Let’s take a fictional example:

Let’s say that the All-in-One Sidebar is my newest extension. But after installing it, I notice a problem — the context menu doesn’t appear when I right-click on my screen.

Evidently, All-in-One Sidebar is incompatible with one of my other extensions.

But which one?

To find out, I go down my list of extensions and disable them one-by-one to find the incompatible one:

In the example above, I start with ChatZilla. I click on the “Disable” button, and then restart my browser. Take note that I am not uninstalling ChatZilla, but merely disabling it. This means that ChatZilla will be unusable when I restart Firefox, but it will not be deleted from my system.

After restarting Firefox, I notice the context menu still refuses to appear….Evidently the problem isn’t ChatZilla.

So I re-enable ChatZilla, by clicking on the “Enable” button, and disable the next extension which is ClearURLButton:

After restarting Firefox, I right-click on my screen and YES the context menu appears!

So All-In-One Sidebar is incompatible with ClearURLButton. (Remember, this is a fictional example. In reality, these extensions are compatible.)

Now that I’ve found the incompatibility, I have a choice to make:

• Deal with the fact that the two extensions are incompatible and live without the context menu.
• Uninstall All-in-One Sidebar.
• Uninstall ClearURLButton.

Multiple Incompatibilites

What if, after going through the entire list of extensions, the problem still persists? In this case, and this has yet to happen to me, your new extension may be incompabile with several of the others.

Using the aforementioned All-in-One Sidebar example, you’d deal with the problem this way:

• Disable all of your extensions, except All-in-One Sidebar.
• Re-enable each extension one-by-one and take note of which extensions work, and which don’t.

You’ve got to really love your new extension if you’re willing to go through all of that work. But if you do, it’ll be worth it.

Many times, the developer will make note of any incompatibilities. But since there are thousands of extensions, it’s highly unlikely the developer will be aware of every one.

So before you decide to dump Firefox because it doesn’t work anymore, check for incompatible extensions. It may be the source of your problem.

Here is Mozilla’s short definition:

“Plugins help your browser perform specific functions like viewing special graphic formats or playing multimedia files. Plugins are slightly different from extensions, which modify or add to existing functionality.”

You can run a quick check to see which plugins you cureently have installed.

Just go to your Location Bar and type about:plugins

You’ll be given a comprehensive list of all your installed plugins:

Here are some links to the most popular Plugins for the Firefox browser:

• Adobe Reader – View PDF files
• Adobe Flash Player – Flash player
• Java – Run applications and applets that use Java technology.
• Quicktime – Audio/Video player
• Real Player Audio/Video player
• Shockwave – Shockwave player
• Windows Media Player – Audio/Video player

This does not apply to all extensions however. Some just function without any further customizations.

To watch a video on finding out if your extensions allow further customization, click the “Play Video” button below. Or, scroll down for step-by-step instructions with screenshots:

Step-by-Step Instructions with Screenshots

At the top of your browser, click on Tools > Add-Ons:

The “Add-Ons” window will appear.

Make sure that you are in the “Extensions” section and then click the extension that you wish to customize.

If options are available, you will be able to click on the “Options” button:

The options window will appear for that particular extension.

The appearance of this window will vary from extension to extension. But to give you an example, here are the the options for the “Faviconize Tab” extension:

To watch a video on how to disable an extension, click the “Play Video” button below. Or, scroll down for step-by-step instructions with screenshots:

Step-by-Step Instructions with Screenshots

To disable one of your extensions, you would start by going to the top of your browser and clicking Tools > Add-Ons:

The “Add-Ons” window will appear.

Make sure that you are in the “Extensions” section and click on the extension that you wish to disable.

Then click the “Disable” button:

You will then be prompted in the “Add-Ons” window to restart your browser. You do have an opportunity to change your mind. If you do, just click the “Enable” button:

If you’re sure that you want to disable the extension, shut down the browser completely, and restart it.

After the restart, your extention will be disabled.

———————–

To enable the extention once again:

1. Go back to Tools > Options.
2. Click the extension you wish to enable.
3. Click the “Enable” button.
4. Restart your browser.

Step-by-Step Instructions with Screenshots

To uninstall one of your extensions, go to the top of your browser and click on Tools > Add-Ons:

The “Add-Ons” window will appear.

Make sure that you are in the “Extensions” section and click on the extension that you wish to remove:

Click the “Uninstall” button:

You will be asked once again if you really want to uninstall the extension.

If you do, click the “Uninstall” button:

Next, you will be prompted in the “Add-Ons” window to restart your browser. You do have one more chance to change your mind. If you have changed your mind, just click the “Cancel” button:

Otherwise, shut down your browser completely, and restart it once again.

After the restart, your extension will be gone.

What do these extensions do?

You can consider them to be enhancements that you would like to make to your default browser. You can also refer to them as added features. There are extensions to do just about anything you can think of.

How many extensions are there?

There are thousands of extensions to choose from.

Who creates these extensions?

Extensions can be created by just about anybody. They can even be created by you. There’s no centralized company or organization that creates extensions.

Why aren’t extensions built-in to Firefox?

One of the main purposes of extensions is to give you the ability to customize your browser in your own unique way. Even though there are thousands of extensions to choose from, chances are you will only need, or use, a small handful of them.

One of the goals of the developers of the Firefox is to give you a minimal default browser with which to start with. This reduces the number of possible bugs in the software, and the amount of computer memory that your browser uses.

From there, it’s all up to you as to which extensions you’d like to add.

Do you have to add extensions to Firefox for it to work?

No.

You never have to install a Firefox extension. The browser will work perfectly without them.

Where can I find these Extensions?

There is an official Firefox Add-Ons website located at:

http://addons.mozilla.org

For more information on how to find and install extensions, please read “Finding & Installing Extensions”

1. Firefox Add-Ons website
2. The extension developer’s website

We’re going to focus on the Firefox Add-Ons website.

You can get to this website by going to http://addons.mozilla.org.

You’ll see the following list on the left side of the page. Click on “Extensions”:

You can then search for an extension based on the category that it would fall into:

Or, you can type in a few keywords (or the extension name) into the search box:

Once you find the extension that you are looking for, click on it, and go to its individual webpage. Each extension has its own page.

To watch a video on installing an extension, click on the “Play Video” button below. Or, scroll down for step-by-step instructions with screenshots:

Step-by-Step Instructions with Screenshots

Before installing, you should make sure that the extension is compatible with the Firefox version you are running.

You can do so by looking at the “Works with” section of the page:

If you are unsure which version of Firefox you have, please read “Check Your Firefox Version Number”.

You can then begin the installation process by clicking on the “Install now” button:

The “Software Installation” window will appear. Click the “Install Now” button:

The extension will be installed and you will be asked to restart your browser. You must restart before being able to use the extension. Click the “Restart Firefox” button:

After the restart, you can double-check to make sure that your extension has been installed. Go to the top of your browser and click Tools > Add-Ons:

If you see your extension listed in the “Add-Ons” window, you’re all set to start using it: