A collection of useful Firefox shortcuts and ideas. Ways to get more out of Firefox. Some I discovered on my own, while others came from various sources. I try to give credit when that is the case.

Mozilla Firefox

Due to major improvements you should now be using Firefox Version 3. Most of our material has been upgraded to reflect Version 3.

Sometimes you will have to right click and download the extension to your hard drive, then double click the downloaded file to install it. The first time you do this you may have to choose the file to open it with. Simply select Firefox from the choices, or browse to it if it is not shown in the list of available programs. After that it will always be on the list if needed for future installs.

Spread Firefox

If you are interested in promoting Firefox because you like it, see SpreadFirefox. There is a whole community around the world that agrees Firefox is the best there is. Here you can find out why it is so well liked plus links of information.

Firefox On A Thumb Drive

You can take your Firefox with you and use it on any computer. This means your profile and bookmarks come along as well. Other programs such as Thunderbird and Open Office can be set up to do the same if you have a large enough drive.

Firefox Save Flash

You can save those fancy flash productions that don't seem to have any download link.

Firefox Bookmarks

One of the most useful tips I have run across , is a fast load for your Firefox bookmarks.

Firefox: is a bit of a memory hog. Version 3 has helped with this. Although not perfect, it is much better than before, a step in the right direction..

Firefox Security: Firefox is my browser of choice because I like it's so many features, especially tabbed browsing. But if you are only using it because you think it is more secure than any browser in the land, perhaps you should read Fred Langa's article. Then make your own choice.

Firefox Settings

I suggest you use as few extensions as possible for stability and speed. Too many will slow the browser down.

If you have to reinstall Firefox you don't have to lose all your settings.

Settings are in: Documents and Settings area under Application Data>Mozilla>Firefox.

Save the profile.js file.

Save bookmarks.htm file.

Highlight them and copy them to a backup folder of your choice.

Then after Firefox is reinstalled, copy them back to the proper folder in Application Data.

Tweak Firefox For Maximum Speed

Do it manually and follow the instructions from Tweakguide in the Firefox Tweak Guide section, where there is practically a book to follow with everything you would ever want to do to customize Firefox just right. This is what I do, and you can make Firefox almost your personal edition.

Firefox Save Flash

Did you know you can save just about any flash file you view in Firefox? You don't need a fancy program, here is what you do.

Firefox Search Bar - Add More Search Engines

This is pretty simple, but it's the simple stuff a lot of us miss. I hadn't tried much with the Firefox search item at the end of the address bar other than to type in a few things off and on to good old Google. Well click on the drop down arrow and you will find several other stock items for searching such as the dictionary, etc. Very handy. But down at the bottom it says "Add Engines". You can add practically any search engine of your choice. For example I added IMDB(Internet Movie DataBase). If I want information about any movie, I just type its title in the space and IMDB tells me all about it. There are search engines available for finding about anything, They are listed on the page that shows up when you click "Add Engine.." Try it, it is nice to have your favourites so handy.

Firefox v3 works fine with sites that require a minimum of 128 bit encryption, such as online banking. It will import bookmarks from IE.

Firefox Extensions - My favourite extensions are listed on this page. (Updated December 2007)

Firefox is simple to install,and you add extensions to enable what you want it to do. That way you only install what you want. The flash extension volunteered to install so Macromedia flash items would play.

FireFox Shortcuts

Remember, many of the shortcuts are universal in programs and work in FireFox and other programs as well, - CTRL+C, CTRL+V, etc

FireFox Preferences In Tabs

This page at Lifehacker gives instructions on how to open bookmark manager, preferences, options and others by using the address bar. For example, typing 'ext' in the address bar opens the extension manager, typing 'opt' opens options on a page and so on. Follow the instructions there, it is very easy to set up. Great for us keyboard types that like to open up these items with a couple keystrokes instead of clicking through a bunch of menus.

FireFox Bookmark Manager

The above tips open the desired item in a new page, while this one opens Bookmark Manager in a tab. This one I expanded on a little bit to suit my own purpose. Lifehacker advises if you type the line: 'chrome://browser/content/bookmarks/bookmarksManager.xul' (without the quote) into Firefox's address bar it opens the bookmark manager in a tab. And it does. I made that line an actual bookmark in my Bookmarks Toolbar folder and used the keyword 'bm' under properties. Now all I have to do is type bm in the address bar and Bookmark Manager opens in the present tab. Hit Ctrl+T first if you want a new tab. Very fast, very useful.

You can of course do this with the others by using the appropriate chrome line. Our thanks to Lifehacker for these tips. I was aware of quite a few shortcuts, but not these. This site has definitely been added to my RSS reader.