This graph was in an email from a website I subscribe to (MakeUseOf.com: ‘Geeky Fun’) and after I laughed out load, I was reminded that Mozill’s Firefox is one of my favorite (web techie) things. It is indeed a user-friendly browser that is my browser of preference. I now use IE only when forced to.
I have to admit that I was first drawn to Firefox when at a technology conference and the presenter was using it. Two things caught my eye: the ‘cute’ browser buttons and the fact that she could enlarge the text making it easier for the audience to see. The ‘cute’ browser buttons are a part of Firefox’s Add-ons (Tools>Addons). Buttons come in many “themes” and you can change them as your mood (or the season) changes. To make the text larger, just press Ctrl and +. Keep pressing until desired text size. This simple function makes small text easier to read for you or for an audience, like your class. Ctrl and – makes the text smaller again.
As I started using Firefox, I started to discover other features that I love and make Firefox a user-friendly browser.
- Spell Check: As you type in a text box on a web page, Firefox’s spell checker works like the spell checker in Word. When red dots appear under a misspelled word, the user can right-click on it and select the correct spelling and even add it to the dictionary.
- Tabbed Browsing: Multiple web pages can be opened in Tabs. I find it easier to switch to another web page from the tabs within the browser than to go down to the Task bar as you do in IE. You can open a new tab from File>New Tab or use the keyboard shortcut Crtl+T. Also, when you want to view a link on a web page without leaving the current page, right click on the hyperlink and select ‘Open Link in New Tab’.
- Incremental Find: If you aren’t already using the ‘find’ feature when looking for specific information on a web page, now is the time to learn to use this time-saving tool. When opening a web page with lots of text, instead of reading the whole page looking for the information you desire, employ the ‘find’ function: Edit>Find or Ctrl+F. A ‘Find:’ box opens at the bottom of the browser. Type in the specific text you are looking for. This incremental find tool progressively searches for and filters through text as you type. As you type, the web page jumps to possible matches for the text.
- Search Engine: Integrated in the toolbar is a search box. It defaults to Google, but the user can customize this. I like having a search engine within easy access at all times.
- Add-ons: I touched on this earlier, but only scratched the surface. From Tools>Add-ons, you can ‘Get Add-ons’ that include plug-ins, extensions, as well as the previously mentioned themes. My favorite add-on is for Delicious. This button allows me to easily add a new bookmark to my Delicious account without navigating away from the web page.
- Restore: I love Firefox’s restore feature. When Firefox crashes (which is far less frequently than I’ve experienced with IE), when I open it again, it asks if I would like to restore the previous session. By restoring, any and all web pages I had opened will reopen right where I left off!
Firefox is growing in popularity and once you discover it and begin to use it, you too may never go back to IE. Read 10 Great Reasons To Use the Firefox Browser and Why I Love Firefox for other viewpoints.
The only downside I’ve come across with using Firefox is that not all web applications will work (or work properly) in Firefox. It is when using those applications that I am forced to use IE.
The ‘It’s Time to Get Personal‘ page from Mozilla has Tips and Tricks on ways to customize Firefox. You can also download Firefox from there.
Firefox…… Try it; you’ll like it!
Update: June 3….
I have added the extension “AutoPager” which gives me the option of having the next page of a website automatically load when I scroll to the end of the page. I love it! No more having to click ‘next’ or an arrow, etc.
