The web browser Firefox 3 has some built in tools to help you work smarter, and you can download additional addons to customize your internet browsing experience.
Some built in features:
- Open up a recently closed tab. Did you just close a tab that you needed information from? You can re-open it by selecting “History” from the tool bar and clicking on “recently closed tabs”.
- Save (and reopen later) multiple tabs. With multiple tabs open, click “Bookmarks” and select “Bookmark all tabs.” Save this as a folder, and open all of these tabs later on.
- Find specific words on a page. When you need to find where specific words are used on a really long webpage, simply type in “CRTL F” (or CMD F for Macs). A small toolbar will open up at the bottom of your window where you can highlight every place your word is used.
- Make the text bigger (or smaller). For web pages with tiny fonts, simply type CTRL+ or CMD+ to make the text bigger. To return everything to normal size type CTRL- (or CMD-).
Firefox addons
- Zotero. An extension that automatically downloads the information you need to properly cite a book or a journal article, it can also help you keep track of all your sources for your latest project or paper.
- Bookmarking addons. There are many bookmarking services out there to help you keep track of the web pages that you visit. Two that are used by library staff include Delicious and Diigo
- IE Tab. So that you don’t have to switch to Internet Explorer when you come across content that doesn’t support Firefox, simply open that page in an IE tab within Firefox.
- Worldcat.org – An addon that gives you the ability to search for books anywhere in the world from your browser search box.
