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Sage RSS & ATOM Reader

June 30, 2004 by debbie T | Firefox Browser

Sage RSS & ATOM Reader is a fantastic extension for Firefox 0.9. I installed the other day, and am now getting used to how it works. Pretty easy! There are simple instructions available, but I am going to elaborate on them a bit more here. Read the Rest of the Article

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FireFox Extensions

May 4, 2004 by debbie T | Firefox Browser • Internet

Updated: There are so many wonderful Firefox Extensions. Not that I tried them all, but…..these are the notes on my favorites (and not so favorite) so far.

The Web Developer - This one is my all time favorite. Very similar to the IE Accessibility Toolbar. It adds one touch access to validation, code source, page weight, cookie info, CSS, and other cool tidbits. There are also options to disable JavaScript, cookies, CSS, images, and others.
IE View - And this is my second favorite! Just right-click on the page, and choose “View this page in IE”. Easy peasy! This also helps when you come across a website that doesn’t view properly in Mozilla, which happens a lot!
Calendar - this is an extension that can be accessed in Firefox or Tbird email. I originally was excited about this extension, but I haven’t found it to be all that helpful. The email reminders did not work as expected. To be fair, I didn’t really have time to test it, but I assume TB/FF has to be running in order to receive any reminders.
Mozilla Google Toolbar - Just like in Internet Explorer!! No explanation is needed on this one I think.
Tab X - another favorite! Instead of messing around with the little "X" at the far right to close a tab, this extension will add a little "X" on the tab for easier access.
Dictionary Search - I sometimes find words in web pages that I just don’t know. Once this extension is installed, just highlight and right-click on the word, and choose Dictionary Search. Very powerful tool! Note: after right-clicking, FF opens a new tab with the results. Easy to miss, so keep an eye out for the newly added tab.
Edit CSS - The ability to edit the style sheet on any given page is so awesome! This is a great tool in my coding classroom, and it is also very useful when you just want to fiddle around with someone’s CSS.
Checky - This is another developer tool using the context menu. Not just validation, there are other various analyzers. I love the Lynx Viewer and the Link checkers.
Cookie Culler - This is one extension that I was looking for! The Firefox cookie management is good, but this makes it better. Keep some cookies protected when removing all cookies. Such a time saver!
Clone Window - I was missing this in Firefox, because I used it a lot in Internet Explorer. When a new window is opened, this extension clones the current window’s url and history.
RSS Reader Panel - Haven’t tested this one yet, but it is installed, waiting for me to experiment with it.
Blog This - Only for Blogger users.
Status Bar Clock - Date and time displayed on the status bar.
Toolbar Enhancements - Adds many very useful icons for customizing the toolbar. I like this extension and found adding text size icons very helpful!
External App Buttons - I installed this extension, but haven’t utilized it just yet. It might be useful to launch my text editor, Dreamweaver, or even Fireworks from Firefox, but I have these icons on my handy quicklaunch toolbar, so I don’t know that I will actually use this.
Bookmark Links Checker - This will prove to be a very beneficial tool. All those broken links in your bookmark menus can be managed!
Print - Adds the print option to the context menu.
Secure Password - Can’t think of a good secure password, this tool will generate one for you!

Be careful before installing extensions. There isn’t an easy way to uninstall an extension. Yes, you can disable it, but in order to uninstall, you have to mess with the files, so be sure you want that extension before installing. Hopefully in the next version, there will be a better way to manage extensions.

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Accessibility Toolbar - IE

February 5, 2004 by debbie T | Firefox Browser • Internet • Web Development

Whether you are into accessibility or not, this is a neat tool for Web designers! Such great goodies on the Accessibility Toolbar. Easy to install, although I somehow experienced a little mixup. I had to uncheck then recheck the toolbar in view>Toolbars before it would view.

A great tutorial of the toolbar can be found at DMXZone.

For Mozilla fans, a similar toolbar can be downloaded at http://chrispederick.myacen.com/work/firefox/webdeveloper/.

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