Bob's Recommended FireFox Addons
Slightly Wonky Robob
19 Jun 2011
It's been 3 years (*gasp*) since my other thread, so I guess it's about time to knock one out for FireFox 5, right? 
My Top 5 Recommended Addons
A-Z of Recommended Addons
Adblock Plus - Blocks all those annoying adverts and popups a lot websites tend to use.
Add to Search Bar - Some larger websites, for example google, allow you to add a search plugin, directly from your search bar menu. There are, however, a lot of websites that don't provide this functionality, some can be fond on Mycroft, but if that fails, you have to go through a tedious proccess of making a search plugin by hand. This plugin eliminates all the hassle; Simply right click in a search box, and click "Add to search bar...". This works for most GET or POST searches, including FS!
All-in-One Sidebar - Allows you to open several FireFox features (e.g. Bookmarks, History, Downloads, etc.) in a sidebar. Works especially well in widescreen.
Dictionaries - Since many people didn't know about these last time, here is a link to a list of available dictionaries (and language packs). Saves non-Americans using the silly American dictionary.
Download Statusbar - Adds a download statusbar to the bottom of the window (when downloading something), which allows you to monitor / manage downloads, with out having to flick between windows.
Firebug - A necessity for any web developer out there. Allows you to edit, debug and monitor HTML, CSS and Javascript.
FireGestures - Allows you to preform various (customisable) mouse gestures to execute various FireFox commands. Very useful when you're being lazy or your second hand is otherwise preoccupied.
Image Zoom - Allows you to resize and rotate images, even images embeded in a website. Uses very convenient mouse shortcuts.
Launchy - Allows you to open links / images in your chosen program. Supports many programs by default (on windows), unfortunately requires you edit an xml file to add new programs. Very useful for opening transparent images in PS without having to save (or getting an annoying black background).
NOTE: I haven't been able to set up any programs on a Mac, does anyone else have this problem? I'm not that familiar with Macs, and I haven't seen any Mac examples, so it could be just that I am using the wrong filepath.
Locationbar² - Linkifies the different directories in the locationbar. Many modern websites have a proper, URL-friendly, file structure that can be easily navigated by simple clicking on the locationbar. At the very least, this can be used for a convenient way of returning to the home page of a website.
Omnibar - Merges the location bar and search bar into one, convenient to use bar. Gives you a little bit more room on your toolbar, which can be very useful for smaller screens.
Personas Plus - Apart from ports of old FireFox themes, this is about as close as you will get to me recommending a theme for FireFox. This addon allows you to add a background image to your toolbars and change the font colour. You can get a bunch of pre-made personas from here.
Source Viewer Tab - Allows you to view page source in a tab, rather than a seperate window. I honestly don't know why this isn't a standard FireFox feature.
Stylish - Allows you to tweak or completely change the styles of websites and even FireFox itself. You can find a bunch of premade styles here or you can create your own (this does require knowledge of CSS).
Tab Counter - Adds a tab counter to your toolbar. Simple, yet effective.
Tab Mix Plus - Enhances FireFox's tab browsing capabilities. Some of my favourite features include: Setting the min and max width of a tab, Altering the default tab opening order and customising the different (mouse) shortcuts.
TabGroups Menu - Adds a menu and menu button that allows you to quickly navigate tab groups (i.e. Panorama).
URL Flipper - Allows you to quickly and easily increment or decrement a number in a URL. Very useful for quickly navigating pages or sequential images.
My FireFox
As an added bonus, here is a screenshot of my my FireFox:
From left-to-right, top-to-bottom we have:
I am using the Karriere.at Persona and Firefox 3 theme for Firefox 4+. I can't find the original website I found this out on, but to get personas to work with a custom theme you must do the following:
Don't forget to show off your FireFox and give a brief description!
I'll update the thread as and when I find interesting plugins.
Edited by Bob, 22 June 2011 - 19:22.
My Top 5 Recommended Addons
- Tab Mix Plus
- Locationbar²
- Download Statusbar
- Adblock Plus
- Firebug
A-Z of Recommended Addons
Adblock Plus - Blocks all those annoying adverts and popups a lot websites tend to use.
Add to Search Bar - Some larger websites, for example google, allow you to add a search plugin, directly from your search bar menu. There are, however, a lot of websites that don't provide this functionality, some can be fond on Mycroft, but if that fails, you have to go through a tedious proccess of making a search plugin by hand. This plugin eliminates all the hassle; Simply right click in a search box, and click "Add to search bar...". This works for most GET or POST searches, including FS!
All-in-One Sidebar - Allows you to open several FireFox features (e.g. Bookmarks, History, Downloads, etc.) in a sidebar. Works especially well in widescreen.
Dictionaries - Since many people didn't know about these last time, here is a link to a list of available dictionaries (and language packs). Saves non-Americans using the silly American dictionary.
Download Statusbar - Adds a download statusbar to the bottom of the window (when downloading something), which allows you to monitor / manage downloads, with out having to flick between windows.
Firebug - A necessity for any web developer out there. Allows you to edit, debug and monitor HTML, CSS and Javascript.
FireGestures - Allows you to preform various (customisable) mouse gestures to execute various FireFox commands. Very useful when you're being lazy or your second hand is otherwise preoccupied.
Image Zoom - Allows you to resize and rotate images, even images embeded in a website. Uses very convenient mouse shortcuts.
Launchy - Allows you to open links / images in your chosen program. Supports many programs by default (on windows), unfortunately requires you edit an xml file to add new programs. Very useful for opening transparent images in PS without having to save (or getting an annoying black background).
NOTE: I haven't been able to set up any programs on a Mac, does anyone else have this problem? I'm not that familiar with Macs, and I haven't seen any Mac examples, so it could be just that I am using the wrong filepath.
Locationbar² - Linkifies the different directories in the locationbar. Many modern websites have a proper, URL-friendly, file structure that can be easily navigated by simple clicking on the locationbar. At the very least, this can be used for a convenient way of returning to the home page of a website.
Omnibar - Merges the location bar and search bar into one, convenient to use bar. Gives you a little bit more room on your toolbar, which can be very useful for smaller screens.
Personas Plus - Apart from ports of old FireFox themes, this is about as close as you will get to me recommending a theme for FireFox. This addon allows you to add a background image to your toolbars and change the font colour. You can get a bunch of pre-made personas from here.
Source Viewer Tab - Allows you to view page source in a tab, rather than a seperate window. I honestly don't know why this isn't a standard FireFox feature.
Stylish - Allows you to tweak or completely change the styles of websites and even FireFox itself. You can find a bunch of premade styles here or you can create your own (this does require knowledge of CSS).
Tab Counter - Adds a tab counter to your toolbar. Simple, yet effective.
Tab Mix Plus - Enhances FireFox's tab browsing capabilities. Some of my favourite features include: Setting the min and max width of a tab, Altering the default tab opening order and customising the different (mouse) shortcuts.
TabGroups Menu - Adds a menu and menu button that allows you to quickly navigate tab groups (i.e. Panorama).
URL Flipper - Allows you to quickly and easily increment or decrement a number in a URL. Very useful for quickly navigating pages or sequential images.
My FireFox
As an added bonus, here is a screenshot of my my FireFox:
From left-to-right, top-to-bottom we have:
- A small menu button base on (a slightly edited version of) a style for Stylish.
- The tab bar, which has been tweaked with Tab Mix Plus.
- Closed tabs button also from Tab Mix Plus (IIRC).
- Personas button, which has been enhanced into a menu button by TabGroups Menu.
- Tab Counter
- Standard forward/back buttons.
- An enhanced location bar (Linkified and styled with Locationbar² and merged with the search bar using Omnibar).
- URL Flipper buttons
- Bookmarks
- Custom photobucket button, which when clicked, brings up a menu of all my different galleries.
- Custom smiley plugin button, which open up a smiley sidebar which integrates with All-in-One Sidebar.
- Bookmarks button (opens in All-in-One Sidebar).
- All-in-One Sidebar menu button.
I am using the Karriere.at Persona and Firefox 3 theme for Firefox 4+. I can't find the original website I found this out on, but to get personas to work with a custom theme you must do the following:
- Enable the persona you want (restart if prompted).
- Enable the theme you want and restart.
- Set "lightweightThemes.isThemeSelected" to true in your about:config and restart.
Don't forget to show off your FireFox and give a brief description!
I'll update the thread as and when I find interesting plugins.
Edited by Bob, 22 June 2011 - 19:22.
Destiny
19 Jun 2011
Quote
Saves non-amiercans using the silly American dictionary. .png
.pnglol
Hm...can't think up of any good plugins besides the ones Bob recommended. Download Statusbar is a must get, like Bob recommended.
CJ
19 Jun 2011
I already use most of these addons, and they indeed very recommendable for everyone
Just thought I'd add Easy Youtube Video Downloader as a personal suggestion, it enables you to instantly download any video from youtube at any of the available formats without conversion or anything, might be useful for some people.
Also, if you have severals PCs and need to synchronise bookmarks, passwords and/or browsing history between them, I suggest using Xmarks, it also supports several browser which is a nifty feature
Just thought I'd add Easy Youtube Video Downloader as a personal suggestion, it enables you to instantly download any video from youtube at any of the available formats without conversion or anything, might be useful for some people.
Also, if you have severals PCs and need to synchronise bookmarks, passwords and/or browsing history between them, I suggest using Xmarks, it also supports several browser which is a nifty feature
Slightly Wonky Robob
19 Jun 2011
I personally use the Realplayer plugin that comes with Realplayer (ultimately the only reason I bother getting realplayer). It allows you to download media from any website, rather than just popular video / music sharing websites. It also comes with plugins for Chrome and IE as well. It doesn't convert videos automatically though, but that's what I have SUPER for.
I think I used Xmarks to transfer settings from one computer to another, many years ago, it did it's job well. Most people would probably be satisfied with the built-in FireFox 4 Sync, however. Although it does lack inter-browser functionality, most people only use one browser anyway.
Edited by Bob, 19 June 2011 - 19:17.
I think I used Xmarks to transfer settings from one computer to another, many years ago, it did it's job well. Most people would probably be satisfied with the built-in FireFox 4 Sync, however. Although it does lack inter-browser functionality, most people only use one browser anyway.
Edited by Bob, 19 June 2011 - 19:17.
CJ
19 Jun 2011
Bob, on 19 Jun 2011, 20:17, said:
I personally use the Realplayer plugin that comes with Realplayer (ultimately the only reason I bother getting realplayer). It allows you to download media from any website, rather than just popular video / music sharing websites. It also comes with plugins for Chrome and IE as well. It doesn't convert videos automatically though, but that's what I have SUPER for.
I wouldn't reinstall that RMP thingy for anything in the world
I'm using FlashGot to integrate my download manager in Firefox, and it just happens to enable me to grab any media from any website too, including youtube. But the youtube downloader I just like because of how it blends with their site
Slightly Wonky Robob
19 Jun 2011
Seems like a neat little plugin.
I can almost use it in the place of a custom theme, since the main reason I am using a FF3 theme is to remove those awful glossy buttons that come with FF4. Unfortunately, Stratiform doesn't render menu buttons correctly.
I can almost use it in the place of a custom theme, since the main reason I am using a FF3 theme is to remove those awful glossy buttons that come with FF4. Unfortunately, Stratiform doesn't render menu buttons correctly.
CJ
20 Jun 2011
ΓΛPTΘΓ, on 20 Jun 2011, 10:44, said:
Bob, FF5.0 just came out... D;
Well that's an unstable beta, at that rate you could also consider FF6 as released, since it is in alpha...
ΓΛPTΘΓ
20 Jun 2011
CJ, on 20 Jun 2011, 17:39, said:
ΓΛPTΘΓ, on 20 Jun 2011, 10:44, said:
Bob, FF5.0 just came out... D;
Well that's an unstable beta, at that rate you could also consider FF6 as released, since it is in alpha...
Lol, unstable beta... Its the final release, official release date is tomorrow, but you can get in through the FTP to download the client early.
CJ
20 Jun 2011
ΓΛPTΘΓ, on 20 Jun 2011, 18:13, said:
CJ, on 20 Jun 2011, 17:39, said:
ΓΛPTΘΓ, on 20 Jun 2011, 10:44, said:
Bob, FF5.0 just came out... D;
Well that's an unstable beta, at that rate you could also consider FF6 as released, since it is in alpha...
Lol, unstable beta... Its the final release, official release date is tomorrow, but you can get in through the FTP to download the client early.
Firefox 4 was crap until 4.01, yet it technically not in beta anymore. Just cause they say it's not beta anymore doesn't mean it isn't bug ridden
Slightly Wonky Robob
20 Jun 2011
ΓΛPTΘΓ, on 20 Jun 2011, 18:13, said:
CJ, on 20 Jun 2011, 17:39, said:
ΓΛPTΘΓ, on 20 Jun 2011, 10:44, said:
Bob, FF5.0 just came out... D;
Well that's an unstable beta, at that rate you could also consider FF6 as released, since it is in alpha...
Lol, unstable beta... Its the final release, official release date is tomorrow, but you can get in through the FTP to download the client early.
*gasp* I'll have to change the thread title? |:
It's not like it's a major release, most plugins will be compatible, if they aren't already. |:
Camille
03 Jul 2011
the latest firefox has serious issues for me 
constantly hanging and the likes. can't be conflicting add-ons since i only use ad-block and dictionary.
constantly hanging and the likes. can't be conflicting add-ons since i only use ad-block and dictionary.
Slightly Wonky Robob
03 Jul 2011
Have you tried a fresh install?
Did you have these problems with FireFox 4? It's not like there is much difference between the two, so there's shouldn't be anything causing problems. D:
Did you have these problems with FireFox 4? It's not like there is much difference between the two, so there's shouldn't be anything causing problems. D:
