New to Firefox? Well you’ve come to the right place. This article covers all the basics and will get you up and running in just a few minutes. It also has tons of links to other great articles that you might want to explore later. __TOC__ =Browsing the web= ==Setting your home page== Setting your home page in Firefox is easy. '''Just drag the site's icon to the home button.''' For more about your home page and to set what tabs show when you open Firefox, see [[How to set the home page]]. ==One-click bookmarking== '''To create a bookmark, click on the star icon in the Location bar.''' That's it! For more about using bookmarks, including tagging and organizing, see [[How do I use bookmarks?]] ==Finding everything with the Awesome Bar== '''We like to call Firefox’s Location Bar, the Awesome Bar because when you start to type the name or address of a website you’ve been to before, it finds it for you in an instant.''' And the more you use it, the better it gets. To learn more Awesome Bar tricks including searching though your open tabs and searching the web, see [[Location bar autocomplete]]. ==Searching the web== Search the web with your favorite search site in Firefox’s built-in Search Bar. Just click the icon on the left to switch search engines. Learn more search tricks with the [[Search bar]] article. ==Tabs tabs tabs!== '''Tabs let you have multiple websites open inside a single window keeping your screen clutter free and making it easy to switch between sites.''' To make a new tab, click the New Tab button (+) on the right side of the last tab. To lean more about working with tabs see, [[Tabbed browsing]] {for not fx35} ===App Tabs=== '''App Tabs let you keep your favorite web apps like Facebook, Gmail and Twitter open and just a click away.''' To create an App Tab, just {for win,linux}right-click{/for}{for mac}control-click{/for} on the tab and select {menu Pin as App Tab} from the menu. To learn more about how App Tabs work, see [[What are App Tabs?]] ===Tab Groups=== '''Tabs are great and Tab Groups (also known as Panorama) are a great way to keep them organized.''' With Tab Groups you can visually group related tabs, switch between groups and quickly search through all of your tabs. To create a tab group, click the All Tabs button at the far right end of the tab strip and select {menu Tab Groups}. For details, see [[What are Tab Groups?]] {/for} =Staying safe= ==Instant website ID check== '''Firefox has a color-coded system that makes it easy to check on suspicious sites and avoid Web forgeries.''' Just click the button to the left of a site’s address. A green Site Identity Button indicates that your connection is secure and that the owners of the website are who you would expect them to be. Your bank, for example, should have a green button. See [[Site Identity Button]] to learn more. ==Tell websites to stop tracking you== Most major websites track their visitors' behavior and then sell or provide that information to other companies (like advertisers). '''Firefox has a Do-not-track feature that lets you tell websites you don't want your browsing behavior tracked. '''For more information about tracking and how to turn this feature on, see [[How do I stop websites from tracking me?]] ==Private Browsing== '''Firefox’s Private Browsing feature allows you to browse the Internet without saving any information to your computer about which sites and pages you’ve visited.''' To start Private Browsing, go to {for win,linux}the top of the Firefox window, {/for}{for mac}the menu bar,{/for} click the {for win,fx4}{menu Firefox} menu ({menu Tools} menu in Windows XP),{/for}{for win,fx35}{menu Tools} menu{/for}{for mac,linux}{menu Tools} menu{/for} and select {menu Start Private Browsing}. Read the [[Private Browsing]] article to learn more. =Customizing Firefox with Add-ons= '''Add-ons are little extras you download to add more bells & whistles to Firefox. Compare prices, check the weather, listen to music, update your Facebook profile – all built right into the browser!''' To learn more about Add-ons and how to install them, see [[Customizing Firefox with add-ons]]. ==Personas== '''Personas let you easily personalize the look of your Firefox.''' Try some on at [http://getpersonas.com getpersonas.com]. =Staying in Sync= '''Firefox Sync lets you securely access your history, bookmarks, tabs and passwords across all of your devices.''' See, [[What is Firefox Sync?]] to lean more or just go straight to [link syncing your computers], your [link computer and Android] or [link iPhone]. =Staying up to date= While Firefox is configured to automatically check for updates you can always check to see that you have the latest by going to {for win,linux}the top of the Firefox window{/for}{for mac}the menu bar{/for}, click on the {for fx35}{menu Help}{/for}{for mac,fx4}{menu Firefox}{/for}{for linux,fx4}{menu Help}{/for}{for win,fx4}{menu Firefox} menu, go over to the {menu Help} menu and select {menu About Firefox}{/for}{for not win,fx4} menu, and select {/for}{for fx35}{menu Check for Updates...}{/for}{for mac,linux,fx4}{menu About Firefox}{/for}. {for fx35}{for win,fx4}<br>'''For Windows XP:''' At the top of the Firefox window, click on the {menu Help} menu and select {menu About Firefox}. {/for} For more info, see [[Updating Firefox]]. ==Check those plugins== '''Don’t forget to check to see if your plugins need to be updated.''' Out of date plugins can cause all sorts of problems. Go to Mozilla’s [http://www.mozilla.com/plugincheck/ Plugin check] now.

New to Firefox? Well you’ve come to the right place. This article covers all the basics and will get you up and running in just a few minutes. It also has tons of links to other great articles that you might want to explore later.

Browsing the web

Setting your home page

Setting your home page in Firefox is easy. Just drag the site's icon to the home button. For more about your home page and to set what tabs show when you open Firefox, see How to set the home page.

One-click bookmarking

To create a bookmark, click on the star icon in the Location bar. That's it! For more about using bookmarks, including tagging and organizing, see Bookmarks in Firefox

Finding everything with the Awesome Bar

We like to call Firefox’s Location Bar, the Awesome Bar because when you start to type the name or address of a website you’ve been to before, it finds it for you in an instant. And the more you use it, the better it gets. To learn more Awesome Bar tricks including searching though your open tabs and searching the web, see Address bar autocomplete suggestions in Firefox.

Searching the web

Search the web with your favorite search site in Firefox’s built-in Search Bar. Just click the icon on the left to switch search engines. Learn more search tricks with the Search bar - add, change and manage search engines on Firefox article.

Tabs tabs tabs!

Tabs let you have multiple websites open inside a single window keeping your screen clutter free and making it easy to switch between sites. To make a new tab, click the New Tab button (+) on the right side of the last tab. To lean more about working with tabs see, Use tabs to organize lots of websites in a single window

Staying safe

Instant website ID check

Firefox has a color-coded system that makes it easy to check on suspicious sites and avoid Web forgeries. Just click the button to the left of a site’s address. A green Site Identity Button indicates that your connection is secure and that the owners of the website are who you would expect them to be. Your bank, for example, should have a green button. See How do I tell if my connection to a website is secure? to learn more.

Tell websites to stop tracking you

Most major websites track their visitors' behavior and then sell or provide that information to other companies (like advertisers). Firefox has a Do-not-track feature that lets you tell websites you don't want your browsing behavior tracked. For more information about tracking and how to turn this feature on, see How do I turn on the Do Not Track feature?

Private Browsing

Firefox’s Private Browsing feature allows you to browse the Internet without saving any information to your computer about which sites and pages you’ve visited.

To start Private Browsing, go to the top of the Firefox window, the menu bar, click the Firefox menu (Tools menu in Windows XP),Tools menuTools menu and select Start Private Browsing. Read the Private Browsing - Use Firefox without saving history article to learn more.

Customizing Firefox with Add-ons

Add-ons are little extras you download to add more bells & whistles to Firefox. Compare prices, check the weather, listen to music, update your Facebook profile – all built right into the browser! To learn more about Add-ons and how to install them, see Find and install add-ons to add features to Firefox.

Personas

Personas let you easily personalize the look of your Firefox. Try some on at getpersonas.com.

Staying in Sync

Firefox Sync lets you securely access your history, bookmarks, tabs and passwords across all of your devices. See, How do I set up Sync on my computer? to lean more or just go straight to [link syncing your computers], your [link computer and Android] or [link iPhone].

Staying up to date

While Firefox is configured to automatically check for updates you can always check to see that you have the latest by going to the top of the Firefox windowthe menu bar, click on the HelpFirefoxHelpFirefox menu, go over to the Help menu and select About Firefox menu, and select Check for Updates...About Firefox.
For Windows XP: At the top of the Firefox window, click on the Help menu and select About Firefox. For more info, see Update Firefox to the latest release.

Check those plugins

Don’t forget to check to see if your plugins need to be updated. Out of date plugins can cause all sorts of problems. Go to Mozilla’s Plugin check now.