Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with firefox

Best firefox add-on for previewing tabs?

shivohum — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:23:14 -0800

What's the best firefox add-on for previewing/managing a bunch of tabs that are on the same site and look alike in thumbnails, but can be distinguished by their text? I have bunches of tabs open and the tab bar becomes utterly useless, so I need an add-on (not just thumbnail-based) that can do much better.

YouTube doesn't work, except when it does.

mikoroshi — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:20:16 -0800

Why isn't YouTube working? For the past few months YouTube just doesn't work on our desktop.

Latest version of Flash is installed on latest version of Firefox, java is so tuned on it's making obscene suggestions to other scripts. I've tried turning NoScript and AdBlock off, no dice.

The most bizarre thing is, every 12th or 15th time we boot up, YouTube works....until the computer gets turned off again.

Anyone have any suggestions? I'm at a loss.

Firefox zooming for maximum text bigness

Post-it Goat — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:35:23 -0800

Is there a firefox add-on that auto-zooms pages to fit the browser window? Lots of sites these days have a fixed width with a bunch of blank space to the left and right. I want them to scale up to fit the window. So, I guess what I mean is for each page to zoom in to one level before it would have to make horizontal scroll bars. Currently I do it by manually zooming them, but it would be cool to have something that does it automatically. I looked through the Firefox add-ons page but nothing jumped out at me. Thanks!

Problems saving web pages to PDF in Firefox

game warden to the events rhino — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:51:21 -0800

When I try to print certain web pages to PDF in Firefox, chunks of text go missing. Why? I suspect this one will be speedily answered, but I've searched and searched to no avail. I've been trying to use Firefox's Save to PDF feature to preserve web content locally on my hard drive, but when I try this with certain blog posts, only part of the post makes it through to the PDF file, often with the layout completely screwed up. I don't need a perfect representation of the web page (though that'd be nice) but I do need all the text. Here's a random example of a blog post where the text of the post itself is missing when I save to PDF. Sorry if this is obvious. I assume frames or something like that may be to blame? Thanks for any suggestions.

What the hell is wrong with firefox and safari right now ?

carefulmonkey — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:03:59 -0800

What is causing problems with my mac browser firefox/safari ? I don't exactly know when but my Firefox browser last night just started freaking out on me when I moved to different websites or had two tabs open. Example I went to Pitchfork.com and it loads about half the page then freezes up and shows the 'swirling rainbow loading thing' like its opening a really big and intricate thing when yesterday it was fine. This is also happening when I go on gawker based sites and the comments section is loading. What the hell is wrong today that was fine yesterday ?

PS. I switched over to Safari and it did the same thing.

Info:
PowerPC g5
512 MB DDR SDRAM

Firefox:
3.5.4

I realize that there are no shortcuts in life, but...

kjackelen05 — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:52:37 -0800

When I use Grooveshark, I can no longer use Firefox's standard keyboard shortcuts. How can I fix this? Greasemonkey, maybe? I'm a habitual ctrl-tabber to switch tabs, ctrl-t to get a new tab, ctrl-shift-t to open a recently closed tab, etc. But when the active tab is Grooveshark, these commands don't work. This is especially frustrating when I'm trying to ctrl-tab my through a bunch of tabs, and I get stuck in Grooveshark.

I feel like this is something that might be solvable with Greasemonkey, but I don't know where to start. Does anyone know how to fix this?

Make FF 3.5 like 3.0

aerotive — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:24:06 -0800

With Firefox 3 you could drag a tab from one FF window to the another with the tab bar closed. Is there any way to get 3.5 to do that? So with a bit more detail: On my system (vista) if I have say two FF 3.5 windows open and drag a tab from one to the other (with the tab bar closed), instead of opening in the second window a third, new window opens.

I've looked around and found a way to disable tab tearing/dragging completely, but that's not what I'm looking for. And I know 3.5 will work the way I want with the tab bar visible, but I'd like to avoid that if at all possible.

I'll take any kind of fix, be it an extension, registry edit, about:config tweak, whatever.

Firefox and ASP.Net 1.1 and Ajax and Validators, oh my!

antifuse — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:20:32 -0800

How can I get Ajax and client side validators working with my ASP.Net 1.1 application in Firefox? Ok, long story short - I've got an ASP.Net 1.1 website, which uses Validator controls and Ajax (ajax.dll, v5.7.22.2)... All of these elements of the site were chosen/implemented before I got here, and before anybody asks, no, it's not within our budget (timewise) to upgrade even to ASP.Net 2.0, let alone the latest and greatest of everything.

The site works fine in IE (of course), but in Firefox (or Chrome... Haven't tried Opera or Safari) I've found that ASP renders the site without any javascript code for the validators, nor does it render the site with any javascript code for the ajax methods that I call.

I've checked, and our web.config is setup to treat Firefox as an "uplevel" browser... And it *does* seem to be using the correct HtmlWriter (ie my pages on FFox are rendered with spans and divs). I've tried creating a PageClient alias using an IE7 user agent in the web.config, and forcing the page to use that PageClient. NOTHING seems to let it generate the Ajax and validator javascript. My research on the net seems to be pointing towards validators simply not ever able to work with ASP.Net 1.1 and Firefox... And I presume that whatever the validators do, the Ajax library is doing as well... But I'm really really really hoping there's a workaround for this. It'll be extremely embarrassing to have to tell the client in this day and age "Sorry, we don't support non-IE browsers with this release".

Can I easily control the order in which things load on a page of mine?

fake — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:35:56 -0800

I need some help fixing a web page. Images load in the wrong order, and users are finding it confusing. I have a free album up here, and it's gotten about a zillion views, which I'm very happy about. But many users report that the images of the book pages don't show up.

As it turns out, in Firefox (by far the most popular browser that visits the site) they do show up, but they are displaced below the Flash player that plays the album until the entire page loads. Is it possible to force the pages to load right next to the player?

This must have to do with the way Firefox renders things, but the few hacks that I've tried on the code have not changed the order that things appear. Any advice would be much appreciated.

installing older firefoxes

mannequito — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:54:18 -0800

I need to put an older version (2.x) of Firefox onto my computer. I am using the latest Kubuntu version (Karmic, still in beta for a few more days). How do I do this? I was able to download a tar.gz file of Firefox 2.0.0.20 but, beyond extracting, I can't get anywhere with it.

Is there a repository I can add that still supplies older versions? Or is there a way to get the one I already downloaded installed?

btw, this isn't for preference or anything, just the fact that the Canadian government is outdated and require an older version in order to access a secure site.

Sort within Firefox Tag folders?

underwater — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:26:50 -0800

Can I sort Firefox bookmarks within tag folders? In the 'Organize Bookmarks' screen, I have a 'tags' folder within my 'Bookmarks Menu' folder, and I can see the specific bookmarks within each tag using this window. On the main browsing screen, I can browse all bookmarks within a given tag by using the Bookmarks menu and hovering over the tag. I have the extension to sort bookmarks by name within the normal bookmarks folders, and that works well.

I'd like something that will sort bookmarks by name as they are listed in the tags folders. If there isn't anything, is there any way to re-arrange those bookmarks manually? Using the 'sort' function in the 'Organize Bookmarks' screen doesn't carry the changes over to the main Bookmarks menu. Thanks!

click tab paste click tab paste...automate this please?

TomMelee — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:44:24 -0800

Simple problem: record a macro and play it back in firefox. Hard part: recording a macro and playing it back in firefox. Really simple problem here that's killing me.

I've got a web-based client management app that we use. I have about 161 clients. Each client has pages that must contain data---goals, disability, etc. Thankfully much of the information is duplicated from person to person.

Enter a macro. Right?

So I have a list of names, and I click a name. From that page, I want a macro that:
-moves the mouse to the "goals" tab
-clicks the "goals" tab
-clicks the "add" button
-moves cursor to date box
-fills in a date (same date for everyone)
-moves cursor to the goals box
-pastes in the goal
-moves mouse to "save" button
-presses it
-moves mouse to client list button
-presses it.

Then I load the next client, rinse/repeat. Same basic process for the other fields. I tried using iMacros for firefox, and I LOVE the speed and the recording is SPOT ON. The problem is that it looks at the url, so when I play it back it only ads goals to the consumer for whom the macro was recorded, NOT the person on the screen. I cannot figure out how to make it play the macro and ignore the url. I asked a question in their forums but no answer so far.

This is really an awfully simple thing to try to script out in autoit/autohotkey...and the autohotkey recorder didn't do such a hot job anyway.

So...I come to you for support. I'm sure someone will have my answer in 50 seconds and I will have wasted my question, but so it goes.

Thanks!

How to use a different default funding source?

Solomon — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:16:26 -0800

How can I get a visual warning every time I pay for something with Paypal, warning me to change my payment source? This Greasemonkey script would do what I want, but it's US-centric, so it doesn't work with the UK version of ebay, or apparently any UK Paypal sites. It could just be out of date, I guess. I use Firefox, always.

Is there another method by which I can get some kind of visual reminder (preferably a big neon sign...) that I'm on a Paypal payment page and that I should take a look at my payment source?

[I don't want to open another account with Paypal, as I already have a credit card associated with my current account, which means they won't let me register it again with a new account. Nor do I want to remove my bank account from my Paypal account, as I sometimes find it useful. Paypal don't offer any way to set a credit card as a default payment method, as it costs them more in fees. And no, "just remembering" isn't enough, sadly.]

PDF creator for Firefox?

dfriedman — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:57:02 -0800

Looking for an add-on to Firefox that will allow me to save web pages as PDF documents I have a bunch of emailed receipts that I need to save as PDF files for my accountant. I'm looking for some sort of add-on to Firefox that will allow me to save an email (via gmail) as a PDF.

I've tried this add-on, however, it's timing out when I try to use it.

My alternative is to print out these emails, scan them as PDFs and save them. This is more time consuming.

Suggestions?

Thanks.

auto-name saved webpages

a womble is an active kind of sloth — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 06:41:08 -0800

Is there a way of saving a web-page from a web-browser, using a name from a source outside of the web-page? I want to save several web-pages to a folder, and I would like a semi-automatic naming convention. Previously, I have been manually saving each web-page by hitting ctrl-s, and entering sequential numbers. I am analyzing these pages using a loop, so this convention makes it quite easy to loop through all files in the folder (I am doing this analysis using a few VBA macros in excel).

One mild complication is that some of these web-pages will all have the same default name if I use the actual prompted name, so re-naming after saving is not an option as it would overwrite files.

I haven't been able to figure out how to go about doing this within firefox on windows xp, so any pointers would be greatly appreciated. Suggestions using alternative browsers/OSs are fine as I use mac and linux also.

Alternatives to Sage Too?

Doofus Magoo — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:57:05 -0800

Are there any good alternatives to the Sage Too Firefox extension? I've been using Sage and Sage Too for RSS feeds for several years now. Having recently reinstalled Firefox, I was planning to install Sage Too until the EULA appeared (reproduced below in its entirety):

Anyone using any type of ad blocker is prohibited from installing and using this add-on.

What's a good alternative to Sage Too? I'm probably more interested in a Firefox extension than reading them via a website, but other than that I'm pretty flexible.

Can greasemonkey open a link in a different browser?

Roger Dodger — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:51:32 -0800

Is it possible to use a greasemonkey script in Firefox to open specific links in Internet Explorer? If so, what would it look like? The particular element in the HTML page is an input button which executes some javascript, which opens a different webapp in a new browser window. However, that webapp only works with IE, and I use Firefox. The element looks similar to this:

<input value="New Webapp"  class="btn" name="webapp" onclick="openIntegration('/servlet/servlet.Integration?scontrolCaching=1&lid=00b70000000zL1t&eid=50070000009tNYv&ic=1', 'height=600,location=no,resizable=yes,toolbar=no,status=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=1', 1)" title="New Webapp" type="button" />

The openIntegration function (which sits in a separate .js file) looks like this:

function openIntegration(url, props, positionType) {

    var newWindow = window.open(url, "_blank", props, false);

    if (positionType == 2){

        newWindow.moveTo(0, 0);

    } else if (positionType == 0){

        newWindow.moveTo(0, 0);

        newWindow.resizeTo(self.screen.width, self.screen.height);

    }

}

Can javascript be used to specify a browser other than default? How would I go about doing this?

Script/extension to display third-party shipping costs on Amazon?

IndigoRain — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 01:27:07 -0800

I am looking for a Greasemonkey script or Firefox add-on that will show me the shipping cost for Amazon third-party items in search results. Example: I found a bottle of Aloe Vera gel for $10.37. Thinking there had to be a better deal, I scrolled down the search results page and found a larger bottle for $8.79, making it look like the better deal. Once I clicked into the second link, the price instead was $8.79 + $8.22 shipping, making the first bottle the actual better deal.

I want a script that will get that $8.22 shipping cost (you can see where it is displayed on the page here - just above the shopping cart button) and at least display it on search results pages, if not add it in to the original cost. If this isn't possible I would also welcome a script that simply indicates on the search results page whether a product is a third-party item (indicated at the above link by the text "Ships from and sold by CosmeticMall.com") or shipped directly from Amazon.

Failing the existence of this script, I don't know javascript, so is this something I could do myself using the Platypus extension?

I found the Amazon TotalUsed 2.0 script but it doesn't work. Unfortunately, even if it did work, I'm not sure if it would only display shipping costs for items shipped by Amazon using their standard shipping prices, or also be able to retrieve third-party shipping costs.

FireFox Blues

peewinkle — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 07:53:28 -0800

(Firefoxfilter): Ok, I have been a fan of FF for a few years now, but after the past few updates/version 3, I have been missing a few of the functions/add-ons that made me like it so much in the first place..... 1) It hasn't been allowing me to use the auto-password feature for the past few updates. I searched Mefi and found how to go in and change a few things in the Windows Explorer files that should correct this, but it hasn't worked for me.

2) My G-mail manager add-on quit working as well. I have emailed the author a few times and have received no reply or support.

So my question is: Does anyone in the Hivemind know the last version of FF that allowed both of these things to run/work? I am willing to go back to an older version, for the sake of my productivity. This will be installed only on my "work" machine, so I am not too worried about security issues, as I only use this particular machine to go to the same dozen-or-so web-sites and nowhere else.

Bonus points if you can direct me to a download of said version.

I would be willing to try and mess around some more if anyone can direct me how to resolve both problems using the latest FF version.

Thanks in advance!

Problem Viewing Flash

JABof72 — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 11:19:22 -0800

Flash Player 10 doesn't work all the time. YouTube and most other sites work fine, including embedded Flash. Certain sites, such as Chow.com, their Flash Demos load, then nothing. I run into this not too often, but would like to know how to fix it. BTW, using latest version of Firefox. Thanks!

Stopping Firefox-loaded pages from vanishing.

Kalepa — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 09:13:14 -0800

Firefox pages vanishing after short appearance -- problem, with the Firefox on my laptop, the page appears for about two seconds and then disappears. This even happens with the sciencefriday.com site and so it's not a problem with the site. Any ideas on how to fix this? (I'm sure a default setting is wrong, etc., but I don't know which one.) Thanks! Yours, Kalepa

Making Safari act more like Firefox

yankeefog — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 04:13:10 -0800

I'm looking for Safari plugins that will let it emulate Firefox's handling of saved passwords and superior address bar search. I'm also looking for the Safari equivalent of Linky. I like Safari better than Firefox for the Mac, but there are three things Firefox does better:
1. Firefox lets you see whether a password has actually worked before it asks if you want to save it.
2. When you type a word or phrase in the address bar, Firefox searches the contents of your previously browsed pages, not just the titles.
3. Firefox has Linky, Safari doesn't.

Are there Safari plugins that will let Safari act more like Firefox in these cases?

Alternative Browsers

bluelight — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 06:59:11 -0800

What superior/alternative web browsers to Firefox do you use? I have been using firefox with NoScript and most cookies disabled. When it gets too annoying to enable scripts and cookies, I switch over to Internet Explorer (non-updated version). I really dislike using IE but lately, Firefox has been crashing a LOT.

I was wondering if you had any good experiences with other web browsers such as Safari, Chrome, etc. I plan on keeping firefox but I'd like to explore other options.

I use a PC running Windows XP.

Thanks!

Help me track where I spend my surfing time

Solomon — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 13:41:47 -0800

I'm looking for a Firefox extension (compatible with 3.5) that will show me how much time I spend on a given website per day/week. I do not want:

To block sites at a specific time/for a specific period.

A desktop application (I want the extension to run solely in Firefox, so I can use it in Firefox Portable).

The extension to report my surfing data back to a website. I strongly prefer the data cached locally, but I'm prepared to be flexible on this.

To have to start a timer counting manually when I visit a site. I want it to be completely transparent until I view the data.

I've looked at Pageaddict, which doesn't work on Firefox 3.5 and is apparently abandoned by it's owner, 8aweek, which is no longer supported, Leechblock, which doesn't offer the functionality I want, Timetracker, which shows only the time spent for the browser as a whole, not for specific sites & MeeTimer, which isn't updated for 3.5, and doesn't appear to offer fine-grained enough control over sites. Pageaddict and 8aweek appear closest in functionality to what I want.

I want to be able to see at a glance that I've spent 3h47m on Metafilter this week and visited 41 times. Is there an extension that will allow me to do this?

Firefox + RSS is making me crazy

taubman — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:39:16 -0800

Taming Firefox mouse behavior... After a recent firefox upgrade on my Mac (now running 3.5.2), Firefox now insists on (nearly) instantly showing me the URL for bookmarks in bookmarks toolbar whenever I hover my mouse over one of them. I find this to be really distracting and irritating, especially when im mousing down the list for one of my RSS bookmarks. I'd really like to shut this off, or have it happen with a bit more of a delay when I hover over a bookmark. Any ideas on how to change this behavior?