Browsing the Internet with Firefox

Firefox* is becoming the Web browser of choice. It has all the familiarity of other browsers, plus added features such as security and privacy tools.

To start Firefox, click Computer+Firefox Web Browser. When starting Firefox for the first time, you need to agree with its licence agreement and click OK.

With features like tabbed browsing, pop-up window blocking, and download and image management, Firefox combines the latest Web technologies. Its easy access to different search engines helps you find the information you need. Enter a URL in the location bar to start browsing.

To open an empty tab in Firefox, press Ctrl+T and type a new URL. To open a link in a new tab, click the link with your middle mouse button. Right-click a tab to access more tab options. You can create a new tab, reload one or all existing tabs, or close a single tab or all tabs. You can also change the sequence of the tabs by dragging and dropping them to a new position.

Finding Information on the Web

  1. To start a search on the Web with the Google* engine, type your search keywords in the integrated search box Google search bar on the right of the location bar, then press Enter. The results display in the window.

  2. To use a different search engine, click the G icon in the search box to open a list of other search engines.

  3. Click the desired engine, then press Enter to start the search.

You can also search the current Web page for keywords. To do so, press Ctrl+F to open a Find bar at the bottom of the window. Enter your search keyword there and use the buttons to the right of the box to search in different directions or to select all hits in the text.

Downloading Files with Firefox

If you download a file with Firefox, the Firefox download manager starts and saves this file to the folder configured in Firefox Preferences. By default, your desktop is the destination folder for downloaded files. Firefox shows your finished downloads in the Downloads window.

You can open the downloaded files directly from the Downloads window or from the destination folder. To clean up the history of downloaded files, click Clean Up.

Configuring Firefox Preferences

To adjust the default download folder or to activate or modify the pop-up blocking feature, click Edit+Preferences.

From here you can also configure numerous other settings such as appearance, language, privacy, and tab options. Click the icons and set the options on each page according to your preferences. Click Close to apply the changes.