xradiograph - FireFox

Fire Fox, the open-source web-browser that arose from (the ashes of?) NetscapeNavigator, is my Browser Of Choice. It’s got a good history (yes, that always leads to tangled code), a great extensibility model, a decent browser share, and a large community of users and developers — both for the core code, and for extensions. Chrome is gaining ground fast, and is touted as leaner, faster, more stable, and has that whole cool each-tab-is-a-thread model. Please note that Fire Fox sans extensions is pretty lean — but nobody wants an un-extended browser. Not even Chrome.... as its extensibility is tweaked, let’s see how long it lasts. Also remember that legacy code means legacy compatibility... a large community means many factions to please. The new browser on the block doesn’t have any of that baggage.

See my AddOns page for notes on my favorite extensions, for both users and developers.

Firefox homepage
the Firefox Project — current and historical information
historical Firefox screenshots

Firefox Guide “for the perplexed”
my firefox user profile
open-directory Firefox page
Wikipedia:Mozilla_Firefox
excerpt from the O’Reilly book Firefox Hacks
WikiBooks:Using_Firefox

Stack Overflow: Mozilla development links (more on how the browser itself is coded)

How to Determine which Firefox Add-ons are Using the Most Memory

Life Hacker: PrefSearch extension

https://getsatisfaction.com/mozilla - report issues
Plugin checker

FF about: pages

Prism

Prism - creates “stand-alone” applications from a web-page. XUL runner?

Bookmarklets

guide to useful bookmarklets
Lifehacker’s Top-10 useful bookmarklets

`user.js`

http://kb.mozillazine.org/User.js_file

Shortcuts

Coding Horror - general shortcut advice

see also: smarter translation bookmarklet using the same ideas

making a search (or otherwise?) shortcut

Mouseless firefox
MouseLess Browsing plugin

Keybindings

http://blog.tupleshop.com/2006/10/30/firefox-2-gets-emacs-keybindings
http://bc.tech.coop/blog/060529.html
http://bc.tech.coop/blog/060603.html
http://www.emacswiki.org/cgi-bin/wiki/Conkeror
http://dev.technomancy.us/conkeror
http://conkeror.mozdev.org/index.php

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Emacs_Keybindings_%28Firefox%29
http://bc.tech.coop/blog/060529.html - (part 1)require Conkeror installation
http://bc.tech.coop/blog/060603.html - (part 2)

http://emacs.wordpress.com/2007/02/23/emacs-friendly-firefox/ - Using It’s All Text or Mozex extensions.

Opening local files in FF

For security purposes, Mozilla applications block links to local files (and directories) from remote files (eg, all internet/intranet content, including this wiki) by default.

To turn OFF this behavior (ie, enable file links) see Links to local pages do not work

put the following into a user.js or prefs.js file

Get Code

user_pref("capability.policy.policynames", "localfilelinks");

user_pref("capability.policy.localfilelinks.sites", "http://www.foo.com");

user_pref("capability.policy.localfilelinks.checkloaduri.enabled", "allAccess");

Profiles

http://support.mozilla.com/en-us/kb/Profiles
http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Managing+profiles
Firefox 2 and 3 simultaneously

exit firefox
start via firefox.exe -ProfileManager

DO NOT EXIT FIREFOX
start via full/path/to/firefox.exe -profile-manager -no-remote
1. or maybe even firefox.exe -p -no-remote
2. the -no-remote enables running multiple instances of the application with different profiles
3. see also Firefox command-line arguments

Life Hacker: Mastering Multiple FF Profiles — see also xrefs in the comments. Some interesting ideas discussed.

Still, I can’t see a solution to my main problem with the “don’t ask at startup” checkbox.....

Profile Folder

The user.js, user.css files (etc.) are in your profile folder. Locating the profile folder on Windows is usually: %AppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\xxxxxxxx.default\, where xxxxxxxx is a random string of 8 characters. Just browse to C:\Documents and Settings\[User Name]\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ and look around.

How to find your profile folder

I usually create a shortcut named “firefox-profile” in my shortcuts folder; this way — Windows-R firefox-profile brings the folder right up.

Hacks, speedups, tips, etc

Lifehacker: “Vacuum Places” to improve speed

Using user.css

to hide Tribe.net photo albums — an example

Some people have been complaining about the photo galleries in the tribes now showing up on the front pages. Whether you don’t like the photos or just don’t like the the album concept itself, you can hide that content yourself using user stylesheets. If you want to hide the photos, follow the directions below:

First, follow the instructions here to find out how to create a user stylesheet.

and add the following css to it:

Get Code

/* tribe photo album hack */

div.module_body td a img{

display:none !! important;

}

#mugshot div.photo a img{

display:inline !! important;

}

This’ll hide the photos for the photo album. Great for using just at work, and your home machine will still show the album just fine.

http://www.mozilla.org/support/firefox/edit

customizations

see extension guru’s list of Firefox tweaks

Optimize it

free memory when minimized
Power optimization tips — the memory-limiter alone makes it worthwhile.

1. Limit RAM usage: RAM usage can go up to 1GB+ when you have several tabs open. In the about:config filter, enter browser.cache.disk.capacity or browser.cache.memory.capacity (either of them works). Double click the value that comes up, and enter a value of 5000 for those of you with 512 MB or less memory. Enter a value of 15000 for memory of 512MB to 1 GB.
2. Disable prefetch: Firefox’s annoying feature of prefetching links makes it resource-hogging. Enter network.prefetch-next, and change the value to False.

Open search in new tab

1. In firefox, type about:config in the URL box
2. In the filter box, paste this text:

browser.search.openintab

3. Change the value to true by double-clicking the previous “false” text.

Stop auto image-resizing

Since 2.0, FF automatically resize large image to fit screen width.

Enter about:config in Firefox address bar.
Enter browser.enable_automatic_image_resizing in Filter field.
change to value to false

stop auto page zooming

Get Code

about:config

browser.zoom.siteSpecific --> false

View source in favorite editor

Instructions adapted from MozillaZine knowledge-base

enter about:config and filter down to view_source.editor
set view_source.editor.external to true
set view_source.editor.path to something like C:\emacs\emacs\bin\emacsclientw.exe

`about:config` preferences

WikiBooks:Using_Firefox/Advanced#about:config
http://kb.mozillazine.org/About:config_entries
Ten mysteries of about:config

delete preference

Not possible to delete preferences from within FF without restarting.
suggested by this thread

right click on preferenceName
select reset
restart firefox, and it’s gone!

Alternatively, close browser, edit the prefs.js file, and restart. Maybe, you know, make a back-up, first.

http://www.velocityreviews.com/forums/t9891-delete-entry-from-aboutconfig.html
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Resetting_preferences

Running multiple versions (eg, 2.0.x and 3.0.x)

I installed 2.0 on top of 3.0 .... and the installer did not ask where to go, so it overwrote 3.0. should have copied the folder, first....

SOLUTION: use portable versions

auto-save options

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Unable_to_save_or_download_files#Change_or_reset_actions_for_file_types
http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=624140&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/07/18/reset-or-change-firefox-do-this-automatically-for-files-like-this-from-now-on-option/
http://blog.taragana.com/index.php/archive/firefox-how-to-change-do-this-automatically-for-files-like-this-from-now-on-option/
http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=123436&c=1
http://yedda.com/questions/Firefox_ignore_check_box_8620147571611/

Troubleshooting

http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Safe+Mode
http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Troubleshooting+extensions+and+themes

Sqlite

http://unlockforus.blogspot.com/2008/09/how-opening-google-chrome-sqlite-v3.html
http://www.singular.gr/sqlite/
https://sourceforge.net/projects/sqlitebrowser/

Category tags

Browser Firefox internet web

_ _ _ __ ___ _ __ _ __\| (_)___ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ __\| \|_ \ \ / '_/ _` / _` \| / _ \/ _` \| '_/ _` \| '_ \ ' \ /_\_\_\| \__,_\__,_\|_\___/\__, \|_\| \__,_\| .__/_\|\|_\| \|___/ \|_\| x - r - a - d - i - o - g - r - a - p - h home print backlinks history recent changes group changes login
Wrottings PrantedMutter EgyptianWaterThief WordSalad XraysMonaLisa OperasAndPlays SiteMap AllPages in FireFox Not Wrotten Programming FireFox All Pages JavaScript WebDevelopment Windows Emacs Lisp Comics XO StringCanPhone Movies Sonophilia VisualAddiction interference patterns String Can Phone Amazing Text hard to find things Information your author Contact site stats TriadSkin powered by PmWiki	FireFox Fire Fox On this page... (hide) Prism Bookmarklets `user.js` Shortcuts Keybindings Opening local files in FF Profiles Profile Folder Hacks, speedups, tips, etc Using user.css customizations Optimize it Open search in new tab Stop auto image-resizing stop auto page zooming View source in favorite editor `about:config` preferences delete preference Running multiple versions (eg, 2.0.x and 3.0.x) auto-save options Sqlite See Also Category tags Fire Fox, the open-source web-browser that arose from (the ashes of?) NetscapeNavigator, is my Browser Of Choice. It’s got a good history (yes, that always leads to tangled code), a great extensibility model, a decent browser share, and a large community of users and developers — both for the core code, and for extensions. Chrome is gaining ground fast, and is touted as leaner, faster, more stable, and has that whole cool each-tab-is-a-thread model. Please note that Fire Fox sans extensions is pretty lean — but nobody wants an un-extended browser. Not even Chrome.... as its extensibility is tweaked, let’s see how long it lasts. Also remember that legacy code means legacy compatibility... a large community means many factions to please. The new browser on the block doesn’t have any of that baggage. See my AddOns page for notes on my favorite extensions, for both users and developers. Firefox homepage the Firefox Project — current and historical information historical Firefox screenshots Firefox Guide “for the perplexed” my firefox user profile open-directory Firefox page Wikipedia:Mozilla_Firefox excerpt from the O’Reilly book Firefox Hacks WikiBooks:Using_Firefox Stack Overflow: Mozilla development links (more on how the browser itself is coded) How to Determine which Firefox Add-ons are Using the Most Memory Life Hacker: PrefSearch extension https://getsatisfaction.com/mozilla - report issues Plugin checker FF `about:` pages Prism Prism - creates “stand-alone” applications from a web-page. XUL runner? mailing/discussion list/group the Prism Application Ecosystem on the April 2009 release candidate Bookmarklets guide to useful bookmarklets Lifehacker’s Top-10 useful bookmarklets See Also: Java Script.Book Marklet `user.js` http://kb.mozillazine.org/User.js_file Shortcuts Coding Horror - general shortcut advice see also: smarter translation bookmarklet using the same ideas making a search (or otherwise?) shortcut Mouseless firefox MouseLess Browsing plugin See also smarter bookmark(let) shortcuts Keybindings http://blog.tupleshop.com/2006/10/30/firefox-2-gets-emacs-keybindings http://bc.tech.coop/blog/060529.html http://bc.tech.coop/blog/060603.html http://www.emacswiki.org/cgi-bin/wiki/Conkeror http://dev.technomancy.us/conkeror http://conkeror.mozdev.org/index.php http://kb.mozillazine.org/Emacs_Keybindings_%28Firefox%29 http://bc.tech.coop/blog/060529.html - (part 1)require Conkeror installation http://bc.tech.coop/blog/060603.html - (part 2) http://emacs.wordpress.com/2007/02/23/emacs-friendly-firefox/ - Using It’s All Text or Mozex extensions. see also: Emacs.KeyBinding Opening local files in FF For security purposes, Mozilla applications block links to local files (and directories) from remote files (eg, all internet/intranet content, including this wiki) by default. To turn OFF this behavior (ie, enable file links) see Links to local pages do not work put the following into a `user.js` or `prefs.js` file Get Code user_pref("capability.policy.policynames", "localfilelinks"); user_pref("capability.policy.localfilelinks.sites", "http://www.foo.com"); user_pref("capability.policy.localfilelinks.checkloaduri.enabled", "allAccess"); Profiles http://support.mozilla.com/en-us/kb/Profiles http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Managing+profiles Firefox 2 and 3 simultaneously exit firefox start via `firefox.exe -ProfileManager` or DO NOT EXIT FIREFOX start via `full/path/to/firefox.exe -profile-manager -no-remote` or maybe even `firefox.exe -p -no-remote` the `-no-remote` enables running multiple instances of the application with different profiles see also Firefox command-line arguments Life Hacker: Mastering Multiple FF Profiles — see also xrefs in the comments. Some interesting ideas discussed. Still, I can’t see a solution to my main problem with the “don’t ask at startup” checkbox..... Profile Folder The `user.js`, `user.css` files (etc.) are in your profile folder. Locating the profile folder on Windows is usually: `%AppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\xxxxxxxx.default\`, where `xxxxxxxx` is a random string of 8 characters. Just browse to `C:\Documents and Settings\[User Name]\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\` and look around. How to find your profile folder I usually create a shortcut named “firefox-profile” in my shortcuts folder; this way — `Windows-R firefox-profile` brings the folder right up. Hacks, speedups, tips, etc Lifehacker: “Vacuum Places” to improve speed Using user.css to hide Tribe.net photo albums — an example Some people have been complaining about the photo galleries in the tribes now showing up on the front pages. Whether you don’t like the photos or just don’t like the the album concept itself, you can hide that content yourself using user stylesheets. If you want to hide the photos, follow the directions below: First, follow the instructions here to find out how to create a user stylesheet. and add the following css to it: Get Code /* tribe photo album hack / div.module_body td a img{ display:none !! important; } #mugshot div.photo a img{ display:inline !! important; } This’ll hide the photos for the photo album. Great for using just at work, and your home machine will still show the album just fine. http://www.mozilla.org/support/firefox/edit customizations see extension guru’s list of Firefox tweaks Optimize it free memory when minimized Power optimization tips — the memory-limiter alone makes it worthwhile. 1. Limit RAM usage: RAM usage can go up to 1GB+ when you have several tabs open. In the `about:config` filter, enter `browser.cache.disk.capacity` or `browser.cache.memory.capacity` (either of them works). Double click the value that comes up, and enter a value of 5000 for those of you with 512 MB or less memory. Enter a value of 15000 for memory of 512MB to 1 GB. 2. Disable prefetch: Firefox’s annoying feature of prefetching links makes it resource-hogging. Enter `network.prefetch-next`, and change the value to False. Open search in new tab 1. In firefox, type `about:config` in the URL box 2. In the filter box, paste this text: `browser.search.openintab`* 3. Change the value to true by double-clicking the previous “false” text. Stop auto image-resizing Since 2.0, FF automatically resize large image to fit screen width. Enter about:config in Firefox address bar. Enter `browser.enable_automatic_image_resizing` in Filter field. change to value to false stop auto page zooming Get Code about:config browser.zoom.siteSpecific --> false View source in favorite editor Instructions adapted from MozillaZine knowledge-base enter `about:config` and filter down to `view_source.editor` set `view_source.editor.external` to true set `view_source.editor.path` to something like `C:\emacs\emacs\bin\emacsclientw.exe` `about:config` preferences WikiBooks:Using_Firefox/Advanced#about:config http://kb.mozillazine.org/About:config_entries Ten mysteries of about:config delete preference Not possible to delete preferences from within FF without restarting. suggested by this thread right click on `preferenceName` select `reset` restart firefox, and it’s gone! Alternatively, close browser, edit the `prefs.js` file, and restart. Maybe, you know, make a back-up, first. http://www.velocityreviews.com/forums/t9891-delete-entry-from-aboutconfig.html http://kb.mozillazine.org/Resetting_preferences Running multiple versions (eg, 2.0.x and 3.0.x) I installed 2.0 on top of 3.0 .... and the installer did not ask where to go, so it overwrote 3.0. should have copied the folder, first.... SOLUTION: use portable versions auto-save options http://kb.mozillazine.org/Unable_to_save_or_download_files#Change_or_reset_actions_for_file_types http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=624140&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/07/18/reset-or-change-firefox-do-this-automatically-for-files-like-this-from-now-on-option/ http://blog.taragana.com/index.php/archive/firefox-how-to-change-do-this-automatically-for-files-like-this-from-now-on-option/ http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?aid=123436&c=1 http://yedda.com/questions/Firefox_ignore_check_box_8620147571611/ Troubleshooting http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Safe+Mode http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Troubleshooting+extensions+and+themes Sqlite http://unlockforus.blogspot.com/2008/09/how-opening-google-chrome-sqlite-v3.html http://www.singular.gr/sqlite/ https://sourceforge.net/projects/sqlitebrowser/ See Also Extension Development Emacs.KeyBinding - for notes on Emacs-like behavior in Firefox http://www.accessfirefox.org/ Java Script.Grease Monkey Java Script Category tags Browser Firefox internet web Page History Source Backlinks List Group Page last modified on May 22, 2013, at 10:22 AM
pmwiki-2.2.52

Fire Fox

Prism

Bookmarklets

user.js

Shortcuts

Keybindings

Opening local files in FF

Profiles

Profile Folder

Hacks, speedups, tips, etc

Using user.css

customizations

Optimize it

Open search in new tab

Stop auto image-resizing

stop auto page zooming

View source in favorite editor

about:config preferences

delete preference

Running multiple versions (eg, 2.0.x and 3.0.x)

auto-save options

Sqlite

See Also

Category tags

`user.js`

`about:config` preferences