The View menu (shown in Figure A-4) contains a mixture of commands for showing or hiding Firefox toolbars and sidebars, as well as changing the appearance of the current Web page.
Figure A-4: The View menu.
The Toolbars submenu allows you to show or hide the toolbars in the main Firefox window. It also offers access to toolbar customization, which I discuss further in Chapter 18.
Shows or hides the Navigation Toolbar, which contains commands you need while browsing (such as Back and Forward).
See Chapter 2 for more information about the Navigation Toolbar.
Shows or hides the Bookmarks Toolbar, where you can store your favorite bookmarks for fast access.
See Chapters 2 and 5 for more information about the Bookmarks Toolbar.
If you have created additional toolbars, as I describe in Chapter 18, a menu item for each one will appear here. Click the menu item to show or hide the toolbar.
Opens the Customize Toolbar window, which allows you to add or remove items to and from your toolbars, change the toolbar display, and even create new toolbars.
See Chapter 18 for more information about toolbar customization.
Shows or hides the Status Bar at the bottom of the window. The Status Bar displays information about the current page.
See Chapter 2 for more information about the Status Bar.
The Sidebar submenu allows you to show or hide sidebars, which are vertical bars that open on the left side of the Firefox window. Firefox includes two sidebars by default; the Bookmarks Sidebar, which I discuss in Chapter 5, and the History Sidebar, which I discuss in Chapter 6. You can also set book-marked Web pages to load in a sidebar, as I discuss in Chapter 5. Finally, certain extensions install their own sidebars; see Chapter 20 for more on extensions.
Shows or hides the Bookmarks Sidebar, which contains your bookmarks list.
Shortcut Ctrl+B or Ctrl+I (+B on a Mac)
See Chapter 5 for more information about the Bookmarks Sidebar.
Shows or hides the History Sidebar, which contains a list of sites you've visited recently. This command is the same as choosing Go History.
Shortcut Ctrl+H (+Shift+H on a Mac)
See Chapter 6 for more information about the History Sidebar.
If any extensions have installed new sidebars, a menu item for each appears here. For example, the Scrapbook extension I discuss in Chapter 22 installs its own sidebar. Click the menu item to show or hide the sidebar.
See Chapter 20 for more information about extensions.
Forces the current Web site to stop loading even though it hasn't finished. Only the part of the page that has finished loading will be available. This is the same as clicking the Stop button on the Navigation Toolbar.
This command is unavailable if the current Web site is already loaded.
Shortcut Escape
Fetches the newest version of the current Web site. For example, you might want to leave the CNN Web site open and reload it occasionally to see the latest headlines. This is the same as clicking the Reload button on the Navigation Toolbar.
Shortcut F5 or Ctrl+R (+R on a Mac)
The Text Size menu allows you to enlarge or shrink the text of Web pages you view in the current tab or window. See Chapter 19 for more information about changing text size.
Enlarges the text on the current page and all future pages visited in the current tab or window. Use this command repeatedly to enlarge the text further.
Shortcut Ctrl++ (++ on a Mac); in other words, press Ctrl (or on a Mac) and the plus sign
Shrinks the text on the current page and all future pages you visit in the current tab or window. Use this command repeatedly to shrink the text further.
Shortcut Ctrl+- (+- on a Mac); in other words, press Ctrl (or on a Mac) and the minus sign
Returns the text size of pages you view in the current tab or window to normal, regardless of how much you increased or decreased it previously.
Shortcut Ctrl+0 (+0 on a Mac)
From time to time, a Web site provides multiple themes that change the appearance of the page. This menu offers access to these different themes, and is intended for advanced users only.
Removes specialized fonts, colors, and other visual effects from the current page and all future pages visited in the current tab or window.
Displays the current page the way its author intended. This is the default, and the current page can change the name of this command if it wants.
If a Web site provides additional styles, a menu item for each appears here with the name specified by the page author. Click the menu item to choose the style.
Allows you to manually specify the language of the Web site you're viewing. In most cases, Firefox can automatically detect the language and display text appropriately. However, if text isn't showing up properly, choose the language from this menu.
Displays the code that created the current Web site. This command is useful only for Web site developers.
Shortcut Ctrl+U (+U on a Mac)
Hides Firefox toolbars and the system taskbar so you have more room to view the current Web site. Because the menu bar is hidden in Full Screen mode, you can't use this menu item to exit Full Screen mode. Instead, press F11 or click the Restore button (the button in the upper right corner to the left of the Close button).
This command is unavailable on the Mac.
Shortcut F11
See Chapter 19 for more information about Full Screen mode.