Mozilla Firefox

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Introduction

Mozilla Foundation, a nonprofit organization, provides the open-source Mozilla Firefox browser as a free download. Firefox 4.0.1 is currently configured in the Academic Computing labs for student use. To start Firefox on any computer, locate the Firefox icon and double-click to begin.

Video Tutorial

Click to open Mozilla's Video Guides to Firefox 4

Mozilla Firefox Interface

Fig. 1 - Mozilla Firefox 4.0.1

Menu Bar Tabs Navigation Bar Search Bar Bookmarks Sidebar Scroll Bar Display Content Status Bar

Menu Bar

The menu bar, located at the top of the browser window, gives access to and performs important specific functions that Firefox is capable of. The tools within the menu bar are those that you may use less frequently than those in other toolbars, but these items are vital to the browsers usability.

Below is a summary of the most essential tools in the Menu Bar, as well as their keyboard shortcuts for easier access.

Firefox 4.0's default menu bar is set to a drop down menu. This can be accessed by clicking the orange Firefox button located in the top left corner of the page.

To switch from the drop-down format to the ribbon menu format:

1. Click in the top left corner
2. Select Options
3. Select Menu Bar

To switch from the ribbon menu format to the drop-down format:

1. Select View > Toolbars
2. Uncheck Menu Bar

**Note: Pressing Alt or F10 on your keyboard will display both menu options at the same time.

Below is a summary of the most essential tools in the Menu Bar.

Toolbars

The toolbars contain a number of buttons that may, depending on how Firefox is configured, appear with pictures, text, or pictures and text. Instead of using the menu, you can click on an icon to perform the same operation. 

By default, Firefox 4 has theNavigation toolbars permanently visible, and the Bookmarks toolbar available when the icon to the right of the screen is pressed.

You can create new toolbars by accessing the Customize Toolbar window. There are two methods to do this.

Fig. 2 - Customize Toolbar window

Method One - Menu Bar in drop-down format

1. Click in the top left corner
2. Select Options
3. Select Toolbar Layout to display the Customize Toolbar window

Method Two - Menu Bar in ribbon format

1. Select Click > Toolbars
2. Select Customize

Once the Customize Toolbar window appears:

1. You can add the icons onto the Navigation bar, or select the Add New Toolbar button to add a new row
2. A popup will appear asking you to name your new toolbar
3. Once you have named it, drag and drop necessary tool icons from the Customize Toolbar window and onto your new toolbar
4. If you wish to remove a tool, drag and drop it from the toolbar and into the Customize Toolbar window
5. Once you are happy with your arrangement, click Done

**Note: The Customize Toolbar window also offers you the choice to Restore Default Set by clicking the button located in the bottom right corner.

**Note: Clicking the Show drop down menu will change the display of tool buttons on the browser from icons to text format.

Address Bar

Firefox Navigation Toolbar Options
Back Button	Go back to the last document viewed. The button will be grayed out if you have only loaded one page. The back button can be used repeatedly to go back through all the pages viewed since the browser was opened. Right click on the icon so that a "history list" will drop down, allowing you to choose any previously visited web pages.
Forward Button	Go forward to the next document. The forward button is grayed out until you use the back button to view previously visited pages. Forward becomes useful when you have moved back through previously loaded pages and wish to move forward to more recently loaded ones. Right click on the icon for a list of previously viewed web pages.
Bookmark Page Button	Located in the Address Bar, this is used to bookmark the current page. Once clicked, the star will turn yellow and name of the site will appear in the bookmarks list. Click the small arrow to the right for “history list” to drop down. Reclicking the button will display the bookmark editing window.
Reload Button	Reload the current page. Useful if there are problems loading a page and you are editing an HTML file on your workstation, and want to view changes you have made. Reload is also useful to see updates on a regularly updated page if you have been idle.
Stop Button	Stop (terminate) a connection if a site is taking too long to load. When a document is completely downloaded and displayed, the highlighted stop sign will turn into the Reload button.
Home Button	Home returns to Firefox's home page. You can edit what the home page is set to through the Tools menu. By default, in most of the labs, this is set to the my.ryerson portal.
Display Bookmarks Button	Clicking this will produce a dropdown menu with options to View Bookmarks Toolbar, edit the toolbar, view Recently Bookmarked pages, etc.

Sidebar

Sidebar displays bookmarks or history. Click View >Sidebar and choose between the Bookmarks or History sidebars.

Bookmarks Menu

The bookmarks sidebar is where you will find the pages and folders you have previously bookmarked. Get quick access to this sidebar with CTRL + B. To choose a site that has been previously saved in your bookmark file folders, open the Bookmarks tab on the sidebar or click the Bookmarks menu. Select the name of the website you would like to go to and the page will display.

History Menu

Bring up this sidebar with CTRL + H. History keeps track of all the sites that you have visited. Sites are organized into folders according to the day they were visited. Expand the folder of a day to see the list of websites you visited on that day. Click on the page to open it. You can change your History settings by clicking Tools > Options > Privacy. To delete your history, which frees up space on your hard drive, select Tools > Clear Recent History.

Search Bar

To the right of your address bar, you will see a smaller text field. This is your Search Bar. This feature allows you to use a search engine without having to first navigate to the search engine website. Entering keywords in the Search Bar performs the same action as entering those keywords on the search engine page. The Search Bar is a quick and efficient way to make use of search engines. To learn how to configure your search bar, visit the Search Engine page.

Tabbed Browsing

This feature is useful for viewing multiple web pages in one browser window. There are several ways in which to open a new tab. To switch the window you are viewing, simply click on the tab name. This avoids having to open many browser windows to view different sites. To close a tab, click the X on the right side of the tab�s heading. When a site is loading, the left side of the tab will have a green loading icon indicating that the page is loading.

To open a new tab window, you can use any of the following methods:

1. If you are using the drop-down Menu Bar, select > New Tab > New Tab
2. If you are using the ribbon Menu Bar, click File > New Tab
3. Press CTRL + T on your keyboard
4. Click the small, square stub-tab with the + located to the right of your last tab

Fig. 3 - Tabs as seen in Firefox 4.0.1

**Note: The small, downwards pointing arrow at the end of the tab bar will display the tabs in list form.

Security

As you "surf" the internet with your browser, websites deposit small files called cookies to track your internet usage. Additionally your browser collects passwords and various other files from you and the internet as you browse. In order to ensure your browser is secure, it should be configured to delete private data each time you exit.

To setup this function in Firefox:

• Click Tools (at the top of your browser window)
• Options > Click the Privacy Icon
• Select the drop-down menu beside the Firefox will heading
• Select Use custom settings for history
• Check the box that says "Clear history when Firefox closes"
• Click OK

Your browser will now clear any history, cashed files, cookies and stored passwords, each time you exit.

Erasing this data is especially important on a shared computer that other people will be frequently using. When prompted to save a password, always select No when on a shared computer. Computers at Ryerson automatically erase this data after you log off to prevent other users from gaining access to your accounts.

Feeds

Feeds are similar to bookmarks, but instead of just saving the web address for a site, a feed constantly updates with links to the latest content on that site. Feeds essentially provide you with headlines from each of your favourite sites without having to visit each individually, simply clicking the headline will bring you directly to that article.

Fig. 4 - A feed menu in Firefox 4.0.1

Firefox includes a Latest Headlines feed by default which is located in the Bookmarks Bar/Menu. Selecting this will open a drop-down menu that constantly updates with latest news headlines (see above). You may subscribe to your own feeds by locating the Feed icon on a webpage.

**Note: Not all websites have feeds, so don't worry if you can't find the icon.

Status Bar

The last line on the window is reversed for messages. If you hover your mouse over a link on the webpage, a small box (the status bar) will appear at the bottom of the window, indicating the destination of the link.

Scroll Bar

To the right of the document area is a scroll bar that allows you to move a display up or down. (See the example image to the right). Point the mouse to any location on the bar, click and the display moves accordingly. To move the display more slowly, position the cursor on the top or bottom arrow on the bar and click. You can also drag the "elevator" button that moves in the scroll bar to move to any place in the document. Sometimes, depending on the current web page and the size of the browser window that you are viewing it in, there is also a horizontal scroll bar located at the bottom of the window that moves left and right.

Display Content

Loaded web pages are displayed just below the tab bar. Web pages can include text and graphics. Some sites also provide animation and video [With slower Internet connections, these features will take longer to appear on the page and play]. To view these, click on them. To hear any of the sound options provided, your PC must have speakers and the appropriate hardware and software installed. Your internet connection speed will determine how quickly these pages display.