Firefox is a browser that can be extended and enhanced in many ways - chief among those being Add-ons, which give you more functionality or perhaps just a new theme. In fact sometimes they give you a full-blown web app, like Yoono, BlogRovr or Trailfire. We've written about Firefox add-ons a number of times on Read/WriteWeb, so in this post we'll review some of the neat things you can do with Firefox add-ons.
Last August we gave you our top 10 Add-ons. Here were our picks then (minus Browster, which is no more), but we encourage you to leave a comment saying what your favorite add-ons are now.
Answers is an add-on that promises to "instantly deliver the information you are looking for".
The blueorganizer smart browsing extension for Firefox drives productivity by building smarts and semantics into the browser.
The del.icio.us extension for Firefox allows you to easily bookmark webpages in del.icio.us, from within the Firefox browser.
The StumbleUpon add-on is described as "collaborative surfing tool", because you can browse websites according to what other people recommend.
ClipMarks is an early pioneer in the clipping space. Users clip pieces out of web pages and share these bits with each other.
Google Notebook is very similar to Clipmarks, but has better Firefox integration.
FoxMarks Bookmark Synchronizer is an easy way to sync your Firefox bookmarks, if you use Firefox on more than one computer.
Sage is a basic and lightweight RSS Reader, although you need to be a techie to use it.
Wizz RSS is a fancier reader that works well. It supports OPML import and export, plus has advanced features like filtering news items on words and/or phrases.
In October Alex Iskold reviewed the Firefox Recommended Add-ons, in the week that Firefox launched its milestone 2.0 release. Among the many add-ons that Alex reviewed were:
GreaseMonkey is an add-on that lets technically savvy users customize the look and feel of web pages.Check Alex's post for the full list.
Read/WriteWeb interviewed Mike Shaver in February this year, on the eve of Mozilla launching an upgrade to its Add-Ons website. On the future of Add-ons, Mike said that add-ons are becoming more popular with non-technical users and that this is a key area of focus for Firefox add-ons. In February, Firefox had 80 Million users now; so it's important that add-ons can be easily used by all of that audience. At the time we spoke, more than 7 million Firefox users had add-ons installed on their browser.
Mozilla designer Alex Faaborg has been writing and speaking about Firefox 3 using microformats and becoming an "information broker", by which he means associating semantically marked up data you encounter on the Web with specific applications. As we explained in January, this means that instead of using the entire product suite of a Google or an MSN or a Yahoo, you can instead use the particular apps you like most from not only big players - but small startups too. So say I use the 30Boxes online calendar - Firefox 3 would automagically transfer any (microformatted) events data I come across while browsing, into my 30Boxes account. And it could likewise put all my contacts into Gmail, locations into Yahoo Maps, phone numbers into Skype, etc.
This has implications for add-ons too. As Mike Shaver noted in our interview, as it evolves the browser's job will increasingly be to "represent the user on the Web and to bring the Web [to them] on the user's terms". Mike expects add-ons to utilize technologies such as web services and microformats; and also some add-ons will be brought into the core Firefox product. Overall he thinks that because Firefox is an extensible product, add-ons are a key part of its ongoing development.
What is your take on the world of Firefox add-ons? We'd love to know what add-ons you can't live without, and how you think add-ons will evolve.
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I believe that Browster is not available anymore. They have closed their website.
Posted by: Philippe Martin | June 18, 2007 2:20 AM
Temporary Inbox - It blows my mind everytime I use it.
Posted by: The Muso | June 18, 2007 3:20 AM
How about Operator?. A good idea what built in microformats support in Firefox 3 might well look like.
Posted by: John Allsopp | June 18, 2007 3:22 AM
Thanks Philippe, updated.
Posted by: Richard MacManus | June 18, 2007 4:23 AM
How timely and don't great minds think alike. Your mind is greater than mine however. I have just written a list and description of Firefox add-ons for the web developer. Some are quite useful. Click my link if you want them.
Thanks for all these other add-ons and their description.
Posted by: Jenny | June 18, 2007 5:24 AM
As someone who uses assistive technology to support individuals with special needs, I've been impressed by some of the Firefox add-ons that make browsing more accessible to people with challenges. There is Fire Vox for the blind (http://www.firevox.clcworld.net/) and CLiCk,Speak for anyone with reading challenges (http://clickspeak.clcworld.net/). Another good one, for folks with physical challenges, is Optimoz Mouse Gestures (http://optimoz.mozdev.org/gestures/).
Posted by: Paul | June 18, 2007 6:35 AM
Must haves: [17]
Adblock Plus 0.7.5.1: http://adblockplus.org/ (better than other pop-up/ad blockers)
Nothing more to say: It just works better. Select to use their own list.
* Better Gmail 0.6.1: NOTE THAT A NEW VERSION HAS JUST BEEN RELEASE http://www.ginatrapani.org/workshop/firefox/bettergmail/
(Warning: do NOT use if you're also using Gmail-related Greasemonkey scripts)
Just to confuse you, the options are a tab in the Extensions list. OK, your eyes are spinning. Just find it. It's a green tab that looks like a jigsaw puzzle piece. Look for it under Tools > Toolbars > Customize in Firefox if you can't see it on your Firefox layout.
Under ‚ÄúMessages‚Ä?, I've checked:
Attachment Icons (tells you which type of file, if any, is attached)
Conversation Preview (like an Outlook or Thunderbird preview)
Date Search
Filter Assistant (not easy to explain, but allows the creation of a filter based upon parameters in a current message)
One Click Conversations (can automatically pull together all the conversations you've had with the sender; very cool)
Signature Float (HTML/rich text signatures, e.g., with italics or bold; also places the signature before the original in a reply)
Under ‚ÄúSidebar‚Ä?, I've checked:
Gmail + Google Reader (adds Google Reader directly to your Gmail account)
Saved Searches (cookie) (if you frequently search within your Gmail account for a specific person, topic, whatever, this will allow you to save the search)
Unders ‚ÄúSkins‚Ä?, I've checked:
None: Default Gmail look.
* CustomizeGoogle 0.60: http://www.customizegoogle.com/
(Warning: Enable https:// connections for Gmail using CustomizeGoogle and disable this feature in Better Gmail)
There are way too many to list!! But I'll be a nice guy and do this. Check whatever is listed below; leave unchecked whatever is not listed. If something is missing, like ‚ÄúGroup‚Ä?, just skip it. You can find CustomizeGoogle Options under Tools. As you will see, the primary benefits to CustomizeGoogle are security and adding links to related sites from competitors like Yahoo.
Web:
Add links to other web search sites
In news results, add links ...
In movie results, add links ...
In weather results, add links ...
In product results, add links ...
Give the serach box focus
Enable filters ...
Add links to WayBackMachine ...
Images: check both boxes
News:
Add links ...
Enable filters ...
Products:
Add links ...
Books:
Restore right-click ...
Add links ...
Gmail:
Secure (swith to https)
Calendar:
Secure
Docs:
Secure
Video:
In video results ...
Reader:
Secure
History:
Secure
Email This! Bookmarklet Extension 2.0.0: http://doiop.com/EmailThis
Forecastfox 0.9.5.2: http://forecastfox.mozdev.org/ (weather forecast)
FoxClocks 2.1.80: http://www.stemhaus.com/firefox/ (world time zones)
FoxLingo 2.1.4: http://www.concisefreeware.com/foxlingo.php (best language translation tool)
Google Toolbar for Firefox 3.0.20070217W: http://www.google.com/
Greasemonkey 0.6.9.20070507.0: http://greasemonkey.mozdev.org/
(I'm not sure about this, but it might be necessary to run Greasemonkey in order to run Better Gmail since Better Gmail is really a combination of Greasemonkey scripts)
GTDInbox 1.33: http://www.gtdinbox.com
Gettings Things Done tool for Gmail. I love it, so will you. Takes a bit of time to learn, but worth the effort. Great for project management, time management, ...
netcrafttoolbar 1.1.1.7: http://toolbar.netcraft.com/
Like I said, it's an anti-phising toolbar. I run it and put Forecastfox onto this toolbar.
Paste and Go 2 0.8: http://pasteandgo2.mozdev.org/
See comment for Super DragAndGo. Same thing.
RSS Ticker 1.9: http://www.efinke.com/addons/rss-ticker/
This is very useful, but not easy to explain. Honestly, if you use Particls, you don't really need this. If you have time, learn to use it. Like I said, it's very useful. But walking someone through the process of using this isn't easy.
Skype extension for Firefox 2.2.0.50: http://www.skype.com
Remember, this works with SkypeOut. If you don't have SkypeOut, don't bother.
Split Browser 0.4.2007052102: http://piro.sakura.ne.jp/xul/_splitbrowser.html.en
Super DragAndGo 0.2.6: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/137
I can't tell you how much aggravation this has saved me. It's really so simple, no big deal. But it eases the stress level a little bit, makes things just a bit faster.
Tab Mix Plus 0.3.5.2: http://tmp.garyr.net
I couldn't live without this!! Look under Tools then Tab Mix Plus Options and Session Manager. Saves you from a crash, allows you to store sessions, almost walks on water!!
Necessary for me, probably good for you: [12]
Compact Library Extension Organizer (CLEO) 2.0:
http://customsoftwareconsult.com/extensions
DapperFox 0.1.3: http://www.dapper.net
Firefox Extension Backup Extension (FEBE) 4.0.5:
http://customsoftwareconsult.com/extensions
Free Download Manager plugin 1.0: http://freedownloadmanager.org/
Furl Tools 0.9: http://www.furl.net/toolbar/moz.jsp
This is the digital library function that I mentioned last night. Sign up for an account at http://www.furl.net/. It saves any online document, even if it's a PDF. I have over 10,000 documents stored on Furl!! It's kind of like a personal Library of Congress/online database.
Gmail Manager 0.5.3: http://www.longfocus.com/firefox/gmanager/
Gmail Space 0.5.6: http://www.getgspace.com/
A good reason to have multiple Gmail accounts. Allows you to simply drag-and-drop files from your laptop/desktop to a virtual drive on Gmail. Very cool. A good way to backup your most important files. You can use it in an existing Gmail account along with regular Gmail messages, too. In other words, you don't necessarily need a separate Gmail account to use this feature.
Google Notebook 1.0.0.16: http://www.google.com/notebook
MR Tech Local Install 5.3.2.3: http://www.mrtech.com/extensions/local_install/
Omea Connector 1.0.1098.1: http://www.jetbrains.com/omea/
TinyUrl Creator 1.0.4: http://mozmonkey.com/
yourminis.com HUD 1.0.1.2: http://www.yourminis.com/
yourminis is hot, perhaps the third hottest tool at this moment. A nice thing to play around with when you have some cycles to spare. Once you get this going, you'll like it. Not a must-have, but a nice-to-have.
For those special times (or for special needs): [23]
BlogRovr 1.1.321: http://www.blogrovr.com/
BlueOrganizer 3.2: http://www.adaptiveblue.com/
Copy All Urls 0.7.1: http://www.plasser.net/code/xul/
Daily Dilbert 1.4: http://dilbert.arnoldmedia.de/
Digger 2.0: http://clav.mozdev.org/
Dr.Web anti-virus link checker 1.0.14: http://www.drweb.com/
If you think you might be visiting a site filled with malware, use this feature. It's a right mouse click feature; just hover your pointer over a link and click on the Dr.Web option.
Dragdropupload 1.5.22: http://percro1.sssup.it/~pit/mozilla/dragdropupload
Encrypt This! 0.1.3: http://doiop.com/EncryptThis
If you really need to encrypt messages, this is the easiest way to go.
FireFTP 0.96.4: http://fireftp.mozdev.org
FireGPG: http://firegpg.tuxfamily.org/ (Warning: I can't make this work ... and don't care enough to make the effort, especially since everyone using it needs to generate a key and it doesn't look like a standard public key. However, it has received pretty good reviews to date, albeit it's quite new. See http://doiop.com/FireGPGreview for more info.)
Foxmarks Bookmark Synchronizer 1.0.1: http://www.foxmarks.com/
FoxTorrent: http://www.foxtorrent.com/ (for those who would like BitTorrent functionality, but within the Firefox browser; an alternative is FireTorrent)
FoxyTunes 2.9: http://www.foxytunes.com/
freenigma: http://www.freenigma.com/index.html (similar to and better than Gmail S/MIME, which appears to be limited to just one account for signature verification)
Google Browser Sync 1.3.20061031.0: http://www.google.com/tools/firefox/browsersync/
Linky 2.7.1: http://gemal.dk/mozilla/linky.html
Ook? Video Ook! 0.6.5: http://ook.dedos.net/
(the soon-to-be-released version of RealPlayer will do what Ook? Video Ook! does)
Picnik 2.0: http://www.picnik.com/
shortText 1.0: http://www.shortText.com/
StumbleUpon 3.05: http://www.stumbleupon.com/
Torbutton 1.0.4: http://freehaven.net/~squires/torbutton/
This is really a must have since I'm recommending TOR.
VideoDownloader 1.1.1: http://videodownloader.net/
This is the most reliable video downloader that I've used. Great for downloading videos from YouTube, Google Video, many other sites.
Yahoo! Toolbar 1.4.0.20070112: http://toolbar.yahoo.com
The only reason I'm recommending this is so that you can use Yahoo! Anti-Spy.
A long shot: [10]
Advanced Dork: 2.1.4: http://johnny.ihackstuff.com/
Broadband Speed Test and Diagnostics 1.0.3: http://www.gotomyhelp.com
chinup 0.1: http://www.netsoc.tcd.ie/~briantc/cv
Domain Details 1.2: http://dndetals.com
Gish It! 1.1: http://www.gishpuppy.com/
GooglePreview 2.1.4: http://ackroyd.de/googlepreview/
Homeland Security Threat Level 0.52: http://haley.myserver.org
LinkedIn Companion for Firefox 3.0.1: http://www.linkedin.com
OpenOffice.org Menu 1.0.4: http://www.openoffice.org
SEO For Firefox 2.5.1: http://tools.seobook.com/firefox/seo-for-firefox.html
Disabled extensions: [8]
- Add to Search Bar 1.5.1: http://maltekraus.de/Firefox/search-tools
- All-in-One Sidebar 0.7.1: http://firefox.exxile.net/aios/
- Answers 2.2.22: http://www.answers.com
- Clipmarks 2.0.5: http://clipmarks.com/
- Gmail Skins 0.9.8: http://gmailskins.mozdev.org
- Internote 2.1.1: http://internote.sourceforge.net/
- ScribeFire 1.4.0.1: http://scribefire.com/
- Talkback 2.0.0.3: http://talkback.mozilla.org/
Total Extensions: 70
Greasemonkey Scripts: [3]
Linkify ting (Must have; makes links out of text, e.g., google.com)
google MP3 (For those special times; adds a Google Flash MP3 player to every MP3 file)
* Gmail with different and bigger attachment icons (Just like it says; Better Gmail has the option for adding smaller icons, which I personally prefer)
Installed Themes: [2]
- Firefox (default): http://www.mozilla.org/
- Ubuntu Human Theme 2.0.4: http://www.blogmanno.com
For more, including a "must-have" on security, see http://doiop.com/qblnotes. Includes info on turbocharging Gmail, advanced Google searching, SpaceTime and Particls.
Posted by: David Scott Lewis | June 18, 2007 7:04 AM
Sorry. It's http://doiop.com/qblnotes .
Posted by: David Scott Lewis | June 18, 2007 7:07 AM
Yikes, I mean I've got the bare essentials like adblock, stumble, and fasterfox but that's about it - all else can be done manually or with bookmarlets.
Posted by: Ello Gable | June 18, 2007 8:58 AM
R/WWers might want to take a look at Zotero if you haven't already. Like blueorganizer, it senses semantic objects in the page such as books, articles, or films, and can save and organize those objects in a sophisticated iTunes-like interface. It functions as a reference manager, bookmarks manager, notebook, and web annotator, and a server is coming soon so Zotero users can exchange and recommend items, and can form groups. Zotero is already using most of the technologies planned for Firefox 3.0, including the SQLite db and microformats, so it's a peek at the future. Plus it does much, much more. And it's free and open source.
Posted by: Dan Cohen | June 18, 2007 9:05 AM
I'm unabashedly biased, but the RUWT? Sports Toolbar is the best addon for sports fans out there...
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4740
Posted by: Mark | June 18, 2007 9:09 AM
This is Eugene Mizin from the Notefish team (http://www.notefish.com/). If you like Google Notebook (which launched a month after Notefish), you likely will enjoy using Notefish even more.
Here are the same notes (for a trip to Vegas) saved in Notefish and Google Notebook - check it out:
Notefish - http://www.notefish.com/notes.php?p=643
Google Notebook - http://www.google.com/notebook/public/09571072550247067072/BDR4KSwoQka3ryNAh)
Notefish also comes in very handy with side-by-side comparisons and photos, and generally offers a great way to organize notes - all with very few clicks.
Here is a link to the Notefish Firefox Add-on:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2766
Cheers,
Eugene
Posted by: Eugene Mizin | June 18, 2007 10:16 AM
Since when do you need to be a techie to use Sage? It's the easiest, least-intrusive RSS reader available. I recommend it to people who aren't techies, and they get it right away.
Posted by: junger | June 18, 2007 10:30 AM
You forgot Firebug. I use Firebug all the time to mess with layout options before actually redoing the CSS.
Posted by: Michael | June 18, 2007 10:52 AM
Another great list of Firefox add ons:
http://blog.lejer.ro/2007/05/22/webdeveloper-and-other-firefox-extensions/
Posted by: Victor | June 18, 2007 11:47 AM
The Performancing extension is no longer being updated. ScribeFire has taken its place: http://scribefire.com/
Posted by: Jared Schwager | June 18, 2007 12:08 PM
Greasemonkey is not just for changing "look & feel" that would be http://userstyles.org/stylish/ Greasemonkey allows you to inject javascript into pages so uou can do so much more, like my youtube download script: http://foobr.co.uk/2007/05/download_videos_from_youtube/
Posted by: Aaron Bassett | June 18, 2007 12:10 PM
Well, Interclue, naturally: http://interclue.com or https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4999 for people who want the latest version and can be bothered signing up to get into the AMO Sandbox.
And of the more well known ones, these are the ones I rely on from day to day: Adblock Plus, Firebug, TabMixPlus, Tamper
I'm also currently trialing a little known one called "Password Maker" that has a really cool concept IMO.
I'm experimenting with lots of others, eg Blue Organiser, and have run many more in the past, but those would be the key ones I use right now.
Posted by: Seth Wagoner | June 18, 2007 1:12 PM
If you want to view any document type (pdf, ppt, doc, ps, rtf) right in your browser without having to open the corresponding application, maybe you could install the extension that comes at DocuFarm.com.
Posted by: Laurent | June 18, 2007 1:22 PM
You're missing some seriously awesome extensions in that list up there.
MeasureIt, Colorzilla just to name a couple.
Posted by: Jonathan | June 18, 2007 2:10 PM
What about PasswordMaker ? That one is so good! It is here: http://passwordmaker.org/
Posted by: DinoHorse | June 18, 2007 2:13 PM
Torrentools is a browser toolbar for Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer; allows to search 41 specialized torrent search sites for needed files (2torrents, bitenova, bitoogle, bittorrent, bittorrentshare, bt.etree, btbot, btjunkie, btwarehouse, bushtorrent, demonoid, extratorrent, fenopy, flextorrents, fulldls, google, isohunt, jabberwalker, letwory, litebay, meganova, mininova, monova, mybittorrent, newtorrents, nova9, orbdesign, smaragdtorrent, snarf-it, thepiratebay, torrentat, torrentbox, torrentfinder, torrentportal, torrentreactor, torrentspy, torrenttyphoon, torrentvalley, torrentz, worldnova, yotoshi).
Extra feature: torrent newsfeed, links to 30 torrent's sites, links to 12 torrent's group of discussion, links to 12 torrent's forum.
New version: google tools, revised search engine list, hack tools...
Posted by: torrentools | June 18, 2007 3:35 PM
Where are all the Safari Add-ons? Oh that's right, Safari Sucks.
Posted by: Safari Sucks | June 18, 2007 5:38 PM
I am shocked the Web Developer add-on is not listed. It is such a great widget, no CSS developer should be without it.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/60 for people who make the web.
Posted by: Billy | June 18, 2007 6:51 PM
I love Google toolbar especially word translator.
Posted by: Planet Malaysia | June 19, 2007 6:55 PM
mmm... well done!
Posted by: duluoz | June 20, 2007 1:39 AM
I prefer the google synchronizer to the foxmarks one. I also love stumbleupon!
Posted by: Motorcycle Guy | June 21, 2007 5:58 AM
Thanks a lot
Posted by: Top9 | June 29, 2007 4:25 PM