Mozilla Firefox is one of the most popular browsers today. Takes second or third place (depending on who made the rating 🙂). However, it doesn't matter. The important thing is that the “fire fox” has a number of advantages, and one of them is fine-tuning.
Thanks to this, you can easily customize the browser for yourself: install a beautiful theme and extensions, add the necessary buttons. And the setup is done in just 5 minutes. To make this task easier for you, let's look at how to customize Mozilla Firefox and make it more convenient.
When you launch the browser, it will look like this:
The first thing that catches your eye is the lack of a bookmarks bar under the address bar (as in Chrome, for example). It's there, but it's hidden by default. To display it:
The second nuance that you might notice is that the "Journal" button is in the menu. If you click it, a small window will appear on the right with a list of previously visited sites. In order not to enter the menu every time, you can move the "Journal" icon to the main panel. To do this, right click on the icon and move it, for example, here:
Now, to see a list of previously visited sites, just click on this icon. It helps a lot when you accidentally closed the desired tab - you can restore it in just 2 clicks.
By the way, the house icon (home page) can be moved to the left - where it should be.
Customizing your browser
The appearance of Firefox has been tweaked a bit, now let's look at the main browser settings. To do this, open the menu again and go to "Settings".
- Click the "Set Default" button to make Mozilla the default browser.
- In the "At startup" line, select the last item "Show last opened windows". This is necessary so that after closing the browser, it remembers your tabs and reloads them when you restart.
- In the "Downloads" field, it is recommended to select "Always prompt me to save files." As a result, when downloading files, the browser will each time ask where to save them.
- In the "Tabs" field, check the box "Instead of new windows, open new tabs."
When you enter a query in the address bar, the selected search engine will automatically open - Yandex or Google.
Installing extensions
The next step is to install new extensions. The Mozilla browser is known for supporting a huge number of add-ons, and it would be foolish not to use them. To install them, open the menu and go to "Add-ons".
Scroll down the page and click on the "See more add-ons" button.
A new tab will open where you can set what you need - for example:
- Visual bookmarks from Yandex;
- Easy Screenshot (for quick screenshots);
- Gmail Notifier (for notification of new letters received by e-mail).
In general, the choice here is huge, so you can easily customize Mozilla Firefox for yourself.
Data synchronization
And the last thing you want to do is create a personal account and link your data (i.e. set up data synchronization). As a result, you will be able to access all bookmarks, passwords, add-ons on any PC, laptop or smartphone. All you need to do is log into your account.
Also, you do not have to save passwords and other data every time you reinstall Mozilla or the Windows system.
To set up synchronization:
That's all. Now you know how to set up Mozilla Firefox and you can easily do it. As you can see, there is nothing complicated here. Of course, these are not all settings, but only the main ones, but if necessary, you yourself can explore other features of the "chanterelle" and add what you need.
Now, in the days of the ubiquitous Internet, every computer owner can literally download any available browser - a program for working with global network resources - in just a couple of mouse clicks.
Although each such software product has a whole army of fans, Firefox can be distinguished from the Mozilla community. Among others, this browser is distinguished by the absence of tracking modules (which Chrome from Google is especially famous for) and humane requirements for computing resources. In order to work with the program conveniently, Firefox must be configured. This will allow you to adjust the browser exactly to your requirements.
Two possibilities
Firefox can be configured in two ways: by standard means available to each user, and by making direct changes to the configuration file. Although the second method (Firefox's hidden settings) is more versatile, as it allows you to take full control over the configuration of the program, beginners should use it with caution. Inadvertently making changes can lead to the opposite effect - slowdowns, crashes, etc. To start, you need to type about:config in the address bar. But setting up Firefox with standard tools is completely safe: it is impossible to seriously disrupt the program, and a relatively small number of points makes it easy to restore the browser to its previous state.
Basic Firefox setup
We have already indicated that each user must configure the program “for themselves”, so there is no need to blindly follow the recommendations given. So, the setup begins with launching the application and clicking on the orange (in Stable and Beta versions) Firefox button, located in the upper left corner of the program window. Next in the list you need to find "Settings" and proceed to the tab of the same name. The "Launch" block allows you to specify the page that will be displayed when the browser is turned on. When you install the Speed Dial extension, the corresponding home page will usually be inserted automatically. Do not ignore the possibility of specifying a folder for downloading files: this will eliminate the need to search for the desired path with Explorer every time. For some users, this may be the desktop, while for others it may be a special folder on the disk. In the "Content" tab, you need to activate the blocking, this will save you when visiting some sites. Here, opposite "Font and colors", you should click "Advanced" and set the encodings to Unicode (UTF-8).
The "Privacy" tab contains the ability to include a special combination of characters in the data packets sent by the browser, which tells the visited site that the user does not want (or vice versa) that a log file with his actions be created. At the same time, Internet resources are not required to follow this requirement. At least for now. But if you disable saving in the "History" block, then all information about the session (visited pages, data entered in forms and cookies) will be destroyed after the application is closed. In fact, this is an analogue of the private mode. Useful when working on someone else's computer. The items on the "Protection" tab are designed to protect the user on the Web. You should not disable them (except for the "Master Password", this is optional). The "Advanced" tab makes it possible to make the browser the main one ("System - Default"). In the "View sites" block, all the checkboxes must be checked: this makes working with sites more convenient. The "Data Selection" item is intended to support developers: in case of failures, data is transmitted to the Firefox servers, where it is analyzed, and measures are taken to eliminate errors in future versions. With the Updates tab, there are usually no special issues: failure, manual and automatic modes. But in "Network - Settings" you can register ports and addresses when working through a proxy server (local or network).
Recovery
Sometimes you need to save Firefox preferences. For example, when reinstalling the system. This is very easy to do with MozBackup. After starting, you need to select Firefox from the list, specify the backup mode and the location to save the profile. When restoring, select restore.
Mozilla Firefox performance optimizations. The built-in browser functionality for fine-tuning it is described below.
about:config- a special page in the browser Mozilla Firefox, which contains many settings that are not available in GUI (via settings GUI). To launch this page, you need to enter in the address bar: about:config and agree with the warning:
On the open page, you can see a list of parameters, as well as the field " Search“, with which you can quickly find the setting of interest:
To edit a parameter, you just need to double-click on it with the left mouse button. (or select it and press ENTER). To reset the parameter in " default" or delete the created one, you need to right-click on it and select the menu item " reset". To add your own parameter, you need to right-click anywhere in the list of parameters, in the menu that appears, select " create» and select the type of parameter to be created.
Parameter (parameter types) is the line in about:config A that contains the name (the name of the setting that is being changed) and the value that corresponds to the given setting. BUT " parameter type' is what value this setting can apply: boolean, numeric, or string. If the type is boolean, then this parameter can take only 2 values: TRUE and FALSE (True/false, yes/no, 1/0, etc...). The numeric type means that only an integer can be assigned to the parameter. A string means that the value of this parameter can be any string (site address, set of numeric values, etc.).
Parameter List are parameters with their description and a set of values that this parameter can take.
Structure— the name of the parameter by which you can find the required setting through the field " Search" in about:config (Parameter type, it is possible to indicate for which versions of Firefox this parameter is suitable)— parameter description.
- the first value that the parameter can take
- the second of the values that the parameter can take
X. n-th of the values that the parameter can take
approx. * — note to this parameter (highly recommended reading)
List of parameter groups- here are groups of parameters that are used in conjunction to solve a specific problem (the separate use of any parameter from the bundle for a normal user is usually meaningless).
Options:
accessibility.tabfocus(Integer) - Parameter responsible for switching between links, text fields, buttons, etc. when you press the TAB button. Values:
1 - Switch only between text forms
2 - Switch between all form controls (except text fields)
3 - Switch between all forms
5 - Switching between text fields, as well as links
7 - Switching between all form controls, as well as links
accessibility.typeaheadfind.autostart(Boolean) - Run or not automatically (without Ctrl+F) quick search when entering letters. Values:
TRUE - Run
FALSE - Do not start
accessibility.typeaheadfind.enabletimeout(Boolean) - Whether to turn off the quick search bar with automatic start (If not via Ctrl+F) after a while. Meaning:
TRUE - Play sound
FALSE - Don't play it
accessibility.typeaheadfind.timeout(Integer) — Time (in ms) after which the quick search panel will be closed.
accessibility.typeaheadfind.enablesound(Boolean) - Responsible for the sound if the text typed in the quick search is not found. Values:
TRUE - Play sound
FALSE - Don't play it
accessibility.typeaheadfind.soundURL(String) - the type of sound on error. Values:
default - default sound
beep - system sound
app.update.interval(Integer) - The interval (in seconds) after which the browser update is checked.
approx. 1 day is 86400 seconds
app.update.auto(Boolean, as of Firefox 12) - The setting responsible for auto-refreshing Firefox. Values:
TRUE - Firefox will update itself without disturbing the user
FALSE - A prompt will be issued to update the browser (like Firefox before version 12)
browser.altClickSave(Boolean) - responsible for the ability to save objects when clicking LMB with the Alt key pressed. Values:
TRUE - When you click on the object Alt + LMB, it is saved
FALSE - Standard browser behavior
browser.backspace_action(Integer) - Responsible for the behavior of the Backspace key. Values:
0 - when you press a key, go back
1 - when you press the key, go forward
2 - when you press a key, this key is ignored by the browser
browser.bookmarks.autoExportHTML(Boolean) - option to save bookmarks (places.sqlite/HTML file). Values:
TRUE - fox will save bookmarks in HTML
FALSE - bookmarks will be stored in places.sqlite
browser.cache.check_doc_frequency(Integer) How often to check the page for changes. Values:
0 - once per session
1 - every time the page is viewed
2 - don't check, use browser cache
3 - check when the page is out of date (detected automatically).
browser.cache.disk.enable(Boolean) - The parameter responsible for using the disk cache. Values:
TRUE - use disk cache
FALSE - do not use
browser.cache.disk.capacity(Integer) - the amount of disk space for the browser cache (in kilobytes).
browser.cache.disk.parent_directory(String) - path to the folder where the cache folder with the Firefox cache will be created.
approx. The path is written like this: X:\folder 1\folder 2\
note 2. This option requires browser.cache.disk.enable to be set to TRUE
browser.cache.disk_cache_ssl(Boolean) - Allow caching of secure pages (HTTPS/SSL) or not. Values:
TRUE - allow
FALSE - disable
approx. This option requires the browser.cache.disk.enable parameter to be set to TRUE
browser.cache.memory.enable(Boolean) - the parameter responsible for using the cache in RAM. Values:
TRUE - use in-memory cache
FALSE - do not use
browser.cache.memory.capacity(Integer) Specifies how RAM is used for the browser cache. Values:
1 - the size is determined automatically as a percentage of the total RAM;
0 - RAM is not used for the cache;
n - maximum cache size is set to n kilobytes
approx. This option requires the browser.cache.memory.enable parameter to be set to TRUE
browser.chrome.image_icons.max_size(Integer) — The maximum width/height of the image (in pixels) to display its thumbnail.
approx. This option may be needed for some "crooked" themes that stretch favicons to half the tab bar to work correctly.
browser.chrome.toolbar_tips(Boolean) - Whether or not to display tooltips when hovering over active elements of both the browser and sites. Values:
TRUE - display
FALSE - do not display
browser.download.lastDir.savePerSite(Boolean) - When saving files with "Always prompt to save files" enabled, the browser remembers the last save location. This option allows you to set a separate folder for each site. Values:
TRUE - Each site remembers its "last file save location"
FALSE - The last folder is remembered for all sites
browser.download.manager.scanWhenDone(Boolean) - Checking files with antivirus. Values:
FALSE disables antivirus scanning of downloaded files (increases speed, but reduces security), also disables the message "This file was received from another computer and may have been blocked to protect your computer"
TRUE check is enabled.
browser.download.manager.showAlertOnComplete(Boolean) - responsible for the message about downloading files. Values:
TRUE - Show file upload message
FALSE - Do not show a message about downloading files
browser.download.manager.flashCount(Integer) — Time (in seconds) during which the message about downloading files is shown.
approx. this option requires setting browser.download.manager.showAlertOnComplete to TRUE
browser.download.panel.removeFinishedDownloads(Boolean) - whether or not to remove completed downloads from the list of downloads. Values:
TRUE - clean up when the download is finished
FALSE - leave in the list
browser.download.useToolkitUI(Boolean, since Firefox 20) - is responsible for displaying the new download manager, instead of the old one (as a separate window). Values:
TRUE - display the download manager in a separate window
FALSE - display a new type of download manager (popup window from a button)
browser.display.force_inline_alttext- Responsible for displaying images in the browser
TRUE - show pictures
FALSE - do not show images, alt text will be displayed instead
browser.display.show_image_placeholders(Boolean) - The parameter responsible for displaying icons for uploaded images (such as squares). Values:
TRUE - Show icons
FALSE - Don't show
browser.enable_automatic_image_resizing(Boolean) — automatic scaling (reduction) of pictures. Values:
TRUE - Enable
FALSE - Disable
browser.formfill.enable(Boolean) - Save search history and forms.
TRUE saves data entered in web page forms and search bar
FALSE entered data is not saved
browser.history_expire_days(Integer) - The number of days the browsing history is kept.
browser.link.open_external(Integer) - Specifies how to open links from external applications. Values:
0 - Open in last tab/window
1 - In a new window
2 - In a new tab of the last window
browser.link.open_newwindow.restriction(Integer) - Allows you to open tabs instead of new windows. Values:
browser.newtab.url(String) - determines what will open in new tabs. Values:
about:blank — A blank page
file:///* - Path to folder\file
browser.newtabpage.rows and browser.newtabpage.columns(Integer, since Firefox 18.0) — The number of rows and columns of thumbnails displayed on the start page, introduced in Firefox since version 13.
browser.newtabpage.enabled(Boolean, as of Firefox 13.0) - Parameter responsible for adding sites to the new start page. Values:
TRUE - Pages will be added
FALSE - Pages will not be added, but those that already exist will remain. Therefore, they will need to be removed manually.
browser.pagethumbnails.capturing_disabled(Boolean, as of Firefox 12.0) - Disable page thumbnail creation for the "new tab" page. Values:
TRUE — Page thumbnails will not be generated
FALSE - Thumbnail creation is not allowed
browser.panorama.animate_zoom(Boolean) - Parameter responsible for the animation of the “increase” of the tab when it is selected from the panorama. Values:
TRUE - Animation will be displayed
browser.preferences.advanced.selectedTabIndex(Integer) - determines which section of the "advanced" tab of the main settings to open by default. Values:
0 - General
2 - Updates
3 - Encryption
browser.preferences.animateFadeIn(Boolean) - whether to change the height of the window when navigating through sections of the browser settings. Values:
TRUE - change
FALSE - do not change
browser.preferences.InContent(Boolean, since Firefox 15.0) - Option responsible for opening settings not in a separate window, but in a tab. Values:
TRUE - Settings will open in a new tab
FALSE - Settings will open in a separate window as before
browser.preferences.instantApply(Boolean) - Whether the confirmation button must be pressed to change settings. Values:
TRUE — The settings are activated immediately. (there is only a "close" button in the window)
FALSE — The confirmation button must be pressed to activate the settings. (in this case, 2 buttons are used: "OK" and "Cancel")
browser.safebrowsing.enabled(Boolean) - Allow Phishing Protection or not. Values:
FALSE - disable protection
browser.search.defaultenginename(String) — Specifies the default search engine name.
browser.search.openintab(Boolean) - Specifies where to open search results from the search string. Values:
TRUE - search results, from the search bar will open in a new tab
FALSE - in the current tab
browser.search.suggest.enabled(Boolean) - roughly speaking, whether or not a selection of values \u200b\u200bis shown when entering into the search bar. Values:
TRUE - yes, query search plugins for these suggested values.
FALSE - no, do not prompt.
browser.send_pings(Boolean) - Whether to send link click notifications to the addresses specified in the "ping" attribute of the tag. Values:
TRUE - send.
browser.sessionhistory.max_entries(Integer) — The number of back/forward steps to remember.
browser.sessionstore.interval(Integer) — The interval (In ms) after which the session is saved.
approx. 10000 = 10 sec
browser.sessionstore.max_tabs_undo(Integer) — Number of closed tabs displayed in "recently closed tabs"
browser.showQuitWarning(Boolean) - Determines whether or not to show a window asking whether to keep closed tabs until the next session or not.
TRUE - show window
FALSE - do not show
browser.sessionstore.max_concurrent_tabs(Integer) — How many tabs to load simultaneously when restoring a session. In previous versions, the browser loaded all the tabs at the same time, which heavily loaded the system.
approx. If you assign a value of 0 to the parameter, then the tabs will be loaded when you switch to them.
Important!!! Starting with Firefox 13, browser.sessionstore.restore_on_demand and browser.sessionstore.restore_pinned_tabs_on_demand are automatically set to FALSE when this setting is created.
browser.sessionstore.resume_from_crash(Boolean) - Whether or not to show the session recovery dialog after a fox crash. Values:
TRUE - show
FALSE - start a new session without any warning
browser.startup.homepage(String) - set the address of the home page. Values:
about:newtab - Page containing the most visited sites (Introduced in Firefox 13)
about:home - Start page (aka default home page)
about:blank — A blank page
http://* - The address of the site that will open
file:///* - Path to folder/file
browser.tabs.animate(Boolean) - responsible for the animation of the tab bar (opening / closing tabs). Values:
TRUE - animation enabled
FALSE - animation is disabled
browser.tabs.warnOnClose(Boolean) - Specifies whether or not to show a warning when multiple tabs are closed. Values:
TRUE - show
FALSE - do not show
browser.tabs.tabMaxWidth(Integer) — The maximum width of the tabs (in pixels).
browser.tabs.tabMinWidth(Integer) — The minimum tab width limit (in pixels) after which the tab scroll button appears.
browser.tabs.tabClipWidth(Integer) — The width of the tab (in pixels) from which the cross disappears.
browser.tabs.closeButtons(Integer) - Have a "close" button on tabs. Values:
0 - show the close button only on the active tab
1 - show close buttons on all tabs
2 - don't show close buttons at all
3 - show a single close button at the end of the tab bar (this was the case in Firefox 1.x)
browser.tabs.closeWindowWithLastTab(Boolean) - Specifies whether to close the browser when the last tab is closed. Values:
TRUE - close the window when the last tab is closed.
FALSE - The window will not close.
browser.tabs.loadFolderAndReplace(Boolean) - Every bookmarked folder has a "Open All in Tabs" option at the bottom. You can also middle-click on the folder itself (or Ctrl+LMB). Values:
TRUE - all currently open tabs of the current window will be replaced
FALSE - new tabs will be added to existing ones
browser.tabs.insertRelatedAfterCurrent(Boolean) - This parameter determines where new tabs will open.
TRUE - New tabs will open immediately after the current tab.
FALSE - New tabs will open at the end of the list of tabs.
browser.tabs.loadBookmarksInBackground(Boolean) - Each bookmark has an "Open in new tab" item in the context menu. You can also middle-click on a bookmark (or Ctrl+LMB). Values:
TRUE - a new tab will open in the background
FALSE - will switch to a new tab
browser.tabs.loadDivertedInBackground(Boolean) - Determines how tabs are opened instead of windows), as well as links from external applications. Values:
TRUE - open such tabs in the background
FALSE - switch between opened tabs
browser.triple_click_selects_paragraph(Boolean) - determines what to highlight when triple-clicking on text. Values:
TRUE - the paragraph will be highlighted
FALSE - the line will be highlighted
browser.underline_anchors(Boolean) - underline links or not. Values:
FALSE - do not underline
browser.urlbar.clickSelectsAll(Boolean) - Automatically highlight the entire line in the address bar field. Values:
TRUE - Enable
FALSE - Disable
browser.urlbar.hideGoButton(Boolean) - control of the button to go to the page (the button to the right of the address bar) Values:
TRUE - the button is visible. The value is not related to security, only to a panel customization bug
FALSE - the button is hidden
browser.urlbar.maxRichResults(Integer) — When entering text into the address bar. The browser tries to predict our desires and displays the proposed addresses under the address bar, but this is not always convenient. This parameter specifies the number of suggestions to display.
approx. To disable the output of these addresses, you need to set this parameter to -1
browser.urlbar.formatting.enabled(Boolean) - Responsible for highlighting the domain in the address bar. Values:
TRUE - Enable highlighting
FALSE - Disable selection
browser.urlbar.trimURLs(Boolean, since Firefox 7.0) - Responsible for displaying the "http://" prefix in the address bar (but when copying the address from the address bar to the clipboard, the prefix is copied). Values:
TRUE - Hide prefix
FALSE - Display it
browser.xul.error_pages.enabled(Boolean) - Determines the method for displaying server connection errors. Values:
TRUE - If the address doesn't load, Firefox shows the default error page in this tab.
FALSE - If the address doesn't load, Firefox shows a JavaScript window and the tab remains empty.
converter.html2txt.header_strategy(Integer) - how to handle HTML headers when saving a web page to plain text. Values:
0 - do not process at all
1 - Indent (according to the principle - H (n + 1) shifts more than H (n))
2 - Number and indent a little
config.trim_on_minimize(Boolean, created) - Responsible for the location of the memory when the browser is minimized. Values:
TRUE when the browser is minimized, all its data will be transferred from RAM (RAM) to virtual memory (located on the hard disk). This will free up RAM (which is very useful when the fox is gluttonous), but will reduce the speed of the browser unfolding.
FALSE - The memory is not unloaded, but also works faster (only when collapsing-expanding, not at all)
These settings are responsible for allowing Java-scripts to do something with windows. The type of all parameters is Boolean. Values:
TRUE - allow, FALSE - prohibit.
dom.disable_window_open_feature.close - disable the close button
dom.disable_window_open_feature.directories - hide the bookmarks bar
dom.disable_window_open_feature.location - hide address bar
dom.disable_window_open_feature.menubar - hide window menu
dom.disable_window_open_ feature.minimizable - Minimize popups
dom.disable_window_open_feature.personalbar - Hide the personal toolbar
dom.disable_window_open_feature.resizable - resize windows
dom.disable_window_open_feature.scrollbars - hide scrollbars
dom.disable_window_open_feature.status - hide the status bar
dom.disable_window_open_feature.titlebar - hide window titlebar
dom.disable_window_open_feature.toolbar - hide the toolbar
dom.disable_window_move_resize - resize the window and prevent the user from changing it
dom.ipc.plugins.enabled(Boolean) - The parameter responsible for the plugin-container. Values:
TRUE - Use plugin-container
FALSE - Disable it
extensions.alwaysUnpack(boolean) - a parameter responsible for the ability to forcibly unpack all extensions. This is required for some add-ons written for older versions of Firefox to work, but may adversely affect the download speed of fox.
TRUE - Force all extensions to be unpacked
FALSE - Unpack only if install.rdf contains the appropriate tag. Recommended.
extensions.blocklist.enabled(Boolean) - Allow or not Firefox to block extensions from the "black list", which is compiled by the browser developers. Values:
FALSE - Ignore the blacklist and allow all extensions to be installed.
extensions.blocklist.url(String) — the address where the blacklist update is checked.
extensions.blocklist.interval(Integer) — time, in seconds, after which the update of the black list is checked.
extensions.dss.enabled(Boolean) - Allow dynamic theme change (no reboot).
TRUE - allow
extensions.getAddons.maxResults(Integer) - When searching for add-ons through the built-in manager, 25 results are displayed in the search results. This option allows you to increase the number of results for a more fruitful search.
extensions.update.autoUpdateDefault(Boolean) - Automatically update extensions without prompting the user. Values:
TRUE - Fully automatic update that requires no user intervention
FALSE Firefox will ask the user for permission before updating add-ons
extensions.update.enabled(Boolean) - Controls the search for extension updates. Values:
TRUE — update search is allowed
FALSE - disabled
extensions.update.notifyUser(Boolean) - show information about found updates for extensions when the browser starts. Values:
TRUE - show
FALSE - do not show
general.autoscroll(Boolean) — option to scroll the page using mouse wheel click. Values:
TRUE - Allow scrolling this way
FALSE - Disable this scrolling method
geo.enabled(Boolean) - Determines whether or not to send sites information about your location. Meaning:
TRUE - Send this information
FALSE - Sites will not be given access to your location
image.animation_mode(String) - how to play the animation (gif). Values:
normal - completely play
once - once
none - disable animation playback
images.dither(String) — parameter responsible for image smoothing. Values:
auto - the browser decides which images to smooth and which not
true - Smooth all images
false - Don't smooth them at all
intl.accept_languages(String) — a string with a list of preferred languages for displaying web pages.
javascript.options.jit.chrome(Boolean) - JS engine for handling the browser shell. Values:
FALSE - Turn it off
keyword.enabled(Boolean) - control search from the address bar. values:
TRUE - search
FALSE - disable search from the address bar
keyword.URL(String) — default search engine address (when searching from the address bar). Values:
layout.spellcheckDefault(Integer) - By default, Firefox checks spelling only in multi-line input boxes, ignoring single-line ones, using this parameter you can turn off spelling at all, or enable it for single-line input boxes as well. Values:
- Disable spell check
- Spell check works in "large" input fields
- Spell check works in all input fields
layout.word_select.eat_space_to_next_word(Boolean) — Determines how the word will be highlighted when you double-click on it. Values:
TRUE - double-clicking on a word highlights it with a space to the right
FALSE - Space is not selected when double-clicking on a word
middlemouse.paste(Boolean) - paste text from the clipboard by clicking the middle mouse button. Values:
TRUE - Allow
FALSE - Deny
middlemouse.scrollbarPosition(Boolean) - Set how the scrollbar behaves when MMB (Middle Mouse Button) is clicked on it. Values:
TRUE - When MMB is clicked on the scrollbar, the slider jumps to the place where the click was made.
FALSE - Nothing happens when MMB is clicked on the scrollbar
mousewheel.acceleration.start(Integer) - after how many “clicks” of continuous rotation of the wheel acceleration is considered to be on
mousewheel.acceleration.factor(Integer) — Speed up page scrolling. (If you need to scroll a lot, then the scrolling speed will be increased by the value specified in this parameter).
mousewheel.withcontrolkey.numlines(Integer) - Mouse behavior when zooming in/out by scrolling the mouse wheel. Values:
1 - Mouse wheel away from you - ZOOM
1 - Mouse wheel away from you - ZOOM
approx. On MacOSX, Control+Scroll is used to enlarge the area of the screen under the mouse - for designers, display at presentations, and people with non-eagle vision.
network.automatic-ntlm-auth.trusted-uris(String) - A list of addresses that require NTLM. If there are several addresses, then they are entered separated by commas.
network.cookie.cookieBehavior(Integer) — Cookie processing by the browser. Values:
0 - accept all cookies
1 - cookies only from the visited site
2 - do not accept cookies
3 - Work with cookies based on privacy levels
network.http.connect.timeout(Integer) - The number of seconds to load the page.
network.http.use-cache(Boolean) Determines whether http documents are allowed to be cached. Values:
TRUE - allowed
FALSE - not allowed
network.http.sendRefererHeader(Integer) determines when to send the Referer header (i.e. we are talking about sending the server the URI address of the resource from which the link was clicked or images were loaded). Values:
0 - never send;
1 — send only for links;
2 - send for links and images (default value)
approx. Attention: the ban on sending Referer headers may cause violations in the operation of some sites (for example, pictures, including captchas, may not be displayed).
network.standard-url.escape-utf8(Boolean) - encoding links when copying. Values:
TRUE - Encoding is allowed, copied links will look like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%BB%D1%83%D0%B6%D0%B5%D0%B1%D0% BD%D0%B0%D1%8F:Search
network.prefetch-next(Boolean) - Preload the browser with links that the site considers the user's most likely next step. Values:
TRUE - Enable
nglayout.initialpaint.delay(Integer) — This is the delay before the page starts rendering, in milliseconds. Recommended 0.
pdfjs.disabled(Boolean, since Firefox 15.0) - Parameter responsible for displaying PDF documents in the browser itself. Values:
TRUE — This feature is disabled. A separate application is required to open PDF
FALSE - PDF documents are opened using a browser
permissions.default.image(Integer) - responsible for displaying images. Values:
1 - Download all images
2 - Do not upload images
3 - Download images only from the same server
plugins.click_to_play(Boolean, for Firefox 14.0+) - Responsible for launching page content rendered by plugins using the "play" button. Values:
TRUE — The content will only play when the corresponding button is clicked (recommended).
FALSE - The content will run automatically on page load.
plugin.default_plugin_disabled(Boolean) - Whether or not to show a pop-up warning about the missing plugin required for page elements. For example: notification that flashplayer for youtube is required. Values:
TRUE - Show such warnings.
FALSE - Don't show.
plugin.scan.plid.all(Boolean) - permission to scan directories specified in the Windows registry identifying plugins. Values:
TRUE - Scan directories specified in the registry
FALSE - Do not scan
plugins.update.notifyUser(Boolean) - whether or not to notify the user about plugin updates. Values:
TRUE - notify
FALSE - do not notify
print.always_print_silent(Boolean) - Specifies whether or not to show the printer selection dialog when printing. Values:
TRUE - The dialog is not shown. Printing is done on the default printer.
FALSE - The dialog is shown.
profile.confirm_automigration(Boolean) - Ask whether or not to import information from other browsers when creating a new profile. Values:
TRUE - ask
FALSE - don't ask
profile.seconds_until_defunct(Integer) - Time (in seconds) after which an unused profile is considered obsolete and removed from the list of profiles.
approx. 1 day is 86400 seconds
security.dialog_enable_delay(Integer) - delay before downloading the add-on. Recommended 0.
ui.key.saveLink.shift(Boolean) — whether to use the Shift+LMB combination to download the object. Values:
TRUE - use this combination
FALSE - do not use
ui.submenuDelay(Integer) - This parameter is responsible for the delay before opening the submenu. Values:
1 - submenu will open only when clicked
0 - no delay
n - delay (in ms)
view_source.wrap_long_lines(Boolean) - Responsible for wrapping long lines when displaying the source code of the page. Values:
TRUE - Transfer
FALSE - Do not transfer
Firefox stores all these settings in a file prefs.js, which is located in the profile folder (~/.mozilla/firefox), in order to avoid loss of browser performance, it is recommended to create a backup copy. Some parameters are very similar to each other, therefore, when correcting them, you need to be careful ...
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The browser from Mozilla has a special service page, which contains countless various hidden Firefox settings. Today we'll show you how to enable those that may be of most interest to the average user.
Recall that we recently talked about the parameters and tricks that will help. In the same material, we will talk about various small tweaks and improvements, mainly to the browser interface.
Where to find hidden Firefox settings?
If the information about Firefox settings on a special service page was still new for you, then finding this page is elementary. Type about:config into the address bar, press Enter and click on the blue "I accept the risk" button:
The warning greets you for a reason: some Firefox settings, if changed at random, can adversely affect the operation of the program
And here we have the same page where you can enable, disable and change various features of the browser:
There are many parameters here and each has its own values. For some it's boolean true or false (enabled/disabled), for others it's specific numbers or even URLs. Changing boolean values is very simple: you just need to double-click on the desired line with the left mouse button, and you will see how its value immediately changes from true to false or vice versa.
Changed parameters are subsequently highlighted in bold for clarity. However, you can see these even before you start making any edits yourself. Do not be alarmed: most likely, you have already changed options due to installed plugins or extensions.
The only big problem with this whole page is that the names of the parameters on it sometimes do not say anything even to a user who speaks English, and no additional descriptions are provided. However, we will help you to deal with this at least partially.
Firefox Tab Settings
Let's start with various hidden settings related to Firefox tabs. Most obvious, you can make them narrower, making Firefox more like other browsers.
By default, Firefox tabs, no matter how many times you open them, never shrink to more than 76 pixels, which is their minimum width:
However, in the settings, you can reduce this value to 50 pixels using the browser.tabs.tabMinWidth parameter (use the built-in search to find it), which can be manually set to the desired value.
This is very important for those who prefer to work with a large number of tabs, as there will be more of them on the screen. Consequently, you will have to resort to scrolling the panel with them and extra clicks less often.
Last year, Firefox introduced a very handy option that allows you to use Ctrl + Tab to switch tabs not in order, but in the order they were used:
This option, as you can see, is in the main browser settings, although it is usually disabled by default. The about:config page has an interesting browser.ctrlTab.previews setting associated with it. It allows you to make such switching in visual mode, when you see the tabs between which you balance:
Another parameter regarding tabs is how much the browser remembers them for quick recall with Ctrl+Shift+T. By default, only ten tabs are remembered. But if you need more, just set the browser.sessionstore.max_tabs_undo parameter to the desired number instead of 10.
Here are some more important settings on about:config related to tabs:
- browser.tabs.closeWindowWithLastTab - set to false to prevent the Firefox window from closing when the last tab is closed;
- browser.tabs.insertRelatedAfterCurrent - set to false so that new tabs do not open after the current one, but at the end of the tab bar;
- browser.tabs.closeTabByDblclick is a new setting that is not yet in the stable version of the browser. It will appear in Firefox 61 and will allow you to close tabs with a double click of the left mouse button.
New tab page settings
Let's move on to the settings of the new tab page, where last year with the release of the Quantum update in Firefox there were big changes. The cells there have become strikingly smaller. If you want the old version, you can still return it. This is done with the browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.enabled parameter. Set it to false and you have the old version of the new tab:
Updated: alas, since Firefox 60 this option has become unavailable, the old version of the new tab can no longer be returned.
Do you want more? Then pay attention to the browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.topSitesCount parameter. By default, it is 6 or 12, but you can write your own number and you will see the required number of cells. For example, 18:
Updated: since version 60 this parameter is no longer available. Instead, another one is proposed: browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.topSitesRows, but it only adjusts the number of rows with cells.
Bookmark settings
The following Firefox hidden settings are related to bookmarks and their bar. By default, opening several elements from there at once is frankly inconvenient.
For example, you opened a folder with bookmarks in the panel:
And you want, while holding Ctrl, to open several elements from there in sequence. Alas, this will not work for you, because when you open the first bookmark from the folder, the browser will immediately close the menu. To prevent this from happening, look for the parameter browser.bookmarks.openInTabClosesMenu. It needs to be set to false.
You may also be interested in the browser.tabs.loadBookmarksInBackground setting (set it to true), which will cause all bookmarks opened with the "open in new tab" command, mouse wheel and LMB+Ctrl to start opening in background tabs, i.e. you will not be immediately transfer to them from the current page.
As a result, Firefox in this case will start opening bookmarks in the same way as Google Chrome, which seems more convenient to us.
However, sometimes the user needs not only the convenience of working with the favorites. Sometimes it is required that your bookmarks, on the contrary, are not displayed in prominent places where someone can accidentally see them. Since last fall, the last bookmarks you added, as well as part of your browsing history, are always displayed in the favorites menu:
There is no explicit option to remove them from there. Luckily, this option is among Firefox's hidden settings in about:config. Find the setting browser.library.activity-stream.enabled and set it to false. "Last Favorites" will disappear from the menu:
Return it, if possible, by giving the parameter its initial value of true.
Autoplay settings
Firefox currently has very simple rules for autoplaying audio and video on websites: it works on active tabs, it doesn't work on background tabs. That is, if you have already seen the contents of the tab, then playback there will begin immediately, without the need to click on the Play button or perform any other actions.
If this situation does not suit you, then find the media.autoplay.enabled parameter and set it to false. In this case, playback will not start on its own anywhere until you explicitly press the button to start it. This is true even for YouTube:
On the other hand, you can make autoplay rules less restrictive by allowing you to play something in the background tabs. That is, we are talking about those tabs that you have opened (via ctrl or clicking on the link with the mouse wheel), but have not yet seen their contents.
In fact, preventing such tabs from “voicing”, which is set by default in the browser, looks very reasonable, but in rare situations it may be useful to remove it. To do this, find the media.block-autoplay-until-in-foreground setting and set it to false.
Copying and pasting text
Two more parameters are related to operations on text. Have you noticed that when you double-click on any word on the page, the browser automatically captures the space following this word in the selection:
This is not always convenient. You can disable this feature using the layout.word_select.eat_space_to_next_word parameter. It should be set to false and then words on web pages will start to be highlighted without capturing spaces at the end.
Another option related to text concerns its insertion. You can set up the mouse wheel so that it can paste text copied to the clipboard into text fields. As a result, you do not have to call the context menu for this and select the “paste” command. To implement this, the middlemouse.paste parameter is needed.
Address bar settings
Our next stop is the address bar. You probably noticed that for some web pages containing Cyrillic, when you try to copy, a whole mess of various characters is copied.
The link in this case remains working, but it looks terrible, absolutely not visible, and in addition, it takes up a lot of space. Take, for example, the front page of Wikipedia. In the screenshot below, the gadget on the side shows what went to the clipboard when copying the URL:
Fortunately, at least for a part of the pages with Cyrillic in their addresses, this situation can be corrected using the browser.urlbar.decodeURLsOnCopy parameter. Set it to true and the result of copying addresses will be completely different:
Another setting for the address bar is related to its drop-down menu. There, as you know, search suggestions, bookmarks, open tabs, elements of the history of visits, and so on can be displayed. For all this, Firefox offers no more than ten positions by default.
If this is not enough for you, then using the parameter browser.urlbar.maxRichResults you can increase the number of positions for the drop-down menu of the address bar. As a result, more information will fit there. By default, the parameter is ten, but you can increase its value, for example, up to 15:
Other Firefox settings
Finally, a few more parameters that are difficult to attribute to any particular category. Perhaps the most interesting of these is findbar.modalHighlight. It touches the built-in search on the page and runs with it a special dimming effect, very similar to what is used in Safari and was also the classic Opera Presto:
Thanks to the effect, the results stand out much more clearly on the pages. They are easier and faster to find.
Of the other parameters, we note the following:
- reader.parse-on-load.enabled - allows you to remove the read mode icon from the toolbar if you never use it;
- pdfjs.disabled - allows you to download PDF documents directly to disk if you are not satisfied with the browser built into Firefox;
- browser.backspace_action - sets the effect of pressing the Backspace button (0 - go back to the page, 1 - quickly scroll the page up);
- browser.fullscreen.autohide - do not hide the address bar and tabs in full screen mode (only the Windows taskbar will disappear).
These are the main hidden Firefox settings that we wanted to tell you about today. We will supplement and expand this material as new additional settings appear in about:config.
I welcome you, dear visitor of the blog site.
In one of my articles, I have already briefly described the main browsers, where I also mentioned Mazil. Today I will describe exactly how install Mazila and configure. I will dwell on some features, advantages and disadvantages of the Firefox browser.
Mozilla Firefox was launched under this name, now back in 2004. And since then, its main competitor has been and remains Internet Explorer. But since 2011, another rather serious competitor has appeared - Google Chrome. And all this time he literally breathed the hero of our topic in the back. And now, judging by some data from authoritative sources, they generally go head to head.
But let's not delve into the history of browser creation and analyze the statistics of their popularity, but let's move on to our topic.
Reasons why you can install a muzzle
I will not list all its advantages, but I will note only the most significant in my opinion. Here they are:
- This browser is one of the most to date. For example, if you visit a malicious site, you will be shown a warning.
- Its architecture is simple enough for developers to create new add-ons and for users to install them.
- It is possible to configure the use of a master password to protect access to all other passwords stored in the browser.
- (automatic) pop-ups. Agree a very useful thing in the age of ubiquitous advertising.
- Spellchecking. For example, when writing comments on articles on some sites, it doesn’t even hurt.
- A fairly wide range of your bookmarks. For example, you can create folders, groups, assign tags.
- The ability to synchronize your data and even installed settings on different computers and not necessarily with the same operating systems.
- The presence of such a function as “Private Browsing”, that is, at the end of visiting the site, all personal information is deleted.
Of course, there are also disadvantages. For example, such as excessive resource consumption, that is, more memory consumption compared to other browsers. Or the impossibility, as in Opera, to turn off viewing pictures on the fly. But as for me, this is not so important that you pay attention to it if you really firmly decided to install Mazila.
How to install mazila on a computer
First of all, you need to download the installation file from the official website. Click<< СЮДА >>. There you will see a green rectangle that says: “Firefox free download”, click on it. After the download is done. Run this file and you will see the installation wizard window, where you need to click “Next”:
After the previous window, you will be taken to the next one. Here you need to put on “Typical installation”, if suddenly it is not there yet and click “Next” again:
Forgive me those readers of my blog - pensioners who ask to describe in as much detail as possible, but further, I think, there is no need to continue. The browser will be installed and you can safely start setting it up, as they say: “for yourself”.
How to get into Mazila's settings
Well, install Mazila, I hope you could, now let's figure out its settings. There is nothing complicated here and you will see for yourself. So, in order to get into this window, you need to Click on the triangle to the right of the inscription “Firefox” in the upper left corner, then in the drop-down list, move the cursor over the inscription “Settings” and in the next list, click on the inscription of the same name:
By the way, in the same list, you can immediately check the boxes next to those panels that you would like to see in your browser. After the manipulations described above, your gaze will be presented with the very settings window that we need. And let's immediately proceed to the analysis of the settings.
Firefox Basic Settings - Startup and Downloads
Click on "Basic". Here you can set for our Mazila which windows and tabs to show at startup. Customize the home page if you specify that "Show home page" on startup. And set a permanent path for saving files, if you check this item. After all the operations done, click “OK”:
I have the settings as shown in the picture. I find them the most comfortable. Why? Everything is very simple. For example, at first I wanted to set up a homepage with Gizmeteo. And I found it convenient. You launch the browser, watch the weather and then continue to work. But that was until one day when I accidentally closed Mazila. And openly I had at that time about ten tabs with which I worked.
Of course, this is not a disaster, but the time to reuse them in history has been spent. If you still want to install some kind of home page to launch, then you can simply copy its url (address) in the address bar of your browser and paste it where the arrow in the picture shows.
Not all of my retired readers will need the “Synchronization” item, so I won’t dwell on it. And the last - "Additionally" does not represent anything interesting for our audience. There you can leave everything as it is.
About extensions in Mozilla Firefox
And yet, the most important advantage of Mazila among all other browsers is, of course, the presence of a huge number of extensions. You can get there by clicking on the “Add-ons” tab from the navigation list:
After that, the browser will open the “Tab Management” window, where you can see which extensions you already have installed by clicking on “Extensions” and, if necessary, disable something, delete or configure. Also see the installed theme by clicking on “Appearance”. And to change the appearance or install some other extensions, you need to click on “Get add-ons”:
and in the lower right corner click on “Browse all add-ons” or “Show all full themes”, depending on what you need:
And now you can choose whatever you like. The choice there is huge. I won't describe how it's done. This will pull on a separate big topic. You can figure it out yourself if you wish. Well, as regards how to install Mazila and configure I have nothing more to add. But if you have any questions, comments are at your service.
Good luck to you! See you soon on the PenserMan blog pages.
