Grandmaster

Overview

In this guide we'll take a vanilla install of Firefox and:

1. Make navigation smooth and clutter-free
2. Throw in some must have extensions to make your Internet browsing a more pleasant experience (more speed and more convenience).

Before (Firefox 2 Vanilla Install)



After (Firefox 2 with OSNN's Patented Formula™)



You'll notice that:

1. The back/forward, home, stop, refresh, and go buttons are gone. Don't worry! The back/forward/stop buttons will appear dynamically and only in cases where you will have an option to go back, forward, or stop. As for the rest - they were removed because they are redundant if you use keyboard shortcuts.

2. The text menu has been consolidated under "Menu".

3. I have no bookmarks because I use del.icio.us (hence the single "tag" icon). However, you can use the bookmarks toolbar folder there instead if you like.

4. There are a lot of things that can't be shown in the screenshot with regards to tab settings and session manager settings. Read on to find out more!

Preparation

I know after seeing the before and after shots you can't wait to get started

1. First you'll obviously need the latest version of Firefox.

2. The rest of us that have a superior intellect and good looks (thus; we already have Firefox) will want to backup our current settings. Mozilla have a great guide on how to backup and restore your profile.
Now with the preparation out of the way we can actually go ahead and make some changes.

1. Navigation

Toolbar Edits

Combining the Navigation Toolbar with the Menu Toolbar

1. Go to View -> Toolbars -> Customize...

2. Once you get the Customize Toolbar dialog box, drag and drop buttons one by one from your Navigation Toolbar onto your menu toolbar. So gradually you should have the back, forward, stop and home buttons, the address bar, and the search bar on the menu bar.



3. Remove the throbber in the upper right corner.

4. Check "Use Small Icons".

5. Download and install the TinyMenu Extension. This extension will allow you to put the text menu underneath one "Menu" heading



5. Optional: Right click on the Bookmarks Toolbar and click on the "check" besides it to get rid of it. Otherwise you'll be left with a blank bar. (Thanks Android412!)

userChrome.css Edits

Now we're going to be playing around with userChrome.css to change the appearance of the navigation buttons in Firefox. Actually, I've uploaded a userChrome.css that you can throw into you your Firefox installation so you don't have to manually make changes.

DOWNLOAD (OSNN.net Sample userChrome.css)

Copy that file into C:\Documents and Settings\[User Name]\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\xxxxxxxx.default\chrome

However, if you've previously made some changes to userChrome.css and don't want to lose those use the following bits of code:

Removing Disabled Back/Forward Buttons: Removing Disabled Stop Button:Removing Home Button:
Removing Go Button:

Code:

/* Remove Go button */
#go-button-stack, .search-go-button-stack {
  display: none !important;
}

Removing Magnifying Glass Button from Search Box:2. Extensions + Settings

Download and install the following extensions:

1. Download Status Bar: View and manage downloads from a tidy statusbar - without the download window getting in the way of your web browsing.

2. Fasterfox: Performance and network tweaks for Firefox.

3. IE Tab: View sites using the Internet Explorer engine inside a Firefox tab.

4. PDF Download: Allows to choose if you want to view a PDF file inside the browser (as PDF or HTML), if you want to view it outside Firefox with your default or custom PDF reader, or if you want to download it. No more browser crashes just because you clicked on a PDF link!

5. Resizeable Form Fields: Resize HTML form fields, including textareas, select boxes, and text fields.

6. Tab Mix Plus: Saved the best for last. Tab Mix Plus enhances Firefox's tab browsing capabilities. It includes such features as duplicating tabs, controlling tab focus, tab clicking options, undo closed tabs and windows, plus much more. It also includes a full-featured session manager that is better than the one that comes bundled with Firefox.

Extension Settings (click on thumbnails for full view):

Only extensions that require further setting changes are explained below. Otherwise they work great out of the box.

Download Status Bar:



Fasterfox:

Under extension options, click on "Turbo Charged". It is recommended to turn off "Enhanced Prefetching" while on a work computer.

PDF Download:





Tab Mix Plus:





Problems and Feedback

If you have any problems, please post below. If you've got any suggestions to improve this guide or tips of your own, please post below.

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Sazar

Danke.

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NetRyder

Nice post, Omar!

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Grandmaster

So post it

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madmatt

IE 7 guide?

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Sazar

Oh I will, I will.

It's just that my udderly l33t FF2 config is curretly engaged in a fight with Chuck Norris, eta to finish is the end of the world.

I'll check back in.

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NetRyder

Since this is in the Vista Applications section, here's a related link to a guide I had posted in January - Make Firefox Look Better in Windows Vista.

Shame on you for still using an OS X theme, Omar. Even Leopard's starting to look more like Vista now. *hides*

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Aprox

What about Adblock Plus? For me its the most important plugin for FF.

Good Guide though! This should bring some more traffic to the site too.

Sazar

Do you still use that hide menu button thinger?

I use an extension which hides the menu bar till you press ALT (a la IE7 ) and its nice and clean

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j79zlr

I have one:

1. Open IE

2. Type in the location bar "mozilla.com"

3. Hit Enter

4. Click on "Download Firefox" and save to desktop.

5. Double click the file to install Mozilla Firefox

6. On first run, make sure to check "Make Firefox my default browser"

7. Live happily ever after.

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Grandmaster

Omg, can't believe I forgot about it

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Sazar

Click IE7 icon.

Just use.



No need to uselessly tweak it for speed coz it's already FAST

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NetRyder

Oh nice. That's ideally what I want. Got a link?

Edit: This one? https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4762

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Grandmaster

That actually does look sweet. Damn.

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NetRyder

Yeah, it's working great. I actually need to do a v2 of that guide. There are other things I've changed since the original was written too.

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LordOfLA

Cool guide! This and deleting the 16 copies of my roaming profile off of this workstation (thanks Securom!) makes things much faster

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epk

whats the difference between adblock and adblock plus? i've always used regular adblock and thought it was great, does the plus version offer any good extras/improvements?

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Sazar

Yes

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fitz

excellent.. have one of matt's cookies..

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Grandmaster

You are the IE7 expert...

/me awaits madmatt's IE7 guide.

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