TSGL: Firefox annoyances--is there an answer?

[H Davis]

Don,

Click the middle mouse button (or scroll wheel) to immediately open a 
link in a new tab and switch to that tab. You might have to make some 
changes in Tools, Options, Tabs to specify whether you want a new tab or 
a new window. You can also close any tab by middle clicking anywhere on 
the tab not just the red X.

Use File, Import to import all your IE stuff.

Bookmarks, Organize is really only useful for maintaining the bookmark 
collection. However, any bookmarks appearing on the Links Toolbar will 
appear here also.

If you're using the Links folder to show bookmarks in a toolbar just 
expand on that somewhat by making the top levels you see in the toolbar 
folders instead of just links. Those can, in turn contain links or other 
folders. To find a bookmark just click on the top level folder in the 
toolbar then on the desired link. Granted, it'll take several clicks if 
your link is several levels deep but most links will be 2 clicks away, 1 
click on the top level folder in the toolbar and a second click on the 
desired link to open the new tab. And again, when you navigate to the 
desired link, a left click will open it in the current tab and a middle 
click will open it in a new tab (or window depending on your option 
settings).

To add a bookmark, drag the favicon from the address field onto the 
desired folder in the links toolbar. If you want the link in that folder 
drop it there. It will be added to the bottom of the list of links in 
that folder. If you want the link in a subfolder, wait for the top 
folder to open then navigate to the proper location before dropping the 
link in the appropriate place. Notice that you can drop the link in a 
particular place in the list, I.E. between 2 other links, to maintain 
your desired order in the list. You can reorder the list by clicking on 
a top level folder, navigating to the desired link and dragging it to a 
new location. Once at a desired link/folder, right clicking opens a menu 
with several choices like Delete, Create New Folder, Create New 
Separator, etc.

When creating the top level folder names, keep them short so you can get 
more on the single line you're allowed without running off the right end 
of the toolbar. If you have something that you use VERY frequently, you 
can put it in that top level list and you'll be able to get to it with a 
single click.

A couple of Add-On's you should look into:

IE Tab - lets you open predefined sites using IE but in a FF tab. It 
looks just like FF but uses IE to render the page. A great help on those 
bank and credit card sites that require Active X to work. It can be set 
so that IE will be selected automatically when you visit the site.

AdBlock - prevents adds (or other stuff specified by you, like anything 
from DoubleClick for instance) from loading. You can go it alone by 
specifying the URL's of the stuff you don't want, with some help from 
AdBlock, a process not for the feint hearted. Or get one of several 
lists of URL's available on the FF Add-On site. You can prevent loading 
of banner ads, and the accompanying malware that infected some of them 
recently or Flash ads that drive me crazy or lots of other stuff.

There are lots and lots more Add-On's; some good, some well, not so good 
...... Make sure to allocate plenty of time, you can get sucked into 
"investigating" a lot of things on the FF Add-On page.

HTH

H Davis



Don Penlington wrote:
> I decided to give Firefox a go (at long last---more out of curiosity than 
> need). I downloaded the latest version, and have tried Beta3 as well.
>
> It looks nice, works well and efficiently, but I have 3 VERY major gripes, 
> which I hope you kind Firefox fans can put me right on.
>
> 1. For the life of me, I can't get it to browse in tabs, except by right 
> clicking each link and clicking "open in new window".  I've gone into 
> options and ticked "New pages should be opened in new tab", but no joy.  I 
> can't believe you have to use the right-click option every time. Have I 
> missed something in the settings? It's no better in this respect than the 
> old IE. I can't believe it. Maybe there's something wrong with my system.
>
> 2. I can't find where it stores its bookmarks. In Maxthon (IE) I just have 
> a one-click key to open my bookmarks folder. I'd like to do the same with 
> Firefox. Clicking "Bookmarks/Organize" is too cumbersome. The bookmark 
> Organiser looks like a folder, but isn't. Nor can I find any easy way to 
> import all my IE Favourites. (I expect there may be an add-on for this, but 
> unless I can resolve these 3 points I won't persevere with it.)  Does 
> Firefox have a Bookmarks folder somewhere?
> The Links toolbar is fine, no problems there.
>
> 3. I want the tab bar at the foot of the page, where I'm used to it in 
> Maxthon. There doesn't seem any way to move it there in Firefox. I find the 
> default position very inconvenient.
>
> Don Penlington
>  From the Beach at Surfers Paradise in sunny Queensland.
> Computer tutorials, local scenery,  and other things at my website:
> http://users.tpg.com.au/deepend/index1.html
>
>
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>   

-- 
H Davis   hdavis1 at gmail.com