Firefox 3 Power User's Guide

Firefox 3: Power User's Guide to Firefox 3 7/5/08 6:16 AM
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FIREFOX 3
You already know about Firefox 3's marquee new

features, but now it's time to dig deep and unearth
the shortcuts, tweaks, and even Easter eggs that
Mozilla marketing doesn't mention. In honor of
today's official release of Firefox 3—at 10AM Pacific
Time—let's dive in past Firefox 3's most talked-about
feature-set into its lesser-known power uses, tricks,
and customizations.
Shrink the Super-sized Back Button

The very first thing you
notice in Firefox 3 is its
extra large Back button.
While it's actually quite
handy—less chance of
missing your target!—if the Back button's just too big
for your tastes, it's as easy as pie to reduce. Just
http://lifehacker.com/396312/power-users-guide-to-firefox-3 Page 1 of 20
for your tastes, it's as easy as pie to reduce. Just

right-click on Firefox's toolbar, and choose
Customize. In the dialog box, select "Use small icons."
Adjust the Smart Location Bar's Number

of Suggestions
The Firefox 3 feature that you'll
get to know and love the most is
the new smart location bar's as-
you-type suggestions that learn
where you probably want to go
as you browse. But if you're
feeling like the number of suggestions is too high or
too low? Adjust it to your liking in Firefox's
configuration area. Here's how.
1. Enter about:config into the address bar and hit
Enter.
2. Press the "I''ll be carefull. I promise!" button.
(Because you will be.)
3. Enter browser.urlbar.maxRichResults in the
Filter field to reach this preference.
4. Set it to your desired number of suggestions.
Three shown here.
Here's another way to adjust the location bar behavior

with an about:config tweak.
Delete Mistyped URL Suggestions and

Other Auto-complete Entries
While the Smart Location bar
is quite intelligent, if you
enter an incorrect URL—say,
to a page that doesn't exist,
or a parked domain—Firefox
3 will still remember it and
suggest it again later. (Garbage in, garbage out, as
suggest it again later. (Garbage in, garbage out, as

they say.) To remove a mistyped URL from your
suggestion list forever, key down to the suggestion
and type Shift+Delete on the Mac, and just Delete on
Windows. This trick also works for any form auto-
complete entry, like if you mistype a username into a
login form.
Ditch Obselete Extensions

Firefox's philosophy seems to be "stay lean and mean
and leave the extras to add-ons." Nevertheless,
Firefox 3 does bake in some functionality that makes
some extensions you might love unnecessary. Here
are five extensions you won't need with Firefox 3.
Revert the "AwesomeBar" with Oldbar

Firefox's smart location
bar (a.k.a. "AwesomeBar")
—which drops down a
suggestion list of
destinations as you type
into it—is extra verbose
and extra-tall, since it includes both web site titles
and URLs. If you're missing Firefox 2's classic one-
line drop-down look, the Oldbar extension can revert
the "AwesomeBar" to something less awesome—or at
least something that looks less awesome.
Trick Out Your Smart Bookmarks

Like iTunes Smart Playlists
and saved search folders in
OS X and Vista, Firefox 3's
Smart Bookmarks are
dynamic lists of URLs
dynamic lists of URLs

generated by certain search
criteria. Here's how to create your own collections of
Smart Bookmarks using search parameters. Hint: Add
the most frequent pages you visit on Lifehacker.com
by bookmarking
place:queryType=0&sort=8&maxResults=5&domain=lifehacker.com
.
Set Gmail as Your Default Email client—

Without an Add-on
Firefox 3's filetype handling
mechanism can now
associate web applications as
well as desktop applications
with certain files. This opens
the door to possibilities like
automatically launching links
to ical files in your web-
based calendar app, or opening your webmail when
you click on email links. While most webapps have to
catch up to Firefox 3 to enable this functionality, one
we already know and love is already there. Here's how
to launch Gmail when you click mailto: links on web
pages.
Say Hello to the Firefox Robots
You already know about the age-old Firefox

about:mozilla Easter egg. Well, Firefox 3 has a new
Easter egg that pays homage to its robot mascot.
Type about:robots into the Firefox 3 address bar to
get a fun page with a list of robot pop culture
references, from I, Robot to Blade Runner to Battlestar
Galactica to Futurama .
Enable Spellchecking in One-line Input

Fields
This tweak goes back to Firefox 2,
but is still just as useful and
functional in Firefox 3, especially if
you're a web writer. In
about:config, set layout.spellcheckDefault
value equal to 2 to enable spell-checking in single
line input fields as well as textareas. (Less typos in
your email subject lines and blog post titles!) Here are
a few more Firefox about:config tweaks.
Mac Users: Add Favicons to Your

Bookmark Toolbar
Mac users who are rockin'
Firefox 3's new slick Mac-
like theme—but who miss
their bookmarks' favicons
—can easily add web site icons to their toolbar with a
little tweak.
For a bird's-eye view of Firefox's evolution over the

last four years, see the history of Firefox 1.0 to 3.0 in
screenshots. Then, see how Firefox 3 stacks up in
performance tests in comparison to Safari, Opera, and
Internet Explorer.
Internet Explorer.
How are you tweaking Firefox 3 today when you

install it? Give it up in the comments.
Gina Trapani, the editor of Lifehacker, looks forward

to allocating memory to applications other than
Firefox with version 3.0. Her weekly feature, Geek to
Live, appears every Monday on Lifehacker—except
today, Tuesday. Subscribe to the Geek to Live feed to
get new installments in your newsreader.
COMMENTS
TBuck153 at 09:23 AM on 06/17/08
It's noon EST and still no release..? Any one know

what the deal is?
B1663R at 09:43 AM on 06/17/08
AARRGGG!!!!! my work's filter is blocking the link at

the site!!! is there gonna be an alternate?
artistpavel at 09:48 AM on 06/17/08
10 more minutes!
sweatymongoose at 09:52 AM on 06/17/08
8 more minutes!
Jamezspot at 09:54 AM on 06/17/08
6 more minutes...
Platypus Man at 09:55 AM on 06/17/08
Basically, I'm re-tweaking it in the same ways I

tweaked FF2. Move the "x" from every tab to the
side, make it so the tabs don't scroll, etc. Sometimes
I find that Firefox introduces a new feature that I
just plain don't like, so I research until I fix it. That's
just plain don't like, so I research until I fix it. That's

why I love Firefox: I can fix it. I don't have to deal
with something I don't like.
Yesterday, I was convinced I wouldn't be

downloading FF3 for at least a few months. But after
doing some research and testing what does and
does not work using FF3rc3 portable, I'm ready for
Download Day!
kirksucks at 09:55 AM on 06/17/08
any word on google tool bar?
[www.seroundtable.com]
re google tool bar
2 more minutes
is it just me or is the download site down?
1 more minute!
mphz at 09:59 AM on 06/17/08
One minute to go, and the internet is already

starting to buckle under the weight of so many
refreshes.
JaggedToaster at 10:00 AM on 06/17/08
Looks like the server will be down for awhile. Way to

go Mozilla...
Who didn't see this happening though?
4DoorSkyline at 10:00 AM on 06/17/08
site seems to be overloaded
Darren W. at 10:03 AM on 06/17/08
Great Scott! Google Toolbar For Firefox 3 Works!!!!!
marisa at 10:03 AM on 06/17/08
Can't get through to download.
Not sure whether to be surprised or just annoyed

that they publicly announced they wanted to set a
record, and then didn't have the capacity to handle
the traffic.
bbobjoe at 10:03 AM on 06/17/08
I think we broke the internet.
Has anybody been able to download yet?
andrewcmcardle at 10:03 AM on 06/17/08
Oh golly, i'm getting a Http/1.1 Service Unavailable
I do hope it lives
Lazarus at 10:04 AM on 06/17/08
1.7 million people pledged to download today. Im

not surprised if they all started at 10am pst
Deprong Mori at 10:05 AM on 06/17/08
Well, considering it's Pacific Daylight Saving Time, it

would be fine if those people started at 10am PST.
That gives the rest of us an extra hour to download.
Spraypainthero at 10:05 AM on 06/17/08
I still can't connect...
@bbobjoe: You cant break the internet. Its a series

of tubes.
of tubes.
+ Watch video
JaggedToaster at 10:05 AM on 06/17/08
I'm getting a mix between a Page Load Error and an

Http/1.1 Service Unavailable error.
How do we solve this? Keep refreshing! That'll fix

it...
What muppets. Why didnt Mozilla just hire 1000

servers for today, to cope with the strain?
Harrison20 at 10:05 AM on 06/17/08
:(
ShababLlama at 10:06 AM on 06/17/08
Haha, I got it, a few seconds after release, I F5'd so

hard. I think they are going to need a bigger boat!
(server)
dorylomorphs at 10:06 AM on 06/17/08
Oh I wish they had bigger servers!
gottwhat at 10:07 AM on 06/17/08
We need some mirror sites!
kaiz3n at 10:07 AM on 06/17/08
Yeah I am getting nothing but 504 Gateway Timeout

pages. Can't break a world record if you can't handle
the heat servers!
jsmorley at 10:07 AM on 06/17/08
No joy yet.. it's been Slashdotted! ;-)
Savage at 10:07 AM on 06/17/08
@9:59am PST the site was fine but not updated yet.
@10:00am PST the site was fine but not updated yet.
@10:01am PST the site down and is still down.
I don't know how they'll get a world record if they

can't handle the legions of followers. I'm hankerin
for some Firefox 3!
Jamezspot at 10:07 AM on 06/17/08
GRRRAWR.
I made you an internet but I eated it.
dorylomorphs at 10:07 AM on 06/17/08
7mins in and its still 2.0
outerfringe at 10:08 AM on 06/17/08
teh int0rnet es breakedz0rz!!!!111!!!!1!!1
My Firefox's update manager is hanging at

"Checking for updates." I tried that half an hour ago
and it went to "no updates" in a few seconds.
Darren W. at 10:08 AM on 06/17/08
You guys might want to try the European mozilla

site at [www.mozilla-europe.org]
does mozilla have a twitter feed?
geohunt.ca at 10:09 AM on 06/17/08
You'd think that with them wanting to set a record

for downloads, they would have beefed up their
servers? Oh well... I can wait a bit more.
junkmail at 10:10 AM on 06/17/08
meh, went down faster 'n my sister on prom night...
Im in ur internetz blocking ur downloadz.
reeflections at 10:10 AM on 06/17/08
I experienced the same as Savage. However, I just

got the page to load. Still says version 2.
Mozilla europe is up, but still on FF2.0. I wonder if

this counts as the worlds biggest human DDOS, they
could get 2 guinnes world records
mphz at 10:11 AM on 06/17/08
@andrewcmcardle: I'm sure they did, but then some

genius had to go with the whole "let's set a world
record!" gimmick, which killed those new servers.
Try this,
ftp://releases.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/3.0/
Still on 2.0... I was assuming that they were just

DoS'd from too many users, now I am betting they
had a problem with the 3.0 download page and have
a bunch of guys working on code as we speak.
lkraven at 10:13 AM on 06/17/08
Steve Balmer waited for 10am and unleashed his

botnet on Mozilla. He's dancing and cackling now.
@andrewcmcardle: lol, cheater.
Darren W. at 10:14 AM on 06/17/08
Sorry, scratch that, European Mozilla is still rocking

FF2.
reeflections at 10:14 AM on 06/17/08
@andrewcmcardle: worked for me.
@andrewcmcardle:
There are tons of alternative ways to get it at this

point, but I gather that if you don't download it from
[www.mozilla.com] or one of the other main project
pages (like Europe) then your download won't count
for the record (if you care).
@Spraypainthero i probably will download the proper

file later, to help them with the record attempt. I got
that link off the #firefox channel in freenode
ssuasw at 10:15 AM on 06/17/08
I had a bad feeling bout the bandwidth issue since I

saw the number pledges. Well still have another 24
hours worth of refreshes and see if I can get my
Gran Paradiso fix.
RRich at 10:15 AM on 06/17/08
Working. Thanks, mon!
lkraven at 10:15 AM on 06/17/08
@andrewcmcardle:
How's it feel to be a hero? :)
gottwhat at 10:16 AM on 06/17/08
@andrewcmcardle: Thanks!
@jsmorley: He's right. It just loaded for me and it's

2.0.
outerfringe at 10:18 AM on 06/17/08
Well, I'm off to FileHippo. I'll download FF3 from

Mozilla if the servers ever get back online today.
Darktan at 10:18 AM on 06/17/08
Gah. I logged out for this?!?!
Darren W. at 10:18 AM on 06/17/08
@andrewcmcardle: Thanks for the link, though I

wonder if that will count toward the world record.
I'm also holding out for one of those nifty
certificates.
avlor at 10:18 AM on 06/17/08
same here. 2.0 Argh. :( Will keep trying.
mgthantzin at 10:18 AM on 06/17/08
i can't manage to get to the download link yet. o.O
Juice Box Hero at 10:19 AM on 06/17/08
Good call on the FTP site. Here's a link directly to the

file for US English, 32 bit for Windows. Use the other
link for other versions.
ftp://releases.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/3.0/win32/en-
US/Firefox%20Setup%203.0.exe
bennetttomato at 10:20 AM on 06/17/08
I love the fact that Comcast thinks the website

should be blocked! It's really a wonder that the
entire world doesn't have Comcast! (I can tell that
it's being blocked by a specific message I get in
Firefox 2.)
bennetttomato at 10:21 AM on 06/17/08
Thanks for the "ftp://" sites!
FonHom at 10:21 AM on 06/17/08
FTP doesn't count toward the record, FWIW
TheFionut at 10:22 AM on 06/17/08
Still can't get on the site to download. :(
Platypus Man at 10:22 AM on 06/17/08
On the FTP site, the date on the file was 9:18 on

6/11. I have a feeling that that's not it.
thanks for the exe.. i dont really care about the

record at this point now. i'm sure they broke some
"time it takes to break the internet" record or
something. or "largest lack of foresight" (which
almost went to google)
i got my GTB, i'll shut up now.
Angelic579 at 10:24 AM on 06/17/08
The FTP site has the right one. However, downloads

of FF from there will NOT be counted towards the
World Record, so if you get FF3 from the FTP, be
sure to also head to the official FF site when the
site's up to download the setup again.
VayaConQueso at 10:25 AM on 06/17/08
The ftp link works great - thanks.
@FonHom: Are you sure? How do you know?
I would have thought that for the record they would

just aggregate all the downloads, HTTP, FTP, plus
their overseas sites.
their overseas sites.
bharatpatel89 at 10:26 AM on 06/17/08
@Juice Box Hero: Thanks a ton this worked for me

^_^
Angelic579 at 10:27 AM on 06/17/08
He knows because of this:

US/index.html
Sean Killeen at 10:27 AM on 06/17/08
This seems to show where they're having problems.:
[wiki.mozilla.org]
Everything was marked completed until 9:30am PDT.

"The entry QA confirms web changes on authstage"
and all others below it are still marked as TBD
instead complete
From the Firefox FTP server that has 3.0 on it:
US/index.html
"We're not quite ready yet!
"We're just as excited as you are for our upcoming

release, but we're still putting the finishing touches
on Firefox 3: preparing the new mozilla.com
website, getting our severs ready for downloads,
and doing our final pre-launch checks. You can
follow our progress if you'd like!
"The files in this directory are - for now - only

meant to be used by our testers. Downloading them
directly can harm our ability to distribute Firefox
efficiently, and will also not be counted as part of
our attempt to set a Guiness World Record for the
most software downloads in a day.
most software downloads in a day.
"If you'd like to be noitifed the minute that we

launch, please go to sign up for Download Day. Or
just head over to getfirefox.com on Tuesday, June
17th after 10am PDT."
I guess we'll stay tuned. Almost an hour in, and still

nothing.
DigitalOldschool at 10:27 AM on 06/17/08
Yeah, installed that .exe and it is RC3 :(

Dangit, I didn't want to install that version...
I installed from the FTP site in my earlier post and

the 'About Firefox' screen says Firefox 3.0, no beta
designation.
rerunx5 at 10:28 AM on 06/17/08
@Darren W.: Doesn't count for record

Check
US/index.html
Wow... They spent months asking for the entire

world to hit their servers at 10am PDT and they just
were not ready to handle the traffic. Disappointing.
Does anyone following along have the official FF3.0?

If so, what does it say as your build number?
@DigitalOldschool: Same here.
The FTP is the RC3 version :'(
I hope they get it up here soon.
Bummer... 5 betas, 3 release candidates, today's the

big day and nobody can get through.
Super.
RRich at 10:31 AM on 06/17/08
@andrewcmcardle: @andrewcmcardle: The mac

version says "Firefox 3 Release Candidate 3" so is
this the, uh, shit or what?
Darren W. at 10:31 AM on 06/17/08
My FTP download shows Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U;

Windows NT 6.0; en-US; rv:1.9) Gecko/2008052906
Firefox/3.0
Same as everyone else, I'll still go download it the

official way once the site is running. I still can't say
enough how glad I am to have my Google Toolbar
back!
jacobsm at 10:32 AM on 06/17/08
I thought Google was supposed to host it. Who knew

Google would break.
BTW, can anybody tell me if I will lose all my

about:config tweaks that I spent the last year
making? Cuz that would suck.
splendidmike at 10:32 AM on 06/17/08
I'll probably just wait to get an email from them

saying it's ready. I would assume they'll send out a
notification to those that requested email updates.
jibbly at 10:34 AM on 06/17/08
Anyone else find it funny that

downforeveryoneorjustme.com's servers are screwed
downforeveryoneorjustme.com's servers are screwed

as a result of Mozilla's server's being screwed first?
Would downloading via "Check for Updates" count

towards the world record?
Kevincumbria at 10:34 AM on 06/17/08
If they only staggered it so us pondlife types in

Europe could download it earlier then the servers
may have been able to cope with the US demand.
More like Firefoxed :-)
Harrison20 at 10:35 AM on 06/17/08
@artistpavel: No.
mgthantzin at 10:37 AM on 06/17/08
You guys can just grab the file from FileHippo

unless you care the download count.
[www.filehippo.com]
marisa at 10:37 AM on 06/17/08
@artistpavel Nope, and anyway when I check that

way I get an "AUS: Connection timed out" error or a
"no updates found" message.
It seems that FileHippo has the actual version
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.0; en-US;

rv:1.9) Gecko/2008052906 Firefox/3.0
[www.filehippo.com]
shamanstears at 10:39 AM on 06/17/08
How about moving the Home button back to the

Navigation toolbar. [www.tech-recipes.com]
@bbobjoe: FileHippo's version has the same build

number as the FTP site.
FonHom at 10:42 AM on 06/17/08
@Juice Box Hero:

Don't know why, but according to ZDnet that's the
deal. Can't check Firefox, obviously. I had the Spread
Firefox page up for over an hour before 10am PDT.
Refreshed it 10 minutes ahead of time and got a
stripped-down text version that still doesn't show a
dl link. And didn't get an email reminder as
promised. Oh well, 24 hours is a long time!
Jnetty at 10:42 AM on 06/17/08
can't get into their site, keeps crashing.
@bbobjoe: I'm rocking RC (2 or 3) and it says the

same:
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.0; en-US;

rv:1.9) Gecko/2008052906 Firefox/3.0
Unless they gave us the actual thing but called it RC.
idodialog at 10:42 AM on 06/17/08
Here in Oz I stayed up way late (memo to me : Must

be mad it's just a Browser!) - Moz waus down - went
to Major Geeks got it from my local Oz mirror -
sweet - hope it counts towards the stoopid record.
All is well - been on RC3 exclusively since it came
out - this is a clever easy solid comfortable browser.
Dare I say it - the best browser there ever was (with
commiserations to the very fine Opera)
Got all my add ons (tho TabMixPlus is still in Beta),
even Google came to the party.
Foxy!
Foxy!
jibbly at 10:44 AM on 06/17/08
@marisa: Yeah since Mozilla's servers are down FF2

can't even check for updates.
refresh refresh refresh, it ain't working yet...
drsphincter at 10:46 AM on 06/17/08
well, Firefox 3 isn't showing on [getfirefox.com] yet.

I've dumped my cache a couple times, it's till FF2.
What the heck.
kdyer at 10:46 AM on 06/17/08
Site still shows 3rc3 and 2.14..
Kent
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Firefox 3: Power User's Guide to Firefox 3 7/5/08 6:16 AM

TECH TRICKS, TIPS AND DOWNLOADS FOR GETTING THINGS

You already know about Firefox 3's marquee new

Shrink the Super-sized Back Button

for your tastes, it's as easy as pie to reduce. Just

Adjust the Smart Location Bar's Number

Here's another way to adjust the location bar behavior

Delete Mistyped URL Suggestions and

suggest it again later. (Garbage in, garbage out, as

Ditch Obselete Extensions

Revert the "AwesomeBar" with Oldbar

Trick Out Your Smart Bookmarks

dynamic lists of URLs

Set Gmail as Your Default Email client—

Say Hello to the Firefox Robots

You already know about the age-old Firefox

Enable Spellchecking in One-line Input

Mac Users: Add Favicons to Your

For a bird's-eye view of Firefox's evolution over the

How are you tweaking Firefox 3 today when you

Gina Trapani, the editor of Lifehacker, looks forward

TBuck153 at 09:23 AM on 06/17/08

It's noon EST and still no release..? Any one know

B1663R at 09:43 AM on 06/17/08

AARRGGG!!!!! my work's filter is blocking the link at

artistpavel at 09:48 AM on 06/17/08

sweatymongoose at 09:52 AM on 06/17/08

Jamezspot at 09:54 AM on 06/17/08

Platypus Man at 09:55 AM on 06/17/08

Basically, I'm re-tweaking it in the same ways I

just plain don't like, so I research until I fix it. That's

Yesterday, I was convinced I wouldn't be

kirksucks at 09:55 AM on 06/17/08

any word on google tool bar?

kirksucks at 09:58 AM on 06/17/08

re google tool bar

artistpavel at 09:58 AM on 06/17/08

sweatymongoose at 09:59 AM on 06/17/08

is it just me or is the download site down?

mphz at 09:59 AM on 06/17/08

One minute to go, and the internet is already

JaggedToaster at 10:00 AM on 06/17/08

Looks like the server will be down for awhile. Way to

Who didn't see this happening though?

4DoorSkyline at 10:00 AM on 06/17/08

site seems to be overloaded

Darren W. at 10:03 AM on 06/17/08

Great Scott! Google Toolbar For Firefox 3 Works!!!!!

marisa at 10:03 AM on 06/17/08

Can't get through to download.

Not sure whether to be surprised or just annoyed

bbobjoe at 10:03 AM on 06/17/08

I think we broke the internet.

sweatymongoose at 10:03 AM on 06/17/08

Has anybody been able to download yet?

andrewcmcardle at 10:03 AM on 06/17/08

Oh golly, i'm getting a Http/1.1 Service Unavailable

Lazarus at 10:04 AM on 06/17/08

1.7 million people pledged to download today. Im

Deprong Mori at 10:05 AM on 06/17/08

Well, considering it's Pacific Daylight Saving Time, it

Spraypainthero at 10:05 AM on 06/17/08