Difference between revisions of "Firefox"
(→Firefox keeps creating {{ic|~/Desktop}} even when I do not want it!: removed template from heading; rephrased the heading) |
(→Firefox 4 New Menu Bar/Firefox Button) |
||
(45 intermediate revisions by 23 users not shown) | |||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
− | + | [[cs:Firefox]] | |
− | [[ | + | [[es:Firefox]] |
− | |||
[[fr:Firefox]] | [[fr:Firefox]] | ||
+ | [[it:Firefox]] | ||
+ | [[ko:Firefox]] | ||
+ | [[ru:Firefox]] | ||
+ | [[tr:Firefox]] | ||
+ | [[zh-CN:Firefox]] | ||
+ | [[Category:Web Browser]] | ||
{{Article summary start}} | {{Article summary start}} | ||
{{Article summary text|Installing and troubleshooting the Firefox browser and plugins}} | {{Article summary text|Installing and troubleshooting the Firefox browser and plugins}} | ||
{{Article summary heading|Related}} | {{Article summary heading|Related}} | ||
− | {{Article summary wiki|Browser Plugins}} | + | {{Article summary wiki|Browser Plugins}} |
− | {{Article summary wiki|Firefox | + | {{Article summary wiki|Firefox Tweaks}} |
+ | {{Article summary wiki|Chromium}} | ||
+ | {{Article summary wiki|Opera}} | ||
{{Article summary end}} | {{Article summary end}} | ||
− | |||
[http://www.firefox.com Firefox] is a popular open-source graphical web browser from [http://www.mozilla.com Mozilla]. | [http://www.firefox.com Firefox] is a popular open-source graphical web browser from [http://www.mozilla.com Mozilla]. | ||
== Installing == | == Installing == | ||
− | + | Firefox can be [[Pacman|installed]] with the {{Pkg|firefox}} package, available in the [[official repositories]]. | |
− | + | ||
+ | There are a number of language packs available for Firefox, other than the standard English. Language packs are usually named as {{ic|firefox-i18n-languagecode}} (where {{ic|languagecode}} can be any language code, such as '''de''', '''ja''', '''fr''', etc.). For a list of available language packs see [https://www.archlinux.org/packages/?sort=&q=firefox-i18n&maintainer=&last_update=&flagged=&limit=100 this]. | ||
− | + | If Firefox does not anti-alias and/or hint your fonts, try to install {{AUR|ttf-win7-fonts}} (preferred) or {{AUR|ttf-ms-fonts}} and take a look at [[Font Configuration]]. | |
− | |||
== Add-ons == | == Add-ons == | ||
Firefox is well known for its large library of add-ons which can be used to add new features or modify the behavior of existing features of Firefox. You can find new add-ons or manage installed add-ons with Firefox's "Add-ons Manager." | Firefox is well known for its large library of add-ons which can be used to add new features or modify the behavior of existing features of Firefox. You can find new add-ons or manage installed add-ons with Firefox's "Add-ons Manager." | ||
− | For a list of popular add-ons, see | + | For a list of popular add-ons, see [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/extensions/?sort=popular Mozilla's add-on list sorted by popularity]. |
== Plugins == | == Plugins == | ||
− | + | {{Box||See the main article: [[Browser Plugins]]|#E5E5FF|#FCFCFC}} | |
To find out what plugins are installed/enabled, enter: | To find out what plugins are installed/enabled, enter: | ||
about:plugins | about:plugins | ||
− | in the Firefox address bar | + | in the Firefox address bar or go to the ''Add-ons'' entry in the Firefox Menu and select the ''Plugins'' tab. |
+ | |||
+ | === GNOME Keyring integration === | ||
+ | Install {{AUR|firefox-gnome-keyring}} from the [[AUR]] to integrate Firefox with [[GNOME Keyring]]. | ||
+ | |||
+ | === KDE integration === | ||
+ | * To use KDE's KPart technology with Firefox, by embedding different KDE file viewers into the browser, you can install {{Pkg|kpartsplugin}}. | ||
− | + | * To get further integration with KDE's Oxygen theme, you can install [http://kde-look.org/content/show.php/?content=117962 Oxygen KDE], a very comprehensive theme that also has color scheme detection, support for Firefox's Persona themes, support for both the Oxygen and Faenza icons and various other customizations. | |
− | |||
− | + | * For integration with KDE’s mime type system and file dialogs, one can use a [https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/firefox-kde-opensuse version of firefox] with OpenSUSE’s patches applied. | |
=== Dictionaries for spell checking === | === Dictionaries for spell checking === | ||
− | + | To enable spell checking for a specific language right click on any text field and check the ''Check Spelling'' box. To select a language for spell checking to you have right click again and select your language from the ''Languages'' sub-menu. | |
− | + | To get more languages just click ''Add Dictionaries...'' and select the dictionary you want to install from the list. | |
− | + | ||
+ | Alternatively, you can install the {{Pkg|hunspell}} package, available in the [[official repositories]]. You also need to install dictionaries for your language, such as {{Pkg|hunspell-fr}} (for the French language) or {{Pkg|hunspell-he}} (for Hebrew). | ||
=== Adding Firefox search engines === | === Adding Firefox search engines === | ||
− | + | Search engines can be added to Firefox through normal add-ons, see [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/search-tools/ this page] for a list of available search engines. | |
− | + | A very extensive list of search engines can be found [http://mycroft.mozdev.org/ here]. | |
− | + | Also, you can use the [https://firefox.maltekraus.de/extensions/add-to-search-bar add-to-searchbar] extension to add a search to your search bar from any web site, by simply right clicking on the site's search field and selecting ''Add to Search Bar...'' | |
− | + | If you want a manual solution, take a look at {{ic|~/.mozilla/firefox/xxx.default/searchplugins/}} (where xxx is your profile ID). | |
− | |||
− | + | ==== arch-firefox-search ==== | |
+ | Install the {{Pkg|arch-firefox-search}} package, available in the [[official repositories]], to add Arch-specific searches (AUR, wiki, forum, etc, as specified by user) to the Firefox search toolbar. | ||
− | ==== | + | == Firefox derivatives == |
− | |||
− | |||
− | + | * {{App|[[Wikipedia:Mozilla Corporation software rebranded by the Debian project#IceWeasel|Iceweasel]]|A fork of Firefox that is being developed by Debian. The main difference is that it does not include any trademarked Mozilla artwork.|http://wiki.debian.org/Iceweasel|{{AUR|iceweasel}}}} | |
− | + | {{Note|For some more information about Iceweasel's existance see [http://web.glandium.org/blog/?p=97 this blog post].}} | |
− | *[[Wikipedia: | + | * {{App|[[Wikipedia:Gnu IceCat|GNU IceCat]]|A web browser distributed by the GNU Project. It is made entirely of free software and is compatible with the GNU/Linux operating system and almost all of Firefox's addons. |http://www.gnu.org/software/gnuzilla/|{{AUR|icecat}}}} |
+ | * {{App|[[Wikipedia:Swiftfox|Swiftfox]]|A web browser based on Firefox but optimized for some newer Intel and AMD processors.|http://www.getswiftfox.com/|{{AUR|swiftfox-athlon64}} {{AUR|swiftfox-prescott}} {{AUR|swiftfox-i686}}}} | ||
+ | * {{App|Firefox KDE|A version of Firefox that incorporates an OpenSUSE patch for better KDE integration than is possible through simple Firefox plugins.|http://gitorious.org/firefox-kde-opensuse|{{AUR|firefox-kde-opensuse}}}} | ||
− | + | == Troubleshooting == | |
− | === | + | === Setting your e-mail client === |
− | + | Firefox is usually set to open {{ic|mailto}} links with a web application such as Gmail or Yahoo Mail. To set your e-mail client in Firefox to use with {{ic|mailto}} links, go to ''Preferences > Applications'' and modify the ''action'' column corresponding to the {{ic|mailto}} content type. You have set this to the exact location of your e-mail client (e.g. {{ic|/usr/bin/kmail}} for Kmail). | |
− | |||
− | + | === Firefox 4 New Menu Bar/Firefox Button === | |
− | : | + | {{Merge|Firefox Tweaks|This is just style tweaks, should better keep it in tweak page to keep main page clean.}} |
+ | To toggle between the new Firefox button and the classic menu bar: | ||
+ | * if the button is active, check ''Preferences > Menu Bar'', or right click in the toolbar area and check ''Menu Bar''. | ||
+ | * if the menu bar is active, uncheck ''View > Toolbars > Menu Bar'', or right click in the toolbar area and uncheck ''Menu Bar''. | ||
− | + | In GNU/Linux, you will just get a plain grey button instead of the new orange one from Windows. However you can change this to either a Firefox icon or the icon followed by the "Firefox" text. | |
− | |||
− | + | Adding the following to your {{ic|~/.mozilla/firefox/userprofile/chrome/userChrome.css}} file will place the icon before the text: | |
− | + | {{bc| | |
− | + | #appmenu-toolbar-button { | |
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | {{ic|~/.mozilla/firefox/userprofile/chrome/userChrome.css}} | ||
− | |||
− | {{bc|#appmenu-toolbar-button { | ||
list-style-image: url("chrome://branding/content/icon16.png"); | list-style-image: url("chrome://branding/content/icon16.png"); | ||
} | } | ||
+ | }} | ||
+ | |||
+ | Adding the following to the same file will ''remove'' the "Firefox" text: | ||
+ | {{bc| | ||
#appmenu-toolbar-button > .toolbarbutton-text, | #appmenu-toolbar-button > .toolbarbutton-text, | ||
#appmenu-toolbar-button > .toolbarbutton-menu-dropmarker { | #appmenu-toolbar-button > .toolbarbutton-menu-dropmarker { | ||
Line 95: | Line 103: | ||
}} | }} | ||
− | {{Note|You | + | |
+ | This userChrome.css configuration copies the default Windows Firefox 4+ look and adds an orange background to the button, with a purple background in Private Browsing mode: | ||
+ | {{bc| | ||
+ | #main-window:not([privatebrowsingmode]) #appmenu-toolbar-button { | ||
+ | -moz-appearance: none !important; | ||
+ | color: #FEEDFC !important; | ||
+ | background: -moz-linear-gradient(hsl(34,85%,60%), hsl(26,72%,53%) 95%) !important; | ||
+ | border: 1px solid #000000 !important; | ||
+ | } | ||
+ | |||
+ | #main-window:not([privatebrowsingmode]) #appmenu-toolbar-button:hover:not(:active):not([open]) { | ||
+ | -moz-appearance: none !important; | ||
+ | color: #FEEDFC !important; | ||
+ | background: -moz-linear-gradient(hsl(26,72%,53%), hsl(34,85%,60%) 95%) !important; | ||
+ | border: 1px solid #000000 !important; | ||
+ | } | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | #main-window:not([privatebrowsingmode]) #appmenu-toolbar-button:hover:active, | ||
+ | #main-window:not([privatebrowsingmode]) #appmenu-toolbar-button[open] { | ||
+ | -moz-appearance: none !important; | ||
+ | color: #FEEDFC !important; | ||
+ | background: -moz-linear-gradient(hsl(26,72%,53%), hsl(26,72%,53%) 95%) !important; | ||
+ | border: 1px solid #000000 !important; | ||
+ | } | ||
+ | |||
+ | #appmenu-toolbar-button { | ||
+ | -moz-appearance: none !important; | ||
+ | color: #FEEDFC !important; | ||
+ | background: -moz-linear-gradient(hsl(279,70%,46%), hsl(276,75%,38%) 95%) !important; | ||
+ | border: 1px solid #000000 !important; | ||
+ | } | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | #main-window #appmenu-toolbar-button:hover:not(:active):not([open]) { | ||
+ | -moz-appearance: none !important; | ||
+ | color: #FEEDFC !important; | ||
+ | background: -moz-linear-gradient(hsl(276,75%,38%), hsl(279,70%,46%) 95%) !important; | ||
+ | border: 1px solid #000000 !important; | ||
+ | } | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | #main-window #appmenu-toolbar-button:hover:active, | ||
+ | #main-window #appmenu-toolbar-button[open] { | ||
+ | -moz-appearance: none !important; | ||
+ | color: #FEEDFC !important; | ||
+ | background: -moz-linear-gradient(hsl(276,75%,38%), hsl(276,75%,38%) 95%) !important; | ||
+ | border: 1px solid #000000 !important; | ||
+ | } | ||
+ | }} | ||
+ | |||
+ | {{Note|You need to create both the {{ic|chrome}} directory and {{ic|userChrome.css}}, if they do not already exist.}} | ||
=== Open containing folder problems (KDE) === | === Open containing folder problems (KDE) === | ||
− | If Firefox launches something other than your preferred file manager when using the "Open Containing Folder" option in the Downloads manager, make sure you select your file manager of choice (e.g. Dolphin) in KDE's System Settings | + | If Firefox launches something other than your preferred file manager when using the "Open Containing Folder" option in the Downloads manager, make sure you select your file manager of choice (e.g. [[Dolphin]]) in KDE's System Settings under ''Workspace Appearance and Behavior > Default Applications > File Manager''. |
− | |||
− | If | + | If Firefox is still not opening your file manager of choice, modify your user's {{ic|~/.local/share/applications/defaults.list}} to include these two lines: |
x-directory/normal=kde4-dolphin.desktop;kde4-kfmclient_dir.desktop; | x-directory/normal=kde4-dolphin.desktop;kde4-kfmclient_dir.desktop; | ||
inode/directory=kde4-dolphin.desktop;kde4-kfmclient_dir.desktop;kde4-gwenview.desktop;kde4-filelight.desktop;kde4-cervisia.desktop; | inode/directory=kde4-dolphin.desktop;kde4-kfmclient_dir.desktop;kde4-gwenview.desktop;kde4-filelight.desktop;kde4-cervisia.desktop; | ||
=== Firefox keeps creating ~/Desktop even when this is not desired === | === Firefox keeps creating ~/Desktop even when this is not desired === | ||
− | + | Firefox uses {{ic|~/Desktop}} as the default place for download and upload files. To set it to another folder, create {{ic|~/.config/user-dirs.dirs}} and add: | |
+ | XDG_DESKTOP_DIR="/home/<user>/" | ||
+ | XDG_DOWNLOAD_DIR="/home/<user>/<dir>" | ||
+ | XDG_TEMPLATES_DIR="/home/<user>/<dir>" | ||
+ | XDG_PUBLICSHARE_DIR="/home/<user>/<dir>" | ||
+ | XDG_DOCUMENTS_DIR="/home/<user>/<dir>" | ||
+ | XDG_MUSIC_DIR="/home/<user>/<dir>" | ||
+ | XDG_PICTURES_DIR="/home/<user>/<dir>" | ||
+ | XDG_VIDEOS_DIR="/home/<user>/<dir>" | ||
+ | Change {{ic|<user>}} and {{ic|<dir>}} to the actual directory. | ||
− | === | + | === Make plugins respect blocked pop-ups === |
− | + | Some plugins can misbehave and bypass the default settings, such as the Flash plugin. You can prevent this by doing the following: | |
− | + | # Type {{ic|about:config}} into the address bar. | |
− | # Type about:config into the | + | # Right-click on the page and select {{ic|New}} and then {{ic|Integer}}. |
− | # Right-click on the page and select New and then Integer. | + | # Name it {{ic|privacy.popups.disable_from_plugins}}. |
− | # Name it privacy.popups.disable_from_plugins | ||
# Set the value to 2. | # Set the value to 2. | ||
The possible values are: | The possible values are: | ||
− | * 0: Allow all popups from plugins. | + | * '''0''': Allow all popups from plugins. |
− | * 1: Allow popups, but limit them to dom.popup_maximum. | + | * '''1''': Allow popups, but limit them to dom.popup_maximum. |
− | * 2: Block popups from plugins. | + | * '''2''': Block popups from plugins. |
− | * 3: Block popups from plugins, even on whitelisted sites. | + | * '''3''': Block popups from plugins, even on whitelisted sites. |
=== Middle-click errors === | === Middle-click errors === | ||
− | + | A common error message you can get while using the middle mouse button in Firefox is: | |
+ | The URL is not valid and cannot be loaded. | ||
+ | |||
Another symptom is that middle-clicking results in unexpected behavior, like accessing a random web page. | Another symptom is that middle-clicking results in unexpected behavior, like accessing a random web page. | ||
− | The reason stems from the use of the middle mouse buttons in UNIX-like operating systems. The middle mouse button is used to paste whatever text has been highlighted/added to the clipboard. Then there is the possibly conflicting feature in Firefox, which defaults to loading the URL of the corresponding text when the button is depressed. This can be disabled | + | The reason stems from the use of the middle mouse buttons in UNIX-like operating systems. The middle mouse button is used to paste whatever text has been highlighted/added to the clipboard. Then there is the possibly conflicting feature in Firefox, which defaults to loading the URL of the corresponding text when the button is depressed. This can be easily disabled by going to {{ic|about:config}} and setting the {{ic|middlemouse.contentLoadURL}} option to '''false'''. |
− | + | Alternatively, having the traditional scroll cursor on middle-click (default behavior on Windows browsers) can be achieved by searching for {{ic|general.autoScroll}} and setting it to '''true'''. | |
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | Alternatively, having the traditional scroll cursor on middle-click (default | ||
=== Backspace does not work as the 'Back' button === | === Backspace does not work as the 'Back' button === | ||
− | As per [http://ubuntu.wordpress.com/2006/12/21/fix-firefox-backspace-to-take-you-to-the-previous-page/ this article], the feature has been removed in order to fix a bug. | + | As per [http://ubuntu.wordpress.com/2006/12/21/fix-firefox-backspace-to-take-you-to-the-previous-page/ this article], the feature has been removed in order to fix a bug. To re-introduce the original behavior go to {{ic|about:config}} and set the {{ic|browser.backspace_action}} option to '''0''' (zero). |
− | + | === Firefox does not remember login information === | |
− | + | It may be due to a corrupted {{ic|cookies.sqlite}} file in [http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Profiles#How_to_find_your_profile Firefox's profile] folder. In order to fix this, just rename or remove {{ic|cookie.sqlite}} while Firefox is not running. | |
− | |||
− | |||
− | === Firefox does not remember login information | ||
− | It may be | ||
Open a terminal of choice and type the following: | Open a terminal of choice and type the following: | ||
Line 152: | Line 212: | ||
Restart Firefox and see if it solved the problem. | Restart Firefox and see if it solved the problem. | ||
− | === | + | === Unreadable input fields with dark GTK+ themes === |
− | When using a dark [[GTK]] theme, one might encounter Internet pages with unreadable input and text fields ( | + | When using a dark [[GTK+]] theme, one might encounter Internet pages with unreadable input and text fields (e.g. Amazon can have white text on white background). This can happen because the site only sets either background or text color, and Firefox takes the other one from the theme. |
− | A work around is to explicitly setting standard | + | A work around is to explicitly setting standard colors for all web pages in {{ic|~/.mozilla/firefox/xxxxxxxx.default/chrome/userContent.css}}. |
The following sets input fields to standard black text / white background; both can be overridden by the displayed site, so that colors are seen as intended: | The following sets input fields to standard black text / white background; both can be overridden by the displayed site, so that colors are seen as intended: | ||
Line 166: | Line 226: | ||
textarea { | textarea { | ||
+ | -moz-appearance: none !important; | ||
+ | background-color: white; | ||
+ | color: black; | ||
+ | } | ||
+ | |||
+ | select { | ||
-moz-appearance: none !important; | -moz-appearance: none !important; | ||
background-color: white; | background-color: white; | ||
Line 171: | Line 237: | ||
} | } | ||
}} | }} | ||
− | This will force the | + | |
+ | This will force the colors ("Allow pages to choose their own colors..." checkbox in the ''Preferences > Content > Color'' dialog): | ||
{{bc| | {{bc| | ||
input { | input { | ||
Line 180: | Line 247: | ||
textarea { | textarea { | ||
+ | -moz-appearance: none !important; | ||
+ | background-color: pink !important; | ||
+ | color: green !important; | ||
+ | } | ||
+ | |||
+ | select { | ||
-moz-appearance: none !important; | -moz-appearance: none !important; | ||
background-color: pink !important; | background-color: pink !important; | ||
Line 188: | Line 261: | ||
=== File association problems === | === File association problems === | ||
− | For non-[[GNOME]] users, Firefox may not associate file types (in the "Open With" part of the download dialog). Installing {{Pkg|libgnome}} amends the problem | + | For non-[[GNOME]] users, Firefox may not associate file types properly or at all (in the "Open With" part of the download dialog). Installing {{Pkg|libgnome}} from the [[official repositories]] amends the problem. |
− | + | ||
− | If you are using KDE you can also do the following: | + | If you are using [[KDE]] you can also do the following: |
ln -s ~/.local/share/applications/mimeapps.list ~/.local/share/applications/mimeinfo.cache | ln -s ~/.local/share/applications/mimeapps.list ~/.local/share/applications/mimeinfo.cache | ||
From now on Firefox should use the applications which are explicitly set in KDE. | From now on Firefox should use the applications which are explicitly set in KDE. | ||
=== "I'm Feeling Lucky" Mode === | === "I'm Feeling Lucky" Mode === | ||
− | "I'm Feeling Lucky" | + | Some search engines have a feeling lucky feature. For example Google has "I'm Feeling Lucky" and DuckDuckGo has "I'm Feeling Ducky". |
− | To activate | + | To activate them: |
+ | # Type {{ic|about:config}} in the address bar. | ||
+ | # Search for the string {{ic|keyword.url}}. | ||
+ | # Modify its value (if any) to the URL of the search engine. | ||
− | + | For Google, set it to: | |
− | + | {{bc|<nowiki>http://www.google.com/search?btnI=I%27m+Feeling+Lucky&q=</nowiki>}} | |
− | + | For DuckDuckGo, set it to: | |
− | + | {{bc|<nowiki>https://duckduckgo.com/?q=\</nowiki>}} | |
− | === " | + | === "Do you want Firefox to save your tabs for the next time it starts?" dialog does not appear === |
− | + | From the [http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/questions/767751 Mozilla Support] site: | |
− | + | # Type {{ic|about:config}} in the address bar. | |
+ | # Set {{ic|browser.warnOnQuit}} to '''true'''. | ||
+ | # Set {{ic|browser.showQuitWarning}} to '''true'''. | ||
− | + | === Firefox uses ugly fonts for its interface === | |
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | + | If the fonts in the menu bar look ugly to you, chances are you're missing better looking fonts for Firefox to use. As a quick remedy, just install Type 1 fonts from the {{Pkg|xorg-fonts-type1}} package, available in the official repositories. | |
− | === | + | === Firefox uses ugly fonts on certain webpages === |
− | |||
− | + | When Firefox uses bitmap fonts, it can happen that on certain webpages the fonts are very ugly (compared to Google Chrome for example): | |
− | |||
− | |||
− | + | http://i.imgur.com/SMVdi.png vs http://i.imgur.com/jNmxU.png | |
− | + | To fix that, just disable bitmap fonts for X: | |
+ | $ sudo ln -s /etc/fonts/conf.avail/70-no-bitmaps.conf /etc/fonts/conf.d/ | ||
− | + | === The menu cannot pop-up after updating to Firefox 13 === | |
+ | This problem is most probably related to this [https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=787943 bug] and it may affect any user that sets | ||
+ | GTK_IM_MODULE=xim | ||
− | + | while configuring their input method. | |
− | + | It appears to happen especially to those who are using [[Fcitx]] 4.0.x (at that time Fcitx only supported XIM). With newer version of Fcitx, XIM is discouraged and you should set: | |
+ | GTK_IM_MODULE=fcitx | ||
− | + | For more information see the [[Fcitx]] page. | |
− | == | + | == See also == |
− | *[http:// | + | * [http://www.mozilla.org/firefox/ Official Website] |
− | : | + | * [http://www.mozilla.org/ Mozilla Foundation] |
− | *[ | + | * [https://wiki.mozilla.org/Firefox Firefox Wiki] |
− | : | + | * [https://addons.mozilla.org/ Firefox Add-ons] |
+ | * [http://www.getpersonas.com/ Firefox Persona Themes] |
Revision as of 05:23, 29 January 2013
zh-CN:FirefoxTemplate:Article summary start Template:Article summary text Template:Article summary heading Template:Article summary wiki Template:Article summary wiki Template:Article summary wiki Template:Article summary wiki Template:Article summary end Firefox is a popular open-source graphical web browser from Mozilla.
Contents
- 1 Installing
- 2 Add-ons
- 3 Plugins
- 4 Firefox derivatives
- 5 Troubleshooting
- 5.1 Setting your e-mail client
- 5.2 Firefox 4 New Menu Bar/Firefox Button
- 5.3 Open containing folder problems (KDE)
- 5.4 Firefox keeps creating ~/Desktop even when this is not desired
- 5.5 Make plugins respect blocked pop-ups
- 5.6 Middle-click errors
- 5.7 Backspace does not work as the 'Back' button
- 5.8 Firefox does not remember login information
- 5.9 Unreadable input fields with dark GTK+ themes
- 5.10 File association problems
- 5.11 "I'm Feeling Lucky" Mode
- 5.12 "Do you want Firefox to save your tabs for the next time it starts?" dialog does not appear
- 5.13 Firefox uses ugly fonts for its interface
- 5.14 Firefox uses ugly fonts on certain webpages
- 5.15 The menu cannot pop-up after updating to Firefox 13
- 6 See also
Installing
Firefox can be installed with the firefox package, available in the official repositories.
There are a number of language packs available for Firefox, other than the standard English. Language packs are usually named as firefox-i18n-languagecode
(where languagecode
can be any language code, such as de, ja, fr, etc.). For a list of available language packs see this.
If Firefox does not anti-alias and/or hint your fonts, try to install ttf-win7-fontsAUR (preferred) or ttf-ms-fontsAUR and take a look at Font Configuration.
Add-ons
Firefox is well known for its large library of add-ons which can be used to add new features or modify the behavior of existing features of Firefox. You can find new add-ons or manage installed add-ons with Firefox's "Add-ons Manager."
For a list of popular add-ons, see Mozilla's add-on list sorted by popularity.
Plugins
To find out what plugins are installed/enabled, enter:
about:plugins
in the Firefox address bar or go to the Add-ons entry in the Firefox Menu and select the Plugins tab.
GNOME Keyring integration
Install firefox-gnome-keyringAUR from the AUR to integrate Firefox with GNOME Keyring.
KDE integration
- To use KDE's KPart technology with Firefox, by embedding different KDE file viewers into the browser, you can install kpartsplugin.
- To get further integration with KDE's Oxygen theme, you can install Oxygen KDE, a very comprehensive theme that also has color scheme detection, support for Firefox's Persona themes, support for both the Oxygen and Faenza icons and various other customizations.
- For integration with KDE’s mime type system and file dialogs, one can use a version of firefox with OpenSUSE’s patches applied.
Dictionaries for spell checking
To enable spell checking for a specific language right click on any text field and check the Check Spelling box. To select a language for spell checking to you have right click again and select your language from the Languages sub-menu.
To get more languages just click Add Dictionaries... and select the dictionary you want to install from the list.
Alternatively, you can install the hunspell package, available in the official repositories. You also need to install dictionaries for your language, such as hunspell-fr (for the French language) or hunspell-he (for Hebrew).
Adding Firefox search engines
Search engines can be added to Firefox through normal add-ons, see this page for a list of available search engines.
A very extensive list of search engines can be found here.
Also, you can use the add-to-searchbar extension to add a search to your search bar from any web site, by simply right clicking on the site's search field and selecting Add to Search Bar...
If you want a manual solution, take a look at ~/.mozilla/firefox/xxx.default/searchplugins/
(where xxx is your profile ID).
arch-firefox-search
Install the arch-firefox-search package, available in the official repositories, to add Arch-specific searches (AUR, wiki, forum, etc, as specified by user) to the Firefox search toolbar.
Firefox derivatives
- Iceweasel — A fork of Firefox that is being developed by Debian. The main difference is that it does not include any trademarked Mozilla artwork.
- GNU IceCat — A web browser distributed by the GNU Project. It is made entirely of free software and is compatible with the GNU/Linux operating system and almost all of Firefox's addons.
- Swiftfox — A web browser based on Firefox but optimized for some newer Intel and AMD processors.
- Firefox KDE — A version of Firefox that incorporates an OpenSUSE patch for better KDE integration than is possible through simple Firefox plugins.
Troubleshooting
Setting your e-mail client
Firefox is usually set to open mailto
links with a web application such as Gmail or Yahoo Mail. To set your e-mail client in Firefox to use with mailto
links, go to Preferences > Applications and modify the action column corresponding to the mailto
content type. You have set this to the exact location of your e-mail client (e.g. /usr/bin/kmail
for Kmail).
Firefox 4 New Menu Bar/Firefox Button
To toggle between the new Firefox button and the classic menu bar:
- if the button is active, check Preferences > Menu Bar, or right click in the toolbar area and check Menu Bar.
- if the menu bar is active, uncheck View > Toolbars > Menu Bar, or right click in the toolbar area and uncheck Menu Bar.
In GNU/Linux, you will just get a plain grey button instead of the new orange one from Windows. However you can change this to either a Firefox icon or the icon followed by the "Firefox" text.
Adding the following to your ~/.mozilla/firefox/userprofile/chrome/userChrome.css
file will place the icon before the text:
#appmenu-toolbar-button { list-style-image: url("chrome://branding/content/icon16.png"); }
Adding the following to the same file will remove the "Firefox" text:
#appmenu-toolbar-button > .toolbarbutton-text, #appmenu-toolbar-button > .toolbarbutton-menu-dropmarker { display: none !important; }
This userChrome.css configuration copies the default Windows Firefox 4+ look and adds an orange background to the button, with a purple background in Private Browsing mode:
#main-window:not([privatebrowsingmode]) #appmenu-toolbar-button { -moz-appearance: none !important; color: #FEEDFC !important; background: -moz-linear-gradient(hsl(34,85%,60%), hsl(26,72%,53%) 95%) !important; border: 1px solid #000000 !important; } #main-window:not([privatebrowsingmode]) #appmenu-toolbar-button:hover:not(:active):not([open]) { -moz-appearance: none !important; color: #FEEDFC !important; background: -moz-linear-gradient(hsl(26,72%,53%), hsl(34,85%,60%) 95%) !important; border: 1px solid #000000 !important; } #main-window:not([privatebrowsingmode]) #appmenu-toolbar-button:hover:active, #main-window:not([privatebrowsingmode]) #appmenu-toolbar-button[open] { -moz-appearance: none !important; color: #FEEDFC !important; background: -moz-linear-gradient(hsl(26,72%,53%), hsl(26,72%,53%) 95%) !important; border: 1px solid #000000 !important; } #appmenu-toolbar-button { -moz-appearance: none !important; color: #FEEDFC !important; background: -moz-linear-gradient(hsl(279,70%,46%), hsl(276,75%,38%) 95%) !important; border: 1px solid #000000 !important; } #main-window #appmenu-toolbar-button:hover:not(:active):not([open]) { -moz-appearance: none !important; color: #FEEDFC !important; background: -moz-linear-gradient(hsl(276,75%,38%), hsl(279,70%,46%) 95%) !important; border: 1px solid #000000 !important; } #main-window #appmenu-toolbar-button:hover:active, #main-window #appmenu-toolbar-button[open] { -moz-appearance: none !important; color: #FEEDFC !important; background: -moz-linear-gradient(hsl(276,75%,38%), hsl(276,75%,38%) 95%) !important; border: 1px solid #000000 !important; }
chrome
directory and userChrome.css
, if they do not already exist.Open containing folder problems (KDE)
If Firefox launches something other than your preferred file manager when using the "Open Containing Folder" option in the Downloads manager, make sure you select your file manager of choice (e.g. Dolphin) in KDE's System Settings under Workspace Appearance and Behavior > Default Applications > File Manager.
If Firefox is still not opening your file manager of choice, modify your user's ~/.local/share/applications/defaults.list
to include these two lines:
x-directory/normal=kde4-dolphin.desktop;kde4-kfmclient_dir.desktop; inode/directory=kde4-dolphin.desktop;kde4-kfmclient_dir.desktop;kde4-gwenview.desktop;kde4-filelight.desktop;kde4-cervisia.desktop;
Firefox keeps creating ~/Desktop even when this is not desired
Firefox uses ~/Desktop
as the default place for download and upload files. To set it to another folder, create ~/.config/user-dirs.dirs
and add:
XDG_DESKTOP_DIR="/home/<user>/" XDG_DOWNLOAD_DIR="/home/<user>/<dir>" XDG_TEMPLATES_DIR="/home/<user>/<dir>" XDG_PUBLICSHARE_DIR="/home/<user>/<dir>" XDG_DOCUMENTS_DIR="/home/<user>/<dir>" XDG_MUSIC_DIR="/home/<user>/<dir>" XDG_PICTURES_DIR="/home/<user>/<dir>" XDG_VIDEOS_DIR="/home/<user>/<dir>"
Change <user>
and <dir>
to the actual directory.
Make plugins respect blocked pop-ups
Some plugins can misbehave and bypass the default settings, such as the Flash plugin. You can prevent this by doing the following:
- Type
about:config
into the address bar. - Right-click on the page and select
New
and thenInteger
. - Name it
privacy.popups.disable_from_plugins
. - Set the value to 2.
The possible values are:
- 0: Allow all popups from plugins.
- 1: Allow popups, but limit them to dom.popup_maximum.
- 2: Block popups from plugins.
- 3: Block popups from plugins, even on whitelisted sites.
Middle-click errors
A common error message you can get while using the middle mouse button in Firefox is:
The URL is not valid and cannot be loaded.
Another symptom is that middle-clicking results in unexpected behavior, like accessing a random web page.
The reason stems from the use of the middle mouse buttons in UNIX-like operating systems. The middle mouse button is used to paste whatever text has been highlighted/added to the clipboard. Then there is the possibly conflicting feature in Firefox, which defaults to loading the URL of the corresponding text when the button is depressed. This can be easily disabled by going to about:config
and setting the middlemouse.contentLoadURL
option to false.
Alternatively, having the traditional scroll cursor on middle-click (default behavior on Windows browsers) can be achieved by searching for general.autoScroll
and setting it to true.
Backspace does not work as the 'Back' button
As per this article, the feature has been removed in order to fix a bug. To re-introduce the original behavior go to about:config
and set the browser.backspace_action
option to 0 (zero).
Firefox does not remember login information
It may be due to a corrupted cookies.sqlite
file in Firefox's profile folder. In order to fix this, just rename or remove cookie.sqlite
while Firefox is not running.
Open a terminal of choice and type the following:
$ cd ~/.mozilla/firefox/xxxxxxxx.default/ $ rm -f cookies.sqlite
Restart Firefox and see if it solved the problem.
Unreadable input fields with dark GTK+ themes
When using a dark GTK+ theme, one might encounter Internet pages with unreadable input and text fields (e.g. Amazon can have white text on white background). This can happen because the site only sets either background or text color, and Firefox takes the other one from the theme.
A work around is to explicitly setting standard colors for all web pages in ~/.mozilla/firefox/xxxxxxxx.default/chrome/userContent.css
.
The following sets input fields to standard black text / white background; both can be overridden by the displayed site, so that colors are seen as intended:
input { -moz-appearance: none !important; background-color: white; color: black; } textarea { -moz-appearance: none !important; background-color: white; color: black; } select { -moz-appearance: none !important; background-color: white; color: black; }
This will force the colors ("Allow pages to choose their own colors..." checkbox in the Preferences > Content > Color dialog):
input { -moz-appearance: none !important; background-color: pink !important; color: green !important; } textarea { -moz-appearance: none !important; background-color: pink !important; color: green !important; } select { -moz-appearance: none !important; background-color: pink !important; color: green !important; }
Change color values to suit, or use an add-on like Stylish.
File association problems
For non-GNOME users, Firefox may not associate file types properly or at all (in the "Open With" part of the download dialog). Installing libgnome from the official repositories amends the problem.
If you are using KDE you can also do the following:
ln -s ~/.local/share/applications/mimeapps.list ~/.local/share/applications/mimeinfo.cache
From now on Firefox should use the applications which are explicitly set in KDE.
"I'm Feeling Lucky" Mode
Some search engines have a feeling lucky feature. For example Google has "I'm Feeling Lucky" and DuckDuckGo has "I'm Feeling Ducky".
To activate them:
- Type
about:config
in the address bar. - Search for the string
keyword.url
. - Modify its value (if any) to the URL of the search engine.
For Google, set it to:
http://www.google.com/search?btnI=I%27m+Feeling+Lucky&q=
For DuckDuckGo, set it to:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=\
"Do you want Firefox to save your tabs for the next time it starts?" dialog does not appear
From the Mozilla Support site:
- Type
about:config
in the address bar. - Set
browser.warnOnQuit
to true. - Set
browser.showQuitWarning
to true.
Firefox uses ugly fonts for its interface
If the fonts in the menu bar look ugly to you, chances are you're missing better looking fonts for Firefox to use. As a quick remedy, just install Type 1 fonts from the xorg-fonts-type1 package, available in the official repositories.
Firefox uses ugly fonts on certain webpages
When Firefox uses bitmap fonts, it can happen that on certain webpages the fonts are very ugly (compared to Google Chrome for example):
http://i.imgur.com/SMVdi.png vs http://i.imgur.com/jNmxU.png
To fix that, just disable bitmap fonts for X:
$ sudo ln -s /etc/fonts/conf.avail/70-no-bitmaps.conf /etc/fonts/conf.d/
This problem is most probably related to this bug and it may affect any user that sets
GTK_IM_MODULE=xim
while configuring their input method.
It appears to happen especially to those who are using Fcitx 4.0.x (at that time Fcitx only supported XIM). With newer version of Fcitx, XIM is discouraged and you should set:
GTK_IM_MODULE=fcitx
For more information see the Fcitx page.