Two Simple Yet Useful Firefox Add-Ons You Should Have

As of October 2009, nearly half of all internet users are choosing Firefox as their browser of choice (47.5% to be exact).  As you know already, one of the most attractive features that Firefox offers is the utilization of add-ons.  Most people already know about the most popular ones, including AdBlock Plus (a must-have) and Google Toolbar.  In addition to these great Firefox add-ons, there are a couple more that have proven to be very useful, but that many people have never heard of: OpenDownload or RunDownload and Webmail Ad Blocker.

Firefox Add-on #1: OpenDownload and RunDownload

Do you ever find yourself resorting to Internet Explorer when you need to download a file, because you would rather simply “run” or “open” the file instead of having to save it to your hard drive?  The “run” option is a feature many ex-IE users miss, and no one seems to know why Firefox (and even Chrome) still haven’t added the option.  It becomes very annoying to have to take that additional step to clean out the downloaded files, or even just having them in your “Downloads” folder to begin with.

Firefox Add-On developers Tuxman and Josh Wenham have come to our rescue, though, with their handy OpenDownload and RunDownload add-ons, respectively.  They both do the same thing – insert a “run” button in the “Save File” dialog box when downloading files.  If you choose the “Run” option, the file is saved into a temporary directory, and is then opened using the appropriate or assigned program specified for that file type, the same way Internet Explorer does.  It’s that simple!

It’s also important to note that as of now, both add-ons are still “experimental,” which simply means you have to click the “Let me install this experimental add-on” check box before Firefox will allow you to install it.  For me, it’s worth it just to have my “Downloads” directory cleaned up and free of every single file I’ve been able to “run” instead!

Firefox Add-on #2: Webmail Ad Blocker

Among the pet peeves of many users are those pesky text ads found on the right hand side of their email programs. Webmail Ad Blocker is a great Firefox add-on that was created precisely for this common annoyance.  Although AdBlock Plus does block most ads, Webmail Ad Blocker is sure to take out anything AdBlock Plus might have missed.  As a result, it also expands your screen space, to allow more room for reading and composing emails.

This add-on works with Gmail, Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail, and it allows you to tweak the settings to fit your needs.  You can even use it to block other information, such as left-hand folders (Spam, Starred, etc.), footer information (like account information, copyright info, etc.), action buttons, stars, and even the mouseover highlight features in Gmail, and that’s only a few of the things you have the power to remove.  It’s proven to be a great addition to AdBlock Plus, and a definite must-have for those who don’t use AdBlock at all.

For more useful Firefox add-ons, check out:
Top 6 Firefox Add-ons For The Movie Freak
7 Writing Addons for Turning Firefox into the Ultimate Writer’s Suite
4 Cool Firefox Extensions To Capture Screens
10+ Best Firefox Security and Privacy Addons

Do you know of some other similar add-ons, or add-ons you think everyone should know about?  Tell us all about them in the comments!

Tagged: • • • •

April Dee

I am a Florida native that loves technology, animals, nature, theme parks & roller coasters, Jason Mraz, Avatar: The Last Airbender (lol leave me alone), Xbox, Halo 3 & ODST, and Florida! Check out my kitten's (Ditto's) blog: http://iareditto.blogspot.com

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  • http://www.shoutmeloud.com Harsh Agrawal

    Just installed Ad blocker to make sure I will see less ads :)

  • AriesWarlock

    How about BetterCache? It needs some tweaking if you log in to different Gmail accounts, but it’s good.

  • Ibrahim

    Yes, 1) Netcraft – blocks phishing through neighborhood/community alerts and support and displays site’s hosting location. 2) Downloadhelpeer – downloads all types of video links (and even images and audio) that I know. Does also conversion of video formats. 3) CoolPreviews — previews all hyperlinks (another add-on – Cooliris – from these guys is also a good one).

    • Ibrahim

      Downloadhelper – NOT Downloadhelpeer

  • David

    Webmail Ad Blocker – Nice find. Now I can see more of my emails. Thanks for the info..

  • mchlbk

    What!? Google Toolbar is a great addon? Is this a joke?

  • http://apriloquies.blogspot.com April Dee

    Thanks for the great suggestions! I’ll have to check those out. I use Coliris CoolPreviews, too, and it’s a great tool.

  • ciastek

    IMHO blocking Google’s ads is wrong, because Google have showed the world how ads should look like – on the side and unobtrusive, without popups and overlays.

  • http://apriloquies.blogspot.com April Dee

    ciastek, I definitely hear you on that one. Google’s ads have never been annoying to me, really. Although I do have to say it used to creep me out that their spiders were “reading” my emails in order to serve up relevant ads. A lot of people aren’t cool with that aspect of it.

  • http://theheatweb.com christian

    this is nice!! i will try the webmail ad blocker :)

  • Noicroek

    ehh. informative thoughts..

  • eli

    OpenDownload and RunDownload didn’t open and run WMV video files. Do you know an add-on that do it?

  • http://tuxproject.de tuxman

    wmv files are not executable. ;-)