Tab Browsing
Background Tabs (shown in red) let you open pages to read later without leaving the current page
The Mozilla Firebird makes browsing easier than ever before with best Tab-Browsing around. Tab browsing changes the way you use the internet by allowing you to open links on a page in background "Tabs" and then read them when you're ready. No confusing new windows, no need for context menus, just hold down Ctrl when clicking a link, or use your middle mouse button (if you have one). Tab-Browsing is central to the Mozilla Firebird, you can set your home page to be a group of Tabs. You can open an entire folder of bookmarks in Tabs.
"Open in Tabs" opens contents of Bookmarks Folder in Tabs
Browsing with Tabs makes browsing the internet faster and more efficient. You can concentrate on reading each page without the confusion of having to switch between windows. As you're reading each page, links you have opened in background Tabs load, so when you're ready to read them they've already loaded and you don't need to wait.
While it seems like a simple idea, Tab-Browsing is a revolutionary enhancement to browsing the Internet. Firebird brings you the simplest, most intuitive version of Tab Browsing you will find.
Better Bookmarks and History
Firebird's Bookmarks Window makes organizing your Bookmarks easy.
Firebird makes it easier to organize your Bookmark collection with its handy Bookmarks manager (Bookmarks, Manage Bookmarks... menu item). Create folders to group similar items, and add annotations to remind yourself of why you bookmarked a particular item later. Sort on any of a number of properties including Name, Location, Date Last Visited, etc. Firebird also lets you associate a Keyword with any bookmark so you can open it by simply typing its keyword in the Location Bar of the browser.
Both Bookmarks and History are available as convenient Side Bar panels for quick access. Simply hit Ctrl+B for Bookmarks, and Ctrl+H for History. Links open with a click.
Best Accessibility
Firebird offers the best set of keyboard shortcuts about. Ctrl+L quickly focuses the Location Bar. Ctrl+K the Google Bar. Ctrl+T opens a new tab and Ctrl+S does what it should do - save the current page. A full set of keyboard shortcuts is available here.
Type Ahead Find in Action
Firebird also features sophisticated "Type-Ahead Find" for links that make it easier for users with accessibility needs (such as those using screen readers, or even laptop users with inconvenient pointing devices) to select links. Simply start typing the name of the link that you want to select and Firebird will shift focus to it.
Intelligent
Firebird helps you fill out web forms and remembers what you've searched for
Firebird remembers what you've filled in web forms, to make searching for things again, or filling out things like your name and address a simple process. Firebird also features a handy Password Manager that automatically fills out user-name/password fields on sites that require you to log in.
More Responsive
Firebird feels more responsive in day-to-day browsing than competitors like Internet Explorer. Pages appear on screen sooner, and there are fewer annoying lock ups. The effect is a browser that feels faster.
Customizing Toolbars in Firebird
Set up your toolbars the way you want them. Have just a thin strip with everything on one bar. Have a set of toolbars with every option available within reach. Firebird's toolbars are fully customizable so you can have
it the way you like it. Choose View, Toolbars, Customize... and simply drag on the items you want. Firebird even lets you create new toolbars. Third party extensions often add Toolbar items to the Customize Palette as well.
Most Extensible
Firebird is easily extended
Firebird's user interface can be extended by developers using industry standards such as XML, CSS, JavaScript etc, as well as complex C++ add on modules. Examples of such extensions include everything from a relatively utilities to advanced tools such as a JavaScript Debugger and Document Inspector. A full list of existing extensions is available here. Extensions are easily installed.
Firebird stops annoying popup windows dead in their tracks. Experience the web as it was supposed to be - peaceful, convenient, accessible.
Icon showing that popups have been prevented from opening
Some sites make legitimate use of popup windows. When Firebird blocks a popup window, it displays an icon in the status bar. Clicking this icon shows a breakdown of the popup(s) that Firebird stopped when loading the current page. You can then allow some or all of the popup windows to be shown.
Annoyance Eliminator
Firebird puts an end to annoying web page tricks
Aside from preventing popup windows, Firebird will also stop a number of other actions that have been annoying web surfers for years, like status bar tricks (e.g. animating status bar tickers, and spoofing that prevents you from seeing where links really go). We've designed Firebird so that the standard settings offer the least annoyance. Controls for these settings can be found in the Web Features page under Options.
Firebird comes with the same sophisticated of controls as Mozilla that allow you to control cookies, Javascript, and other settings to suit your tastes.
Find Stuff Faster
Firebird's Google Bar remembers previous searches
Much of the time you spend using a web browser is spent looking for things. That's why Firebird has the best search functions of any browser. Ctrl+K takes you to the Google bar. Enter what you're searching for and hit Enter to search Google. Entering a search into the Location bar does an "I'm feeling lucky" Google search (that is, it automatically loads the first result returned by Google for that search).
Firebird's Smart Keywords lets you find things faster.
Firebird's collection of Smart Keywords make it easy to look up words in the Dictionary, check on stock quotes, etc. Just type the keyword, then the word, stock symbol or other value in the
Location Bar, and hit Enter. A full list of Firebird's supported Smart Keywords is available here, and if they aren't enough for you, you can make your own!
Bookmarks QuickFind in action
Firebird's "Find Stuff Faster" mantra is more than just skin deep. Other parts of the browser have been engineered with search in mind. Take Tab Browsing - run a search in one tab, then open search results in background tabs, and flick between them to compare. Bookmarks and History have QuickFind bars that let you quickly locate a bookmark in a long list, or a place you visited several days ago. Firebird's handy browser context menus also let you instantly search for selected text.
Simplified Privacy
Firebird has sophisticated privacy controls
Your privacy is important to us. Firebird makes it easy to keep track of information that the browser has stored while you've been surfing, such as things you've typed into forms, Cookies, files you've downloaded, pages you've visited (History), and so on. You can quickly clear any of these things from the Privacy panel of Tools, Options. If you're using a public or shared computer, you can also instantly clear all stored information with a single click.
More Space for Pages
We place a great deal of importance on space for web pages in Firebird, that's why Firebird has more space devoted to web pages than Internet Explorer, Opera, or Mozilla. Firebird offers 2% more space to web pages than Mozilla, 4% more than Internet Explorer, and a whopping 10% more than Opera. (Standard configurations tested, sidebars closed, window maximized at 1600x1200). You can get even more space by rearranging the content of the toolbars. Firebird also offers a Full Screen mode (Press F11 to enter/exit) that devotes even more of the screen to the web page.
Simplified User Interface
We've put a lot of thought into making using Firebird easy and obvious. Browsers like Mozilla and Opera seem to be focused more on esoteric features, at the expense of all-round usability. That's why we have created a browser that works in the simplest and most straight-forward way out of the box. Defaults have been carefully chosen so you don't need to spend time setting up the browser. Menus and dialog boxes are kept clean and free of options that only a marginal number of people use. If there's a feature that Mozilla or Opera has that Firebird lacks, it's probably for good reason. But if you really do need a particular enhancement, a large number of quality extensions are available for free.
Personalize With Themes
Jazz up your browser with stylish Themes
Firebird supports a large number of quality themes which can be downloaded for free. These themes can change the appearance of everything from the browser window, to dialog boxes, buttons, menus, etc.
Industry Leading Standards Support
Firebird has industry leading support for W3C standards like CSS, DOM, etc. Where browsers like Opera may fail on a dynamic page, Firebird usually succeeds.
Fast to Get, Fast to Use
Less than 3 minutes to download over a broadband connection, Firebird can be yours in no time at all. Firebird starts up and runs much faster than Mozilla because of its significantly optimized code.
Note: This document is a more semantically-markuped, pure-CSS-driven, non-table-based and XHTML-validated version of the original document.