FireFox Extensions

Here is a list of the extensions that I have installed for FireFox There are some duplicates, as some extensions fit more than one category.

General Web Browsing

• Adblock – Provides the ability to block advertisements – not just pop-ups, you can block the ads displayed in the middle of a news story too. The best part about it, is the fact that you can set up blocks using wild cards, so after some configuration, you discover that the vast majority of the sites you browse are now ad-free. This is a must have!
• BugMeNot – Provides dummy login/password combinations for hundreds of sites that require registration. This is extremely useful when you need to read something, but don’t have the time or inclination to go through a lengthy registration process.
• CookieCuller – Provides additional control of the cookies placed on your machine by Web sites.
• Download Sort – Adds the ability to set up filters for downloads, so you can define where downloads are placed automatically based on the file type or the Web site from which you downloaded it.
• Googlebar – Adds a replica of the Google Toolbar to Firefox, including the ability to search the currently viewed site, search word/phrase highlighting within the page, access to a cached copy of the page and the ability to navigate the directory tree.
• GooglePreview / McSearchPreview – Each of these plugins enhances search engine results by providing a a preview image of the Web site, or an image of a product (from Amazon) next to each search result. I am testing both of these to determine which I like more.
• IE View – A super simple, but very useful extension. IE View adds an item to the right-click menu which lets you open the current page in Internet Explorer. Some sites are poorly developed, and only work with Internet Explorer, so you can use this extension to quickly switch to IE for viewing. For those of us in Web development, is speeds up cross-browser testing as well.
• Tabbrowser – Provides expanded functionality for the tab interface, ideal for those of us who tend to keep many sites open at once.
• Image Zoom – Provides the ability to zoom in on an image within the Web page, saving the trouble of saving the image and opening it with a different application.
• QuickNote – A handy little text pad extension, allowing you to store snippets of information so they are close at hand while browsing the Web.
• Spellbound – A straight forward, but feature-rich spell checker for form fields. Check out the screen shots to see it in action.

Bookmark Management

• Bookmarks Synchronizer – Allows you to synchronize your bookmarks across multiple machines, even across operating systems. I have set it up to automatically synchronize my local bookmarks with a copy on my Web server each time I open and close Firefox, ensuring I have a backup.
• Flat Bookmark Editing – Let’s you skip a couple of steps when you want to edit the properties of a bookmark.
• OpenBook – Improves the Bookmark dialog box, providing much more functionality, and making it easier to add and work with bookmarks.
• Sort Bookmarks – This allows you to sort your bookmarks alphabetically, putting folders at the top. This functionality really should be built into Firefox, and I expect it to be in a future release.

Web Development

DOM Inspector (comes with Firefox – choose custom installation, and ensure ‘Developer Tools’ is checked) – Extremely helpful for Web developers

• IE View – A super simple, but very useful extension. IE View adds an item to the right-click menu which lets you open the current page in Internet Explorer. Some sites are poorly developed, and only work with Internet Explorer, so you can
• Image Zoom – Provides the ability to zoom in on an image within the Web page, saving the trouble of saving the image and opening it with a different application.use this extension to quickly switch to IE for viewing. For those of us in Web development, is speeds up cross-browser testing as well.
• User Agent Switcher – Useful for Web development, and getting around sites that require a specific browser to view, this extension let’s you spoof the site into thinking you are using a different Web browser and/or operating system.
• Web Developer – An amazing set of tools for Web developers, if you build Web sites, this is a must have.