Essential Firefox Extensions: Get More Out of Your Browser
Firefox is a very well designed and powerful web browser, and I have absolutely no problem suggesting it over any other browser. It’s fast, renders things properly and actually compliant with existing standards (*cough*IE*cough*), but I do feel it is missing a few key things. Lucky for me, there are other people who feel the same way!
Obviously you can’t expect the designers of a software package to think of every little detail that a user might want, so this is why it’s great that the Mozilla developers (Firefox is based off Mozilla) implemented a the ability for end-users to create “Extensions,” which are little pieces of XUL (which stands for XML User-interface Language, and is pronounced “zool,” rhymes with fool) code that allow you to give Firefox added features and usability.
Recently I installed the Google Toolbar for Firefox, and I am very pleased with what it offers, but I still feel Firefox is lacking a few options that I am used to from other browsers. Just small options like “Copy Image” that Opera offers, or having the Stop and Reload buttons combined into the same button, as Internet Explorer has. Those are very small details, but they’re definitely things that I miss.
So, after searching the web for a while, I have compiled a list of Essential Firefox Extensions! Please, read on. Most text for the description is copied verbatim from Extention Room because, well, what’s the point in retyping it?
Like IE:
Stop/Reload
Provides a space-saving combined Stop and Reload toolbar button. (As seen in the IE, Opera and Safari web browsers.) This will only work nicely with the default theme, or themes designed to support the extension.
Show Image
This extension allows individual broken images to be reloaded without having to reload the entire page.
Copy Image
Adds “Copy Image to Clipboard” to the context menu, below “Copy Image Location”.
Like Opera:
Focus Last Tab Selected
Brings focus to the last selected tab when closing the active tab. If you’re used to you’re used to Opera, then this is a definate must for you!
Session Saver .2
Also like Opera, remembers loaded tabs and their history items when Firefox is manually closed, then restores the tabs and history items when next started. The saved session can also be manually restored or updated at any later time via the items in the File menu.
CTC
Adds “Close Tab” to the context menu for web pages, immediately below “Stop”. The item is hidden when only one tab is open.
Paste And Go
Lets you paste an URL from the clipboard into the address bar and load it as a single step, either via the address bar’s context menu or by pressing Ctrl-Shift-V. Additionally, it provides a Paste and Search command for Mozilla Firefox’s search bar (via context menu or Ctrl-Shift-S).
Email:
X
“x provides a toolbar button (which you can place wherever you wish via View > Toolbars > Customize… - it’s labelled “Paranoia”) from which you can quickly clear privacy sensitive data, specifically: history, form info, saved passwords, download history, cookies, and the cache (both disk and in memory cache). Clicking the button gives you a dialogue window from which you can select which data you want clearing.”
GMailCompose
Adds a context menu link for opening a GMail compose window when clicking on mailto: links and text email addresses. Based on G-Mailto specs.
WebMailCompose
Adds webmail functionality to all email options, makes mailto: links load your webmail’s compose page, and adds a Compose link to the context menu. Currently supports GMail, Yahoo, Hotmail, Netscape, OperaMail, Mail.com, Horde, Squirrel, and one user-customizable entry.
Web Development:
Measure It
Adds a ruler to Firefox so that you can measure elements of the current webpage.
Small Screen Rendering
Disruptive Innovations is happy to offer you this extension to the Mozilla Application Suite allowing to check if a web site renders well on a cellphone’s screen. This addon installs a new menu entry “Small Screen Rendering” in the View menu. Selecting it toggles on/off the Small Screen Rendering mode. This does not work with pages using framesets.
Misc Extensions:
About Site
Gives you one-click access to various services that provide information about the web page you are viewing. The menu includes: Alexa traffic detail and related sites; Google related pages, cache and link information; Kinja site readers; Netcraft reports; Open Directory site listing; Popdex search for citations
Technorati link cosmos; Wayback Machine archive; Whois query; Yahoo linkdomain.
Add Bookmark Here
This extension adds an option to the bookmarks menu and/or the context menu for bookmark folders that enables you to add a bookmark to that folder. This feature is present in Opera where it is called “Add page here…” and I think it’s a very convenient way to keep the bookmarks sorted.
A short and good tutorial.
Thanks.