A Bunch of Stuff
No rhyme or reason for this week's column... just a few things I learned that week that might make your computing life easier!
First, here is a small collection of things you can do to speed your Internet travels using Firefox (for anyone who is not familiar with it, Firefox is Internet Explorer's chief rival in the browser world. Many think it's a superior product.)
You can drag and drop any of the following:
- a URL (hyperlinked or not) onto the address bar to immediately be taken to that site in the current tab.
- a URL (hyperlinked or not) onto an existing tab or blank tab to immediately replace it with the new URL
- a URL (hyperlinked or not) onto an empty area on the tab bar to immediately have that URL opened in a new background tab
- highlighted text onto the address bar to replace the URL with the text, but it will not be executed immediately
- a single highlighted word (cannot contain spaces) onto an existing tab or blank tab to replace it with www.[highlighted word].com immediately. Where [highlighted word] is the single word you were dragging and dropping
- a single highlighted word (cannot contain spaces) onto an empty area on the tab bar to immediately have www.[highlighted word].com opened in a background tab. Where [highlighted word] is the single word you were dragging and dropping.
- an image onto the address bar to immediately have that image open in the current tab.
- an image onto an existing tab or blank tab to immediately replace it with the image.
- an image onto an empty area on the tab bar to immediately have the image opened in a new background tab.
Now, all about "About."
By typing the following strings into the address bar, you can obtain searched information as described below.
about: — The same page as "Help -> About".
about:about — Lists all these about: URLs (Mozilla Suite only).
about:blank — A blank page. Useful for setting as your homepage.
about:buildconfig — Reveals details about your Mozilla build options.
about:cache — Displays cache statistics.
about:cache?device=memory — Lists memory cache entries.
about:cache?device=disk — Lists disk cache entries.
about:cache-entry — Shows information about a cache entry. Used in about:cache links. Requires parameters.
about:config — GUI for modifying user preferences (prefs.js).
about:credits — The list of contributors to the Mozilla projects.
about:logo — Displays the Mozilla logo (Mozilla Suite only).
about:license — shows the Mozilla Public License and the Netscape Public License for the piece of software. ( Only in products based on Gecko 1.8 ).
about:mozilla — The famous Book of Mozilla.
about:plugins — Lists all your plugins as well as other useful information.
Finally, one little trick I learned serendipitiously when I wanted to print a contact sheet of thumbnails of photos in a folder. I always relied on Photoshop's ability to create a contact sheet out of a folder full of images; but this way is far easier, and demands a lot less of your computer's resources.
Navigate to the folder you wish to print using Explorer. Now, make sure you are OUT of folder view (click on "Folders" in the toolbar to do this). You'll know you're in the right view when you have Tasks and Places in the left pane of the open window.
You will see a list of tasks called Picture Tasks. In this list is "Print pictures." Click on this. The Photo Printing Wizard will open. Click through the steps, making your selections, until you get to the step marked "Layout Selection." Now, scroll down on the left side til you see "Contact Sheet Prints. " Here, you can select thumbnail or larger views, printing multiple photos per page.
And, voila! The file name will also be printed as a caption for each image on your contact sheet.
First, here is a small collection of things you can do to speed your Internet travels using Firefox (for anyone who is not familiar with it, Firefox is Internet Explorer's chief rival in the browser world. Many think it's a superior product.)
You can drag and drop any of the following:
- a URL (hyperlinked or not) onto the address bar to immediately be taken to that site in the current tab.
- a URL (hyperlinked or not) onto an existing tab or blank tab to immediately replace it with the new URL
- a URL (hyperlinked or not) onto an empty area on the tab bar to immediately have that URL opened in a new background tab
- highlighted text onto the address bar to replace the URL with the text, but it will not be executed immediately
- a single highlighted word (cannot contain spaces) onto an existing tab or blank tab to replace it with www.[highlighted word].com immediately. Where [highlighted word] is the single word you were dragging and dropping
- a single highlighted word (cannot contain spaces) onto an empty area on the tab bar to immediately have www.[highlighted word].com opened in a background tab. Where [highlighted word] is the single word you were dragging and dropping.
- an image onto the address bar to immediately have that image open in the current tab.
- an image onto an existing tab or blank tab to immediately replace it with the image.
- an image onto an empty area on the tab bar to immediately have the image opened in a new background tab.
Now, all about "About."
By typing the following strings into the address bar, you can obtain searched information as described below.
about: — The same page as "Help -> About".
about:about — Lists all these about: URLs (Mozilla Suite only).
about:blank — A blank page. Useful for setting as your homepage.
about:buildconfig — Reveals details about your Mozilla build options.
about:cache — Displays cache statistics.
about:cache?device=memory — Lists memory cache entries.
about:cache?device=disk — Lists disk cache entries.
about:cache-entry — Shows information about a cache entry. Used in about:cache links. Requires parameters.
about:config — GUI for modifying user preferences (prefs.js).
about:credits — The list of contributors to the Mozilla projects.
about:logo — Displays the Mozilla logo (Mozilla Suite only).
about:license — shows the Mozilla Public License and the Netscape Public License for the piece of software. ( Only in products based on Gecko 1.8 ).
about:mozilla — The famous Book of Mozilla.
about:plugins — Lists all your plugins as well as other useful information.
Finally, one little trick I learned serendipitiously when I wanted to print a contact sheet of thumbnails of photos in a folder. I always relied on Photoshop's ability to create a contact sheet out of a folder full of images; but this way is far easier, and demands a lot less of your computer's resources.
Navigate to the folder you wish to print using Explorer. Now, make sure you are OUT of folder view (click on "Folders" in the toolbar to do this). You'll know you're in the right view when you have Tasks and Places in the left pane of the open window.
You will see a list of tasks called Picture Tasks. In this list is "Print pictures." Click on this. The Photo Printing Wizard will open. Click through the steps, making your selections, until you get to the step marked "Layout Selection." Now, scroll down on the left side til you see "Contact Sheet Prints. " Here, you can select thumbnail or larger views, printing multiple photos per page.
And, voila! The file name will also be printed as a caption for each image on your contact sheet.
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