Mozilla Firefox

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Mozilla Firefox

Information about Mozilla's Firefox web browser.

Contents 1 About Firefox 2 Add-ons 2.1 Installed Add-ons 2.2 Other Add-ons 2.3 Research Required for these Add-ons 3 Installing Firefox for use with Gmail, GoogleMail and Google Apps 3.1 Install or Upgrade Firefox 3.1.1 If you don't have Firefox 3+ 3.1.2 If you already have Firefox 3.2 Configure Firefox 3.3 Install Firefox Add-ons 3.3.1 Add-on: British English Dictionary 3.3.2 Add-on: Google Gears 3.3.3 Add-on: DragDropUplad 3.3.4 Add-on: Better Gmail 2 3.3.5 Restart Firefox 3.4 Configure Firefox Add-ons 3.4.1 Configure Better Gmail 2 Add-on 3.5 Other Firefox Add-ons 4 Syncing Firefox Bookmarks 4.1 Google Firefox Browser Sync 4.2 Bookmark Sync and Sort Add-on 4.3 See Also 5 Troubleshooting 5.1 Manually deleting Download Preferences 5.2 Firefox Update Error 6 Macintosh Links 6.1 Official Apple Resources 6.2 Unofficial Mac Resources 6.3 Mac User Guides & Tutorials

About Firefox

An Open Source web browser which works for Mac OS, Windows and Linux.

• Firefox — download Firefox.
• Firefox Add-ons — download useful add-ons including extensions, themes, dictionaries and more.

Add-ons

Installed Add-ons

• Bookmark Sync and Sort — sync bookmarks stored in an XML file on FTP/WebDAV server. See Syncing Firefox Bookmarks below.
• Dictionary — various languages to work with the Firefox spell-checking feature.
• Download Helper — tool to capture video, audio and images from websites.
• Download Statusbar — view and manage downloads without the download window.
• FireBug — web developer tools allow you to edit, debug, and monitor CSS, HTML, and JavaScript live in any web page. See also getfirebug.com.
• FireFTP — free, secure, cross-platform FTP client which provides easy and intuitive access.
• Google Notebook — allows you to take notes while browsing.
• Scrapbook — helps you to save Web pages and organize a collection of saved sites. Excellent!
• Selenium IDE — integrated development environment for Selenium tests which allows you to record, edit, and debug tests.
• User Agent Switcher — adds menu and toolbar button to switch the user agent of the browser. See ChrisPederick.com.
• Web Developer — adds menu and toolbar with various web developer tools. See ChrisPederick.com.

Other Add-ons

• Weekedit — extension which adds a contextual menu with MediaWiki editing assistance (Windows only).
• Wizz RSS News Reader — an RSS and Atom feed reader.
• Xinha Here! — portable WYSIWYG editor! No matter what site you're visiting you can launch a WYSIWYG right in your browser...

Research Required for these Add-ons

• Macros for Firefox — automate your web browser, record and replay repetitious work, manage passwords, manage form profiles.

Installing Firefox for use with Gmail, GoogleMail and Google Apps

Below is a guide to installing the Firefox browser and Addons to make the best use of a Gmail, GoogleMail or Google Apps email account.

Install or Upgrade Firefox

For best results you should use the Firefox browser to access your email.

If you don't have Firefox 3+

You should download and install Firefox v3+:

Please note: the link above will install the US English version. If you speak British English, or any other language, then you should install Firefox that speaks your language.

If you already have Firefox

Check you are running version 3+:

1. Launch Firefox.
2. In the Firefox menu, click on Firefox > About Mozilla Firefox.
   
3. In the About Mozilla Firefox window, verify that version 3+ is installed:
   
4. If not, then upgrade to Firefox v3+.

Configure Firefox

For best results you should change a few of your Firefox settings.

Install Firefox Add-ons

You should also install the following Add-ons to extend the functionality of Firefox.

Add-on: British English Dictionary

Install the British English Dictionary add-on to check your spelling as you type.

Note: If you speak another language, then visit then install Dictionary & Language Pack suitable to your needs.

Add-on: Google Gears

Install the Google Gears add-on which makes your email and other Google apps run quicker.

Add-on: DragDropUplad

Install the DragDropUpload add-on which enables you to drag-and-drop files for upload.

Add-on: Better Gmail 2

Install the Better Gmail 2 add-on which adds useful extra features to Gmail, including:

• Add Row Highlights — highlights each message in your Inbox when you hover over them;
• Attachment Icons — see from your Inbox what kind of attachment an email has;
• Filter Assistant — adds a create filter button to a message.
• Folders4Gmail — lists labels in a folder-like hierarchy.
• Show Collapsible Calendar and Reader — adds Google Calendar and Reader below your inbox;
• Many, many more...

Restart Firefox

Once the Add-ons are installed you will need to restart Firefox

Configure Firefox Add-ons

Most add-ons will work with the default settings, except for:

Configure Better Gmail 2 Add-on

To configure the Better Gmail 2 Add-on:

1. Open the Tools > Add-ons window;
   
2. Select the Better Gmail 2 add-on and click on Preferences;
   
3. In the General tab leave Inbox Count First ticked;
   
4. Open the Sidebar tab and tick Folders4Gmail to enable hierarchical labels (folders)
   
5. Click Ok to save your settings

Firefox is now configured. Click your browser's Refresh button to reload your email

Other Firefox Add-ons

Below are a few other Firefox Add-ons which some users may find useful.

• Optional: Foxmarks Bookmark Synchroniser add-on syncs your bookmarks and passwords if you use more than one computer.
• Optional: Gmail Checker add-on notifies you when new messages arrive.
• Optional: Gmail Manager add-on allows you to manage multiple Gmail and Google Apps accounts.
• Optional: Email This add-on lets you send the link, title and highlighted text of any web page you are viewing.
• Optional: Gspace add-on allows you to use your Gmail or Google Apps space to upload and store files.

Syncing Firefox Bookmarks

Google Firefox Browser Sync

The easiest solution, so long as you're only using Firefox, is Google Firefox Browser Sync which as usual with Google is completely free and easy to use. Just follow the instructions at Google. Discontinued.

Bookmark Sync and Sort Add-on

This is a little add-on that allows you to use any ftp server (.Mac or your own domain) to house a shared bookmark file. This is an example using .Mac.

1. Download and install the Firefox Bookmark Sync and Sort extension.
2. Restart Firefox to activate the extension.
3. Once restarted, use the Tools > Add-ons menu item to open the Add-ons window.
4. Select Bookmark Sync and Sort from the list and click Preferences.
5. In the Basic tab, set your Remote File Settings to HTTP.
6. Set the Host to idisk.mac.com.
7. Set the User to your.mac.username.
8. Set the Password to your.mac.password.
9. Set the Path to your.mac.username/Documents/xbel.xml.
10. Click the Upload button and the Upload Bookmarks pop-up window should appear.
11. Click the Continue button to send the bookmarks. This may take a few minutes depending on how many bookmarks you have and how fast your internet connection is.
12. When completed you should get a message say upload complete.
13. Now close the Bookmark Sync and Sort window by clicking OK. Then close the Add-ons window.
14. Now go to the next computer you want to use the bookmarks and do everything the same, but rather than click Upload, click Download.

You can also set custom preference so that Bookmarks are automatically uploaded when you quit Firefox and downloaded when you startup.

See Also

• See Synching Firefox Bookmarks with Mac — great advice from Studio2f.

Troubleshooting

Manually deleting Download Preferences

One thing that can really slow down Firefox on the Mac is having too many file references in your Downloads History. You can use the Firefox > Preferences menu item and then load the Privacy tab to untick the Remember what I've downloaded History option, but it doesn't work. Firefox still remembers the the files. You can also delete references from the Downloads window, but you have to do this one at a time which can take AGES!!!

So, the quickest option is to just delete the Download Preferences file:

/Users/yourhomefolder/Library/Application Support/Firefox/Profiles/yourprofile.default/downloads.rdf

1. Quit Firefox
2. Move the file downloads.rdf to the Trash.
3. Restart Firefox and your download history will start from scratch.

Firefox Update Error

Problems with automatic updates with the following error message:

There were problems checking for, downloading or installing this update. Firefox could not be updated because: AUS: Update XML File Malformed (200)

• See Firefox Update Error blog post.

Macintosh Links

Official Apple Resources

• apple.com — Apple's UK website.
• discussions.apple.com — Apple Discussions community forums.
• selfsolve.apple.com — use Apple's Online Service Assistant to enter a serial number and get warranty info.

Unofficial Mac Resources

• applelinks.com — Apple Links Macintosh news, reviews and how-to guides.
• iusethis.com OSX — I Use This digg style site for sharing info on the best applications for your computer.
• macblogger.net — Mac Blogger rumours and reviews of what's coming out from Apple.
• maczealots.com — Mac Zealots community site with excellent Articles, Reviews, Tutorials and User Requests about Mac hardware and software.
• versiontracker.com — download the latest Mac OSX software.

Mac User Guides & Tutorials

• radmind Mac OSX Manual — exhaustive reference guide.
• tuaw.com Mac Blog — excellent guides to getting the most out of your Mac. Geared towards Mac tech professionals.
• macsc.jthree.co.uk — free video tutorials to Mac OSX users, both experienced and switchers.
• russellbrown.com Tech Tips — great site full of video tutorials by Russell Brown.
• macdevcenter.com — Web Apps with Tiger — tutorial on installing a web server for OSX.
• ksdd.com Mac OSX Server — very good explanation of how the OSX web server works.
• macinstruct.com — Mac Instruct tutorials on a range of Mac related topics.