Super Soaker Central

More people than average use Firefox at SSC. I'm wondering which addons and Greasemonkey scripts those who use Firefox here have found useful. Any other general tips or changes are welcome too.

It'd take me a bit to describe my current Firefox setup so I'll wait until I'm taking a longer break and post about it. I've spent too much time looking for useful addons, scripts, search engines, and tips so there's a lot to talk about. And most of what I have has been installed, tested for a period, and disabled, so it's likely I could be have passed on something good too.

IE Tab, HTML Validator, FireFTP, Web Developer, and Google Toolbar have probably been the most useful to me over time.

I've also set it up to open mailto: links in Google Mail, which is simple, but useful.

I used to have a lot but I've really cut down right now. Let's see:

• Adblock Plus
• All-in-One Sidebar (don't use it all the time anymore thanks to Google Reader and the AwesomeBar, but it's still more convenient than separate windows)
• CustomizeGoogle - reduces the number of ads, related links, privacy infringements (if you care about that)
• Gmail Manager - good if you have multiple Gmail accounts
• NoScript
• Session Manager (the default Firefox one is probably pretty good now, though...but for session saving and restoring, this extension is still good)
• Stop-or-Reload Button - combines the two, switches depending on whether the page is loading or not
• Tab Mix Plus - lots of customization

I no longer tweak my computer or install software except when switching OSes. Same goes for extensions. I don't really have the time right now anyway.

EDIT: The Googlebar used to be a big one for me. But an extra toolbar just for quicker access to the less common searches is a big waste.

Lifehacker just linked to this list of dark Firefox themes. I don't need it now since the dark blue KDE theme is well integrated into the browser...but on Windows I'm sure it's useful. Gradient iCool plus the Windows XP Royale Noir theme looks pretty hot.

EDIT: I used to use Mouse Gestures a lot, too. But since I had to use somebody else's laptop for a few months, I figured out some hotkey combinations that worked instead.

AdBlockPlus and NoScript are the big two.

I have DownThemAll but virtually never use it - if I want to get a bunch of images I usually just use plain wget.

TabMixPlus was essential back in the days of fx1.5, I don't feel the need for it now.

I used to have SubmitToTab (I think it's called that) - let's you middle click form buttons to submit in a new tab, like you can with plain links.

I like, and have found useful:
FireGestures
DownloadHelper
Searchbar Autosizer
Adblock Plus
(I have NoScript, but I only use it for things I don't trust)

I also use showcase from time to time, however, I do not find it necessary

Tabs Mix Plus is about all I use (and need) right now.

I use many extensions (20+) but most of them do little things. I'll write about the most useful ones that haven't been mentioned.

Fast Dial was one of the first extensions I started using that changed how I browsed the internet. Having a homepage with direct links to what you need is extremely helpful.

Flashblock is essential to me. The Linux version of Flash is notoriously unstable so I only enable Flash when I must or the website is in my whitelist.

Greasemonkey I didn't think was helpful until recently when I found some scripts I liked. I'm still waiting for a simple HTML filter (for ease of use) but until someone writes that Greasemonkey is fine.

LibX is an extremely useful addon if they have an edition for your university. I disable the toolbar and use this simply because it links directly to UMD's catalog search for books and scholarly articles when appropriate. This is a massive timesaver if you're doing any research.

Menu Editor is great if you have loads of addons that add things to the context menu that you don't want. It's also good to simplify Firefox. I remove everything except for what I use.

MileWideBack amazes me. I only started using it a few days ago but I already can't browse without it. Basically, MileWideBack turns the left side of your screen into a giant button. The sides and especially corners of your screen are the easiest to access parts so this makes accessing certain options extremely fast and easy. The left mouse button goes back, right goes forward, the scroll wheel moves through your tabs, and pressing the scroll button closes a tab (this is 100% customizable too). Try it and see how much more efficient you are.

Paste and Go simply lets you paste something in the URL or search bars and immediately act on it. You wonder why this isn't default functionality after using it.

Resurrect Pages streamlines finding offline (or older versions of) pages by turning 404 error pages into links to different caching/archiving websites and adding an option to the contextual menu. Another simple timesaver.

Text2Link allows you to select a URL and open it. More functionality that should be available by default.

Tiny Menu turns the menu bar into a single button to save space. I tried this to save space but I found that it made me chance my browsing habits so I used the menu bar less and that's why I'm keeping it.

I use many more extensions than these but these are the ones I've found most useful that haven't been mentioned.

Regarding shortcuts, I mainly use key combinations, because (A) I had to use another computer (with no extensions) for a while, (B) my extra mouse buttons aren't understood by Linux, and (C) Mouse Gestures has been up in the air since Firefox 3.0 and its competitors are a little lacking.

I haven't really had any problems with Flash. But NoScript does the same thing as FlashBlock, and it works on JavaScript, too.

I try to shy away from extensions that modify the format in which Firefox saves data. Tab Mix Plus and Session Manager are the only ones that actually do change the save files...and they're compatible with each other.

I'm now keeping an eye on TabGroups Plus. Once it's been polished and (A) it's TMP-compatible or (B) replaces more TMP functionality, I'll switch from TMP to TabGroups Plus. Sadly, because of the one-dimensional way in which TMP understands tabs, I doubt pure compatibility will ever happen. In fact, frankly, I'm amazed they've had so much success getting tab groups to work.