Firefox for many has become the best browser among other competing products. “Chrome” and the domestic product from Yandex cannot be called flexible or functional. Yes, they proved to be excellent as tools for web surfing, but Mozilla is a solution for professionals who are used to customizing everything for themselves.
The vast browser community releases plugins, add-ons and other useful features for Firefox day after day. And in search of the best tool, you can spend more than one hour choosing the best of the best. However, many users have some problems with both the initial and fine-tuning of the Mozilla Firefox browser.
This is the flip side of the coin. Behind the abundance of additions and the flexibility of the Mozilla lies a high entry threshold. Of course, the default Firefox settings allow you to surf the Internet without any problems, but many users lack some functions for the proper comfort or, conversely, some interfere. In addition, the local help system cannot be called completely adequate, and you have to spend a lot of time looking for an answer or contact the same community for help.
We’ll try to figure out how to fine-tune Mozilla Firefox and make it as painless as possible for both the browser itself and the user. We will consider regular methods, that is, through the main menu, as well as more specific ones, by changing the code.
You should immediately warn that fine-tuning Firefox is not a panacea for serious problems, and it does not turn pumpkins into carriages. So the speed of the browser, its responsiveness and other elements affecting performance, for the most part depend on the characteristics of your computer - processor and RAM, and not on the application presets. So let's get started.
Number of processes
Fine-tuning Firefox should begin by changing the number of processes required to process the content. This can be done through the main menu, selecting the "Tools" section and then clicking on the "Settings" item.
In the window that appears, almost at the very end should be the category "Performance". Here it is necessary to uncheck the item “Use recommended parameters”. After that, the additional branch below will become active. We need the item "Maximum number of processes." Depending on the amount of PC RAM in this section, the default values are set.
The principle of fine-tuning Firefox in this case is simple. If there is not enough RAM (2-4 GB), then you need to reduce the number of processes to two or one, and if it is enough (8-16 GB), then, on the contrary, increase it to a comfortable level. This option to a large extent affects the speed of the browser, especially if you use more than four tabs per session.
RAM
To fine-tune Firefox in terms of RAM consumption, you need to type about: memory in the search bar. After that, a dialog box with several sections will appear. We are interested in the Free memory block. Here you need to click on the item Minimize memory usage.
This allows you to limit the browser in the allocation of free RAM. In the default settings of Firefox, a decent half of RAM is used, but after this procedure it will become less "gluttonous". And at the same time, parallel processes will work without brakes.
Interface animation
Here we will fine-tune Firefox with about: config. This command must be entered in the address bar of the browser. When you start the code page for the first time, a warning should appear that you will perform all subsequent actions at your own risk. We agree and go to the main about: config window to fine-tune Firefox.
Firefox has always been said to be the most beautiful browser. The visual part here is really a success and even the regular themes are at least pretty, not to mention the serious graphical shells. But for those who are limited in RAM, beauty only interferes with work. We’ll try to remove some visual effects.
By default, animation works in almost all scenarios. The line responsible for this is called toolkit.cosmeticAnimations. You just need to find it in the about: config window. In the "Value" section is the inscription True. You need to double-click on it and replace it with False. After that, all additional animation will be disabled and the browser will start to work noticeably faster.
Docked Tabs
This is a convenient feature that thousands of users have adopted. But loading pinned tabs when opening a browser loads the processor and consumes a lot of RAM, especially if there are more than three sites. In Firefox, you can disable the download and start it only by clicking on these pages.
The problem is solved, again, using the about: config command in the address bar. Here we need to find the line browser.sessionstore.restore_pinned_tabs_on_demand. The default permission is False, but it must be fixed to True. Now, when you launch Mozilla, pinned tabs will only load after clicking on them.
Extensions
Mozilla is simply a haven for layout designers, programmers, and other web leaders. Extensions, add-ons and plugins are just darkness for everything and everyone. For this, in fact, professionals love the browser.
But each subsequent module increases the load on the processor and takes away part of the RAM. And if the extension is serious, then the performance of the browser drops literally before our eyes. So, it is better for ordinary users not to get involved in installing plugins and add-ons if this is not urgently needed.
To disable unnecessary functions, go to the "Extensions" section, which provides a complete list of installed modules. If you are experiencing serious browser performance issues, it is recommended that you disable them all. Mozilla by default has a number of necessary tools for seamless surfing the Web.
As an exception, you can leave such necessary additions as AdBlock to block ads and some download wizard to save video content from YouTube and other resources. You can also install a simple proxy add-on. Established proxy settings in Firefox look confusing even for experienced users, so it’s better to use a third-party solution. Well, everything else is better off or removed altogether. For normal web surfing, the above tools are enough.
Plugins
In the same section of additions there is an item "Plugins". Unlike extensions, they can appear without your knowledge. In addition, not all plugins can be removed independently. By default, only three tools are installed - a video codec, content decryption, and Shockwave Flash.
If there are more plugins in the list, then you can either remove them or disable inclusion in the drop-down menu. For comfortable web surfing, these three tools are enough. Everything else is set for specific needs or decorations.
Auto play
Many resources have video content, and it plays automatically, even if you did not click on anything. This situation does not suit everyone, especially if you have limited traffic, and the video sequence is in high resolution. Yes, and this affects the browser performance to a large extent.
To limit such unceremonious behavior of sites, there is a special line media.autoplay.enabled in the about: config settings window. Initially, in the "Value" section is the inscription True, but it must be changed to False. After that, all video content will be played only by clicking on the player.
Some users may experience inconvenience on the YouTube service if the auto play function was previously enabled. But here you have to choose from two evils. You can also recommend third-party extensions for these purposes - YouTube Stop Button and YouTube no Buffer. The latter will help you configure the browser for the YouTube service: enable auto play, configure buffering, etc.
Webpage Animation
This is also a pretty gluttonous function, responsible for GIF-animation on Internet resources. Animation, maybe, doesn’t soap my eyes, but it still affects browser performance. This is especially true for pages where gifs are literally at every step: forums, entertainment venues and others.
You can also deactivate the animation player using the about: config window. Here you need to find the line image.animation_mode. The default value is Normal, which must be fixed to None. Now, when you open pages, the animation will not load, and the load on the processor and RAM will decrease.
Reset
Although it’s a radical, but the most effective way to improve browser performance and immediately get rid of accumulated garbage and junk. You should immediately warn that all user information that is in Mozilla can be deleted. Therefore, it will be useful to make backup copies of your bookmarks, passwords, and some other important data.
The full reset tool is a standard feature of the browser, and it is located on the user support page. You can call it with the about: support command in the address bar. Here you can see a lot of useful information: product version, installed add-ons, crashes and their causes, media settings, etc. We are also interested in the “Clear Firefox” item.
After this procedure, the browser will return to its original state: standard extensions, plug-ins and regular settings about: config. Now you can start everything from scratch, but configure your browser more carefully, taking into account past errors.