Appendix A: Firefox Menu Reference

Trying a new program with dozens of new commands can be as overwhelming as meeting the in-laws. This appendix walks you through the commands offered by the Firefox menu bar. I also list the command's keyboard shortcut under it (if it has one) and identify any scenarios that might cause a command to be unavailable. If you want more information on a particular command or menu, I point you to the chapter where I discuss it.

The File Menu

The File menu (shown in Figure A-1) mostly contains commands that operate on the currently displayed Web site, along with a few general Firefox commands (such as Import, for importing personal information from your previous browser, and Exit, for closing all Firefox windows).

Figure A-1: The File menu.

New Window

Opens a new Firefox window.

Shortcut Ctrl+N (+N on a Mac)

New Tab

Opens a new Firefox tab.

Shortcut Ctrl+T (
Figure A-2: If you hide the Location Bar by using toolbar customization, the Open Location command shows this window.

Shortcut Ctrl+L (+L on a Mac)

Open File

Allows you to display a file on your hard drive within Firefox. Only Web sites, text files, and images can be opened.

Shortcut Ctrl+O (+W on a Mac)

Close Window

Closes the current Firefox window. Firefox shows this command in addition to the Close Tab command if you have multiple tabs open in the current window. If you don't, the Close command is shown. This is different from the Exit command, which closes all Firefox windows (and any tabs they contain).

Shortcut Ctrl+Shift+W (+Shift+W on a Mac)

See Chapter 7 for more information about tabbed browsing.

Close Tab

Closes the current tab. Firefox shows this command in addition to the Close Window command if you have multiple tabs open. If you don't, the Close command is shown.

Shortcut Ctrl+W ( REMEMBER 

Putting Firefox in Offline mode doesn't actually turn off your Internet connection. It affects only the way Firefox displays Web sites.

If you shut down Firefox in Offline mode, it will be in Offline mode next time you open it. To return to Online mode, choose the Work Offline command again.

Exit

Closes all open Firefox windows and tabs. Firefox displays a warning if any downloads are in progress and if any open windows contain multiple tabs.