best guide to add-ons, themes and tips for Firefox
New to Firefox 3.6, when you are on a page, and you want to open a link in a new tab – rather than opening the link in the far right of the tab bar, Firefox will now open the link right next to the tab you are in. Now, while this might be convenient for some, it is a feature I don’t really need. So here is how you can disable the new “Insert Related Tab After Current” tweak in Firefox 3.6.
With Firefox 3.6’s release, we can all do a quick about:config tweak that will enable the prettier tab switching. By default, when you hit the keyboard keys Ctrl + Tab you just rotate through your tabs. By making some quick adjustments though, you can pull up the new tab switcher that you see in the picture above.
In an effort to simplify the Firefox interface, did you know you can make a few changes in the about:config page to move the close tab buttons around? I’ll show you how to move it to the far right of the browser, in just six easy steps.
Before the tweak (notice the close tab button is on the tab itself)
After the tweak (notice the close tab button has been moved to the far right)
Now what is the secret? You just need to do a little editing in your about:config page.
When multiple tabs in your browser are not enough, try splitting your browsing area instead. Split Browser, an add-on for Firefox, divides up the context area of the browser in many ways. Want an over the top example?
That might be a little extreme, but it does help to point out that this extension will let you split your browser up however you see fit to do so.
If you do a lot of work online, being able to take notes as you work is definitely a good thing. Rather than scribbling on random sheets of paper or bouncing between Firefox and a notepad-like program, keep it all in Firefox with QuickFox Notes. This multi-tab note taking extension is awesome.
Some of the features include:
Another nice feature is that it saves your notes in the bookmark files, so your notes will always be in sync, if you have installed one of the bookmark syncing add-ons like Xmarks or Mozilla Weave. If you are in need of a handy note taking application from within Firefox, give QuickFox Notes a shot.
One of the cool Google Chrome browser features is the ability to pin tabs in the browser by default.
Pinned tabs are shifted to the left side of the tab bar where their tab will be changed to just show the favicon for the web site in question. Thanks to the Pin Tab add-on for Firefox, you can bring that functionality to your favorite browser.
Another neat feature of this Firefox add-on is when you type something in the address bar, or select a result in the address bar while a pinned tab is selected, the address you selected will open in a new tab – leaving your pinned tab alone.
How do you pin a tab?
You can also pin a tab by dragging it to the left of already pinned tabs.
Love it, or hate it – Firefox got one more addition to it’s browser that seems to have gotten a mixed reaction from the fans. The open new tab button rests at the end of your tab bar in Firefox 3.5 giving you an easier user interface to open a new tab.
Clicking on the little “+” icon at the end of your open tabs, opens a new tab. Seems simple enough, and I do like the fact that it gives one more clean way for new users to instantly figure it out.
How do I remove the new tab button? Well, if you are handy with editing your userChrome.css file – this should be an easy customization to put in place. Just add this line:
.tabs-newtab-button {display: none;}
To edit your userChrome.css file, you must first locate it inside of your profile folder. Depending on your operating system of choice, that location might differ. Check out “where is my Firefox profile folder?” for more information.
So how do you feel, love the new icon or is it in your way?
There are a number of different ways you can reload or refresh a window in Firefox. For such a simple task, you would have never imagined that people have put so much work into making it easier. The truth of the matter though is they have, and I want to share with you all the tab reloading secrets that I know of (and hopefully you can share your own favorites with me).
Here are the add-ons to help you with your page loading and re-loading.
Now, I know a lot of people will say, “How hard is it to hit the refresh button in your browser?” So with that in mind, here are a few additional ways to reload that web page in question.
Reloading Keyboard Shortcuts
Windows/Linux: F5 or Ctrl + R = Reload a Page
Apple: F5 or Cmd + R = Reload a Page
Extra Tip: Another way to reload that tab you are on is to left-click on the tab, drag it into the browser window and the release. That will give it a quick refresh too.
How do you reload your browser window?
There are many ways you can customize Firefox to make it fit your personal needs. Don’t like the fact that the tabs are just a little rounded, and wish they were more rounded? No need to try to find a theme that fits your needs. I have for you, four ways to round off your tabs in Firefox using the Stylish extension. You can round off all tabs, one tab corner, just the selected tab or forget about all this rounded stuff and make them all square.
Want to make all of your tabs more rounded inside of Firefox? This user style will help you get that look and feel inside of Firefox.
If you are not that crazy about the idea of having too many rounded edges, you could just round the upper-right of the tab, if needed.
Now, if you have absolute distain for the idea of rounding off your tabs, I have a user style for you too. With this one, you can make the tabs less rounded, and more square.
Last, but not least, you could also decide to round off only the selected tab. The reason for doing this is to help visually make it different from the others so that you can pick it out from the crowd of tabs in your tab toolbar.
You now have more than a few ways to make your tabs stand out from the rest of the crowd.
I always love to look at any kind of stats, because they interest me. I like to know what people are doing, how many people are doing it and where they are coming from. With that said, there is a new Firefox add-on that will let you keep tabs on your tabs. All hail the New Tab King!
The New Tab King extension for Firefox gives you one spot to see all the web sites you use the most. Instead of getting a blank page when you open a new tab, the New Tab King add-on delivers to you the web sites and bookmarks you have visited the most in the past 30 days. Each site is displayed with its description text and the web site’s favicon.
This add-on for Firefox could definitely become a fan favorite over time. So if you want to replace your new tab screen with something a little more useful, give New Tab King a shot.
Bonus – check out our second look at New Tab King, and their new features!
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Mitch Keeler is nothing more than your average Joe trying to leave his mark on the world though both his professional work and his online projects, articles, podcasts and more.
