Firefox Extension Testimonials

Overview:
This is a user to user presentation of some of the "got to have" extensions for Fx (Firefox). Every Fx user has their preferred extensions, but since there are so many of them, and many does the same job but better or worse, it is hard for a beginner to find their way through the jungle. So by reading through this guide you should get a nice overview about the top shelf extensions out there, and pros and cons about them as well.


Want to write your own guide?
Everyone can write their own guide. But there is a few guidelines you have to follow. The first post after this one is the template for what your post should look like. As you can see first you should write a few lines about how long you have used Fx. This should not be a long story, but 2-3 lines so people can get to know your history a bit better.
Then the presentation of the extensions start. For every extension you first have the name in bold and then the description. You should both bring up good sides about the extension and bad aides. And if possible try to compare it to other extensions that does the same job. So it is clear why you chose exactly that one, and not one of the others. There is no need for you to write about the exact same extensions as someone else have done if you have nothing new to say. But if you have more to add, or don't share an other users point of view, then of course you can write about that.
You should first write about the extension you like the most, and the last one you write about is the one you like the least but still uses. This will be the only way for you to rate extensions.
Then on the end of each extension testimonial there should be a link to the homepage for the extension and a link to it on Mozilla.org if possible. They should be green and in the same order and style as in the first post. And remember no direct download link to any extension. Both for safety and ease of use.
If you have any problems or questions about the template, then please drop me or VisualAd a PM.

Please note: This thread is moderated. If you want to discuss anything relating to Firefox extensions, please post here

Presentation:
I first tried Fx when it was at version 0.6 and still called FireBird. I got hooked pretty fast, and one of the reason was all the extensions I could install. Me, Cander, and Nebulom (also members here at VBF) have also made our own extension that I will talk about a bit further down here.



Tabbrowser Preferences:
Every time I install Fx, this is the first extension I install. It took me a few days to get used to it, but after that I couldn't stop living with out it. For any user who uses their computer a lot for anything as well as surfing, is bound to have a LOT of applications lying on the task bar. A simple way to tidy it up a bit, is to use tabs in your browser in stead of opening a new instance of Fx for every page you want to have open at any time. The easiest way to start off with tabbed browsing is to get a Tab extension. Now here is the tricky part where not too many people agree. Because there is a lot of tab extensions out there. The one I have chosen is the simplest one. I chose it because it has the least overhead but still does the job I want, merely opens web pages from other domains in a new tab, nothing more. Sure if you want much more control then that, and a lot more options to chose from then there is other tab extensions that will make you smile more. But for me it is impotent to save a few extra resources when I have 15-20 tabs open with a lot of "back" info saved and Fx is crawling towards 200Mb RAM.
Download >>


AdBlock:
This is absolutely one of the extensions I appreciate the most. With this extensions you can block out ads, pictures, flash or what ever you don't want to see in your browser. This makes annoying web pages cleaner and faster, and your overall browser experience will definitely be better.
There is also numerous free filter repositories available on the net, and merging these together to get a big list of ad servers/folders to block is no problem at all. Using * in the URL you are blocking will block all URLs starting with what is left of the *. I.e.. "http://www.noteme.com/* " will block "http://www.noteme.com/ " as well as "http://www.noteme.com/cern " and so on.
Download >>


VBForumExtension:
It might sound a bit weird that I want to put one of the extensions I have contributed to with this far up on the list, but in the end, that is why I have contributed to it, since it is a really nice to have tool.
On many forums you have special tags you can use to format your posts. But it takes time and effort to write them in my hand all the time. This extension brings up an easy to use menu to format your posts. But not only covers the extension the built in forum functions, but it also gives you syntax highlighting for several languages, and a notepad for code snippets or other things you want to save for the future, and a lots of other neat functions. Absolutely a must for all forums users.
Download >>


ReloadEvery:
An other favourite of mine is also a really useful forum tool. How many times haven't you been sitting waiting for an answer in a thread, or to check if the person asking the question asks a new one, or is happy with the answer. Well in these situations you have probably been sitting there pressing F5 a "few" times before anything has happened. If you are just as lazy as me, then just install the ReloadEvery extension. You can set it to reload a page every 10sec or what ever suits you well. That way you can just lean back or do something else, while the extension works for you.
Download >>


Forecastfox:
This is one of the extensions that probably won't enhance your browser experience, but is definitely something worth checking out anyway. When you install it you write down what city you are in, and it constantly gives you the weather in your area, and what it will be like tomorrow, or what ever you choose your self. With small icons, and a bit of text you get the latest forecast when ever you want, and a small pop-up every now and then to tell you about the whether.
Download >>


FireFTP:
This isn't actualy a quality extension. I can see several possible improvements with this plug-in. It doesn't like large files, it doesn't like too many files, and it is not the fastest in the world. But work it does. So for fiddling with your home page or just uploading a picture or two it is perfect. When I am changing something on my web page, I appreciate that I don't even have to minimize my browser to upload the updated files and then look at them. I just have FireFTP in a new tab, and that's it. No more hassle.
Download >>


SpellBound:
If you are as bad as me in English, then you should have a secretary over your shoulder, or just install SpellBound. It is an easy to use spell checker for Firefox. You can install the dictionary you want, ie. American English, or British English and so on. It gives you suggestions if you spell something wrong, and you can also add your own words to the spell checker. All this from the context menu in your browser.
Download >>

Presentation:
In addition I use these extensions, which NoteMe has already reviewed:
Tabbrowser Preferences
AdBlock
FireFTP

Web Developer Toolbar
For me, Firefox is not Firefox without the Web developer toolbar. It provides a variety of features to aid both the small time and professional web developer.

In short, the Web developer toolbar lets you dissect every aspect of the page. Disable certain parts of it, such as CSS, Javascript and images and view detailed information on the topology of the page.

It also provides quick drop down menus to HTML, CSS and Accessibility validation services. The built in CSS editor enables you to make changes to styles on the fly and form editor enables you to make hidden form field editable and change POST forms into GET forms.

In conjunction with a text editor, one does not need WYSIWYG bloat to develop web sites. If you are making web pages and don't have this extension then you are doing yourself a serious wrong.

IEView
Simple and sweet, for those sites that misbehave in anything other than IE, this adds a right click context menu item which opens the current page in Internet Explorer.

ShowIP
This extension shows the IP address of the current website in the toolbar. The more powerful features such as DNS lookup on the IP address and tracert, as well as many others make this extension useful every once in a while.

Header Monitor
I installed this, but don't recommend you do. It doesn't appear to do anything and I still cannot work out how to use it. The web developer toolbar comes with a rudimentary header viewer.

Form History Manage
Nice idea, but I've never used it.

Add n Edit Cookies
This is very useful for web developers who may want to see what effect cookie modification has on their applications.

Session Saver
I have been saved by this extension many times. And I have become accustomed to the pop-up dialogue it produces at the beginning of each start-up asking me if I want to restore my previous session.

If Firefox crashes when you have 1000's of tabs open, this extension will save your life. An even more impressive feature is its ability to restore tabs and windows you accidently close instantly.

Bookmarks Synchronizer
Once they get the auto download and upload for this extension sorted out and working, it will be very impressive. Until then it is only useful when I remember to synchronize manually.

SpellBound
Spell bound has got to be one of my favourite extensions. It tend to be fat fingered when I type and if I do not spell. check my posts and emails it can sometimes lead to some embarrassing situations.

Presentation:
I first tried Fx when it was at version 0.4 and still called Phoenix. I was looking for an alternative to IE and Opera (4?) that had tabbed browsing.
I have been using it ever since, gradually using IE less and less as more sites (notably banks) don't write IE specific code.

In addition I also use these extensions, which have already reviewed:
AdBlock
IEView
I also use CustomizeGoogle but don't rate it as essential.



TabMix:
This extension is essential.
It took the good parts of Tabbrowser Extensions and made it stable.
People that use Tabbrowser Preferences obviously aren't aware of this extension.
Some of the best features are:

• Duplicate Tab
• Undo Close Tab
• Close Left/Right/Other Tabs
• Drag to reorder Tabs
• Saves your sessions
• Too many other features to list!

TabMix has yet to be updated for Firefox 1.5 so a similar extension (but with a couple of extra features) is Tab Mix Plus
Download Tab Mix >>
Download Tab Mix Plus >>

Adblock Filterset.G Updater:
This extension works with AdBlock in that it automatically updates your filters with one of the best filters available.
http://www.pierceive.com/
This saves you from having to create your own and since the Filterset.G is updated regularly you hardly ever see any ads.
Download >>


Paste and Go:
You will be familiar with this if you have ever used Opera.
If you right click and paste a URL in the address bar, normally you have to either press return or click the go button to go to the URL.
This does it all in one click. It also adds a "Paste and Search" to the search bar.
Although this sounds like it hardly does anything, after you have got used to using it you feel frustrated when you use a browser that doesn't have it.
This is something that should really be integrated into the core code.
Download >>


FirefoxView:
This complements IEView nicely. Adds "View in Firefox" menu items to the content and link context menus of IE.
Download >>


SearchPluginHacks :
This is another extension that should probably be in the core code.
It is very easy to add engines to the search bar, but removing them is a pain.
You have to go to the application (or installation for 1.5) folder and delete the relevent .src and .png file.
This extension makes uninstalling search plugins simple - just right click on a search plugin and choose 'Delete'
Download >>

There is one extension which I like. That is Fetch URL. That allows you to right click any text and fetch the same in an URL. This especially works when the links in html are not active. Just plain text. I do not know if this extension is available on 1.5 yet.

Penagate posted this out too me so I guess I'll post mine :)

http://www.standards.spiralmindsinc....Extensions.php

All mine are listed in the link above, too many to post here.

Cheers,

Ryan Jones