The History Submenus extension for Firefox is here to make thumbing through the browser’s history easier.
Tag Archives | history
Add More Detailed Tooltips to Bookmarks
File this add-on under awesome. The Places’ Tooltip add-on for Firefox adds more detailed information about the bookmarks and links you have saved to your browser.
Unique Browser Backtracking
Need to quickly navigate back in the browser history? Now sure, you could click the actual backwards button, in the Firefox navigation toolbar. I have another alternative for you to try though. MileWideBack is an add-on for Firefox that will let you click on the left border of your Firefox window to go back to the previous web page you were viewing.
What does does this extension for Firefox allow you to do? Well, if you can navigate forward if you right-click with your mouse on the Firefox border too. If you are using tabbed browsing, middle-click on the left border to close the current tab, or rotate the mouse-wheel to cycle through your current tabs.
To learn more about how to tweak this add-on, check out this tutorial:
So if you are looking for way to make your browsing experience more user friendly or unique, MileWideBack is well worth your time. Give it a shot, and let me know if you find browsing this way is better or worse than your more traditional methods.
Clear Junk When Firefox Closes
Want to have Firefox just clear out the un-important stuff when you start browsing? Now, this is highly based in my opinion – and I do have to say that one man’s un-important data might be another man’s stuff he can’t miss.
I’ll share with you though how I have my browser setup to clear some un-important data each time I close the browser.
Mitch’s Clear History When Firefox Closes Settings
Go to Tools, and then click on Options.
Next, go to the Privacy tab and select “Use custom settings for history” from the drop down menu.
Put a check mark in the box for, “Clear history when Firefox closes” and then click on the button labeled, Settings.
Make sure you add a check mark for only the following boxes:
- Browsing History
- Download History
- Forms & Search History
- Cache
Then hit the button labeled, “OK” to continue. On the Options window, also click the button labeled, “OK” and you are all set.
This way I have Firefox setup to clear everything except for my saved passwords and login sessions that are enabled by cookies. Your setup might be different, and if it is – feel free to share in the comments.
Make Your Firefox History Like a Tree
Tree diagrams are awesome.
Firefox is even more awesome.
What happens when you mix together this much awesomeness?
You get the History Tree add-on for Firefox. What does it do to your browser? You can use it to find any page you have visited quickly and easily. It also shows your browsing history as a tree of tabs, with thumbnail screenshots of the web pages in every tab you have opened.
Usage Note: This is an experimental add-on, only for Windows at this time. So you will need to login to the Firefox Add-ons site to grab it or click the check mark box next to Let me install this experimental add-on.
This is a great Firefox add-on if you spend a lot of time navigating through the pages you just visited. Pickup the History Tree add-on for Firefox and check out a different view of the pages you have visited.
Grab Your Tab History
Want to get quick and easy access to the history for one specific tab? The Tab History Menu add-on for Firefox adds that ability to your Firefox browser.
By introducing this feature into the browser, for those minimal theme users, you can ditch the backward and forward browsing buttons in your navigation toolbar arrangement. Via the options, you can set it to display the current page title in history menu if the current tab hasn’t had history yet, and also disable the history popup when the the Shift, Ctrl, or Alt keys are being pressed.
With the Tab History Menu extension installed, you can cut down on your browser’s navigation clutter or get one more way to browse your history. It is a great addition to Firefox, no matter what way you use it.
Speed Up Firefox 3.5 Start up Times on Windows
Does it seem that Firefox 3.5 is a little sluggish when it starts on your Windows-powered machine?
Due to some unknown reason, Firefox on Windows pulls certain file locations for security reasons. In turn, having too many temporary, history or recent document files will slow down Firefox 3.5’s data generation process. A bug has been filed about this, but in the mean time – the best thing you can do to help fix it is to do a little house cleaning.
The fix here is to browse through and clear both Internet Explorer’s history and cache and Firefox’s history and cache as much as you can. You can find more help with this process at these resources:
I had not noticed this problem too much – then again, I have my Firefox temp files set to clear every time I close the browser and I hardly ever use Internet Explorer. How about you?
UPDATE:
This problem was fixed in Firefox 3.5.1. To check for updates, be sure to go to Help > “Check for Updates…” in Firefox. Thanks to the Firefox development team for the speedy update!
Add a Recently Closed Tab Button to Firefox
Sure, keyboard shortcuts are handy to have – but sometimes a button is even better. The Closed Tabs Button add-on for Firefox will give you an easy one button access to all of your recently closed tabs. If you are tired of going to History > Recently Closed Tabs just to undo a closed tab, then this extension is for you!
Not only does this add-on give you a fancy new button, it also gives you a new keyboard shortcut to access the most recently closed tab (CTRL+SHIFT+Z).
After installing the extension, to add it to your own browser interface you must add the button by going to View > Toolbars > Customize, then drag and drop the button anywhere on the toolbar.
The Closed Tab Button add-on for Firefox might be a little on the simple side, however when there is just a little problem to be fixed – nice to see an extension that gets the job done right without too much bloat.
Firefox Profile Files – What Do They Do?
When browsing through your Firefox profile folder, you might see a lot of odd files. Some might make sense, such as your searchplugins folder, however others might seem a little odd.
Here are some of the important files you might seen in your profile folder and what they are used for.
- search.sqlite and the searchplugins folder – The first file, search.sqlite stores the order that your search engines (for the search box) are sorted. Inside of the searchplugins folder you can find all the extra search engines you have installed.
- mimeTypes.rdf – your preferences with respect to what Firefox does when it comes across known file types.
- formhistory.sqlite - this is where information that you have searched for or entered into forms on web sites (think autocomplete) is stored.
- places.sqlite – this is the file that contains your bookmarks and previously visited web sites.
- cert8.db – all your security certificate settings and any SSL certificates you have imported are stored here.
- permissions.sqlite – the file here stores site specific preferences, such as if you allow it to install add-ons, show images, display popups or any special orders you have allowed for that domain.
- key3.db and signons3.txt – these are the files that store your password information you have saved.
- persdict.dat – this file will hold your words you have personally put into Firefox’s built in spellchecker.
- cookies.sqlite – your web site cookies are stored here.
Now, I do know there are more files – however, these are the files that are most important for you to know about, just in case something bad might happen. Hopefully, this additional documentation will come in handy when troubleshooting your own Firefox issues or problems.
How to Clear Private Data in Firefox
Worried somebody is going to snoop around on what you are doing from within Firefox? Have no fear! Although private browsing hasn’t made its way to Firefox yet, you can still clear your private data in Firefox very easily.
What is Firefox Saving About Me?
Now the first question you may have is what type of content is saved by Firefox?
- Browsing History: contains a log web locations you have previously visited.
- Download History: keeps a list of files you’ve downloaded.
- Saved Form and Search History: contains a list of phrases you have entered in text fields, such as web searches, and name and address fields.
- Cache: stores temporary files, such as web pages and other online media, that you have downloaded from the Internet.
- Cookies: stores files created by web sites, that store information on your computer, such as your preferences when visiting that site. (When a web site has a “remember this” check box, they are using a cookie.)
- Offline Website Data: information web sites have stored on your computer for use without an internet connection.
- Saved Passwords: contains a list of user names and passwords you have opted to have Firefox remember.
- Authenticated Sessions: keeps you logged into secure web sites, you have already used the password manager to log in to.
Firefox makes it very simple to clear a few or all of these settings. From the top of Firefox, in the menu bar – select Tools > Clear Private Data. (You can also pull this up by using the keyboard combination Ctrl + Shift + Del ) Check mark the data you want to clear, then click on , to clear the data; or click on , to close the Clear Private Data window, without clearing any private data.
How to Automate the Private Data Cleaning
I have my Firefox set to clear certain private data when I close Firefox. To do this, go to Tools > Options and then click on the Privacy Tab. From there, look at the settings listed under Private Data. you have the option to:
- Always clear my private data when I close Firefox
- Ask me before clearing private data
Clicking on the “Settings” will allow you to choose what is cleared when you exit Firefox.
