One of the most distinguishing features about Mozilla's Firefox web browser is it's vast library of add-ons. Add-ons extend the functionality of Firefox, which makes for a more personalized web browsing experience. What follows is a list of my top 5 favorite Firefox Add-ons. Hopefully you will find some of these useful too.
5. Tab to Window by Sogame
Tab to Window is a simple add-on that lets you move a tab to a new window. This can be handy if you need to view two web pages at once, and both of the pages you need to view are already open. Tab to Window can be invoked by right clicking on a tab and selecting "Move to New Window," or by using a keyboard shortcut. Tabs can also be copied to a new window.
4. Tryagain by Mathijs Lagerberg
Tryagain is awesome - especially if you use a laptop, and frequently hop around wireless networks. Tryagain simply continues to try to load a page when a connection cannot be established. This add-on is most useful to me right after I open my Macbook and try to load a website, when my Macbook is still connecting to WiFi. Tryagain can be configured to have a maximum number of retries. The time between each retry can also be adjusted.
3. Second Search by SHIMODA Hiroshi
If you already use Firefox, there is a good chance you use the search bar on the upper right side of the window. And if you are like me, you usually use the search bar for Google queries, but occasionally use it to search other websites too. This is where Second Search shines. After you type a query into the search bar, and before you hit enter, Second Search allows you to hit the up arrow, and select from a list of your installed search engines. When you hit enter this time, Firefox will search with your engine you chose, but still keep the active engine in the search box the same. Perfect!
2. Firebug by Joe Hewitt, Justin Dolske, and robcee
Firebug is probably the most useful add-on for those who make websites. This is how the Firebug developers describe this add-on: "Firebug integrates with Firefox to put a wealth of development tools at your fingertips while you browse. You can edit, debug, and monitor CSS, HTML, and JavaScript live in any web page." I often use Firebug to tweak my CSS to perfection. This saves a lot of time over making tiny tweaks in my local editor, saving the file to my server, and reloading the page. But Firebug offers other tools too, such as the network analyzer which can calculate the total time, and total file size of a website. This can be used to pinpoint loading bottlenecks.
Another great benefit of having Firebug installed is the ability to utilize its console. The console shows outgoing AJAX requests, as well as anything that you send to the console (for debug purposes.) One can easily output to the console in JavaScript by calling console.log('Hello console!');. Another Firefox add-on called FirePHP adds a console layer for PHP scripts. FirePHP sends its console output in the headers of a browser-server connection, leaving clean output from the PHP code. (This is better than the common method of using echo(); to debug PHP, as this can ruin AJAX pages.) Overall, Firebug is essential tool for any modern web developer.
Update: If you are like me, and design websites on a small, 13" widescreen Macbook, then you might be interested in Widerbug by Collin Allen. Widerbug is a tweaked version of Firebug that pops up on the side of your screen, instead of the bottom.
1. Adblock Plus by Wladimir Palant
Adblock Plus is one of the most used Firefox add-ons, and it is easy to see why. Adblock Plus effectively removes all ads on the internet. Having all of your favorite websites clean, and ad-free is a very good thing. All of the work is done behind the scenes, and it is like the ads where never there in the first place. Adblock Plus works by subscribing to a list of ad providers. This black list is than used to filter incoming content. If you do want to see ads for a specific website, however, it is easy to tell Adblock Plus to show ads just for one or two websites. The only drawback about this add-on is the shock, and disappointment felt by browsing the internet on someone else's browser.
Well that about wraps up my favorite Firefox add-ons. Before I go though, I would like to give an honorable mention to Screengrab! by Andy M. I don't use this add-on much, but it is quite handy if I ever need to take a screen shot of a website. So let me know what you think of these add-ons in the comments section. Maybe you have a personal favorite add-on that you would like to share. Let me know! Thanks for reading!