Options window - General panel

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This article describes the settings that are available in the General panel (Main panel in Firefox 3.5) of the Firefox OptionsPreferences window.

The General panel allows you to:

  • Set what page(s) Firefox displays when you start your browser or click the Home icon
  • Set what Firefox should do when downloading files
  • Manage your add-ons

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Startup

  • When Firefox starts: Controls what Firefox displays when you open it.
    • Show my home page - Displays the home page, which is set below.
    • Show a blank page - Displays a blank page, which is fastest to load.
    • Show my windows and tabs from last time - Restores the pages you were visiting the last time you closed Firefox. For more information, see Session Restore.
  • Don't load tabs until selected:
    This option can't be selected unless you have also set Firefox to Show my windows and tabs from last time (see above). When it's selected, Firefox will only load the active tab when it starts. This can make startup much faster if you are restoring many tabs. The other open tabs will be loaded as you click on them.
  • Home page:
    Controls what page(s) Firefox displays when you click the Home icon on the Navigation toolbar. If you set When Firefox starts (above) to Show my home page, the specified page(s) will load when Firefox starts. For more information, see How to set the home page.

Downloads

  • Show the Downloads window when downloading a file:
    Controls whether Firefox will display the Downloads window when you download a file. For more information, see Downloads window.
  • Close it when all downloads are finished:
    If you have selected Show the Downloads window when downloading a file (above), this setting controls whether Firefox will automatically close the Downloads window after all the files you're downloading have completed.
  • Save files to:
    If selected, Firefox will automatically save all downloads to the specified folder (such as the desktop or your downloads folder). To change which folder is used, click Browse...Choose....
  • Always ask me where to save files:
    If selected, Firefox will ask you to select a folder for every download you wish to save.

Add-ons

Click Manage Add-ons... to open the Add-ons window, which allows you to configure your extensions, themes, and plugins. For more information, see Customizing Firefox with add-ons.


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Contributors to this page: AliceWyman, Verdi, scoobidiver

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