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Top Firefox 2 config tweaks
lifehacker.com — Lifehacker dives deep into the bowels of Firefox's config settings with a handful of my favorite Firefox 2 (and older) tweaks.
maverick999- 2734 diggs
- digg it
- cryptix, on 10/12/2007, -6/+14Other great ways to reduce ram usage:
config.trim_on_minimize = true (which reduces ram usage to about 10mb when minimized)
browser.cache.memory.capacity = -1 (gains you another ~20mb [browser.cache.memory.enable has to be true])
browser.sessionhistory.max_total_viewers = -1 (again around 20mb)
of course it uses some performance, but if you need the ram its the better way i think.- sleepyness, on 10/12/2007, -6/+10config.trim_on_minimize doesn't work. It only "hides" the memory usage, but if you pull up process explorer, maximized/minimized FF uses the same amount of memory.
- quickgold192, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5I'd be careful about the browser.cache.memory.capacity setting. I changed that in ff 1.5 and it only made firefox less responsive (taking about 1-2 seconds to recognize the mouse was over a link, for example). It remained less responsive even after reverting to the default settings and reinstalling it. Just my experience.
- DiamondIce, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8config.trim_on_minimize does work, just not like most people think, it dumps nearly all of FFs allocated RAM onto the page file, keeping only the executable and some select other bits in the RAM.
- elroy, on 10/25/2007, -3/+30Memory is so cheap these days, and the web browser is one of the most frequently used applications on a computer. Why not give it more cache? What good is memory if you don't use it?
- heysuburbia, on 10/12/2007, -15/+2Friends of Firefox launched a few hours ago, find your name:
http://digg.com/software/Friends_of_Firefox_launched_today - tanveer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Does anyone know the keyboard shortcut for re-opening last closed tab?
and also, I'd love to have a button for that too (much like 'new tab') on the toolbar. I know its not there, but is there way to config for one and stick that to the bar? - Jugalator, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"browser.sessionhistory.max_total_viewers = -1 (again around 20mb)"
??? That is the default value.
See also: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Browser.sessionhistory.max_total_viewers
I'm not sure; but maybe the value you were looking for was e.g 0, 1, or some low value like that.
"browser.cache.memory.capacity = -1"
Again, this is the default value!
See also: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Browser.cache.memory.capacity
And again, you may be looking for "0", not -1 here to reduce memory usage. - mvent2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7@tanveer,
Ctrl+Shift+T. I submitted the patch to implement it but unfortunately we couldn't make it more discoverable than the help file in our 2.0 deadlines. In 3.0, once one of my other patches gets reviewed and accepted, the shortcut will be A LOT more obvious. - astrosmash, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5> config.trim_on_minimize does work, just not like most people think,
> it dumps nearly all of FFs allocated RAM onto the page file
Why the hell would you want that to happen!!?? You buy extra RAM for your computer specifically to avoid the kind of situation where the application you're using is swapped to disk. That's just madness.
All config.trim_on_minimize does is induce a low-memory situation where there is none, and consequently makes Firefox run like a dog. It's simply terrible advice given by people who don't understand how computers work.
(Before they added the ability to disable "trim on minimize" I used to keep a small Firefox window open at all times simply to prevent the stupid Windows OS from prematurely swapping Firefox to disk. Trim On Minimize is a relic from old days of Windows 3.0. A modern operating system with a decent virtual memory manager certainly doesn't need it.) - shokk, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1You want that to happen so that when you unminimize the browser, only the pages of used memory are copied back into RAM. The problem with the "memory leak" feature is that the pages are kept around, regardless of whether there is anything in them, never to be freed while that app runs.
- DoorFrame, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7I was annoyed when I upgraded to 2.0 (at least the early British version that was linked to) that when you type a search into the location bar, you are no longer taken to google's top result (I'm feeling lucky) but instead are taken to the google search page. This sucks! The old firefox went to the top result and it was really handy. Much faster to type in "University of Virginia Medical School" then going to google and choosing the first link. Anyway, I figured out how to fix it:
Type: about:config (into the location bar)
Select: Keyword.URL (use the find tool to get to it)
Change to: http://www.google.com/search?btnI=I'm+Feeling+Luck y&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q= [google.com]
Done.- kewldude606, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I think it uses the google browse by name capability, so if there is an obvious answer it takes you right to that webpage, otherwise to the google SERPS.
http://www.squarefree.com/2004/09/09/googles-browse-by-name-in-firefox/ - How to change it. - kmonihen, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I think Google does some trickery to tell if the top result is really want you want. For instance using "University of Virginia Medical School" does an I'm Feeling Lucky search for me, while "list of cool blogs" takes me to the search page showing the top results. Has anyone heard anything about this?
edit: Thanks, kewldude ;) - Archeologist, on 10/12/2007, -14/+13@kmonihen
To those who don't know, if you search "failure" bush's bio is the first result although that site does not contain that word at all. - kingfelix, on 10/12/2007, -7/+6please stop digging this guy down. if you type "failure" into the address bar, you're taken to http://www.whitehouse.gov/president/
his statement is a verifiable fact, not a troll. - asdffds, on 10/12/2007, -10/+1It's still a ***** cliche and retarded faggot
- BrittonBK, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0Why does failure take you to whitehouse.gov? That just seems crazy. That word isn't anywhere in the HTML or on the page. Anybody know the answer? Does Google just hate Bush?
- iD2O, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@BretonBK It's because that page has been google bombed.
Other sites have linked to it using failure as the links text.
- kewldude606, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I think it uses the google browse by name capability, so if there is an obvious answer it takes you right to that webpage, otherwise to the google SERPS.
- maverick999, on 10/12/2007, -9/+1Just in case: http://www.lifehacker.com.nyud.net:8080/software/firefox-2/geek-to-live-top-firefox-2-config-tweaks-209941.php
- ahawks, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12Good stuff to know. Personally all that I did from that list was disable prefetch. I understand the performance gains, but I just don't like my browser requesting pages that I'm not viewing. I'm sure web admins out there wouldn't mind the reduction in traffic either.
- Markie1006, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Personally my server thanks you for being a good netizen.
Bravo - cpemma, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Prefetch (in Firefox) only works if the site author has used the prefetch instruction (along with a link of where he thinks you'll go next) on the page. See http://www.mozilla.org/projects/netlib/Link_Prefetching_FAQ.html Seems to be of limited value.
The extension Fasterfox, OTOH, can be set to prefetch *ALL* links on the page, which wastes a tremendous amount of bandwidth.
- Markie1006, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Personally my server thanks you for being a good netizen.
- techdugger, on 10/12/2007, -15/+11is it lame of me that I still prefer 1.5?
- blissburn, on 10/12/2007, -3/+16No, it's not lame, but change/progress is inevitable. Embracing it ASAP is the best practice.
- cpemma, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I know somebody who prefers Phoenix.
Mind you, he really *is* lame... ;)
- abouthere, on 10/12/2007, -7/+2I'd recommend everyone here takes a look at the very useful FULL FireFox 2 Tweak Guide that can be found here > http://digg.com/software/Firefox_2_0_Tweak_Guide
It's very comprehensive and is better than a few tips and tricks. - timjbart, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6about:config is clearly the best thing about Firefox. All other arguments for and against the different browsers are moot
- brotherfranciz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"opera:config" for Opera...
- raid517, on 10/12/2007, -10/+15Firefo 2.0 just keeps crashing for me. I ended up having to go back to 1.5.7.
Oh well - I guess I will give them time tor iron out some of the bugs...- raid517, on 10/12/2007, -5/+13What I'm not even allowed to tell the truth hat it keeps crashing? I still use it you know, just an earlier version for now.
Man I despise fanboys who think anything negative is criticism. - pacificdave, on 10/12/2007, -6/+3Maybe it's you because reading through numerous forums ever since RC2 I've noticed almost no crashes. I've been using 2.0 since RC1 and haven't had any crashes since RC2 came out.
- cpemma, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7It's not that it's seen as criticism, but if a few people get frequent crashing and many others don't, it suggests the crashes are due to your setup rather than due to Firefox (or any other program). Sort out your own problems before blaming Firefox 2.0. Maybe do a clean install with a new profile and clear all your dead wood away.
- raid517, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1You think I'm that dumb I haven't tried? You're still a bunch of lame fanboys.
- pacificdave, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1yes
- anonymonk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@raid517... My copy of Firefox 2.0 was crashing constantly as well. It turned out to be Google's Toolbar. Uninstalled that one extension and it's pretty much smooth sailing since then.
This is on a MacBook Pro, Core 2 Duo with all the trimmings. FYI, a friend of mine has the same setup and was seeing the same behavior due to Google's Toolbar.
FWIW, there may be other things involved -as i usually the case with all these extension- but removing the Google Toolbar worked for me. I'm sure lots of people are using on their systems without any issues... but that's my story and I'm sticking to it. ;-)
- raid517, on 10/12/2007, -5/+13What I'm not even allowed to tell the truth hat it keeps crashing? I still use it you know, just an earlier version for now.
- aNoble, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13layout.spellcheckDefault=2 will enable spellcheck for text inputs, not just textareas.
- cpemma, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Tab Mix Plus Dev Build is needed for FF2.0
*****, clicked on wrong reply. Answer is to caffiend below.
- cpemma, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Tab Mix Plus Dev Build is needed for FF2.0
- caffiend, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6FF 2.0 was driving me crazy because it no longer opened searches in a new tab. A quick double click of browser.search.opentab will set it to true and make life all better.
- mpam, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2The Tabbrowser Preferences extension could help you do this and other great tweaks (like reducing the minimal width of a tab)
-> https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/158/ - caffiend, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I had Tab Mix Plus but it's not compatible yet. Apparently Tabbrowser Preferences isn't working so hot yet either.
- mpam, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Tabbrowser Preferences is working fine with Fx 2... I'm using it right now...
- mrkmrk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1http://tmp.garyr.net/tab_mix_plus-dev-build.xpi
Tab Mix Plus Dev Build. Works with 2.0. - beezleb0b, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2browser.search.openintab is the correct option in my firefox 2 config. not opentab
- mpam, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2The Tabbrowser Preferences extension could help you do this and other great tweaks (like reducing the minimal width of a tab)
- retral, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9With the new spell check feature, I hope to see better spelling on Digg. Too bad that's far too much to ask.
- caffiend, on 10/12/2007, -8/+3Um, Digg's had a spell checker for quite some time now. Still doesn't help grammar tho.
- Bob042, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10@caffiend
The difference is while people are far too lazy to spend an extra click on the spelling button, FF2 underlines a misspelled word in red right in the input.
- Sonej, on 10/12/2007, -9/+1What you need to do is put this in you userChrome.css
Donnu if you guys need all that, but slims the heck out of it...
/* -------------------------------------------- */
/* Toolbars without borders */
menubar, toolbox, toolbar {border-style: none !important; }
/* -------------------------------------------- */
/* Remove extra padding from the Navigation Bar */
#nav-bar { border: none !important;
padding: 2px !important; /* The size on the URL field */
margin: -2px !important; /* Around the url field */
margin-bottom: -1px !important; /* Space under url-bar*/ }
/* -------------------------------------------- */
/* Size in File Edit... */
#toolbar-menubar { min-height: 15px !important;
padding: 2px !important; /* padding around (file, edit view...) */
margin: -2px !important;
border: none !important; }
/* -------------------------------------------- */
/* Statusbar resize */
#status-bar { border: none !important;
padding: 0px !important;
margin: -3px !important;
border: none !important; }
/* -------------------------------------------- */
/* Set max nav bar height */
#nav-bar {
max-height: 29px !important; }
/* -------------------------------------------- */
tabbox {
border-top: 0px !important;
border-bottom: 0px !important;
padding-top: 0px !important; /* Padding betwene Tab-bar and Url field */ }
/* -------------------------------------------- */
/* Remove the tabbar bottom border */
.tabbrowser-strip {border-bottom: none !important; }
/* -------------------------------------------- */
/* Remove the close button on tab-toolbar */
/* .tabbrowser-tabs .tabs-closebutton { display:none !important; } */
/* -------------------------------------------- */
/* Hide selected browser menus */
#navigator-toolbox menu[label="Edit"],
#navigator-toolbox menu[label="History"],
#navigator-toolbox menu[label="Go"]
{ display: none !important; }
/* -------------------------------------------- */
#navigator-toolbox .menubar-text { margin-top: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 0px
!important; }
/* -------------------------------------------- */
/* Content area (encompasses tab bar) */
#content {
padding-left: 0px !important;
padding-top: 0px !important;
padding-bottom: 0px !important;
border-left: 0px !important;
border-right: 0px !important;
border-top: 0px !important;
border-bottom: 0px !important; }
/* -------------------------------------------- */
/* Text menu */
menubar > menu {
max-height: 19px !important;
padding-left: 0px !important;
padding-right: 0px !important;
margin-left: 1px !important;
margin-right: 0px !important;
margin-top: 0px !important;
margin-bottom: -1px !important; }
/* -------------------------------------------- */
#navigator-toolbox .menubar-text { margin-top: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 0px
!important; }
/* -------------------------------------------- */
/*allows increase or decrease of padding or margin around icons selected for bookmarks */
#personal-bookmarks toolbarbutton {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px !important;
padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px !important }
/* -------------------------------------------- */
/* Hide the bookmark labels */
/* .bookmarks-toolbar-items .toolbarbutton-text {display: none !important;} */
/* -------------------------------------------- */
/* Resize URL bar padlock icon */
.info-icon {
padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px !important; }
/* -------------------------------------------- */
/* Background tab inner content area */
#content > tabbox tab:not([selected="true"]) {
padding: 0px 1px 4px 1px !important; }
/* -------------------------------------------- */
/* Individual tab size */
tab {
margin-top: -0px !important; /* Space over tabs and under URL-tab */
margin-bottom: -3px !important;
margin-left: 1px !important; }
/* -------------------------------------------- */
/* Individual tab inner content area */
#content > tabbox tab {
padding: 0px 1px 1px 1px !important; }
/* -------------------------------------------- */
/* Change the tab-bar height */
tab {height: 20px !important;} .tabbrowser-strip {height: 20px !important;}
/* -------------------------------------------- */
#checkFeeds { border: none !important;
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px !important;
padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px !important }
/* -------------------------------------------- */
#discoverFeeds { border: none !important;
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px !important;
padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px !important }
/* -------------------------------------------- */
/* Remove Forward button when there's nothing to go Forward to */
#forward-button[disabled="true"] { display: none; }
/* -------------------------------------------- */
/* Make inactive tabs hardly visible */
#content tab:not([selected="true"]) {
-moz-opacity: 0.5 !important; }
/* -------------------------------------------- */
/* Hide read mail from Tools Menus */
menuitem[label="Read Mail (0 new)"] { display: none; }
menuitem[label="Read Mail (0 new)"] + menuseparator { display: none; }
menuitem[label="New Message..."] { display: none; }
menuitem[label="New Message..."] + menuseparator { display: none; }
/* -------------------------------------------- */
/* Slightly rounded address and search bar corners */
#urlbar {
-moz-appearance: none !important;
-moz-border-radius: 3px !important;
padding-right: 1px !important; }
/* -------------------------------------------- */
/* Remove the go button */
#go-button-stack { display: none !important; }
/* -------------------------------------------- */
/* Disable Container box for "List all Tabs" Button */
.tabs-alltabs-stack { display: none !important; }
/* -------------------------------------------- */ - Jammerdelray, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Also get Firetune - http://www.totalidea.com/content/firetune/firetune-index.html
Has been updated for Firefox 2.0
Performs som optimizatons in Firefox Config. and makes Firefox 2.0 even faster. - Jammerdelray, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2The guy is missing all the essential optimizations like Http pipelining, initial paint delay etc.
- cryptix, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3take a look in the comments there
- truegodofwar, on 10/12/2007, -10/+2Press these buttons in sequence for best browser preformance ever!
Alt F4 - Windows R and type iexplore
just kidding... - jamie3033, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Does anyone know how to get the File, Edit View etc into one menu called Menu, as pictured in the screen shot?
- dotnetguy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Using Tiny Menu extension.
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/1455/
- dotnetguy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Using Tiny Menu extension.
- jamie3033, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2If you want all of your menu items to be organized into one single menu like in the screen shot you can use this extension. https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/1455/
- koelaboe, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0is there a tweak to get the links folder on the bookmark bar? in ie i just delete all bookmarks and use the links in folders. works great. it also works that way in ff5. but i cannot get it to work in ff2.
any suggestions?
thanks- koelaboe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0all solved.
by using: 'organize bookmarks', i can drag and drop any link to the bar.
working nicely this way.
- koelaboe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0all solved.
- rado354, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Integrate Firefox into your Windows installation CD:
http://addons.wordpress.com/2006/10/23/firefox-20-final/
The ultimate dream of every Firefox fan:
have Firefox installed since the first boot of Windows.
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