FAUNStudios.com

Pimp your Firefox!

The Mozilla Foundation announced the release of Mozilla Firefox 1.5 on the first of December to coincide with the one hundred millionth [100,000,000^th] download of their award-winning Internet browser. I missed the boat somewhat (I believe I may have been around the 116,549,119 download mark…) having only recently regained Internet access after a rather unfortunate lightening strike which neutralised my modem, router and all computers connected to it - but that’s neither here nor there.

What I’m really writing for is to teach you how to pimp your Firefox! (Aren’t I kind?)

The first pimping feature I’ll introduce you to is a little-known one that is native to Firefox.

Revolutionise the Way You Search!

You probably think that the Firefox integrated search is pretty nifty, and it is, but there are better ways to find what your looking for…
Inbuilt in Firefox is something called ‘Keyword Searches’ which allows you to search directly from your address bar; any search engine, any time.

Here’s how it works.
Whenever you come across a search form you’d like to use in the future, say the search bar on the top-left of this page for example, you simply right-click it [ctrl+click for Macs] and hit ‘Add a Keyword for this search…’

In the window that comes up, just type in a name (eg. ‘FAUNStudios Blog’); a keyword (eg. ‘fs’) and allocate where the search bookmark should go (I recommend putting them in ‘Search and Directory or somewhere similar otherwise they make take over your bookmarks if you’re a search-junkie like myself.)

Now whenever you want to find an entertaining and enlightening document (*cough*) all you need to do is type ‘fs’ followed by your search terms into your address bar. For example if you wanted to search for articles that mention photoshop you’d just open up a new tab and type in “fs photoshop” [try it!]

With a good repertoire of keyword search bookmarks, you can do away with the integrated search bar forever [right/ctrl click blank space in the Firefox toolbar > Customise, drag off] and enjoy ultra-flexible keyword searched for all of your favourite sites*!

*Note: Searching isn’t the only thing this function is good for. You can use it to access almost any web form, giving you instant access to services like TinyURL for example.

Get info about Keyword Searches.

Must-Have Extensions

One of Firefox’s greatest strengths is its extensibility, but finding the right extensions for you can be a bit of an effort; particularly if you don’t know what’s out there! So here’s a brief run-down on the extensions that make my life just that little bit easier…

Have you ever seen a GeoCities page without tacky, annoying ads? It’s such a novel concept, and possible with this first and probably most important extension; AdBlock Plus.

AdBlock Filterset.G Updater

The natural companion to AdBlock Plus, Filterset.G Updater is a quiet little extension that runs in the background to keep your AdBlock block-list up to date with the latest ad-busting entries. In effect, your block-list will be kept primed and updated by the friendly people at pierceive.com so that no new nasties are allowed in.

HomePage | Install

PDF Download

You click on an innocent-looking link… instantly your computer slows to a crawl as you realise to your dismay that it was linking to a PDF document. When Adobe Acrobat Reader finally loads, tries to update itself then grudgingly gives your browser and half your CPU back to you, you realise the enormous PDF you just downloaded wasn’t what you were looking for after all. Not any more.

This nifty extension has saved my sanity countless times; particularly when doing research. It is a very simple one; all it does it check if what you’re clicking is a PDF, then it shows you the size of the document and gives you four options: Download It (as a file), Open it in a new tab (as would normally happen automatically), Open in a new tab as HTML (very handy for a quick scan), or Cancel (stay on the present page).

HomePage | Install

SpellBound

This portable spell-checker is perfect for bloggers and avid commenters, spell-check is never more than a right[/ctrl] click away*.

*Particularly useful if — against your better judgement — you are arguing on the Internet and want someone to have to address your points rather than hiding behind ‘ZOMG you cant even spell proply!’

HomePage | Install

Well that will do me for today; I hope you’ve learnt a little more about what your favourite browser can do. I may update this in future as more pimping extensions become available, but until then I’d urge you to look through the Mozilla Extensions repository and see if you can’t find some more ways to make your browsing life a little more enjoyable.

As for anyone still using Internet Explorer; I urge you to make the change. I can practically guarantee that after a few weeks use you wont dream of going back (and after a few months you’ll be the one bugging other people about how superior your browser is!)

Posted at 2:02 pm in Software.