Tag Archives | Tabbed Browsing

Cluster Tabs in Firefox

Jun/13 in Add-ons Reviews, Tabbed Browsing

Since the release of collections of add-ons for Firefox, it seems like everywhere I turn I see somebody else offering ways to bring things together (although I am sure Opera would say they did it first).  With that in mind though, I would like to introduce you to Cluster Tabs.  This add-on for Firefox will let you easily cluster web pages together for easier sharing and saving.

Cluster Tabs Example in Firefox

Creating your own tab cluster is easy to do.  Once you have installed the extension for Firefox, all you need to do is:

  • Use the Cluster Tab button to create one from the current active tab
  • Click the "+" icon on any tab and select ‘create cluster from tab’
  • Alternatively simply drag one tab into another

Be sure to check out the ClusterURL.com about page to find out the other two ways you can cluster your tabs together.  Want to see what a cluster looks like?

Overall, very excited to see what all they do with this in the future.  It is a very interesting idea – and the human aspect of it is something I really think has a good chance of taking off. You can pickup the Cluster Tabs add-on yourself from the Mozilla Add-ons site or get more information about the project from ClusterURL.com.

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Get a Chrome-ish Tab Page with JumpStart

Jun/08 in Add-ons Reviews, Tabbed Browsing

JumpStart for Firefox

You can always tell when a new way of navigating through pages becomes popular, because you end up with three or four extensions for Firefox that do the same thing.  With that said, I have one more add-on for Firefox that tries to copy what Google Chrome does with its page you get on a new tab or browser window.  New Tab JumpStart does a great job at bringing Chrome’s thumbnailed pages you have seen before.  One nice feature that I haven’t seen others follow up on is the ability to permanently “pin”  page so it never goes away.  You can pickup New Tab JumpStart from the Mozilla Add-ons web site.

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Easier Multiple Tab Handling

May/27 in Add-ons Reviews, Tabbed Browsing

There are many extensions out there that allow you to tweak your tabs, however not many will let you close multiple tabs all in one swift movement.  The Multiple Tab Handler extension for Firefox does that and a lot more.

Select Multiple Tabs!

The idea here is simple, to provide the user with any easier way to handle multiple tabs at once.  This is so you can highlight more than one tab, then reload them, close them and so on.  Once the Multiple Tab Handler add-on is installed, when you press the mouse button and drag over tabs (you should wait a while to start drag after you press down the button!), they are selected. After you release the button, the popup to choose command will be shown.  

Multiple tabs can be dragged and moved if you select multiple tabs by Ctrl-click or Shift-click before you start to drag.  Once you have selected the tabs you want to work with, here are some of the actions you can take:

  • Close selected tabs
  • Close not-selected tabs
  • Reload selected tabs
  • Duplicate selected tabs
  • Move selected tabs to a new window
  • Bookmark selected tabs

For those of us who move backwards and forwards through multiple tabs all day long, this extension for Firefox is well worth downloading.  You can pickup the Multiple Tab Handler add-on for Firefox on the Firefox Add-ons site.

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Multi-Process Support Coming to Firefox?

May/15 in Firefox News

Some have discovered a new project from the Mozilla Wiki documenting the first steps and timeline for Firefox to become a multi-process supporting browser.  The project in question, simply known as Content Processes looks to separate processes to display the browser UI and web content.

Here are the current initial goals:

  • Provide better application UI responsiveness
  • Improve stability from slow rendering or crashes caused by content
  • Improve performance, especially on multi-core machines

Now why do this, and what does it even mean?  Well, both Google Chrome and Internet Explorer 8 have moved in this direction for increased stability.  For an example, with multi-process support, a single tab crash wouldn’t take down your entire Firefox browsing experience.  It would only effect that one tab, because it would be seen as its own process. 

It might be a year or more before we see this in action via our own Firefox installations, however it is nice to see that Firefox is always looking to expand and check into other areas of stabilization to see if we can all benefit from it.

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Tab Mix Plus

Mar/20 in Add-ons Reviews, Tabbed Browsing

Tab Mix Plus It has been a long time since I have taken a look at Tab Mix Plus.  I know a lot of people who use it, and it continues to be one of the most popular Firefox add-ons out there.  So the first question to ask is, what makes it so darn special?

Well, the main goal of Tab Mix Plus is to give Firefox’s tabs more capabilities.  You can quickly duplicate tabs, control the tab focus, you get all kinds of tab clicking options, undo tabs and windows, and that is just scratching the surface. 

It also includes a full-featured session manager with crash recovery that can save and restore combinations of opened tabs and windows.

Tab Mix Plus Options

Need help using one Tab Mix Plus’s features?  They have a handy set of user forums here:

All in all, Tab Mix Plus is still a great addition to the Firefox browser if you need to do “more” with your tabs than the default Firefox install or any other add-ons give you. 

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Add a Recently Closed Tab Button to Firefox

Mar/04 in Add-ons Reviews

Recently Closed Tab ButtonSure, 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.

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Store 50 Tabs in Multiple Extra Rows

Jan/08 in Add-ons Reviews, Tabbed Browsing

1230289252 Are you running short on room for your multiple tabs?  TooManyTabs is an add-on for Firefox that will give you the ability to store up to 50 tabs in multiple extra rows with a simple click.

In turn, with this extra organization, you have better visualization and prioritizing for the pages you are navigating through.  Here are a few more details from the TooManyTabs developer:

Instead of allowing idle tabs to waste your PC’s memory, you can now put your tabs on the extra rows, remove them from the memory, and restore* them in your browser when you need them again. The extra rows also allow you to better prioritize and visualize your tabs. Finding the right tab have never been easier! It is now guilt-free to be a tab-aholic!

Better Tab Management

Some more features of this extension include:

  • Restore up to 20 recently closed tabs
  • Marking tabs in different colors
  • Options to customize number of rows
  • Option to open tabs adjacent to your selected tab
  • Open all tabs of the same row in TooManyTabs

As an extra bonus, you can also pin your most visited tabs onto the TooManyTabs and access them anytime.  Also, pinned tabs will stay on the TooManyTabs row until you unpin them.  To learn more about the development of this Firefox extension be sure to check out their official web site, and if you are ready to give it a shot – you can pick it up on the Firefox Add-ons site.

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Do We Really Need an Add-on for That?

Dec/08 in Add-ons Reviews

obvious-addon

Pardon me as I put on my fake surprise pants on… wait a minute, you mean clicking on Firefox’s close button actually closes the tab your on?  After you have looked at as many Firefox add-ons as I have some of them really catch you off guard. Yes, Captain Obvious – a fast way to close your tabs is to hit Firefox’s close button!

Reading a ‘bit more about the extension for Firefox, it starts to make a ‘bit more sense:

Do you find it annoying to have to click on the small cross to close a tab ? Now with Fast Close Tabs you can just click on the upper right cross from the window to close the active tab. No more need to precisely point at the tab close cross.

Thank you Fast Close Tabs for allowing me to start my Monday off with a giggle.

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Better Tab Switching with FoxTab

Sep/16 in Add-ons Reviews, Tabbed Browsing

foxtab3 Want a new way to quickly and elegantly switch between tabs in Firefox?  FoxTab is a new experimental add-on for Firefox, and it makes switching between tabs a very unique experience. 

You can view your tabs in a number of different ways:

  • Wall – like a TV store. select the desired tab (“TV screen”) from a wall.
  • Grid – the tabs are aligned on a grid.
  • Row – the tabs arranged in a row.
  • Cycle – rotate between tabs.

Activating it is easy.  Either hit the toolbar button for it, or hold the Ctrl key down and then hit the Tab key.  If you want to keep it front and center, just hit Ctrl + Q.  From the options, you can also set the size of the tab switcher (just in case you don’t like it being full screen). 

foxtab foxtab2

All in all it provides a new visual method for quick tab switching that is both useful and beautiful at the same time.  Currently FoxTab is only for Windows users, and is an experimental add-on.  If you wish to download it, and try it out – you can do so at the Firefox Add-ons site.

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Tab Switching Gets Prettier

Jul/20 in Firefox News

New Tab Switching in Firefox 3.1

According to Mozilla Links, Firefox 3.1 will be getting the rumored update to tab switching that got a little buzz after Firefox 3 was launched. 

As said, there’s also a new behavior for Ctrl + Tab. Instead of just moving left to the next opened tab, now it switches between the current and the last viewed tab and I have to say I’m already loving it. I usually have to check several other pages while posting and to ease the tab switching I moved the reference tab next to the post edit tab to have it a couple of keystrokes away. There’s no need now: I just took the long way to the reference tab once and then it’s already at reach.

Want this feature now?  Check out the Ctrl-Tab add-on for Firefox.

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