Fix Firefox Annoyances

Caption, "Firefox, with each new release, it just keeps getting worse!"

• Developers are adding massive amounts of bloat and awful glitchy features. It is unfortunate.
• There is a push to make Firefox more like Google Chrome. Some of us use Firefox because IT IS NOT Chrome!!!
• Eye candy in the UI just makes a fatter, slower, less efficient web browser.

Due to the constant new roll-outs this guide has to be organized by entry date.

Version 89: Proton

Firefox 89 arrives with address bar, toolbar, tab and menu changes. The industry continues to turn its back on desktop users and focus on the small screens so that everything will be larger in the new interface. Proton will remove some options from Firefox, or hide them. The Compact density option won't be displayed anymore on the "customize" page of the browser if it has not been used in the past.

Be advised, the old "Classic Theme Restorer" addon is gone. There is something similar and useful that can deliver some color and subtle UI improvements called a-firefox-classic-36

• [Install https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/a-firefox-classic-36/ a-firefox-classic-36]

Merciless firefox developers continue their deranged arrangement of the user interface, this time moving the tab bar above the URL bar. The customize option is not able to re-position the two.

If you prefer to have the tab bar below the URL bar you can utilize the backwards compatible Legacy User Profile Customizations of userChrome.css

• Enable the interface customization by going to about:config
• set toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets to true
• create a userChrome.css in the chrome subdirectory of your user profile directory.

Although you see the name "chrome" referenced by firefox it is a legacy name that existed before the Google browser. One has nothing to do with the other.

To find your user profile location

• HELP -> More Troubleshooting Information

cd /home/nicolep/.mozilla/firefox-esr/rbh5mz6n.default-esr91
mkdir chrome
cd chrome
touch userChrome.css

We have a sample snip of code to place in userChrome.css that will move the tab bar below the URL bar where it belongs.

• Firefox: Fix Firefox Annoyances: tabbar

Version 29: Australis

Firefox 29 arrives with revamped Sync tool, customization mode, and Mozilla’s user interface overhaul which is called "Australis." This Australis layout is best described as pseudo-Chrome. It is the biggest ever change to Firefox’s user interface. Firefox’s new Australis theme is very curvy. The most significant changes over the current desktop version of Firefox are: Lots of rounded corners, inactive tabs that “fade” into the background, less padding above tabs, and a massively re-worked main menu button (which shares the same icon as Chrome).

• Classic Theme Restorer - This addon will allow you to use tabs below the address bar, use square tabs, separate the back and forward buttons and detach them from the address bar, and many other useful fixes.

• Dedoimedo has a guide, How to change the new Firefox Australis looks, which goes into great detail on how to bring back the old Firefox UI that users prefer over Chrome.

Version 7 and Older

Become familiar with about:config which can be used to customize firefox and disable some of the feature bloat.

[about:config]

Tab open order reversed after update

Firefox tabs opening backwards - Since the upgrade to Firefox 3.6 the order which tabs open has changed or is inconsistent. Previously tabs opened sequentially, so that the latest one was always at the far right. To restore the previous behavior do the following:

• In the URL bar type: about:config
• Find or create

 browser.tabs.insertRelatedAfterCurrent

• Set the value to: False

Hide the Tab Bar When Browsing a Single Page

The default setting in Firefox 3.5 is to always display tabs, even when you're only browsing a single page. Show more of the web page by hiding the tab bar if only viewing a single page.

1. Go to Tools, and then Options.
2. Go to the Tabs menu, and uncheck "Always show the tab bar"

Menu bar missing

1. Press Alt on the keyboard and release. The menu bar will appear temporarily.
2. On the menu bar, click View, go to Toolbars, then select which toolbars you want to see.

PREVENT tabs/sessions restoring when restarting Firefox after a forced close/crash

tested on version: 8.0

You can do this by changing a hidden preference.

about:config

In the filter box type resume to bring up a small number of preferences, Double-click on the

browser.sessionstore.resume_from_crash 

to change its value to false

reference: How do I PREVENT tabs/sessions restoring when restarting Firefox after a forced close/crash?

You can also Set the pref browser.sessionstore.max_resumed_crashes to 0 on the about:config page to get the about:sessionrestore page immediately with the first restart after a crash has occurred or the Task Manager was used to close Firefox.

That will allow you to deselect the tab(s) that you do not want to reopen, but will allow to reopen the other tabs.

Save Image As Directory Randomly Changes (unresolved)

Information on this issue/bug has been moved to Firefox Save Image As Save Per Site Annoyance, including the latest work around, the suggested fix from Firefox, and further details.

This was a poorly thought out change to Firefox and reflects on the overall feature bloat and lack of attention to user feedback that is driving Firefox market share down the tubes. Way to keep up the Micro$oft mentality there Firefox developers!

Asinine Top Sites New Tab Page

June 2012 Mozilla adds another annoying "new feature" enabled by default that negatively impacts browser performance and privacy, further contributing to overall bloat. When you create a new tab, Firefox shows top sites, idiot crap like facebook. Firefox trying to be more like Chrome.

you can turn this feature off completely:

1. goto about:config
2. Type browser.newtab.url in the search box.
3. Double-click the browser.newtab.url preference and change the url from about:newtab to about:blank.
4. Click OK and close the about:config tab.

ref: http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/new-tab-page-show-hide-and-customize-top-sites#w_how-do-i-turn-the-new-tab-page-off

Get Firefox 7 (and higher) to show HTTP:// in URLs

1. goto about:config
2. Type browser.urlbar.trimURLs in the search box.
3. Click to change boolean toggle from True to False