| INSTALL A FIREFOX ADD-ON |
To install an ADD-ON for firefox you need to go to the website of that add-on and download it. And if you don't know the ADD-ON author's website you will need to
visit the firefox ADD-ONs website and search for the add-on itself, by name. Searching the firefox ADD-ONs website is usually the best and easiest option, especially
when searching for general ADD-ONs. Saying this, there are times when it's best to get the latest version of an ADD-ON directly from the author's website.
In this example I am going to download the latest Adobe Flash Player add-on, by visiting the Adobe website
(www.adobe.com), using firefox. This allows Adobe to detect the web browser in use (firefox) and give the correct download for it. After that I will show you the
firefox add-on web page where you can search for firefox specific add-ons and general add-ons.
Note here that I am using ADD-ON loosely. Firefox ADD-ONs are split into three main categories. Extensions (extra codes that extend Firefox's functionality. An Anti-Virus guard and HTML Code Validator are two examples), Themes (which change the appearance (Graphical User Interface) of Firefox) and PLUG-INs (which are separate programs that interact with Firefox. Java and Adobe Flash are two examples). The word ADD-ON in general means to add/extend the functionality of a piece of software.
To download the Adobe Flash Player plug-in (ADD-ON) first go to the Adobe Downloads web page and click on its GET ADOBE FLASH PLAYER button. This will take you to the download page (Fig 3.1) where you then need to click on the DOWNLOAD NOW button and follow a few easy steps in order to save the Installation Wizard file; called install_flashplayer11x64_mssd_aih.exe in this case.
The SAVE FILE message requester in Fig 3.2 above might save downloaded files to the Desktop by default, depending on your version of Windows and/or Firefox, so in
this example I have made sure the firefox SAVE FILES TO setting (option) has my Downloads folder as the place to store/save downloaded files.
When the file has been saved you can click on the CLEAR LIST button, if you wish, to clear the Downloaded Files list. On the other hand, if you want to keep a record
of your downloaded files, do not click on the CLEAR LIST button.
To change the SAVE FILES TO destination (folder) in firefox you first need to click on the orange FIREFOX drop-down menu (top-left corner of the browser),
to display its menu-items, and then hover over the OPTIONS menu in order to then click on the OPTIONS sub-menu menu-item. Doing this will then bring up
the Options window (Fig 3.5 below) where you can then change the SAVE FILES TO destination (folder).
With the Installation Wizard file saved the next thing to do is locate it (in the Downloads foler) and then double click on it in order to install Adobe Flash Player.
One of the beauties of installing a firefox add-on is that the installation process is generally quick and painless.
At this point, and even before starting the installation of flash player, it is advisable to close down (exit) any opened Firefox windows; otherwise the adobe
installation wizard might complain.
As you can see; To download (save) and install the flash player add-on (install_flashplayer11x64_mssd_aih.exe file) is simple. And it's the same when using the firefox ADD-ONs web page.
| SEARCH FOR FIREFOX ADD-ONS |
To get to the Firefox ADD-ONs web page simply type https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox into the firefox Address Bar edit box and then press the ENTER keyboard key. From there you can browse through the predefined categories of add-ons, featured add-ons, popular add-ons, recently added add-ons and top rated add-ons (take a good look around the web page) or you can search for a particular type of add-on as exampled below.
In the above example I am looking for an add-on that will help me validate each of my web pages (validate their HTML code), so in the SEARCH Edit Box I have typed
the keywords (search phrase) html validator before clicking on the SEARCH (Arrow) button to perform the actual search.
As html validator comes under the Web Developement category I could browse through that category for a html validator, but this will not be as quick as using the
SEARCH Edit Box option. Manual browsing is only good if you want to look at add-ons in general, but not ideal if you are looking for a specific add-on or a
particular type of add-on.
When the search has completed there might be many results for your search phrase (keywords), spanning many results pages, in which case you could browse through
them or refine your search by using the REFINE RESULTS options on the left-side of the web page. In this example HTML Validator by Marc Gueury happens to be the
add-on I want to download and install. If it was not I would of had to browse through these results pages for it.
Although though I am not normally a fan of reading through reviews I must recommend that you do in the case of looking for add-ons. This is because, as far as I can
gather (and I have no reason to suspect otherwise), they are written by genuine users like me and you. Some of them are honest enough to say an add-on is not good,
it crashes firefox and so on (in their experience of using that add-on). The star ratings are also worth consideration.
Once you have decided you want to download and install an add-on click on its ADD TO FIREFOX button (Fig 4.1 above) to begin the installation (download and install) process. If the add-on, and more precisely its author, has not been authorized (verified as good) yet a security requester will appear (Fig 4.3 below) warning you to install add-ons from trusted authors only. If after reading that security requester you still want to download and install the add-on click on the INSTALL NOW button to continue.
When the add-on has been downloaded and installed firefox may need restarting, in order to initialize (set up) certain components of that add-on and/or to complete the installation process, which is denoted by the appearance of the RESTART NOW button (above). In this example a window appears (not shown here), after clicking on the RESTART NOW button, that asks you to set up the HTML Validator. Once that is done firefox gives the add-on a place in its Add-On Manager window whereby you can then Uninstall (Remove), Disable or Edit (Options) the add-on.
To get to the ADD-ONs Manager window simply click on the orange FIREFOX button (top-left corner of the browser) and then select the ADD-ONS menu-item (not shown here).
In the example I have selected the EXTENSIONS Tab so that I have the possibilty of disabling or enabling other add-ons (extensions) such as the Norton Internet
Security add-ons.
Don't think Firefox add-ons are all about The Internet, even though plenty are!, because some of them are just plain useful.....like the Dictionary add-ons, the
Media-Player plug-ins, the Music Toolbars, Themes, Tabs and so on.
| MISSING PLUG-INS |
The beauty of firefox is that it is a bare minimum web browser that can be extended through add-ons and plug-ins. It does
not have "all the required add-ons and plug-ins" built-in as standard like other web browsers because it knows you may
never use one of those "required add-ons and plug-ins". The Windows Media Player plug-in for example could be classed as
a "required add-on and plug-in", if you require firefox to have the ability to play .wmv movie files as standard, but if
you never need to play .wmv movie files through firefox the Windows Media Player plug-in could be classed as "useless".
The advantage of not having "all the required add-ons and plug-ins" built-in (installed) as standard is that firefox tends
to be lighter than other web browsers as it is not using those otherwise unnecessary resources. However. The disadvantage
is that when one or more of those "required add-ons and plug-ins" is needed, perhaps because someone sent you a link to a
web page requiring one or more of those "required add-ons and plug-ins", you are going to have to install the "required
add-on(s) and plug-in(s)" yourself because they are not built-in as standard of course.
In this next example I will show you how simple it is to install the Windows Media Player plug-in. I have already downloaded it by going to this web
page: http://www.interoperabilitybridges.com/windows-media-player-firefox-plugin-download.
This is also the link given if you click on the PLUGINS category, on the firefox add-ons web page, and then click on the Windows Media Player plug-in
link. Once the Windows Media Player plug-in file (wmpfirefoxplugin.exe) is in your DOWNLOADS folder (or where ever) double click on it to begin its
installation process. Doing so will bring up a UAC (User Access Control) security requester. Just click on its CONTINUE button to continue. From there
follow these steps:
As you can see; Regardless of add-on or plug-in their installation procedures are roughly the same, if not the same. You simply search for an add-on or
plug-in, download it and then install it. When firefox is updated it automatically checks your installed add-ons for updates too, and also disables any
installed add-ons that are not currently compatible with the latest/updated version of firefox (normally because the add-on programmer did not keep
up-to-date with the latest firefox happenings).
You can also download and install add-ons directly from within firefox's ADD-ONs Manager window, as opposed to going to the firefox add-ons website, by
clicking on the orange FIREFOX button and then on the ADD-ONS menu-item. From there you can then search for add-ons to download and install in much the
same way as in the above examples. The beauty of the firefox add-ons website is that it allows you to download add-ons even if you are not using firefox.
| BATTLE OF THE WEB BROWSERS |
Firefox in general is more of a tool for someone creating/researching a project and not just a simple web browser. Google Chrome on the other hand is a
web browser created for someone who just wants to surf the internet simply and quickly, without all the extras that firefox for example can offer, therefore
making it ideal for the beginner and for someone with a slow computer. Meaning, web browsers in general are no better or worse than other web browsers.
Each have their strengths and weaknesses.
Many people have Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome installed for example and use them for different ocassions/reasons. So do not read too much
into those "Battle of the Web Browsers" articles because as said, these days many people have and use up to three different web browsers in perfect harmony;
in just the same way those same people might have two or more media players installed and in use.
Microsoft product screen shot(s) reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation. As stated here by the Microsoft Corporation.
