Firefox 2.0 released

[PrntRhd]

The final for the new version Mozilla Firefox 2.0 browser is supposed to be released tomorrow, but my 2.0 RC2 automatically updated to the final last night.
Several extensions updated already, none I had used died on the update.
I particularly like the Resume Session feature, if a site crashes the browser, you have the choice of resuming when FX is reopened.
:D

[Fruss Tray Ted]

I've used the resume already and canceled it a time or two as well. It really shines if you had wandered through several pages and it would take you several pages worth of clicking to find your way back in again. Instead with the new feature click 'resume' and you're done! :cool:

[Laguna]

I checked their site for this and only found the RC3...
Could it just be they didn't update their site?
Have you got a direct link to this?

[tore676]

I looked for the new one but only found rc3 also but at least i have rc3 now,

[Laguna]

I read on Wikipedia that the final release is due to be available for download at 8.00pm US time and about 1.00am EU time.....wonderful.

[PrntRhd]

It is available now:
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

[classicsoftware]

All I can is:


WOW


It's fast, it's easy to install and ALL of my addons (AKA extensions work)

MS is in huge trouble, there is no way IE7 will touch this.....

[PrntRhd]

You should go to Add Ons>Find Extensions>Dictionaries and load the appropriate dictionary to make the spell check function work as designed, many different choices.
The only quibble I have with it is a change to the cookie handling policies, you used to be able to refuse third party cookies, but that went away in this release.
It is faster than 1.5 by far.
Better tabs too.

[Whyzman]

Dictionaries...what are some of the extensions, add-ons, or plug-ins folks are using??

And, it would be nice to know specifically why folks are finding the ones they have chosen to be so useful... ;)

[PrntRhd]

IE View 1.3.1 Allows you to view MS-Only coded pages.

Image Zoom 0.2.7 Lets you change image sizes.

Linkification 1.3.0 Changes any www to active links automatically.

No Script 1.1.4.5 Secures the browser by controlling Java, Flash, and other scripts. You set allowed sites much like software firewalls allow port openings.

Show IP 0.8.0.5 Helps make certain you are on official websites vs phishing ones.

US English Dictionary 2.0.0.6 Makes the spell check work. Misspelled words have red lines under them.

Video Downloader 1.1.1 Loads video clips so they play smoother.

Also Mozilla just updated the Add On sites, so a cleaner and nicer experience is in store when looking for extensions and themes.

[Laguna]

Just downloaded and installed it.
New glossier interface is nice.But my skin no longer works.
And I haven't noticed much of a speed difference.
But the spell checking is a bit of a learning experience I must say.
Hope they update the skins soon.At least my no script extension still works and even got an update.

[jlreich]

Sweet, it is faster. And I like the tabs better.

Like Laguna I will have to get used to the spell checker though.

[rond36]

I use:

Google toolbar for Firefox 1.2.20060807W
IE tab 1.1.1.4
NoScript 1.1.4.5
Adblock 0.5.3.043

I don't think we need IE View 1.3.1 anymore Firefox 2 seems to work for IE only pages like, Windows Update without using IE View. The spell checker comes with the English dictionary.

Some of the add-ons that were needed for previous versions are built in to 2.0.

[pangea33]

Hope it's ok to piggyback on this thread, as this is a Firefox2.0 question. I installed the new version last night and I love it, but one feature that I used a lot seems to be missing.

I used to be able to highlight a portion of text, right-click, and select "search the web for *highlighted text*". This would launch a new tab that submitted a Google search using that text. Now I see "search Webster for *highlighted text*"

Am I mistaken in thinking this was default behavior? Think it might have something to do with the quick-search plugins? Thanks for any feedback.

EDIT
Should have clarified. Used to be that Google search was ALWAYS in the context menu, no matter what was selected in the quick-search plugin section. Now the context menu seems to change to whatever is selected in that window. Anyone know if there is a config setting I can adjust?
EDIT

[azzey]

http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/2821/untitledzl0.png
Seems to work for me... is that what you meant?

[pangea33]

Not entirely. In the previous version of FF, the context menu always had "Search web for *highlighted text*" and it would conduct a search using the engine specified in the FF settings. Choices were MSN search and Google. I use that feature a lot, and like to have "webster" as the selected quick search for finding obscure words quickly.

Evidently the new version of Firefox changes the value in the context menu to match whatever is selected in the quick search. This is an exceedingly minor annoyance, I just wondered if it was something simple to reconfigure. Even so, thanks for the response.

*****

http://benconley.net/images/articleimg/ffContextMenu.gif

[PrntRhd]

All defaults in Firefox can be changed by typing <about:config> (no brackets) into the search window and Enter.
Just be careful to document any changes in case you mess up something.

[jlreich]

It still works for me. Whatever search engine I change the quick search to it changes in the context menu as well. Might be worth saving your profile and uninstall/reinstall FF if it's something you use a lot.

[rio_bugarin]

I want to try this out. but first just a few questions

1. Do I need to uninstall my v1.5 first before installing this?
2. Do I need to reinstall my extensions after Installing 2.0?

[PrntRhd]

Hey Rio,

To the second question, no. Your profile and bookmarks will work with 2.0 for the most part, and the extensions that do not work will be shown on installation, the ones that have updates will show after installation.

As to the first, I installed right over and it worked. Of course the "proper" way is to unistall the old and reinstall the new.

[pangea33]

All defaults in Firefox can be changed by typing <about:config> (no brackets) into the search window and Enter.
Just be careful to document any changes in case you mess up something.
Haven't identified the appropriate setting yet, and it's a very minor usability issue like I mentioned, but thanks for the info.

It still works for me. Whatever search engine I change the quick search to it changes in the context menu as well.
Right, that's how it works for me too, and I am sure it's by design. I just liked having Google search in the context, and a different search tool in the quicksearch box. I'm probably one of very few who even cared, it's no big deal at all though. I'll just deal.

...I installed right over and it worked. Of course the "proper" way is to unistall the old and reinstall the new.
Just to reassure that either way is ok: I uninstalled first, after backing up bookmarks and stuff. I didn't lose any of my settings.

[pangea33]

In case anyone else was interested in what I was asking about...
The Context Search plugin is available here: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/240/

It's not compiled java code either, so you can see what's going on if you're into that sort of thing.


http://benconley.net/images/articleimg/ffContextMenu2.gif

[rio_bugarin]

I just finished installing it.

Is there a way to remove the close button on the tabs?

[PrntRhd]

Actually that is a new "Feature" of 2.0, I will look at the Mozilla support forums to see if others dislike it too.

[pangea33]

It bugged the heck out of me too. It's configurable though, like most everything else in FF. Changed my value to 3, and it's back to the way I like it. Can't take credit for this, I heisted it off Digg. Glad the new Web2.0 (read: content syndication/plagarism) is good for something.

http://digg.com/software/Firefox_2_Officially_Released
Perhaps the most annoying feature of Firefox 2.0 is the Close Tab button on every tab now.

To change this:

In the address box type about:config and press enter. Type "browser.tabs.closeButtons" in the Filter section. Change value as follows:
* 0 - Close button on open tab only
* 1 - Close buttons on all tabs (default)
* 2 - No close buttons at all (use middle click to close tabs)
* 3 - Close button on the far right (old school)

[jlreich]

Actually I like the close button on the tabs. It's great for my old laptop when I use the touchpad (I hate touchpads) and it doesn't have an effective middle button I can use to close the tab like with a mouse.

It's a lot easier to click the button than to r-click and choose close tab.

[azzey]

I normally middle-click, but when I'm on my laptop I just click(ed) on the X in the upper right corner of the tab-bar (in FF1.5)

jlreich, I hate touchpads too but sometimes they can be handy (when an external mouse isn't available). Be thankful you aren't stuck with a TrackPoint or trackball...

[carrot]

ohhhhh it's all shiny and new! WOOHOO!
I like it. I like it alot!

Is there a place where you can go to configure settings for the spell checker?

[rio_bugarin]

alright. thanks for the info. Im gonna xplore more. As of now, im using my PDA so there's no ff for now ^_^

[deddard]

Anyone had problems with it yet?

I've had a couple of things - one is tabs will sometimes disappear, and the other is the download dialogue box, whereby the 'OK' button is greyed out for a long period of time.
I'll post this over at firefox's site to see if anyone else has seen it.

Another thing is the way it plays with Zone Alarm. I'm not sure which is at fault, but I have just done a complete re-install of my system, upgraded FF and ZA.

No rules are automatically set for sites, but I was able to download a file from ESET without being prompted by ZA - this was also when the download dialogue box problem occurred.

[pangea33]

Anyone had problems with it yet?

I've had a couple of things - one is tabs will sometimes disappear, and the other is the download dialogue box, whereby the 'OK' button is greyed out for a long period of time.
Overall I've been pleased with this upgrade, but had similar experiences. I've seen the tab thing a couple times, but thought it was just me being mistaken. Never did they just disappear for me, instead it seems like Firefox sometimes loses it's identifier of the "currently displayed tab". A few times I clicked CTRL-W to close the viewed tab, then realized it was still on the screen.

Thought I miskeyed or had opened multiple tabs on accident, but eventually realized that a tab I expected wasn't there. Almost as if the new configuration setting that lets you move the close-tab button between browser edge and the tab itself. Mine is set with only a single close-tab on the far right, how is yours?

Another thing is the way it plays with Zone Alarm. I'm not sure which is at fault, but I have just done a complete re-install of my system, upgraded FF and ZA.
Haven't noticed any ZA issues yet, but that's pretty significant and I'll keep an eye on mine. Thanks for tip.

[Fruss Tray Ted]

As to the grayed box, I think that has to do with the popularity as of late, of embedded video clips like with 'You Tube' and others. They can be streaming, mpegs, flash files etc. I'm not sure which one it is, but sometimes the complete video needs to load to your cache before it will play.

I understand your concern however, it would be nice to at least have a progress bar but this may be lack of consideration from the host site, not a Firefox problem.

[deddard]

As to the grayed box, I think that has to do with the popularity as of late, of embedded video clips like with 'You Tube' and others. They can be streaming, mpegs, flash files etc. I'm not sure which one it is, but sometimes the complete video needs to load to your cache before it will play.



Thanks for that - it was an MP3 file I was downloading at the time, so it could well be what you're saying.