Firefox 3.0 Tips & Tricks - Updated 07/20/08

TRANSFER PASSWORDS, COOKIES, BOOKMARKS AND MORE, FROM FIREFOX 2.0.0.XX

Firefox 3.0/01 is now using a new file format for specific profile data, e.g. "cookies.sqlite" instead of cookies.txt. The only way Firefox 3.0/01 will accept Firefox 2.0.0.xx profile data, is if the existing, corresponding, *.sqlite files are deleted. Ideally the files are deleted from the new Profile before transferring the files from the old Profile. However, they can be deleted after the fact.

Some examples:

Bookmarks and History: Delete places.sqlite file, which contain both Bookmarks and History
Also Delete the bookmarksbackup folder
(paste bookmarks.html and history.dat)

Cookies: Delete cookies.sqlite
(paste cookies.txt)

Saved form data: Delete formhistory.sqlite
(paste formhistory.dat)

Passwords: Delete key3.db and signons3.txt
(paste key3.db and signons2.txt)

Exceptions: Do not delete permissions.sqlite
(paste hostperm.1)


LOCATION BAR

Hide the star button if you prefer to use the Bookmarks menu or a keyboard shortcut (Ctrl + D)

* Open your userChrome.css file located in your profile folder.
* Add this line to the end of the file:

#star-button {display: none !important;}

* Restart Firefox for the change to take effect.


Bonus tip courtesy of Frederick from the comments:
To hide the web feed icon from the location bar, add this line to your userChrome.css file:

#feed-button[feeds] { display: none !important; }

To open a new tab from location bar: press ALT+Enter, and you will get a new tab.

DISABLE "AWESOME" (LOCATION) TOOLBAR

Type: about:config in the Location Bar
In the filter field, type the below names:

browser.urlbar.matchOnlyTyped
Double click & value will be set to: true

browser.urlbar.maxRichResults
Double click and type: -1
(Default is 12)

If this list is too LARGE or too small, right-click in the about:config list and choose:
New | Integer
Type: browser.urlbar.maxRichResults | press Enter.
When prompted, enter a value lower than the default of 12 if you want to see fewer lines in the drop-down list.
Enter a higher number if you want to see more lines here.

The list adds a scroll bar once it exceeds a certain size, so you can scroll through whichever number of items you requested in this setting.


EXCLUDE BOOKMARKS YOU HAVE NOT VISITED

places.frecency.unvisitedBookmarkBonus
This preference set to 0 (zero) will remove the bookmarks you haven't visited from your results.


EXCLUDE BOOKMARKS YOU HAVE VISITED

places.frecency.bookmarkVisitBonus
This preference set to 0 (zero) will remove the bookmarks you have visited from your results.

EXCLUDE URLS YOU HAVE NOT VISITED

places.frecency.unvisitedTypedBonus
This setting will have the greatest impact on how your results are found

A setting of 0 (zero) should give you a result of finding your URLs based on what you type being anywhere in the URL or page title.

A setting of 1 should result in placing of what you type anywhere in the title or URL being first, followed by the URL or title beginning with what you type.

A setting of 2 should result in only showing results based on what you type being at the beginning of the URL or page title.

INCLUDE ONLY URLS YOU HAVE TYPED

browser.urlbar.matchOnlyTyped
Set to: true


SEARCH ENGINES

You can customize the Search bar with just about any search engine you want? Just click on the icon to the left of your search bar to see the menu of default options.

click Manage Search Engines… to rearrange the list, add additional choices and even assign keyboard shortcuts to your favorite search engines. For example, you could give Google the shortcut "G" - then if you wanted to do a search for cookie recipes, simply typing "G cookie recipes" in the location bar would generate the full list.


SET THE WEB UP JUST LIKE YOU LIKE IT

Now you can use Web-based protocol handlers to provide quick access to your favorite Web applications. For example, you can set Firefox up so that clicking on a mailto: link on any site will open a new message in your preferred webmail provider, rather than your computer’s default mail program.
(NOTE: this feature is only available with webmail services that have registered with Firefox 3).

Go to Tools → Options → Applications, to select the default application for each protocol, or to select "Always Ask" if you prefer to choose the application yourself every time.


TABS

Open a new empty tab: Ctrl + T (mac: ⌘ + T)
Open a link in a new tab: Middle Click on link
Close a tab: Ctrl + W (mac: ⌘ + W)
Reopen a closed tab: Ctrl + Shift + T


PROBLEMS DOWNLOADING

On Windows XP, if Firefox 3 is stopping you from downloading exe files:

Firefox 3 adheres to your Windows Internet Security settings, and if you have IE7 installed, these settings can block some file downloads. See this MozillaZine KB Article for the solution:

Unable to save or download files - MozillaZine Knowledge Base