Since its inception, Firefox has experienced both success and failure. Despite this, it remains the preferred browser of a vast majority of internet users. It has a number of advantages over other browsers like Chrome, Edge, and Safari because it is open source and has many features, including a number of privacy-focused ones.
In a market where Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Safari all have a strong foothold, Mozilla’s Firefox has created a reputation for itself. Its December 2022 desktop browser market share of 7.21 percent was impressive for an open-source venture.
10 Cool Firefox Features and Tricks
Here are some tips and tricks for making the most of Mozilla Firefox, whether you’re using it on a desktop computer or mobile device.
Reopen Closed Tabs
Everyone has experienced the quick remorse after inadvertently closing a browser tab. Restoring the previous tab requires a few extra clicks because it must be accessed from the browser’s history. In addition, switching to private mode won’t help.
However, if you use Firefox and you dismiss a tab by accident, you may easily reopen it with a shortcut. To achieve this, press Command + Shift T or Ctrl + Shift T while in a new tab to open all of your recently closed tabs in sequence.
Alternately, you may see a list of all the tabs you’ve closed in the past by selecting History > Recently closed tabs from the hamburger menu.
Sync Data Across Devices
If you use Firefox on all of your devices, syncing your browser data will make switching between them as smooth as possible. Everything from your browsing history and bookmarks to your login information, open tabs, and passwords may be accessed from any of your devices.
A Firefox account is required for browser data synchronization. If you don’t already have a username and password combination for all of your devices, create one now. Proceed to Sync via Settings at this time. When you’re ready to begin synchronizing your data, click the Sync Now button.
Send Tabs to Other Devices
By signing into Firefox on multiple devices, you may sync not just your data but also your open tabs. This is helpful when switching between devices, as it allows you to pick up where you left off on the page or website.
If you wish to share tabs between several devices using Firefox Sync, you’ll need to be logged into the same Firefox account on each of those devices. Then, on the computer, right-click the page you wish to share, select share Tab to Device, and select your device.
Open the tab you want to send, press the share symbol, pick Send to Device, and then select the device you want to send it to.
Search Tabs and Bookmarks Efficiently
It’s annoying to have to go around for a certain tab when you have hundreds open at once. Thanks to Firefox’s convenient Search Shortcuts, this is a breeze.
To locate a tab using Search Shortcuts, open a new tab and enter %, a space, then the name of the website currently displayed in the tab you wish to locate. If the tab is already open, it will be shown under recommendations. To access it, select Switch to Tab.
If no tab is shown, then you do not have any tabs open and should do so.
Take a Screenshot
Mozilla provides a built-in screenshot utility in Firefox that makes screenshotting web sites much easier if you do it frequently (for example, to take notes, share with someone, or save for later).
Simply load the webpage you wish to capture a screenshot of. To take a screenshot, right-click the page and choose that option. Select Save whole page or Save visible from the capture menu that appears.
If the latter is your preference, just click where you wish to take the screenshot on the page. You can also take a screenshot by manually outlining the area.
Restore the Previous Session
Firefox’s restore previous session feature works similarly to reopening a recently closed tab, allowing you to bring back any and all open tabs from before you closed Firefox.
When you close Firefox by accident, this can help. Or when you need to reboot the machine after installing an update or after it has booted up. When you relaunch Firefox with the History > Restore Previous Session option, it will take you back to the last time you saved your work.
Use PiP to Watch Something While Multitasking
To watch a video over other windows while multitasking, use the Picture-in-Picture (PiP) capability of your browser.
So, if you’re multitasking and want to watch some videos while getting some work done or referencing them later, this is a great option.
The video will begin playing in a separate window. If you see a PiP icon when hovering over the video, click it to expand it. You can now watch the video by repositioning the window anywhere on the screen.
Listen to Articles
Mozilla Firefox, like many other browsers, includes a reading mode. However, its reader view has several advantages over others.
Having a blog read aloud is one such option. This is a handy function to have when you’re busy but still want to read the latest blog post or news article.
Clicking the Reader View button on the toolbar will activate this function. After that, you may listen to the blog post read aloud by clicking the headphones symbol and then pressing the play button.
Alternating between first- and third-person perspectives and skipping around inside paragraphs are also available.
Forget Browsing History Quickly
There is usually a multi-step process involved in clearing the browser’s history and associated data. However, with Firefox’s Forget add-on, this is a simple click away.
Put a “Forget” button in your taskbar to begin. To modify the toolbar, go the More tools submenu from the hamburger menu. To add the Forget button to the menu bar, click and hold it.
You can now erase your browsing history at any time by clicking the Forget button. Select the time range you want to forget, and then click the Forget button. This will clear your browser’s cache and remove any cookies that were stored during that time.
Keep Your DNS Searches Private
When you search for a website or domain name online, the results are provided as plain text. You can easily see how this poses a serious threat to your personal safety and security.
Firefox’s built-in DoH security measures help mitigate this. To prevent eavesdropping and tampering with DNS entries, a protocol called DNS or DNS over HTTPS transmits DNS queries via HTTPS.
Go to Settings > General to activate this function. Click on the gear icon, then on Network Settings. Mark the box labeled “Enable DNS over HTTPS” and then choose a service provider from the subsequent menu. To save, select OK.
Switch to Firefox Now
Mozilla Firefox is a capable browser, thanks in part to the various features and tricks it comes with, as you’ve seen already. It’s also quite customizable so that you can personalize it to your preference. Plus, it supports a wide variety of extensions too, which you can use to extend its functionality further.
However, if you’ve been using some other browser all this while, these features and tricks should hopefully convince you to switch to Firefox. Firefox makes switching easier and lets you import all your bookmarks and passwords from the previous browser.
Tell me about some of your favorite Firefox add-ons. Is there anything you’d like to add about using Firefox that we haven’t already discussed? Leave a comment and let us know what you think.