This document is provided by Mozilla for your information only. It may help you take certain steps to protect the privacy and security of your personal information on the Internet. This document does not, however, address all online privacy and security issues, nor does it represent a recommendation by Mozilla about what constitutes adequate privacy and security protection on the Internet.

Customizing Mozilla

You can customize Mozilla to better suit your needs using features like My Sidebar, bookmarks, and Tabbed Browsing.

This section describes the customizable aspects of Mozilla's browser component, Navigator.

In this section:

Sidebar

Tabbed Browsing

Changing Fonts, Colors, and Themes

Toolbars

Bookmarks

Specifying How Mozilla Starts Up

Navigator Settings

 


Sidebar

 

In this section:

What is Sidebar?

Using Sidebar

Adding Sidebar Tabs

Customizing Individual Sidebar Tabs

Reorganizing Sidebar Tabs

Removing Sidebar Tabs

Opening, Closing, and Resizing Sidebar

 

What is Sidebar?

Sidebar is a customizable area in your browser where you can keep items that you need to use all the time—the latest news and weather, your address book or Buddy List, stock quotes, a calendar—and many other available options. Sidebar presents these items to you in tabs that are continually updated.

Mozilla comes with some Sidebar tabs already set up, but you can customize Sidebar by adding, removing, and rearranging tabs.

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Using Sidebar

Unless you have closed Sidebar, it is always open at the left side of your browser. To view a tab:

Sidebar with handle

Sidebar
Handle

If you don't see Sidebar, it may be closed. To open it:

  1. Move the mouse pointer up and down along the left-hand border of the Mozilla window. The pointer changes to a hand when it touches the "handle" of Sidebar.
  2. Click the handle to open Sidebar.

    Note: If Sidebar is not selected from the View menu in Navigator (within the Show/Hide submenu), you will not see the frame or its handle.

Tip: To reload a Sidebar tab, right-click on the tab title and choose Reload from the pop-up menu.

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Adding Sidebar Tabs

To add a new tab:

  1. Click "Tabs" at the top of Sidebar, and select Customize Sidebar from the menu.
  2. In the Customize Sidebar dialog box, select a tab from the list on the left. Double-click the folders to open or close folders.
  3. Click Add.
  4. Continue adding as many tabs as you want.
  5. Click OK to finish.

Note: If you add more than eight tabs to Sidebar, Mozilla hides the remaining tabs to reduce clutter. To scroll through the hidden tabs, click the down arrow button at the bottom of Sidebar until you see the desired tab. Click the up arrow button to once again scroll up.

Tips:

You can also turn Sidebar tabs on and off.

  1. Click "Tabs" at the top of Sidebar. Current tabs are listed in the lower part of the menu.
  2. Select the tabs you want displayed in Sidebar. Remove the checkmark (deselect) to turn a tab off (it will still be available from the menu).

Tip: To quickly turn off a Sidebar tab, right-click on its name and choose Hide Tab.

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Customizing Individual Sidebar Tabs

Note: Not all tabs can be customized.

  1. Click "Tabs" at the top of Sidebar and select Customize Sidebar from the menu.
  2. Select an available tab from the list on the right.
  3. Click Customize Tab if it is enabled. A window appears with information and options for customizing the tab.

    The instructions vary depending on the source of the tab—in addition to Mozilla, tab providers can be any company, organization, or individual who uses the Internet.

  4. After you follow the tab provider's instructions, close the customization window (or follow the provider's instructions to close it).
  5. Click OK to finish.

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Reorganizing Sidebar Tabs


  1. Click "Tabs" at the top of Sidebar and select Customize Sidebar from the menu.
  2. Select a tab from the list on the right.
  3. Click Up and Down to change the tab's placement.
  4. Repeat steps 1 and 2 to continue reorganizing as many tabs as you like.
  5. Click OK to finish.

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Removing Sidebar Tabs


  1. Click "Tabs" at the top of Sidebar and select Customize Sidebar from the menu.
  2. Select a tab from the list on the right.
  3. Click Remove.
  4. Continue removing as many tabs as you like.
  5. Click OK to finish.

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Opening, Closing, and Resizing Sidebar

Use Sidebar's handles to open, close, and resize Sidebar's frame:
image of sidebar with handle

Sidebar
Handle

If Sidebar is closed, you can still see its handle. If the handle is missing, open the View menu , choose Show/Hide, and then Sidebar. Move the mouse pointer up and down along the left edge of the Mozilla window. The pointer changes to a hand when it touches the "handle" for Sidebar, as shown in the picture.

 

  • Click the "Open Sidebar" icon open sidebar icon on the left side of the Personal Toolbar.
  • Click the handle to open and close Sidebar.
  • Click and drag the handle to resize Sidebar.

To remove Sidebar, including the handle, do one of the following:

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Tabbed Browsing

 

In this section:

What is Tabbed Browsing?

Setting up Tabbed Browsing

Opening Tabs

Bookmarking Tabs

Closing Tabs

 

What is Tabbed Browsing?

Tabbed Browsing lets you open more than one web page in a single window. Each web page has its own tab across the top of a single Navigator window. Each tab appears on the Tab Bar. For example, you can visit mozilla.org, icq.com, and cnn.com within one window instead of three windows.

Click this to open a new tab.  
tab bar
Tab being viewed.
Click this to close the tab being viewed.
Tab Bar

You don't need to have several windows open to visit several web pages; thus, freeing up more space on your desktop. Instead, you can open, close, and reload web pages conveniently in one place without having to switch to another window.

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Setting up Tabbed Browsing

There are several ways to customize Tabbed Browsing. For example, you can change your preferences to open new Navigator tabs from the Location Bar. You can set up Tabbed Browsing in other ways too, such as loading new Navigator tabs in the background so the first page is kept on top while the second page is loading. To learn more about setting up Tabbed Browsing in Mozilla, see Navigator Preferences - Tabbed Browsing.

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Opening Tabs

You can open a Navigator tab in the following ways:

Opening a New Blank Navigator Tab:

Opening a Web Page Link in a Navigator Tab:

Tips:

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Bookmarking Tabs

A bookmarked group of tabs is called a Groupmark. To bookmark the group of Navigator tabs in the current window:

  1. Open the Bookmarks menu and choose "Bookmark This Group of Tabs".
  2. Type a name for the bookmark group in the Name field.
  3. Choose from any of these options:
  4. Click OK to add the Groupmark.

Tip: To learn how to use a group of tabs as your home page, see Navigator Preferences - Navigator.

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Closing Tabs

You can close Navigator tabs in several ways:

Closing the Navigator Tab Being Viewed:

Click this to open a new tab.  
tab bar
Tab being viewed.
Click this to close the tab being viewed.
Tab Bar

Tips:

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Changing Fonts, Colors, and Themes

 

In this section:

Changing the Default Fonts

Changing the Default Colors

Changing the Theme

 

Changing the Default Fonts

Normally, web pages are displayed in the default font set by your browser or in a font chosen by the web pages' authors.

To change the default fonts:

  1. Open the Edit menu (Mozilla menu on Mac OS X) and choose Preferences.
  2. Under the Appearance category, choose Fonts. (If no options are visible in this category, double-click Appearance to expand the list.)
  3. From the "Fonts for" drop-down list, choose a language group/script. For instance, to set default fonts for West European languages/script (Latin), choose "Western."
  4. Select whether proportional text should be serif (like Times Roman) or sans-serif (like Arial). Then specify the font size you want for proportional text.
  5. If an appropriate font is available for your language/script, select fonts for Serif, Sans-Serif, Cursive, Fantasy, and Monospace. You can also specify what font size you want for monospace text.
  6. Specify whether the default font should be serif or sans serif.
  7. Select a fixed-width font and size. Certain types of text, such as equations and formulas, are displayed in a fixed-width font.

Many web page authors choose their own fonts and font sizes. To allow fonts other than the ones specified in your preferences, check "Allow documents to use other fonts."

To adjust the readability of fonts, select from the drop-down list the dots per inch (dpi) for displaying web pages. Select "Other" to open the Calibrate Resolution dialog box, which allows you to calibrate your resolution by measuring how long a line appears on your screen. Increased screen resolution may will improve text readability on some screens.

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Changing the Default Colors

Normally, the background and text colors on web pages are determined by the default colors set by your browser or by the pages' authors.

To change the default colors:

  1. Open the Edit menu (Mozilla menu on Mac OS X) and choose Preferences.
  2. Under the Appearance category, choose Colors. (If no options are visible in this category, click to expand the list.)
  3. Click the colored blocks next to Text, Background, Unvisited Links, and Visited Links. Choose a color for each from the color chart. You can also specify that links should be underlined.

Most web page authors choose their own colors. You can override the authors' intentions by selecting "Use my chosen colors, ignoring the colors specified."

When viewing the source of a web page, you can see the HTML syntax of the source of a web page highlighted in specific colors by selecting "Enable syntax highlighting."

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Changing the Theme

You can change the look and feel of Mozilla by changing themes.

  1. Open the Edit menu (Mozilla menu on Mac OS X) and choose Preferences.
  2. Under the Appearance category, choose Themes.
  3. Click to select the theme you want to use.
  4. Click OK to confirm your choice.

    Note: You need to quit and restart Mozilla after you apply a new theme in order for the change to take effect.

Shortcut: You can also change themes by opening the View menu, choosing Apply Theme, and then choosing the theme you want to use.

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Toolbars

 

In this section:

Navigation Toolbar

Personal Toolbar

Status Bar

Component Bar

Hiding a Toolbar

 

Navigation Toolbar

The Navigation Toolbar, pictured here, helps you move around the Web.

navigation toolbar
Back Forward Reload Stop

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Personal Toolbar

The Personal Toolbar is completely customizable—you decide what you want to keep there. The Personal Toolbar comes with some buttons already enabled, including your My Mozilla page, your home page, search, and mail.

Personal Toolbar
Personal Toolbar

You can easily add, delete, and rearrange items in the Personal Toolbar.

Turning Buttons On and Off

  1. Open the Edit menu (Mozilla menu on Mac OS X) and choose Preferences.
  2. Click Navigator.
  3. Under "Select the buttons you want to see in the toolbars," choose the buttons that you want on your toolbar.
  4. Click OK.


Adding Personal Toolbar Bookmarks

You can add buttons for your favorite bookmarks, or folders containing groups of bookmarks. To create a new bookmark to add to the Personal Toolbar:

  1. Open a web page you want to bookmark.
  2. Drag the bookmark icon image of bookmark icon (located to the left of URL in the Location Bar) to a desired place on the Personal Toolbar. You can drag the icon directly to the Personal Toolbar, or to a folder on the Personal Toolbar. See Adding Personal Toolbar Bookmark Folders" for more information on adding bookmark marks folder to the Personal Toolbar.

Note: The bookmark icon image of bookmark icon may appear as another page-specific icon if you have checked Show Web Site Icons in preferences. See Appearance Preferences - Appearance for more information on changing this preferences.

Each item in the Personal Toolbar folder appears as a toolbar button. You may need to enlarge the browser window to see them all.

Adding Personal Toolbar Bookmark Folders

You can add bookmark folders to the Personal Toolbar to sort your favorite bookmarks into categories. For example, you can have one folder on the Personal Toolbar for hobby-related bookmarks and another folder for work-related bookmarks. To add a new bookmark to the Personal Toolbar:

  1. Open the Bookmarks menu and choose Manage Bookmarks.
  2. Select your designated "Personal Toolbar Folder."
  3. Click New Folder on the toolbar.
  4. Type a name for your new bookmark folder. By default, the name is "New Folder."
  5. Click OK to confirm your new bookmark folder name.

The new bookmark folder will appear at the end of the Personal Toolbar.


Designating a Bookmark Folder as Your Personal Toolbar Folder


  1. Open the Bookmarks menu and choose Manage Bookmarks.
  2. Select the bookmark folder whose items you want to appear on the toolbar.
  3. From the View menu, choose Set as Personal Toolbar Folder.

The buttons in your Personal Toolbar now correspond to the bookmarks in the folder you designated.


Removing Bookmarks from the Personal Toolbar


  1. Open the Bookmarks menu and choose Manage Bookmarks.
  2. Click the Personal Toolbar Folder.
  3. Select the bookmark or folder you want to delete.
  4. Press Delete on your keyboard.
  5. Close the Manage Bookmarks window.

Tip: To quickly remove a bookmark placed on the Personal Toolbar (not in a folder), right-click on the bookmark and select Delete.


Rearranging the Personal Toolbar


  1. Open the Bookmarks menu and choose Manage Bookmarks.
  2. In your Bookmarks window, click the Personal Toolbar Folder.
  3. Select a bookmark or folder and drag it to a new location.
  4. When you are finished rearranging items, close your Bookmarks window.

Note: Standard buttons on the Personal Toolbar such as Search and Home Page cannot be rearranged, but they can be turned off and on.

Tip: To move a bookmark placed on the Personal Toolbar quickly, click and drag the bookmark to another location on the Personal Toolbar or to a folder.

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Status Bar

The Status Bar is located at the bottom of any Mozilla window. It includes the following:

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Component Bar

Use the Component Bar at the bottom left of any Mozilla window to switch between tasks (such as browsing or mail).

component bar

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Hiding a Toolbar

There are two ways to hide the toolbars.

To minimize a toolbar:

To completely hide a toolbar, including its triangle:

  1. Open the View menu.
  2. Choose Show/Hide and uncheck the toolbars you want to hide.

To reverse this action, open the View menu, choose Show, and then select the toolbars you want to show.

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Bookmarks

 

In this section:

What Are Bookmarks?

Using Bookmarks

Creating New Bookmarks

Organizing Your Bookmarks

Changing Individual Bookmarks

Searching Your Bookmarks

Exporting or Importing a Bookmark List

 

What Are Bookmarks?

Bookmarks are shortcuts to your favorite and most-visited web pages. Rather than typing in long URLs (web addresses), you can create bookmarks that take you directly to the pages you want to see.

You access your bookmarks through the Bookmarks menu, the Bookmarks tab on Sidebar, and the Manage Bookmarks window. You can control what's listed in the Bookmarks menu by adding bookmarks for your favorite web pages and organizing your list of bookmarks any way you want.

 

Using Bookmarks

Mozilla comes with some bookmarks already available. To use a bookmark:

  1. Open the Bookmarks menu.
  2. Choose a bookmark from the list or from a folder in the list.

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Creating New Bookmarks

You can bookmark your favorite web sites to make it easy to return to them.

To bookmark the current page, perform one of these steps:

Personal Toolbar
Personal Toolbar

Notes:

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Organizing Your Bookmarks

To organize your bookmarks, open the Bookmarks menu and choose Manage Bookmarks. Perform any of the following tasks in your Manage Bookmarks window.

Tip: You can open the Manage Bookmarks window from the Bookmarks tab in Sidebar. Click on Manage at the top of the Bookmarks tab.

To view bookmarks inside of folders:

To move a bookmark or a folder to another location in the list:

To create a new folder or separator:

To remove a bookmark or a folder from the list:

  1. Click to highlight the bookmark or folder that you want to remove.
  2. Press the Delete key on your keyboard, or click Delete in the Bookmarks window.

To sort your bookmarks in the Manage Bookmarks window:


Designating a New Bookmark Folder

When you create a new bookmark, Mozilla normally adds it to the bottom of your bookmarks list. If you prefer to file your bookmarks in a folder, you can designate a new bookmarks folder.

  1. Open the Bookmarks menu and choose Manage Bookmarks.
  2. In your Bookmarks window, select a folder to hold new bookmarks.
  3. Open the View menu and choose Set as New Bookmark Folder.

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Changing Individual Bookmarks

You can change the information for any individual bookmark.

  1. Open the Bookmarks menu and choose Manage Bookmarks.
  2. In your Bookmarks window, click a bookmark.
  3. Click Properties.
  4. In the bookmark Properties dialog box window, click the Info tab.

You can rename the bookmark (the name appears in your bookmark list), add descriptive information, or set a keyword. (You can type a bookmark's keyword into the location field to go to the bookmarked site.)

You can also set Mozilla to check bookmarked web sites for changes.

  1. Open the Bookmarks menu and choose Manage Bookmarks.
  2. In your Bookmarks window, click a bookmark.
  3. Click Properties.
  4. In the bookmark Properties dialog box, click the Schedule tab.
  5. Use the pull down lists to specify how frequently you want Mozilla to check the bookmarked page for changes.
  6. If you want to be notified when the bookmarked page changes, click the Notify tab and choose a notification option.

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Searching Your Bookmarks

To search the bookmarks list:

  1. Open the Bookmarks menu and choose Manage Bookmarks.
  2. In your Bookmarks window, open the Tools menu and choose Search Bookmarks. You see the Find Bookmarks dialog box.
  3. In the drop-down lists, choose options to define your search, and then click Find. Bookmarks that match your search criteria are displayed. Choose from the following Search options:
  4. Double-click a bookmark in the list to go to that page.

Tip: If the list is hard to read, try expanding the search results window.

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Exporting or Importing a Bookmark List

Your bookmarks are stored in a file named bookmarks.html. You can export a copy of this file and save it in a folder of your choosing. You can then edit it and treat it as you would any HTML file.

  1. Open the Bookmarks menu and choose Manage Bookmarks.
  2. In your Bookmarks window, open the Tools menu, and choose Export.
  3. In the "Export bookmark file" dialog box, choose a folder. Your bookmarks.html file will be copied into the folder you designate.
  4. Click Save.

Your Mozilla bookmarks are not altered by this procedure.

You can also import bookmarks files from other sources. For example, you can import bookmarks files from earlier Mozilla versions, other browsers, or from bookmark files that your friends send you.

Before you start, make sure that the bookmark file you want to import is an HTML file.

  1. Open the Bookmarks menu and choose Manage Bookmarks.
  2. In your Bookmarks window, open the Tools menu and choose Import.
  3. In the "Import bookmark file" dialog box, locate and select the bookmark file you want to import.
  4. Click Save.

The imported bookmark file is treated as a group of new bookmarks and added to the bottom of your bookmarks list. If you have designated a new bookmark folder, the imported bookmarks are added to that folder.

Note: Importing a bookmark file imports the bookmarks and folders from that file. It does not create two bookmark files.

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Specifying How Mozilla Starts Up

 

In this section:

Specifying a Starting Page

Changing Your Home Page

Specifying Which Components Open at Launch

 

Specifying a Starting Page

You can specify the page that loads when the browser starts:

  1. Open the Edit menu (Mozilla menu on Mac OS X) and choose Preferences.
  2. Under "When Navigator, starts up display," choose whether you want a blank page, your home page, or the last web page visited to open automatically when you launch your browser.

    Note: If you selected Home Page, type the URL in the Location field.

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Changing Your Home Page

Your home page is the page that opens when you click the Home button in the Personal Toolbar. Depending on how your preferences are set, it may also be the page that opens automatically when you launch Mozilla.

To specify your home page:

  1. Open the Edit menu (Mozilla menu on Mac OS X) and choose Preferences.
  2. Click the Navigator category.
  3. In the Home page section, perform one of the following:

Tip: To specify your home page quickly, drag the bookmark icon image of bookmark icon from the Location Bar to the Home Page button on the Personal Toolbar.

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Specifying Which Components Open at Launch

You can choose components (such as Mail & Newsgroups and Composer) to launch when you start Mozilla:

  1. Open the Edit menu (Mozilla menu on Mac OS X) and choose Preferences.
  2. Click the Appearance category.
  3. Select the components you want opened automatically each time you start Mozilla.

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19 June 2002



Copyright © 1998-2003 The Mozilla Foundation.