The Official Opera->Firefox Thread

**Shane R. Monroe** · 03-12-2008, 08:07 AM

Migrating from Opera to Firefox 3

Whether you're doing a permanent migration or just want your familiar Opera environment in your version of Firefox 3, here are some extensions and notes that will help you on your way.

Note: This article deals with Opera 9.5x and Firefox 3.x. It is not intended for users of Firefox 2 or lower.

Screen Zooming
The only reason I've even bothered to try Firefox 3 was because it FINALLY had "real" screen zooming (not that horrible Text Size Zooming crap). For me, screen scaling is a make-or-break feature.

Only available in FF3 (and still a little bit buggy in spots in the beta 4 build) use CTRL+ and CTRL- to scale (or hold CTRL and scroll the mouse wheel).

If you're like me and want screen scaling without a trip to the keyboard, use the Zoom Toolbar extension. You can't do percentages, but you can go up and down (as well as reset) in small increments. (Go to CUSTOMIZE after installation and drag the controls to a toolbar)

Notes
If you've taken to using the Opera Notes feature to store commonly used bits of text, you will find Firefox doesn't have that. The closest extension I could find is called InFormEnter (yes, you can get rid of the annoying blue arrow that the extension puts by text fields). If you are using it as more of a 'collection of information that ties back to it's website', then get the Scrapbook extension for Firefox.

Tabs
Want your tabs on the bottom like me? UI Tweaker is the extension you will want to pick up.

Speed Dial
Opera innovates, Firefox replicates. Speed Dial functionality is available via the Speed Dial extension.

Mouse Gestures
Looking for simple, easy mouse gesture emulation? Try Mouse Gestures Redox extension. Yes, you can get rid of the annoying "confirmation" message in the top left corner.

Ad Blocking
Here is an area where Firefox kicks Opera's ass. AdBlock Plus extension (coupled with their built in black list) will serve you well.

Go To URL
Many times there are links in the body of a webpage that aren't real links - they are just plain text. Opera offers a right click "Go To URL" option. For FF, get the Linkification extension that will convert textual links to REAL links.

InLine Find
Opera uses the PERIOD key (.) to initiate inline find. Use the FORWARD SLASH (/) to duplicate the behavior.

Password Saving (aka The Wand)
Opera allows password saving regardless of the "autocomplete=off" tag on password/login fields (often used by banks). Firefox does not. So if you find you cannot save your bank login, go here:
https://www.squarefree.com/bookmarkl...ember_password Drag the Remember Passwords button to a toolbar. Now go to your bank page, click the REMEMBER PASSWORDS button, then login. You can save your password.

Quick Address Box Search (aka "g search")
Firefox has Google's built in by default, so if you're using to typing "g <search term>" in the address box, you can still do that. You will need to use the Manage Search Engines option to add the "keywords" (like z for Amazon, e for eBay, etc) to each search engine.

Proxy Toggle
Try the QuickProxy extension to get a toggle switch for your proxy server.

Import
You can import a lot of things from Opera to Firefox including history, cache, bookmarks, etc). You cannot import NOTES or WANDS - be ready to re-enter that crap.

Sidebar
Alas, at this time, the golden chalice of Firefox's sidebar extensions ALL-IN-ONE Sidebar doesn't work with FF3b4. Hopefully it will soon, and we can add it here. EDIT: I learned how to hack extensions to install on B4. This is now solved (it was rated up to B3, and it works fine in B4)

Toolbar Button Pack
You will find Firefox has next to NO buttons available for customization. Install the Toolbar Button Pack and get some functionality.

Multiple Document Interface (MDI)
Simulatable with the Split Browser extension. Note: This must be hacked to work under B4 as it is only certified to B3. Forgot how much I was going to miss this.

Cut and Paste
Cutting and pasting can be far more robust in FF than Opera. If you cut stuff from web page in FF and paste it into a rich text enabled field (like the edit boxes here or the WYSIWYG boxes in the editor area), it retains the HTML formatting. Nice.

More notes as I discover them.

My ToDo List:

Get the NEW TAB button on the actual tab bar.
Trashcan/CTRL-Z Functionality
Get Hot Click capability in FF

**menzel** · 03-12-2008, 10:11 AM

is hell freezing over for the second time in less than a year, Shane? Are you going over to Firefox after years of good-natured bashing?

**SafeCracker** · 03-12-2008, 10:17 AM

Next..... Shane gets a PS3 (sorry....couldn't resist)

**Nectar** · 03-12-2008, 11:01 AM

After the 360, PS3 wouldn't be a shock.

**Shane R. Monroe** · 03-12-2008, 11:35 AM

Originally Posted by menzel

is hell freezing over for the second time in less than a year, Shane? Are you going over to Firefox after years of good-natured bashing?

My good natured bashing dealt with V1 and V2.

Opera's development cycle appears to be slowing down lately, and I always want to have an exit strategy

I am currently evaluating "features" - and how it compares to Opera.

Next up ... the memory and resource usage, ease of portability and syncronization and of course, speed and stability as well as standardization of web technologies. Many of these have failed in my testing of FF before.

**Shane R. Monroe** · 03-12-2008, 11:38 AM

Originally Posted by Nectar

After the 360, PS3 wouldn't be a shock.

I disagree ... it would be to me

**WorknMan** · 03-12-2008, 02:12 PM

Sounds like you're going to great lengths trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. While it seems true that Opera development is slowing down, it's obvious that Firefox isn't where it needs to be yet.
By the time Opera closes up shop (the writing is already on the wall, as they're whining to the government just like Netscape did before it folded), Firefox will probably be at v4 by then.

**Shane R. Monroe** · 03-12-2008, 02:39 PM

Actually, so far, the experience isn't piss poor like v2 was. I've replaced it as my default browser and will keep it here for 1 week as I do with other software I evaluate.

Trust me - if it pisses me off in the next week, I'll let you know.

**WorknMan** · 03-12-2008, 04:57 PM

I don't think a beta is the best time to be evaluating... IMHO, at least wait until 3.0 final is out for awhile and all the extensions get updated. You might find some in there you really like, although I doubt they've all been updated to work with v3 yet.