Customize Firefox - Reviewed Extensions, Add-ons, and Settings for Firefox

When I install the Mozilla Firefox web browser, I like to install some additions and tweak some settings. This list was last updated when I upgraded to Firefox 2.0.

Firefox Extensions

• [update | install v0.5.3.043 here] Adblock - Blocks content by applying regular expressions or globs to the URL. Once Adblock is installed, I install my own set of filters for Adblock.
• [update | install v0.6.2 here ] Permit Cookies - Make all cookies expire when the browser exits and then have this plug-in allow you to easily selectively allow specific sites to set cookies for longer.
• [update | install v0.9.7 here ] Google Pagerank extension - Adds an indicator to the status bar that shows popularity of the current web page.
• [update | install v0.13.1 here] - LiveHTTPHeaders - Shows all the headers that are sent and received when you download a web page.
• [update | install v1.1.4 here] - Web Developer - I use web developer to add buttons to my toolbars that allow me to:
  • Disable/Enable referrers
  • Mark all links on a page as read
  • Clear the cache
  • Disable/Enable JavaScript
  • See JavaScript error status and open the JavaScript console
• [update | install v0.6.10 here] - User Agent Switcher - Allows you to easily control the user agent string that Firefox sends on every request.
• [update | install v0.9.5.2 here] ForecastFox - Weather forecasts in the toolbar or status bar.
• [update | install v1.8.0 here] - Statusbar Clock - Time applet for the status bar.

Firefox Themes

• [update | install v1.5.2 here] - Pinball - Nice looking chrome.

Firefox Preferences

Some of these can be set from the preferences dialog. I prefer to use about:config to set these easily.

Pref	Value	Description
accessibility.typeaheadfind	true	Enable "find as you type"
browser.download.dir	/tmp	Downloads go to the temporary directory
browser.download.manager.closeWhenDone	true	Close the download manager when the download is done.
browser.download.manager.retention	1	Clear list of downloads when firefox exits.
browser.download.useDownloadDir	false	Choose where downloads get put.
browser.link.open_external	3	Open external in a tab
browser.link.open_newwindow	3	Links that would open in new windows open in tabs instead.
browser.startup.homepage	about:blank	Set a blank page when you open the browser.
browser.tabs.closeButtons	3	Show a single close button to the right of the tabs rather than a close button on each tab. YOu can always middle click on an individual tab to close it.
browser.tabs.selectOwnerOnClose	false	Select tab to the right of the current tab when closing a tab.
browser.tabs.tabMinWidth	25	Let tabs be pretty small.
browser.tabs.warnOnClose	false	Don't warn when closing multiple tabs at once.
editor.singleLine.pasteNewlines	2	Replace new lines with spaces when pasting into single line text boxes
font.default.x-western	sans-serif	No serifs on most web fonts please.
font.name.monospace.x-western	Bitstream Vera Sans Mono	Use open source fonts.
font.name.sans-serif.x-western	Bitstream Vera Sans	Use open source fonts.
font.name.serif.x-western	Bitstream Vera Serif	Use open source fonts.
font.size.variable.x-western	12	Consistent 12 point font size for all fonts by default.
keyword.URL	http://www.google.com/search?num=30&q=	Typing words into the address bar should search Google.
middlemouse.contentLoadURL	false	Who really wants a URL on middle click? It usually means that I'm trying to paste and I missed the text box.
network.cookie.lifetimePolicy	2	Expire all cookies not in whitelist at end of session.

Firefox Files

I copy three files around between my profile directories. I keep these in sync between my home computer and my work computer. I also copy these over when I upgrade my browser:

• bookmarks.html - All bookmarks.
• key3.db - Private key needed to read signons.txt
• signons.txt - Stored user names and passwords.