Web browsing with Firefox

The powerful and secure Mozilla Firefox web browser is included in Xubuntu. Firefox features tabbed browsing, pop-up blocking, built-in search, and live bookmarks. Also supported are popular plug-ins such as Java, Flash, and RealPlayer.

Firefox can be launched by clicking ApplicationsNetworkFirefox Web Browser.

Alternative web browsers

As well as the default Firefox Web Browser, Xubuntu also provides a large selection of alternative browsers. A list of some of these is given below:

  • Epiphany Web Browser

  • Konqueror

  • Mozilla Web Browser

  • Opera

See Chapter 11, Menambah, Membuang dan Kemas Kini Aplikasi for help on installing new software.

Get plugins for your web browser

A plugin is a small program which extends the capabilities of another program. In the case of web browsers, plugins typically allow the browser to play different types of multimedia or to run small, web-based programs.

To view a list of currently-installed plugins in the Firefox Web Browser, type “about:plugins” into the address bar and press Return.

Quickly install common plugins

It is possible to install a whole set of commonly-used restricted plugins at once, by installing the xubuntu-restricted-extras package.

Restricted plugins are those which cannot be distributed with Xubuntu because of legal issues surrounding their use in some countries. Check that you are allowed to use this software before installing it. See the Ubuntu website for more information on restricted software.

  1. Install the xubuntu-restricted-extras package from the “Multiverse” repository (see Chapter 11, Menambah, Membuang dan Kemas Kini Aplikasi).

  2. Restart the Firefox Web Browser to make the included browser plugins available.

As well as plugins and multimedia codecs, Java and a set of Windows fonts will be installed.

The following plugins and codecs are installed by the xubuntu-restricted-extras package:

  • flashplugin-nonfree

  • libdvdread3

  • liblame0

  • msttcorefonts

  • libxine1-ffmpeg

  • sun-java6-plugin

  • unrar

Audio and video plugins

Many different multimedia formats are used on the Internet, and so you may find that you are unable to play some audio and video files without first installing an appropriate plugin.

See the following articles for information on installing and using multimedia plugins with the Firefox Web Browser:

Flash multimedia plugin

Flash is a proprietary plugin which allows you to watch videos and animations on the Internet.

To view Flash graphics from the Firefox Web Browser:

  1. Install the flashplugin-nonfree package from the “Multiverse” repository (see Chapter 11, Menambah, Membuang dan Kemas Kini Aplikasi).

  2. Restart Firefox to make the plugin available.

Installing the package as described above will download and install the plugin. You need an Internet connection for this to work. If, after installing the application, you need to download and install the plugin at a later time, enter the following command in a terminal:

sudo dpkg-reconfigure flashplugin-nonfree

Java browser plugin

Some websites use small Java programs, which require a Java plugin to be installed in order to run.

These instructions are for i386 and AMD64 computers only. The plugin is not currently available for other computers.

  • If you are using an i386 computer install the sun-java6-plugin package from the “Multiverse” repository.

  • If you are using an AMD64 computer install the j2re1.4-mozilla.plugin package from the “Multiverse” repository.

See Chapter 11, Menambah, Membuang dan Kemas Kini Aplikasi for help on installing new software.

For a more complete Java installation, see the section called “Java”.

Customizing Firefox

The Firefox Web Browser is highly customizable - you can change the way it looks and works to suit your needs, with very little effort.

Adding and removing toolbar buttons

By default, Firefox has a toolbar consisting of five large buttons at the top of its screen, which you can use to navigate the web. These are in a particularly convenient location because you will often find yourself using these buttons, so it makes sense to put them where they are easy-to-reach. But what if there are certain other actions which you often perform which you'd like to make just as easy to reach?

To add new buttons to the toolbar:

  1. Right-click any of the (active) buttons on the toolbar and select Customize... to open the Customize Toolbar window

  2. Look for a button which you would like to add to the toolbar. The New Tab button is particularly useful

  3. Drag the button onto the desired location on the toolbar

  4. Press Done

You can remove items from the toolbar in a similar way. Instead of dragging a button from the Customize Toolbar window to the toolbar, drag it from the toolbar into the Customize Toolbar window.

If you would like to change the way that the toolbar buttons are displayed, select a different option from the drop-down list labelled Show.

Changing the theme

Firefox looks like any other application on your computer. However, you can completely change the way it looks by changing the theme. There are many different themes available - most of these have been made by members of the Firefox community and are available for free.

[Note]

Only install themes from websites you trust. It is best to only use the official website, addons.mozilla.org

[Caution]

Some themes may be poorly designed, and can occasionally cause Firefox to experience problems. If this happens, just remove the theme.

To apply a new theme
  1. Press ToolsAdd-ons and select the Themes tab

  2. Press Get Themes. You will be taken to a website with a large collection of themes to choose from

  3. Choose a theme you like and press the Install Now button on that theme's page

  4. A window will appear, asking if you would like to install the theme. Press Install Now

  5. Go back to the Add-ons window and wait for the theme to be downloaded. The progress of the download is shown in the Installation tab

  6. Once the download and installation has finished, go to the Themes tab

  7. Select the newly-installed theme and press Use Theme

  8. Go back to the Installation tab and press Restart Firefox to apply the new theme

To switch to another theme, which is already installed
  1. Press ToolsAdd-ons and select the Themes tab

  2. Select the theme you want to use and press Use Theme

  3. Restart Firefox to apply the new theme

To remove a theme
  1. Press ToolsAdd-ons and select the Themes tab

  2. Select the theme you want to remove and press Uninstall

  3. You will be asked for confirmation. Press Uninstall

  4. The theme will be uninstalled when you close Firefox

Changing the default font size

If you find that the size of text in Firefox is too small to read comfortably, you can increase the default font size.

  1. Press EditPreferences and select the Content tab

  2. Under Fonts & Colors, change the Size to a larger number (around 20 tends to be quite comfortable to read)

  3. Text on web pages should immediately look larger. Press Close

To temporarily increase the size of text on a web page, press ViewText SizeIncrease. Alternatively, hold down the Ctrl key and scroll down with your mouse's scroll wheel, or press Ctrl++.

To return the text to its normal size, press ViewText SizeNormal.

Changing the home page

When you open Firefox, the first web page which is displayed is your home page. This is usually a web page which you want to view every time you use the web, such as a news site, search engine or online email account.

To change your home page:

  1. Open the page which you want to use as your home page

  2. Press EditPreferences and select the Main tab

  3. Under Startup, press Use Current Page and then press Close

When you start Firefox or press the Home button, you will be taken to your new home page.

If you want to have more than one home page, open all of the pages that you would like to use as home pages in separate tabs. Then, follow the procedure above.

Extending Firefox

You can add all sorts of useful extras to Firefox by installing Extensions. These provide features such as advert-blocking, news readers and a download manager. There are literally thousands of extensions to choose from.

To install a new extension
  1. Press ToolsAdd-ons and select the Extensions tab

  2. Press Get Extensions. A web page will open with a collection of extensions that you can install

  3. Find an extension you like and press the Install Now button on the page for that extension

  4. You will be asked to confirm that you want to install the extension. Press Install Now

  5. Go back to the Add-ons window and select the Installation tab to watch the progress of the installation

  6. Once installation is complete, press Restart Firefox to enable the extension

To change the settings of an extension

Many extensions have a number of settings that you can change.

  1. Press ToolsAdd-ons and select the Extensions tab

  2. Select the extension that you want to change the settings of

  3. Press Preferences and change settings as appropriate

Some extensions may not have any settings for you to change, and so will not have a Preferences button.

To remove an extension
  1. Press ToolsAdd-ons and select the Extensions tab

  2. Select the extension you want to remove and press Uninstall

  3. You will be asked to confirm that you want to uninstall the extension. Press Uninstall

  4. Restart Firefox to fully remove the extension

Handling private information in Firefox

Protecting your privacy online is important, and Firefox offers many ways for you to protect or remove private information such as your passwords, which websites you have been looking at and so on.

Clearing your browsing history and other data

When you browse the web, a list of the pages that you have recently visited is stored by Firefox. This is called the browsing history, and is useful if you want to go back to a site that you recently visited, but can't remember the web address.

However, if someone else has access to your user account, they can look at the browsing history and see which websites you have been visiting.

As well as the browsing history, Firefox stores other information about how you use the web. This information is intended to make browsing websites faster and more convenient for you, but you may wish to remove it every so often to help protect your privacy.

To clear the browsing history list and other information
  1. Press ToolsClear Private Data...

  2. Tick the items that you want to clear and press Clear Private Data Now

  3. The items you selected will be cleared

Searching for things on the web

The easiest way to find something on the Internet is to search for it using a search engine such as Google. Firefox has a handy search box feature which makes searching for information quick and easy.

The search box can be found in the top right of the Firefox window.

To search for something

  1. Click the search box and type what you want to search for, e.g. 'weather report'

  2. Press the Return key. The search will be carried out in the current tab

The default search engine in Firefox is Google. However, there are several other types of search that you may find useful, including Wikipedia (which searches an online encyclopedia) and Last.fm (which searches for music-related information).

To change which search engine is being used:

  1. Press the button immediately to the left of the search box (it has a small icon and a down-arrow)

  2. Select the search engine that you want to use from the list

  3. Click the search box and type what you want to search for

  4. Press the Return key to carry out the search

Bookmarking pages for viewing later

If you visit a particular website often, or just want to remember a page for viewing later, why not create a bookmark for that page?

To create a bookmark:

  1. Visit the page you want to bookmark

  2. Press BookmarksBookmark This Page...

  3. If you like, change the name of the bookmark

  4. Under Create in, choose which bookmarks folder you would like to put the bookmark in

  5. Press Add to create the bookmark

Bookmarks can be organized into different folders and locations. All of you bookmarks can be accessed by using the Bookmarks menu or by pressing ViewSidebarBookmarks.

Add sites which you use particularly often to the Bookmarks Toolbar Folder. The Bookmarks Toolbar is shown immediately below the Address Bar, so it is very easy to access.

For a quick way of adding a bookmark to the Bookmarks Toolbar, go to the Address Bar and drag the small icon immediately to the left of the web address onto the toolbar.

If you have a very large collection of bookmarks, press BookmarksOrganize Bookmarks... for a tool to help you organize them.