about:config
Work
View Page Source Code In Your Favourite Text Editor
11:30PM Jason Fitzpatrick | If you frequently examine the source code of web pages while using Firefox, this handy trick will load the source code directly in your favourite editor. More »
Work
Enable Multi-Touch Tab Switching In Firefox 3.5
10:35PM Kevin Purdy | Firefox 3.5 includes support for the multi-touch features of the latest and greatest MacBooks, but leaves out a “twist” motion that moves forward and back through browser tabs. A quick about:config hack brings it back. More »
Fix
Prevent Firefox From Hogging Memory When Minimised
7:30AM Kevin Purdy | In our latest browser speed tests, I half-heartedly complained that Firefox eats up memory over long periods of use. Our lovely, helpful commenters pointed out that there is, indeed, a tweak to help with that. It’s important to note that this about:config tweak doesn’t actually change how Firefox uses (and hoards) memory over actual use. For the purposes of user speed, then, it’s not much change. But while Windows can normally grab memory back from applications that are minimised, Firefox prevents that and keeps all the memory it acquired during your multi-tab wanderings—unless you enable this tweak, which some have claimed also makes Firefox scale down the big memory pile it had going upon re-focusing. More »
Fix
Firefox 3.1 to Enable Colour Profile Support by Default
9:10AM Gina Trapani | The Mozilla Links blog reports that Firefox’s next release, version 3.1, will ship with colour profile support turned on by default. Colour profile support shows richer colours in certain images in your browser; if you can’t wait for 3.1 to drop, here’s how to enable it in your copy of Firefox 3 now. More »
Fix
Tweak Firefox 3’s Download Manager
5:00AM Gina Trapani | Don’t like Firefox 3’s built-in download manager’s default behaviour? The Mozilla Links blog points out five configuration tweaks that can customise it. Our two favorites: in about:config set browser.download.manager. showAlertOnComplete to false to remove the taskbar pop-up notification of a completed download. Also, on Windows, you can keep downloads from cluttering up your My Recent Documents folder by setting browser.download.manager.addToRecentDocs to false. For more on about:config fun, see our useful Firefox 3 configuration tweaks. Tweaks for Firefox 3 download manager [Mozilla Links] More »
Fix
Useful Firefox 3 Configuration Tweaks
1:30AM Gina Trapani | Firefox 3 comes with several preferences baked into its options dialogs, but there are still a few you can only access by rolling up your sleeves and digging into its configuration manually. Power users have been diving under Firefox’s hood to get their browser to behave just how they like since version 0.9, but Firefox 3 offers some new settings that customise its new features. Let’s take a look at our favourite Firefox 3 about:config tweaks for customising your browser. More »
Fix
Make Firefox 3’s Bookmarks Available to Launchy and Quicksilver
10:00PM Gina Trapani | Firefox 3 doesn’t store your bookmarks in the plain old HTML file that Firefox 2 did, so desktop launchers like Quicksilver and Launchy can’t index them properly. But the HackCollege blog has a solution: a Firefox 3 about:config tweak that makes Firefox automatically export your bookmarks to a file. Change the browser.bookmarks.autoExportHTML value from false to true to get a bookmarks.html file saved to your Firefox profile directory each time you shut down your browser. More »
Fix
Increase Firefox’s Maximum Pop-up Count
6:00AM Gina Trapani | Google Reader user Mitch Wagner leans on the V key often to pop open originating web pages from posts in Reader—but found Firefox’s pop-up blocker would kick in after a certain amount of time, even though he explicitly allowed them. A Google Reader guide explained that Firefox enforces a maximum pop-up window limit per web site, but that a configuration tweak can increase it. If you’ve had this problem, type about:config in Firefox’s address bar, and Filter down to the dom.popup_maximum key. Increase the default value (20) to something high, like 2,000, to stop Firefox from blocking your pop-ups so soon. (Also, the Better GReader extension lets you see the original web page inside Reader automatically or by clicking a button.) How To Stop Firefox From Blocking Google Reader Popups [InformationWeek] More »
Fix
How Do I Delete about:config Entries?
1:30AM Gina Trapani | Dear Lifehacker, Even though it may “void my warranty,” I’ve made changes in Firefox’s about:config area based on tweaks you’ve published and ones I’ve seen elsewhere. Problem is, at some point I mis-entered one, and I can’t seem to delete it. I can only edit the value in about:config, but I can’t remove the entry entirely. I know it probably isn’t a big deal, but just in case, because I hate knowing it’s there: Is there any way to delete an about:config entry in Firefox?Signed,Config Fat Finger More »
