The Firefox Extension thread

[Cervantes]

This thread was started for everyone to give tips to everyone else on their favourite FF extensions. As it is now I have 45 extensions installed, and FF is still loading perfectly.
(Please, for security reasons only links to the main mozilla FF extension site (addons.mozilla.org))

The idea for this thread comes from browsing the FF extension site, there are tons of usefull extensions but they are sometimes hard to locate. This thread is to let the "word of mouth" on good and usefull extensions work it's magic.

So here goes, my tips as of yet:

All-In-One Sidebar
This is one of my favourites, it creates a toolbar that goes along the side of the browser instead of the usual pile at the top. This is how I mannage many of my extensions so that I have them easily available.
I was happy when I found this extension since I've wished a sidebar similar to the one in Opera in FF ever since I saw Opera in action. It's really usefull if you are like me and have tons of extensions but don't want to decrease the line count in your view window.

Separe
This extension is for all of those who, like me, really embraced tabbed browsing. It allows you to group tabs using a separator and sort the tabs. Also the separators (who is tabs themselves) generate previews of the tabs to the left and right of the separator so you can click a separator and see the previews and change which side of the separator a tab is located.

Auto Copy
This little extension I make extensive use of, it allows you to copy a text just by marking it in the browser view. No more Ctrl-C. It's one of the extensions that I first installed and I make use of it on a daily basis.

Flashblock
This one is an extension that I always have turned on, it blocks flash elements in webpages from loading unless you click on the stylish F that appears where the flash element is located. Very good when loading flashheavy sites that you just want a specific link on or something similar.

NoScript
This one blocks Java scripts and embedded Java applications on webpages unless you allow the site to run scripts. This is really good when browsing pages that you are unsure of what the scripts does etc.

CookieSafe
Another blocker, this one it blocks cookies from sites you are unsure of, as in NoScript you have to allow the site to use cookies if you wish them to.


Well that's all for now, more to come.

Please feel free to add your own favourite extensions with link and a description on what they do.

[captobvious]

Here are a couple that I use:

Forecastfox
This gets weather forecasts from AccuWeather.com and displays it in any toolbar or statusbar.

Web Developer
This extension is essential for any web developer/designer. It adds a menu and a toolbar with various web developer tools that are really helpful.

I'd also recommend the NoScript extension as Cervantes mentioned. It prevents annoying popups unless you explicitly allow a site to run Javascript.

[MexicanOnABike]

mouse gestures
this one is sooo awesome! it allows the user to set commands to the mouse like if you draw a L while holding the right mouse button, it will close the window. this is a big time saver!

fire FTP
this is a great FTP client right in the firefox window. it's the only thing i use.

foxytune
this is like having winamp directly in your firefox window. highly recommend it.

[cyrnel]

Sure, Flashblock, Adblock Plus, sessionsaver, Downthemall and all those others, but don't miss out on Stumbleupon. Pure beauty. Like wasted time in a convenient spray.

[MexicanOnABike]

hey Cyrel! i installed stumble! but i'm just wondering if you know how to add a second user on the same computer?

edit: by going in internetexplorer, it let me make a user without downloading anything so i was able to make a 2nd user.

[meanSpleen]

Only a few - Maybe

Flashgot - http://www.flashgot.net
Extremely useful download manager integration program. Easily download specific, all, or selected files and have your favorite download manager download them

BugMeNot - http://www.bugmenot.com
Excellent tool for getting past those "Must sign up, BUT ITS FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" sites

Nuke Anything Enhanced - https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/951/
Good for nuking anything... Right click on something and tell it to go away. Very cool tool for temporarily or permanently removing objects on a page. Is completely manual though, so it won't seek out things to remove. Thats not a huge problem though, as it works hand in hand with any other ad/flash blockers that have already been listed. If it gets through the blocker, just tell Nuke to get rid of it. Superb for removing crap before printing so you just have a small clean page to print

PDF Download - http://www.pdfdownload.org/
Nice extension to tell firefox what to do with that PDF file you just downloaded. It's hard to explain, but it just makes dealing with downloading PDF files easier. Try it, delete it if you don't like it.

Tab Mix Plus - https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/1122/
The sexiest advanced tab extension for me. Includes all the usual tab functions, but includes a browser crash restore feature and more.

Adblock Plus - http://adblockplus.org
Blocks ads. and stuff! Be sure to get a good filter list to import, otherwise you will not be blocking much right after the install

McAfee SiteAdvisor - http://www.siteadvisor.com/
Nice search engine and site helper. It won't make your searches any better, and it definitely won't improve any sites you visit. What it does is if the site is clean without problems (FOR YOU), might be dangerous to visit, or better off leaving alone. Integrates with Google and other major search engines to tell you if a search result is more or less safe, and will tell you if the current page you are on is safe.
- Will tell you WHY it failed the safety test as well if you click on the status bar link, or the siteadvisor lights next to each search result
- tfproject.org is a safe site

Chatzilla - http://www.hacksrus.com/~ginda/chatzilla/index.html
Because sometimes you just don't want to use mIRC (or whatever you are currently using that isn't already Chatzilla)

[Brewmaniac]

These are great , had some that wouldn't work. I will try to figure them out tomorrow. To tired! Thanks.

[trache]

Web Developer, User Agent Switcher, All-In-One Gestures, Adblock, Flat Bookmark Editing, Bookmarks Synchronizer SE, Firefox Extension Backup Extension, FoxyProxy, Sourceforge Direct Download, Video Downloader, Ook? Video Ook!

[MontanaXVI]

*edited*


see below for links.

[Cervantes]

Please.. only links to the main extension site.. Most here are very cautious with software from sites we know nothing about.

And please.. descriptions.. I don't want this thread to degenerate into an extension naming contest..

meanSpleans links:

Flashgot

BugMeNot can't be found on the main FF extension site.

PDF Download

McAfee SiteAdvisor can't be found on the main FF extension site.

ChatZilla


trache's suggestions:

User Agent Switcher
Adds a button that lets you change the user agent of your browser (IE, Netscape etc.)

All-In-One Gestures
Mouse gestures in Firefox

Adblock
Let's you block elements and ads on pages with the source of the ad/element via wildcards.

Flat Bookmark Editing
No more going into properties of a bookmark to edit it.

Bookmarks Syncronizer
Lets you connect to a FTP or WebDAV server to syncronize your bookmarks.

Firefox Extension Backup Extension
Backup your extensions and several other things in your profile like bookmarks, settings etc.

FoxyProxy
Easy access to your proxy settings and adds several usefull button functions as switch proxy etc.

Sourceforge Direct Download
Automatically download things from Sourceforge from your favourite mirror.

Video Downloader
Download streamed videos from sites like YouTube etc.

Ook? Video Ook!
Let's you download embeded videos from several types of systems.


MontanaXVIs suggestions:

SiteAdvisor could not be found on the main FF extension site.

IE Tab
Embeds an IE session in a tab, usefull for sites that won't show right unless you have IE as you browser.

DownThemAll!
Download mannager/accelerator. Quickly download all the images from a page with just a few clicks etc.

[Cervantes]

Search Engine Wizard
Lets you add your own searchengines to the searchbar in FF, just rightclick the text input box and add. Simple and usefull.

WorldClocks
This one is for all of you who like me are dealing with people and sites all over the world. Adds a clock in the statusbar that you can set to any timezone by major cities you want. Simple but almost ridiculously usefull.

FavLoc
Saving stuff to several different places on your harddrive all the time? Tired of constantly having to browse to the locations? This is for you, it adds a favourite location box to the save box and to the rightclick menu that you can modify however you want.

Internote
Fun little extension that lets you add posit's to webpages. Very usefull when doing reaserch and want to quickly sum up the different points each text has so you don't have to go back and re-read the entire thing.

[MexicanOnABike]

Google Bookmarks
this is a cool way to keep your bookmarks with you whereever you go. thanks to this, i still have my bookmarks even if my PC crashed. (you just need a google acount)

[MexicanOnABike]

bump! i have nothing to add but i keep coming back here when i format! it's great

[YaWhateva]

thanks for the bump. I got downthemall but it wont let me download certain stuff like from imagevenue and such. it jsut turns those pictures into .php files. Any ideas?

[MikeSty]

AdBlock Plus

Googlebar

IE Tab

Best of all - COLORFUL TABS!!!

[fitzneal]

Firefox Preloader...........does a 'prefetch' job on Fox (like M$ ie7) speeds up loading times quite a bit.

[MexicanOnABike]

Originally Posted by MikeSty

Best of all - COLORFUL TABS!!!

thank you for that! haha. i'm loving it.

Colourful tabs
Adds different colours to your tabs for look and to find them easier.

[Silverbrain]

After a long time of trial and error...my personal favorites (sorry no links)

Adblock Filterset.G updater
Adblock Plus (less memory usage)
Add Bookmark here 2
AI Roboform Toolbar ( single greatest program ever invented)
All-in-one-sidebar
download statusbar
download helper (some things i enjoy keeping on my system)
flashgot (too big, i need a manager!!!)
foxmarks (i have nearly 5 pc's..this helps to sync all bookmarks)
google toolbar (fricken requirement of anyone)
ie tab (because some pages just wont fricken load those bstds)
tab mix plus - fancy dancy stuffs!!!

[MexicanOnABike]

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2286 converter for units. cm to inch etc.. it's very helpful for me right now.

[spindles]

I only want to add one :
colorzilla

This is a cool tool for getting the hext colour of anything you see on the web page - appears as a little eye dropper in the left hand bottom corner.

[Aladdin Sane]

Firefox is usually good at blocking popups, however, lately I've found one particular popup ad on several porn sites that it does not block.

Does anyone know if there is a way to "tell" Firefox to block particular popups? Thanks.

[Redlemon]

Originally Posted by Aladdin Sane

Firefox is usually good at blocking popups, however, lately I've found one particular popup ad on several porn sites that it does not block.

Does anyone know if there is a way to "tell" Firefox to block particular popups? Thanks.

LiveJasmin?

I think the only route is to use NoScript, from what I recall. I'm using a slightly different route, where I use my router to block access to that site. The popup still opens, but it is blank.

[SSJTWIZTA]

adblock and flashblock are godsends. one of the main reasons i use FF.

[Aladdin Sane]

Originally Posted by Redlemon

LiveJasmin?

I think the only route is to use NoScript, from what I recall. I'm using a slightly different route, where I use my router to block access to that site. The popup still opens, but it is blank.

LiveJasmin it is. Because of their obnoxious popup campaign I would never visit their site. I don't understand how they think it is to their advantage to use popups to the extent that they do.

So I can use Flashblock and NoScript to block LiveJasmin?

[Redlemon]

Just NoScript: InformAction Forums • View topic - [RESOLVED] The Impossible Script Ad