Trimming the Context for Firefox Context Menus

Extensions make Firefox a lot more useful. For some extensions, it's especially useful to reach them through the context menu that pops up when you right-click with your mouse.

That usefulness, though, can get eroded if you wind up with too many options on the context menu. That happened to me. I wound up having to right click, then scroll through the context menu to find the tool I needed. That's a pain.

The problem is that Firefox extensions often add themselves to the context menu whether they're useful to you there or not.

The solution? Edit the menu. How? With another extension.

If that sounds counter-productive, consider this: the extension you'll use doesn't add itself to the right click menu. In fact, it doesn't even add itself to the Firefox Tools menu. It just sits in the Add-ons dialog box waiting for you to want it.

The extension is called, appropriately, Menu Editor. You can get it here. See Extending Firefox if you need help.

Once it's installed, go to:

Tools > Ad-ons > Menu Editor > Preferences

There's a drop-down menu to select the menu you want to edit. If you choose Main Context Menu, you'll see all of the items that can be on a context menu.

I say "can" be on a context menu because there are actually a few different context menus depending on where you are when you right click. That's the "context" part of "context menu."

You'll get the significance of that when you see how many menu items there are. You probably don't see them all on any one menu, but they're lurking.

This makes designing your menus a little hit or miss. I hid a couple of items that I later added back on.

Tip: Before editing your menus, right click on a web page and see which of the menu items are useful. Do it in a few different contexts, like on white space, with text selected, on a tab, etc. Make a list of the items you want. That way, once you're in Menu Editor, you'll be able to quickly hide the items you don't want. It's amazing how many items wind up on the menu. I didn't remember some of them until I started editing the menu.

HDMI Hype

My son and I were at Best Buy the other day and saw an HDMI cable for $150. He turned pale.

You see, he's been trying to convince me to get a new, high-definition computer monitor, partly by saying we could also use it as a TV. The $150, he noticed right away, was more than the cost of the monitor he wanted.

Is that possible? The cable costs more than the monitor? No, it's not.

In fact, we'd been home for less than 10 minutes when he found a comparable cable online for less than $40. That's a big difference -- more than $100.

Now, Best Buy would probably argue that its expensive cable is far superior than the cheaper cable. Some unfortunate suckers will probably believe it. CNET doesn't:

CNET strongly recommends cheap HDMI cables widely available from online retailers instead of the expensive counterparts sold in your local electronics store.

That's right at the top of CNET's "What HDMI Cable Should I Buy" page. CNET says it's tested a lot of different cables, from brand name to generic, and hasn't found a bit of difference in quality. It calls high-priced cables a "rip-off" and says you shouldn't pay more than $10 for a six-foot cable.

Popular Mechanics came to the same conclusion after its own eyes-on testng. Gizmodo came to a more nuanced conclusion based mainly by comparing the outrageously-priced Monster cables to cheap ones. Still, the testers at Gizmodo suggest starting with a cheap cable and upgrading later, if you think it's worthwhile.

The testing mirrors my experience with other kinds of cables and accessories. I've used cables to extend USB, monitors, keyboards, mice and more, and the expensive ones haven't performed any better than the cheap ones. I'm sure there are limits, but I haven't found them yet.

I ordered an amazingly cheap USB car charger from a company in Taiwan. Auspiciously, it arrived early. Not so auspiciously, the package read: "Universal great authority to you everywhere." For less than $2 it's hard to complain about the translation.

Inside the package was a cigarette lighter plug with a USB jack on it, a cable with a USB plug on one end and a generic power jack on the other, and an adapter to convert the generic jack to a Nokia power plug. It all seemed a little flimsy, but it's outlasted the phone by a couple of years now and still going strong.

New Firefox - Shiretoko

There's a new version of Firefox. It's faster, rich with features and ready for prime time (even if Mozilla isn't admitting it yet).

Firefox 3.5 (code named Shiretoko) is still in beta -- beta release 4, to be exact, but I've been using the beta for a couple of weeks now without any problems.

In fact, Shiretoko is messing with the normal early-adopter experience. Usually, in search of some new advantage, I dump an existing, reliable app for a newer one that still in beta (or even alpha). Instead of getting an advantage, I get tripped up by bugs. My productivity plummets and I spend hours either getting the beta to work, or getting rid of it and returning to the earlier, stable version.

Shiretoko's a surprise, because the 3.5 beta is better than the Firefox 3.0.10 I had been using. It's quick, it uses a lot less memory and it doesn't lock up my computer.

Java with Caffeine
It's quicker because it has a new JavaScript engine called SpiderMonkey.

Since JavaScript everywhere on the web these days, anything that renders it faster is going to improve your entire online experience.

JavaScript is the code behind applications than run in your browser -- the so-called client-side apps. In tech-speak, you and your browser are on the client side of the web; the server that hosts the website site is on the server side.

JavaScript started out putting the motion in those animated ads, but it's become a lot more sophisticated and important. Today, JavaScript is the J in AJAX. AJAX is the bundle of code that powers online applications like Google Docs and Spreadsheets.

Hiding Your Tracks
Shiretoko also offers a feature to better protect your privacy. I didn't say "new" feature, because Mozilla is actually catching up to other browsers, but it's still nice to have.

Browsers help you get around by remembering where you've been on the web and what you've been doing. That makes it easier for you to retrace your steps, get back to key sites and breeze through security at, for instance, your online bank.

It also makes it easier for someone else to retrace your steps, get back to key sites you've visited and, potentially, do some online banking for you.

Firefox 3.5 offers an option to "Start Private Browsing." Once you click it, Firefox stops recording your history, cookies and any passwords you enter. That protects you from anyone who might want to follow your tracks.

When you stop private browsing, Firefox remembers were you were before you started. It opens up the same tabs to the same sites.

Where in the World are You
The new Firefox also offers you an options to have less privacy. Some websites are now "location aware." That's your location that you're aware of, they presumably always knew where they were.

These sites, with the help of Google Geolocation, can know where you are and tailor the information they offer accordingly.

You may have noticed that some sites already do that. I've been to a few blogs that list the locations of their current visitors in a sidebar. Firefox lets you decide whether to offer your location to a website or not.

If you want to try out Firefox 3.5 beta, you can download it here.

GMail All the Time

Now you can work on your Gmail anytime you have your computer. Google Gears makes it possible. It let you run Gmail in your browser even when you're offline, then it catches up your account the next time you're online.

It even has a "Flaky Connection Mode" that lets you use Gmail when your link to the Internet is, well, flaky. I haven't tried it yet, but it sounds useful.

Offline Gmail with Firefox 32-bit
If you're running Firefox on a 32-bit machine, it's simple:

• Open your Gmail account
• Click on Labs (It's the green flask in the upper right corner)
• Enable Offline

When you save the setting, you'll get a couple of boxes with setup information, then Gears will start downloading your messages to your new offline browser.

Offline Gmail with Firefox 64-bit
If you use the 64-bit version of Firefox, it's a little more complicated. There's no 64-bit Linux version of Gears yet -- at least not officially.

But a guy named Niels (a Dutch techie in China) has compiled a 64-bit version and built a .deb package for Intrepid (Ubuntu 8.10). He's put it online for all of us, and it works great.

Just go to his blog, click on the link to the xpi file, and it will start installing into Firefox just like any other extension. Then when you go into labs (same way as explained above) and enable offline, the stetup process will start.

Tip
Once you set up offline, Gmail will download a lot of your email. It can take a while -- about 20 minutes for me with a lot of message and a pretty fast connection. Even if you're anxious to try it, you might waint until your on a solid connection with time to wait.

Quick Actions in Nautilus

Nautilus-actions lets you add programs to the Nautilus context menu (it comes up when you right-click on a file or folder).


You can get it via synaptic, or the command:

sudo apt-get install nautilus-actions

Once it's installed, bring up the gui from the command line by typing:

nautilus-actions-config

To add a program to the contect menu:

Click on +Add

• For label, put in the name of the program you're adding
• For path, inter whatever you would type at the command line to start the program
• For parameters, enter any parameters you want to run the program with (see the manual for the program)

Go to the Conditions tab to select when you want the program to show up on the context menu.   For instance, if the program you're adding only works on individual files, check "Files only."

More Space in Firefox

My wife started using an eee for work. It's cool, but but there's one big (or small) inherent limitation: screen size. It's really hard to use some applications on a tiny screen.

Since browsers do just about everything now -- and even more once you start using a netbook computer -- making space on Firefox is crucial.

There's a lot you can do, but it's usually a trade off between convenience and screen space.


Space-saving Themes
The quick, comprehensive way to get more space is with a space-saving theme.

Classic Compact
Classic Compact is, well, the classic compact theme for Firefox. If gives you everything you have on your regular theme, but smaller. It can look a little squished, but that's because it makes all of the elements as big as possible within a smaller space. I liked it so much on the eee that I've started using it on my laptop, which has a 13" screen. Why not?

Classic Compact Options lets you tweak Classic Compact. Some tweaks are just cosmetic, but merging you menu bar into one button saves space.

Other Compact Themes
iFox Smooth, zblack and Littlefox do the same thing, but look a little different.

Tweaking Firefox
If you're committed to keeping your regular theme, you can tweak that for space. In fact, there are a few options you can choose without adding extensions.

Fullscreen
Push F11. It puts Firefox into full screen mode. Lots of room. Putting your cursor near the top of the screen gets you the tabs and Bookmark Toolbar back. Hitting F11 again restores your normal screen.

Hide Toolbars
Firefox usually has three toolbars across the top:

• Menubar
• Navigation Toolbar
• Bookmark Toolbar

And then there may be other toolbars added by extensions, like Web developer. You can get rid of toolbars.

View > Toolbars

Just uncheck the toolbars you can live without.

Remember that the Bookmark Toolbar is convenient, but you can almost as easily use the Bookmarks menu item.

Thin the Navigation Toolbar
If you need the navigation bar, but want to make it thinner:

View > Toolbars > Customize > Show: Icons > Check "Use small icons"

More space with very little loss of convenience.

Compact Menu2
This one's a little tricky. Compact Menu2 literally replaces your menu bar with a small, blue globe icon. It adds an option to hide the Menu Toolbar to View > Toolbars. That means you can hide the menu toolbar, but still have access to the menu items via the icon.

Clicking on the icon drops down a menu with the items that are usually on the menu bar (or those of them you chose to include).

Once you've installed the extension, go to:

View > Toolbars >Customize

Under "Select the menus you want to see in the Compact Menu" check the menu items you want. I chose all of them -- since the Compact version is a drop-down menu, it doesn't seem to matter much.

Then you find the small, blue globe icon in the icon area and drag it to whatever toolbar you want.

Literally replacing the menu bar has some interesting results. For instance, if you drag the icon to the Menu Toolbar it will replace all of the menu items, but what you'll have is the icon on the menu toolbar, which won't save you any space.

If you put it on the Navigation Toolbar, then you can hide the Menubar, but still have easy access to all of the menu options.

If you happen to hide the Menubar before you drag the icon somewhere, you'll lose access to the menu items -- including View which is the item you need to get the Menubar back. Of course only an idiot would do that. Fortunately I happen to know how to fix it. Find an empty part of the Navigation Toolbar (just to the right of the address bar works) and right click. That will bring up the toolbar menu and you just click the box by Menubar.

Tiny Menu does the same thing, but I haven't tried it.

Google Bookmarks in Firefox

Using your Google Bookmarks is a lot more convenient with some Firefox add-ons.

If you haven't tried them, Google Bookmarks are always available online as part of your Google account. They're also integrated into Google Notes. That makes them handy for citing stuff you grab from the web.

The Firefox extensions let you keep your Google Bookmarks as handy as regular bookmarks in your browser. I've tried three third-party extensions as well as the official Google Bookmark button. They're all usesul.

Folders? Subfolders?
The third-party extensions enhance what Google offers by adding folders and subfolders.

Google Bookmarks doesn't do folders -- it does labels (or tags). Initially Gmail only offered tags too, but the big G bowed to public pressure and switched to folders. The extensions do that same thing for bookmarks by adding a virtual folders system.

I say virtual because, when you're using the extension to browse your bookmarks, it looks for all the world like they're in folders and subfolders. But if you go the the regular Google Bookmarks site you don't see folders -- you just see labels. Some labels are just: Label. Other labels are Label/Sublabel. The extensions turn the Label/Sublabel into folders and subfolder.

Deng Google Bookmarks
Deng Google Bookmarks puts the Google Favorite star on your menu bar with a drop-down menu. Clicking it drops down all of your Google Bookmarks, plus links for managing, adding, reloading your bookmarks, and going to your Google Bookmarks page.

The bookmarks drop down as folders. Putting your cursor on one of the folders either reveals the bookmarks in the folder, or reveals subfolders, or both.

The Deng options panel lets you enter your Gmail address and password so it can log in to get your bookmarks.

GBookmarks
GBookmarks puts a dropdown menu on the Firefox menu bar and drops down your bookmarks in folders and subfolders, just like Deng.

Once you put in your Gmail address and password, you can select an option to have GBookmarks log into your bookmarks account as soon as you open Firefox. Otherwise it logs in the first time you click on the menu.

You can also have GBookmarks your bookmarks by date or title, and you can use the extension to import your Firefox bookmarks into Google.

Gmarks
Gmarks is the slickest and most adaptable of the extensions. At first glance, it looks like pure Google Bookmarks. When you click on the Gmarks menu, it drops down a list of your bookmarks by label. Some of the labels have "nested" labels within them. It's the Folder/Subfolder deal using Google terminology.

When you add a bookmark, it offers you the standard Google options: label and notes. To add a bookmark with a nested label, you put the label in this format: Label>Sublabel.

It's Organize Bookmarks box lets you change the name, change the url and add or delete a label. It doesn't offer virtual folders and subfolders, it gives you Google Bookmarks with labels the way Google intended.

Gmarks options menu lets you sort your bookmarks three ways:

• Title
• Date
• Number of visits to a site
  

It pulls the number of times you've visited a site from your Firefox history.

You can make a list of labels you don't want to show up on the dropdown menu. You can also make a default label that's applied to unlabeled bookmarks. Or, more accurately, bookmarks that would have been unlabeled were it not for the unlabeled bookmark label. Gmail also lets you select any key to open up a Search Bookmarks bar. Once you've selected a key, you just tap it twice and the search bar pop open.

Display options let you put at the top of your list labels for the most recent and most used bookmarks. The bookmarks show up as nested labels.