Quick Links: Google Toolbar, Web Developer ::Firefox Add-On

I just got around to customizing my firefox again last week, I customize it every once in awhile after ive had enough time to see what I need and what I dont. This update will probably last me a while. Included in this post are references to the Google Toolbar and the Web Developer Firefox Add-on.


First of all, if you’re not using Firefox as your default browser, you should seriously consider/reconsider it. The biggest advantage, and something I tell my friends & family, is that firefox is the most secure browser available and is your first line of defense against spyware, adware, malware, and possibly viruses. Im not an expert, but ive spent *alot* of time trying to purge the stealthiest malware ive ever come across and eventually resorted to a re-installation* (*note: very bad.) Only to go back to the sites that gave it to me, but this time with firefox, and the malware was stopped cold, completely. You dont even need any special add-ons for protection, although im sure there are some available for additional security. All you have to do is browse the internet using only Firefox.

If you’re a developer like me and you develop in firefox and IE at the same time, just make sure you dont browse around , close IE when you’re done and refrain from browsing with it. For those of you yelling out “What about Browsershots.org!?” Ill get to that in a later post ;)

On a side note, installing and letting Google Desktop Sidebar run on your system will also re-route you away from hazardous web pages that it detects before the malware gets a chance to attack.

Alright, now to get to the point… If you install firefox and keep everything set to default, not to mention installing the google toolbar and web developer toolbar, it will start to crowd your screen real estate. I tried a few configurations, but this is what is working best for me so far: Right click on the firefox menu and you should see a menu drop down with Navigation Toolbar, Bookmarks Toolbar, etc. and “Customize” at the bottom. Click customize and just start dragging and dropping the menu items to and from the customize window. Heres a closer look at my setup, ive taken everything out that I dont use, and moved everything to a single toolbar line-

The green box items are native to firefox, the red box items are from the web developer toolbar (ive taken everything out except the CSS, Resize, Tools, and Quirks Mode items), and the blue box items are from the google toolbar (PageRank, and Settings). If youre matching my setup, once you move everything to the top toolbar line, right click on the menu and uncheck all the toobar options (Navigation Toolbar, Bookmarks Toolbar, Web Developer Toolbar, Google Toolbar.) This will remove the empty toolbars but not the items associated with them.

Again, this is just my setup for what I use, feel free to set it up however you want. I just like to see as much as possible of the webpage im looking at.

If you want an even closer look, heres a full screenshot