Firefox Tips and Tricks / Tweaks / Secrets / Codes

Firefox Configuration Tips and Tricks .

Use the Firefox browser :

If you type about:config in address bar of firefox, it will open its configuration page, that allows
to change a lot of settings.

Here I'm presenting some settings, that can be configured. These tweaks have been tested on
high speed networks and cable, they might need to be tweaked for slower connections.

You can follow any of these two steps to config your browser:

1. Use the about:config screen which lets you add, modify or reset values or
2. Manually add all of these hacks to the prefs.js.

Option 1:

Type about:config at the location/url bar, this will list all current references, and you can change
the settings listed below.

Option 2:

 Exit out of the browser completely, because if you don't close the browser, it'll overwrite
the settings to default.
 Find your prefs.js file (usually in Drive:\Documents and
Settings\USER_NAME\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\... directory in
Windows XP).
 Backup your prefs.js file.
 Ccopy and paste the hacks listed below at the BOTTOM of the file.
 Save the prefs.js file and restart your browser .

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// Performance
// This will allow Firefox to maintain it GUI memory so that the browser window
user_pref("config.trim_on_minimize", false);

// Specify the amount of memory cache:

// -1 = determine dynamically (default), 0 = none, n = memory capacity in kilobytes
// If you have the memory to spare, enabling this will run things a little smoother
user_pref("browser.cache.memory.capacity", 65536); //<-- thus equal about 64 megs, drop down
to less if you can't spare the RAM
// Remove painting delay when loading pages
user_pref("nglayout.initialpaint.delay", 0); // Default is 250

user_pref("content.notify.ontimer", true); // Turn on timer-based reflow management

user_pref("content.notify.interval", 100); // Sets the allowed time between reflows in

microseconds

// Set the number of reflows to do before waiting for the rest of the page to arrive
user_pref("content.notify.backoffcount", 200);

// Other Tweaks
user_pref("content.max.tokenizing.time", 3000000);
user_pref("content.maxtextrun", 8191);

// Enable Improve pipelining:

user_pref("network.http.pipelining", true);
user_pref("network.http.proxy.pipelining", true);
user_pref("network.http.pipelining.firstrequest", true); // Default is false
user_pref("network.http.pipelining.maxrequests", 8); // Default is 4

// Increase Multi-Threaded Downloading performance

user_pref("network.http.max-connections", 96); // Default is 24 <-- Use this for modems
user_pref("network.http.max-connections-per-server", 32); // Default is 8 <-- Use this for
modems
user_pref("network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy", 24); // Default is 4 <-- Use this
for modems
user_pref("network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server", 12); // Default is 2 <-- Use this
for modems

// Other Tweaks
user_pref("network.dnsCacheExpiration", 86400);
user_pref("network.dnsCacheEntries", 256);
user_pref("network.ftp.idleConnectionTimeout", 60);
user_pref("network.http.keep-alive.timeout", 30);

user_pref("ui.submenuDelay", 0);

user_pref("dom.disable_window_status_change", true);

// Shows an error page instead of an error popup dialog, have been using this for a long time now

// found this useful if you load multiple pages at the same the dialog box actually holds up the
browser
// using this will allow the other pages/elements to load for the rest of the pages
user_pref("browser.xul.error_pages.enabled", true);
// Searching & Type Ahead
// Change to normal Google search:
user_pref("keyword.URL", "http://google.com/search?btnG=Google+Search&q=");

// Find As You Type Configuration:

// Set this pref to false to disable Find As You Type:
user_pref("accessibility.typeaheadfind", true);

// If you set this pref to true, typing can automatically start Find As You Type.
// If false (default), you must hit / (find text) or ' (find links) before your search.
user_pref("accessibility.typeaheadfind.autostart", true);

// Set this pref to false if you want Find As You Type to search normal text too:
user_pref("accessibility.typeaheadfind.linksonly", false);

// Set this pref to true if you require that the link starts with the entered text:
user_pref("accessibility.typeaheadfind.startlinksonly", false);

// This is the time in milliseconds for the Find As You Type to stop watching for keystrokes:
user_pref("accessibility.typeaheadfind.timeout", 3000);

// User Interface
// Enable Bookmark Icons (I love this feature)
user_pref("browser.chrome.site_icons", true);
user_pref("browser.chrome.favicons", true);
user_pref("browser.chrome.load_toolbar_icons", 2);

// Do not Reuse Active Mozilla Browser, create a new one for email links etc.
user_pref("advanced.system.supportDDEExec", false);

// Disable Smooth Scrolling (found it faster to have this off)

user_pref("general.smoothScroll", false);

// Allows for faster mouse scrolling

user_pref("mousewheel.withnokey.numlines", 6); // Adjust this accordingly - Default = 1
user_pref("mousewheel.withnokey.sysnumlines", false); // This must be set to false in order to
read previous line

user_pref("extensions.disabledObsolete", true);

user_pref("browser.display.show_image_placeholders", true);

// 1.0 Preview disables dynamic theme switching, this re-enables dynamic theme switching.
user_pref("extensions.dss.enabled", true);
// Mail & News
user_pref("mailnews.start_page.enabled", false);

// always send messages in MIME format (both plain- and HTML-formatted)

user_pref("mail.default_html_action", 3);

// The follow two are disabled for security reasons

user_pref("mailnews.message_display.allow.plugins", false);
user_pref("javascript.allow.mailnews"),

user_pref("alerts.totalOpenTime", 7000);

// Disable this for performance and security issues when reading emails
// Security issues? Yes especially with zlib, jpeg, png and all kinds of new attacks coming out,
// displaying images inline can no longer be taken for granted. This only affects attached
graphics.
user_pref("mail.inline_attachments", false);

user_pref("mailnews.show_send_progress", false);

// Security
// Just to make sure, disable windows shell: protocol
user_pref("network.protocol-handler.external.shell", false);

// Show full path for plugin file on about:plugins page

// the full path was removed for security purposes, please keep that in mind
// Note: showing full paths can be a security risk only use when debugging.
user_pref("plugin.expose_full_path", false);

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There are Three files, that can be edited to configure Firefox!

user.js :-
Used to change various preferences.
userChrome.css :-
Used to change the appearance of the browser.
userContent.css :-
Used to change the appearance of web pages.

All these files are plain text files stored in your profile folder, and can be edited using a standard
text editor, such as Notepad on Windows and gedit or kate on Linux.

The Profile Folder :

The profile folder is where Firefox saves all your settings and refers to a location on your hard
drive.

On Windows XP/2000, the path is usually

%AppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\xxxxxxxx.default\, where xxxxxxxx is a random string

of 3 characters. Just browse to C:\Documents and Settings\[User Name]\Application
Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ and the rest should be obvious.

On Windows 95/98/Me, the path is usually C:\WINDOWS\Application

Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\xxxxxxxx.default\ .

On Linux, the path is usually ~/.mozilla/firefox/xxxxxxxx.default/ .

On MacOS X, the path is usually ~/Library/Application

Support/Firefox/Profiles/xxxxxxxx.default/ .

Firefox is capable of handling more than one user and thus, more than one profile. The path
examples above refers to the default profile that is automatically created when you start Firefox
for the first time. You can manage any number of profiles by using the Profile Manager.

%AppData% is a shorthand for the Application Data path on Windows 2000/XP. To use it, click
Start > Run..., enter %AppData% and press Enter. You will be taken to the "real" folder,
which is normally C:\Documents and Settings\[User Name]\Application Data.

user.js :-

This is the main preferences file for Firefox and is located in you profile folder. The file does not
exist by default, so you need to create it before you can start adding your preferences.

userChrome.css :-

This file sets the display rules for various elements in the Firefox user interface and is located in
the sub-folder called chrome in your profile folder. As with user.js, this file does not exist by
default, so you need to create it before you can start adding your preferences. There's actually an
example file that exists by default, called "userChrome-example.css". Basically, you can just
rename that file by removing the "-example" part.

userContent.css :-

This file sets the display rules for web content and is located in the sub-folder called chrome in
your profile folder. As with user.js, this file does not exist by default, so you need to create it
before you can start adding your preferences. As with userChrome.css, there is an example file
that exists by default, called "userContent-example.css". Basically, you can just rename that file
by removing the "-example" part.
 Mozilla Firefox Optimizer

To avoid getting timeout when viewing any web site in firefox:

Get this Mozilla Optimizer, it keeps the connection alive....

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/Browser...Optimizer.shtml

Mozilla Optimizer improves the browsing speed in all browsers based on the
Gecko Rendering Engine (GRE) like Mozilla, Phoenix, Mozilla Firebird and
Mozilla Firefox as well as Netscape 6 and Netscape 7. All optimizations can be applied
manually, this tool simply automates this procedure!

You can also do the same manually, by adding following lines (replace if they already exist) in
prefs.js file:

user_pref("nglayout.initialpaint.delay", 100);
user_pref("content.notify.ontimer", true);
user_pref("content.notify.interval", 100000);
user_pref("content.notify.backoffcount", 5);
user_pref("network.http.pipelining", true);
user_pref("network.http.proxy.pipelining", true);
user_pref("network.http.pipelining.maxrequests", 8);
user_pref("network.http.max-connections", 32);
user_pref("network.http.max-connections-per-server", 8);
user_pref("network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy", 4);
user_pref("network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server", 2);

Firefox Tabbed Browsing Tips and Tricks

1. Trick to Reveal More Tab/Window Options :

There are some hidden options for the Tabbed Browsing that will allow you to force links that
open new windows to open in the current or a new tab. First, add the following code to your
user.js file:

// Reveal more tab/window options:

user_pref("browser.tabs.showSingleWindowModePrefs", true);

Restart Firefox and go to Tools > Options... (Edit > Preferences... under Linux and MacOS X),
select Advanced and click on Tabbed Browsing.

  2. Remove the close button from the tab bar :

You can remove the close button from the tab bar by adding the following code to your
userChrome.css file:
/* Remove the close button on the tab bar */
.tabs-closebutton {
display: none !important;
}

You can still close tabs by right clicking on them and select Close Tab, or by pressing Ctrl+W

 3. Remove items from the main menu :

Some people like to place all their toolbar items on the same row as the menu. In order to save
horizontal space, you can remove top menu items that you don't use. Add the following code to
your userChrome.css file:

/* Remove the Go and Help menus

(These are just examples. Try changing "Go" to "Edit" or "Bookmarks") */
menu[label="Go"], menu[label="Help"] {
display: none !important;
}

Firefox Change Cursor Tips and Tricks

 1. Change the cursor for links that open in new window :

This neat trick will change the mouse pointer when you hover it over links that will open a new
window. Add the following code to your userContent.css file:

/* Change cursor for links that open in new window */

:link[target="_blank"], :visited[target="_blank"],
:link[target="_new"], :visited[target="_new"] {
cursor: crosshair;
}

 
2. Change the cursor for JavaScript links :

This tip will change the mouse pointer when you hover it over links that will perform a
JavaScript command. Add the following code to your userContent.css file:

/* Change cursor for JavaScript links */

a[href^="javascript:"] {
cursor: move;
}

Firefox Some Advanced Tips for Tabbed Browsing

Home Page as tabs :

Instead of just one web page as your homepage, you can make your home page several pages.
Select your favorite web sites and open them in a set of tabbed windows. Go to Tools -> Options
and select 'General'. Under 'Home Page', press the 'Use Current Pages' button. Now when you hit
the Home button on the Navigation toolbar, your favorite web sites will load with just one click.

Bookmarking a set of tabs :

You can bookmark a set of tabs when selecting 'Bookmark This Page' or Ctrl+D Check the
'Bookmark all tabs in a folder' checkbox to store all the tabs in the current window into a
Bookmark Folder.

More shortcuts :

While it's easy to select tabs with a mouse, you can also cycle through tabs using the keyboard:
use Ctrl+PgUp (or Ctrl+Tab) and Ctrl+PgDn (or Shift+Ctrl+Tab). You can also select the first
tab by pressing Ctrl+1, and so on up to the 9th tab with Ctrl+9. If you have a middle mouse
button, click it on a tab to close the tab.

Firefox About URLs Tips

Guys! There are a few special URLs, which begin with about:, that you can type into the
Location Bar of Firefox.

 about: — The same page as "Help -> About".

 about:about — Lists all these about: URLs (Mozilla Suite only).
 about:blank — A blank page. Useful for setting as your homepage.
 about:buildconfig — Reveals details about your Mozilla build options.
 about:cache — Displays cache statistics.
 about:cache?device=memory — Lists memory cache entries.
 about:cache?device=disk — Lists disk cache entries.
 about:cache-entry — Shows information about a cache entry. Used in about:cache links.
Requires parameters.
 about:config — GUI for modifying user preferences (prefs.js).
 about:credits — The list of contributors to the Mozilla projects.
 about:logo — Displays the Mozilla logo (Mozilla Suite only).
 about:license — shows the Mozilla Public License and the Netscape Public License for
the piece of software. ( Only in products based on Gecko 1.8 ).
 about:mozilla — The famous Book of Mozilla.
 about:plugins — Lists all your plugins as well as other useful information.

Some more Tips about Firefox

1. We always backup our Favorites in Firefox, so that whenever we reinstall the browser
we can safely restore them without ne problem. (If u don't know how to backup
favorites? Goto: Bookmarks -> Manage Bookmarks..., It'll open Bookmarks
 Manager. Then goto: File -> Export... & save them.)

Now come to the point.

The thing is that whenever we reinstall firefox we have to restore them by applying same
process as we do 4 backing up them (use Import instead of Export). And one more thing
we HIV to also backup our current bookmarks when we r planning to reinstall the
browser.
So the trick is that we can define our custom Bookmark path in firefox , so that we don't
need to import or export them.

Type about:config in address bar of browser, right-click & create a new String value,
named browser.bookmarks.file and set its value to the path where u have backed up
your favorites. Now firefox always update it automatically whenever u add or delete your
bookmarks, so no need to continuously take backup.
2. Second trick is very useful. Many times u have noticed that when u minimize the firefox
windows & again restore it, it takes some time to restore. This trick reduces this delay.

Same thing, type about:config in the address bar of firefox, right-click & create a new
Boolean value, named config.trim_on_minimize & set its value to false. It'll prevent
delays when restoring the window.

 Mozilla Firefox Shortcuts

 Ctrl + Tab or Ctrl + PageDown: Cycle through tabs.

 Ctrl + Shift + Tab or Ctrl + PageUp: Cycle through tabs in reverse.
 Ctrl + (1-9): Switch to tab corresponding to number.
 Ctrl + N: New window.
 Ctrl + T: New tab.
 Ctrl + L or Alt + D or F6: Switch focus to location bar.
 Ctrl + Enter: Open location in new tab.
 Shift + Enter: Open location in new window.
 Ctrl + K or Ctrl + E: Switch focus to search bar.
 Ctrl + O: Open a local file.
 Ctrl + W: Close tab, or window if there's only one tab open.
 Ctrl + Shift + W: Close window.
 Ctrl + S: Save page as a local file.
 Ctrl + P: Print page.
 Ctrl + F or F3: Open find toolbar.
 Ctrl + G or F3: Find next...
 Ctrl + Shift + G or Shift + F3: Find previous...
 Ctrl + B or Ctrl + I: Open Bookmarks sidebar.
 Ctrl + H: Open History sidebar.
 Escape: Stop loading page.
 Ctrl + R or F5: Reload current page.
 Ctrl + Shift + R or Ctrl + F5: Reload current page; bypass cache.
 Ctrl + U: View page source.
 Ctrl + D: Bookmark current page.
 Ctrl + NumpadPlus or Ctrl + Equals (+/=): Increase text size.
 Ctrl + NumpadMinus or Ctrl + Minus: Decrease text size.
 Ctrl + Numpad0 or Ctrl + 0: Set text size to default.
 Alt + Left or Backspace: Back.
 Alt + Right or Shift + Backspace: Forward.
 Alt + Home: Open home page.
 Ctrl + M: Open new message in integrated mail client.
 Ctrl + J: Open Downloads dialog.
 F6: Switch to next frame. You must have selected something on the page already, e.g. by
use of Tab.
 Shift + F6: Switch to previous frame.
 Apostrophe ('): Find link as you type.
 Slash (/): Find text as you type.