You may not want everything to be the same everywhere you’ve installed Firefox, but if you’ve settled on the perfect set of about:config tweaks, chances are you don’t want to go through the hassle of setting up the same set of preference tweaks every time you install Firefox. The MakeUseOf weblog delves into how to find and back up your Firefox preferences so that you’ll never have to duplicate the effort of building the perfect Firefox setup. Just find your Firefox profile folder and grab the prefs.js file. Anytime you re-install Firefox, just drag that file back into your new profile folder and voilà—your perfect setup is restored.
Quick Tip: Backup Firefox Preferences [MakeUseOf]The Workers’ Edge blog at CNET posts a handful of shortcuts and tweaks for Firefox and Internet Explorer, some of which we’ve covered here before, but the author points out a Firefox configuration tip that can be a real help to browsers of JavaScript-powered web sites. Using Firefox’s about:config dialog (by entering that into the address bar), type in the following: dom.disable_window_open_feature
From there, you can choose exactly which features show up on file uploaders, options dialogs, and other script-launched windows. For a more graphical and explanatory route into Firefox’s guts, check out the Configuration Mania extension.
Boost your productivity in Firefox, IE [CNET Blogs]Accidentally happened upon this Firefox gem today: If you click a bookmarks toolbar folder with your mousewheel, the ‘fox will open all the sites up for you in tabs. (If it’s a long list of bookmarks, Firefox will politely ask if you really want to do that.) Of course, you can also open links in a background tab with the mousewheel, and close background tabs by mousewheel-clicking on them. These shortcuts are worth upgrading to a new mouse alone. Here are more tips on working with groups of tabs in Firefox.
See less chrome and more web page in Firefox by combining your toolbars onto the same line. The How-To Geek tech site describes how, using an extension or just by repositioning the fox’s toolbars by right-clicking and choosing “Customize.” Want to utilise every single pixel in Firefox? Check out how we consolidate Firefox’s chrome with several configuration and style tweaks. Conserve Space in Firefox by Combining Toolbars [the How-To Geek]
Linux.com has put together a good overview of Firefox extensions that keep your browsing, searching, and emailing secure and private. A few of these, including Privoxy and SafeHistory, have been cited here before, but this list includes a few new ideas, like using the PetName extension to leave “reminder” notes on trusted websites to defeat phishing attempts. For more secure browsing tweaks, check out our Technophilia feature on protecting your web searches.
Ten Firefox extensions to keep your browsing private and secure [Linux.com]Firefox only: Yesterday you learned how to auto-hide your Firefox bookmarks toolbar, and today we’ve got the tweak to make that toolbar wrap onto multiple lines instead of scrolling off the right side. Like the auto-hide tweak, this requires a change to your Firefox profile’s userChrome.css file. Here’s the CSS you need:
As you type a web site address into Firefox’s location bar, by default a dropdown with suggestions based on your history expands, and you can use the down arrow key to select one. For more aggressive URL auto-completion, head on into Firefox’s about:config area and set the browser.urlbar.autoFill value to true. The result takes away the arrow key step for the first hit. Check out the How-To Geek’s full explanation if you’re new to about:config, and see also our top Firefox 2 config tweaks. Enable Inline Completion in the Firefox Address Bar [the How-To Geek]
Thanks to everyone who entered our Ratatouille competition, we now have loads of kitchen tips (and one lone optical mouse tip too!) to share with readers.
The winning tip was from DaveMcD, who shared his tip for caramelised grilled bananas:
Want to impress everyone with a great dessert next time you have a BBQ or guests for dinner but are afraid you don’t have the skills, then this is the dish for you: Caramelised Grilled Bananas. Take 1 banana per person and halve it lengthways leaving the skin on. Place all the bananas skin side down on a tray and sprinkle brown sugar liberally over the top. Be as messy as you like it makes you look like Jamie Oliver and is half the fun. Drizzle light streaks of honey over all the bananas. Whack under the grill or on the BBQ hotplate for 5 mins or until the brown sugar is bubbling and caramelised but not burnt. Take out and leave the skins on, serve on plate or shallow bowl with ice cream or mascarpone. You can also add some strawberries or small berries to make it look awesome. Stand back and bask in the praise.
Follow the link for a load more tips!
