Firefox Desktop OSs about:config Modifications

In the following examples you will need to access Firefox's hidden configuration page by setting in the address bar type 'about:config' (without the '') and press 'Enter', then click the 'I'll be careful, I promise' button.

To the right of 'Config name:' is the value to copy and paste in the 'about:config' 'Filter' bar.

To the right of 'Default:' is the original value.

To the right of 'Modified:' is the new value.

Where after 'Default:' or 'Modified' there is a value in this is for information only and should not be entered.

Address (URL) Bar Search Provider - Change: How To
NOTE: If you have installed the correct version of Firefox for your locale you should not need this tweak, and the key will not be present. To check in about:config search on 'useragent.locale' to confirm, for the UK you should have 'en-GB'.


 * Config name: keyword.URL
 * Default: blank or not available
 * Modified: http://www.google.co.uk/search?&q=

The above example is for Google UK but of course there are other search engines, however they do not all use the same format. Here are a couple more:

http://www.bing.com/search?q= http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=

Address (URL) Bar - Select All Text With One Click: How To
 Windows 


 * Config name: browser.urlbar.clickSelectsAll
 * Default: true
 * Modified value: false

 Linux 


 * Config name: browser.urlbar.clickSelectsAll
 * Default: false
 * Modified value: true

Double click to toggle the value.

AwesomeBar: Change The Amount Of Results Returned (v3 >)
The "AwesomeBar" allows you to do a keyword search of your bookmarks, tags and browsing history by typing in the address window. As you start typing in the address bar the AwesomeBar shows you a list of a dozen suggestion, this tweak allows you to set a higher or lower number of returns.


 * Config name: urlbar.maxRichResults
 * Default: 12
 * Modified value: 6

Double click and alter to your choice.

Backspace Button - Change Behaviour: How To

 * Config name: browser.backspace_action
 * Default: 2 (does nothing)
 * Modified: 0 (go back previous page)
 * Modified: 1 (page up)

Double click and alter to your choice.

Blinking Text - Disable: How To
If you get annoyed by text on website that blinks at you this tweak overrides the site settings and stop the behaviour.


 * Config name: browser.blink_allowed
 * Default: true
 * Modified: false

Double click to toggle the value.

Click-To-Play - How To Enable (Firefox 15 -->)
Prevents plugins like Flash from automatically playing content.


 * Config name: plugins.click_to_play
 * Default: false
 * Modified: true

Context Search - Change Search Provider: How To
This is when you highlight a piece of text and right click (context menu) then search. By default Firefox uses Google.com if you want to change it to another make sure you have that search engine provider installed.


 * Config name: browser.search.defaultenginename
 * Default: Google
 * Modified: Google UK

Extension Install Delay - Alter Or Disable: How To

 * Config name: security.dialog_enable_delay
 * Default: 2000
 * Modified: 0

Double click and alter to your choice. A value of '0' disables any delay.

Image Resizing - Disable: How To
If on opening a link to an image file it is too large to fit on screen by default Firefox reduces it to fit it all on screen. The following tweak disables this behaviour.


 * Config name: browser.enable_automatic_image_resizing
 * Default: True
 * Modified: False

Double click to toggle the value.

Location Aware Browsing (a.k.a. Geolocation) - Disable: How To (v3.5 >)
Firefox uses its default geolocation service provider (Google) to determine the location of your computer using the following:


 * the computer’s internet IP address
 * information from nearby wireless access points
 * a random client identifier (this is assigned by Google and expires every 2 weeks).

If you are concerned about your privacy this feature can be turned off in the following manner:


 * Config name: geo.enabled
 * Default: true
 * Modified: false

Double click to toggle the value.

Menus Slow To Open - Speed Them Up: How To
In the configuration window, right click and choose New -> Integer


 * Enter the preference name: ui.submenuDelay
 * Enter string value: 0

Middle Button (Scroll Wheel) Paste
Linux


 * Config name: middlemouse.paste
 * Default: true
 * Modified: false

Windows


 * Config name: middlemouse.paste
 * Default: false
 * Modified: true

Double click to toggle the value.

Plugins - Controlling (version 22 -->)
Plugins for programme extensions such as Adobe Flash would have their status changed from disabled to enabled after installation of a new version of Firefox. From version 22 of Firefox this will no longer happen, control of plugins has been moved from pluginreg.dat file to about:config.


 * Config name: plugin.state
 * Default = Disabled: 0
 * Modified = Enabled: 1

Preferences/Option - Open In Tab: How To Enable (Firefox 15 -->)

 * Config name: browser.preferences.InContent
 * Default: false
 * Modified: true

Prevent Firefox From Closing When Shutting The Last Tab: Enable (v3.5 >)

 * Config name: browser.tabs.closeWindowWithLastTab
 * Default: true
 * Modified: false

Double click to toggle the value.

PDF Viewer - Built In: How To Enable (Firefox 15 -->)

 * Config name: pdfjs.disabled
 * Default: true
 * Modified: false

RAM Usage - Reduce When Firefox Is Minimized: How To (All Versions)
In the configuration window, right click and choose New -> Boolean


 * Enter the preference name: config.trim_on_minimize
 * Enter boolean value: true

To enable this tweak restart Firefox.

Session Restore Function - Disable: How To

 * Config name: browser.sessionstore.enabled
 * Default: true
 * Modified: false

Double click to toggle the value.

Session Restore Function - Alter Saving Frequency: How To

 * Config name: browser.sessionstore.interval
 * Default: 10000
 * Modified: 60000

Double click and alter to your choice, 1000 equals 1 second so 60000 equals 1 minute.

Spell Checking In All Textboxes And Webforms: Enable (All Versions)

 * Config name: layout.spellcheckDefault
 * Default: 1 (spell checker for multi-lines text boxes only)
 * Modified: 0 (disable the spell checker)
 * Modified: 2 (enable the spell checker for all text boxes)

Tabs - Save On Exit: How To (v.4 >)
By default FF4 does not offer to save open tabs when closing, this is a regression back to FF2 days. To turn on this option look under:

Windows - Tools --> Options --> Tabs: Warn me when closing multiple tabs Linux - Edit --> Preferences --> Tabs: Warn me when closing multiple tabs Apple - Edit --> Preferences --> Tabs: Warn me when closing multiple tabs

If for any reason you find the corresponding box ticked but Firefox is still closing without the requisite warning try the following:


 * Config name: browser.showQuitWarning
 * Modified value: true

If the above does not work check that the following all have their values set to false:


 * browser.tabs.warnOnClose
 * browser.warnOnQuit
 * browser.warnOnRestart

Zoom Limits - Setting: How To
The maximum increase in size can be altered:


 * Config name: zoom.maxPercent
 * Default: 300 (percent - so modify to more than 300)
 * Modified: 500 (percent)

Likewise the decrease in size can be altered:


 * Config name: zoom.minPercent
 * Default: 30 (percent - so you can modify to smaller or set the minimum size higher)
 * Modified: 60 (percent)