What Firefox Add-ons Do You Use?

I don’t write many posts about Firefox, mainly because there are many posts written on other blogs that do. In my post titled Examples of Colour Management I provide examples of how colour management affects the displaying of images. For those examples I used the Firefox web browser.

Also within that post I talked about a Firefox add-on called Colour Management. This is only one of possibly thousands of add-ons that you can install for the Firefox browser. In this post I will list the add-ons that I currently use, and have used in the past, and would like to hear which add-ons you currently have installed.

What are Add-Ons?

Before listing the add-ons I currently use, I thought I should explain what they are to those new to the Firefox web browser. An add-on is simply used to customize, and extend the functionality, of the Firefox browser. They are small files that you download and enable to take advantage of the functionality that they provide.

Add-ons provide functionality such as adding toolbars, managing the Javascript/Flash/Images for the sites you visit, block ads, and open multiple HTML links at one time. There are probably thousands of add-ons that can be downloaded and installed, and most people that use Firefox have probably downloaded and installed add-ons that they favour.

You can easily install add-ons in one of two ways:

1. 1. Click Tools->Add-ons.
   2. In the search box enter a search term and press Enter.
   3. From the list of add-ons that appears, click Add to Firefox to install the add-on.
2. 1. Navigate to the Firefox Add-ons page.
   2. Enter in a search term or use the categories on the left.
   3. Select the add-on you want to install, and then click the Add to Firefox button from the add-on’s page.

Each time you install an add-on you will be asked to restart Firefox. You could install many add-ons at one time and then restart Firefox one time to complete the installations.

The Add-ons I Use

I have used many different add-ons in the past, and continue to use many today. The list below, while not complete, lists some of the add-ons that I use on a regular basis. I didn’t include a link to the add-ons as it may change in the future. Simply search for the name using one of the two methods above to install the add-ons.

Adblock Plus. This add-on blocks many of the ads that appear on web sites. It may not block some ads, but it does block a majority of them.

All-in-One Sidebar. I just started to use this add-on and I like it. It creates a hideable sidebar that contains shortcuts to some common features such as bookmarks, downloads, and add-ons.

Color Management. I talked about this previously, but it basically is used to setup the colour management capability for the Firefox browser.

Flashblock. If you have ever hated visiting web sites that display flash animation, or videos and wish that you wouldn’t have to view them, then this is the add-on for your. It prevents flash from playing when viewing a web page. A simple click on the flash object will allow you to view the flash. As a note, for those that use Google Analytics, you will need to click the graphs to view them since they use flash.

ImgLikeOpera. This one disables the viewing (and downloading, I think), of images on web sites. For those with slow connections, and don’t mind looking at web pages without images, this add-on will definitely speed up your browsing. I turn this one on at times.

Linky. I started using this add-on after I joined Entrecard. It basically allows you to open many HTML links at one time by simply using the right-click button and selecting an option in the context menu.

NoScript. I mentioned the add-ons above that stop Flash and images, this one stops Javascript from executing. Many sites use Javascript, and at times can really slow a site down, so I use this add-on to disable the Javascript. It also allows you to enable specific scripts for a page, site or globally. This add-ons can help increase the speed of your browsing by not allowing certain Javascript scripts to execute.

There are a few others that I have not included in the list, mainly because I have forgotten their names, but if I remember I will add them.

Which Firefox add-ons do you use?