Extensions Pt. 1 OR Why FireFox is so awesome.

Hello and Welcome! Thanks for checking out BlownCircuits. Today's post is the first part of my Firefox Extensions Series.

As you may remember from my previous post, Extensions are pieces that you can add to the Firefox browser to expand its functionality.

Many of the features that Extensions provide, can be obtained using separate software in Internet Explorer, but the integration with Firefox is what makes this feature unique. For example: Firefox checks for updates to all extensions whenever you upgrade to a newer version. The extensions are always run as a part of the Firefox process (or at least are only invoked through said process). And of course the best part, they are always free(my favorite word)! You should never EVER pay for a Firefox extension. If you do, you are getting ripped off, and there is probably a better free one somewhere out there. Lastly, all Extensions can be found on Mozilla's website, and can be installed instantly.

Third party applications may have their own update managers , however they also require more of your systems resources to run,as they run as separate services, typically add something to your start-up(making you machine start more slowly). Another negative is they could potentially ALWAYS be running, even when you are not using the internet (using up valuable system resources).

OK, now that I have harped on why Firefox and extensions are so great, I will get to the point. Now for a list of 'must-have' extensions. These are the extensions that I feel you cant really live without if you are using Firefox.

I will give a brief description of each and provide links for more info. All of these can be installed by Selecting Tools -> Add-ons in Firefox, clicking the Get Add-ons button on the pop-up and typing the name in the search box. Or you can follow the links below (Click the Name).

• All-in-one Gestures - This add-on is great because it lets you do lots of things without moving your mouse from the middle of the page etc. Gestures are invoked by holding the right mouse button and "drawing" a line on the screen in any combonation of up, down, left, and right. There are literally hundreds of gestures and they keep adding more. For example:

  	Back (Left): Goes back a page in the browsing history.
  	Forward (Right): Goes one page forward in the browsing history.
  	Close Tab/Window (Down-Right): Closes the active tab, or if there is only one tab, the window.
  	New Tab (Up): Opens the link crossed by the gesture in a new tab. If there is no such link, an empty tab is opened.
  	New Window (Down): Opens the link crossed by the gesture in a new browser window. If there is no such link, an empty window is opened.
  	Open links in tabs (end with Right-Up-Left): Making any gesture ending with a straight Right-Up-Left movement opens all crossed links in tabs.

• Down-Them-All - DTA is a download manager/accelerator. It has one click downloading as well as a host of other features (You can open it and say download everything on this page, by file extension)

• PDF Download - This may seem silly, but it is actually a very useful extension. PDF files are being used on more and more sites these days and can be really bulky, causing your browser to hang as it trys to download and display this large file. PDF Download allows you to specify how Firefox handles PDFs. When you click a link that brings you to a pdf, it pops up the following toolbar and you make your choice from there:

• Del.ici.ous plug-in - In my opinion a very important add-on. Del.ici.ous is a website that allows you to store all your favorite places online. If you are like me, you reformat PC's often and don't have the time or the inclination to move your bookmarks back and forth. Or you use a lot of computers and want the ability to call up your websites whenever. Del.ici.ous is great for this and it has a nice Firefox extension! Read more on their site.
  

• I.E. Tab - I reluctantly have to include this because there are still some websites that force you to use I.E. or aren't standards compliant (like Firefox) so they just don't quite work with Firefox. I.E. Tab allows you to open a website using I.E.'s engine in a Firefox tab. It also lets you preset websites to open with I.E. Tab, and you can switch any tab in Firefox on the fly.

The above extensions are what I consider to be essential, if you have any recommendations on ESSENTIAL plug-ins, leave a comment, and I might add it to a future post.

Tune in next time for Part 2 of the extensions series where I recommend some more useful add-ons.

Peace,
~K