/Beta/RC](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/alphabeta/) * 7 replies * 2 participants * Last reply from: [esmi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/esmi/) * Last activity: [15 years, 10 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/setting-header_image-to-emoty-string-causes-firefox-to-crash/#post-1528888) * Status: not resolved ## Topics ### Topics with no replies ### Non-support topics ### Resolved topics ### Unresolved topics ### All topics