Firefox: 5 Add-ons To Make You More Productive

It’s widely acknowledged that the wide range of add-ons available for Firefox make it more than just a browser. Among the vast array available are a number that can speed up your regular internet activities, and (hopefully) make you more productive. The following are a few of my favourites, why not share yours in the comments!

SmarterFox

Originally created for use with Wikipedia, this is a powerful little add-on, with a number of features designed to make it easier for you to find what you are looking for. One of the most useful is the little box which appears when you highlight text with your cursor, giving the option to search for it on Google and Wikipedia. This add-on also enhances the Firefox address bar by displaying a list of suggestions when you begin to type.

Integrated Gmail

If you use a number of Google products this alleviates the irritation of flicking between tabs by calling Google Reader and Calendar into your email account, where they are displayed in collapsible boxes below your inbox. This may not seem like a big deal, but I have found having the three services in one place saves time, and in the case of Reader, means I’m more likely to keep up with subscriptions.

Read It Later

Sometimes you come across a page you want to save for future reading, but don’t really want to bookmark the whole site. Read It Later adds a little icon to your address bar which gives you the option of adding the page to your reading list, leaving your bookmarks free of clutter. Particularly useful for compiling a list of documents for research!

Lazarus

Losing data you’ve entered into a form because of a browser crash is infuriating. Sometimes, if you’re lucky it will still be there, but often it’s gone forever. Lazarus was developed to save form data, so if the worst happens just right-click and select ‘Recover text’. It works with editors, text boxes and AJAX forms.

ReminderFox

A simple little add-on that basically lets you set up reminders to yourself. It isn’t tremendously powerful, but is perfect for those little notes that don’t really need to be added to a calendar.