1. How do I disable the "link hover preview bar" and make it appear on the Add-on Bar(the old statusbar replacement)?

I don't know whether this will work, but you could try this add-on to restore the Status Bar. There may still be some confusion between the Add-on Bar and the Status Bar but hopefully it won't be too terrible to sort out. Status-4-Evar :: Add-ons for Firefox

2. How do I remove the X(close button) on the Add-on bar?

That kind of tweak usually is done by adding a style rule to a userChrome.css file in your profile\chrome directory. Not sure whether anyone has posted the rule needed (I haven't searched).

3. How do I put a "border" around the new Add-on bar so it doesn't look like an extension of the webpage im currently at?

Is that possible? Probably another userChrome.css tweak if it is.

4. The new colorless buttons/icons makes it easy to miss click (they all look too similar now), can I get them old ones back?

This probably is a theme issue. I imagine there are other themes by now.

5. How do I make the Reload button and Stop button stay separate buttons instead of one combined button?

Here's what I've read, but I haven't tested: once you drag them off the end of the address box (e.g., to the left of the address box), reverse the order. In other words, put Stop before Reload.

6. Lastly, I am used to have a button at the right side of the last tab to open a new tab. Now I need to add another button at the top instead. Or can I get the old "open new tab" feature back somehow?

The "+" button has been combined with the new tab button. If you can find either of them on a toolbar or in the button palette, you can drag it to the tab bar. The attached image shows how to go the other way, so you would be looking for that last button to move to the tab bar.

Question 1
Install the Status-4-Evar extension: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/status-4-evar/
After install,

1. Be sure the Add-on Bar is displayed;
   • click Firefox button, click Add-on Bar to place a check mark
   • if using the Menu Bar, click View > Toolbars, click to check "Add-on Bar"
2. In the Customize Toolbar window
   • Open Customize Toolbar window
     • Firefox button > Options > Toolbar Layout
     • if using the Menu Bar, View > Toolbars > Customize
   • drag any or all of the 3 items to the position you want them on the Add-on Bar:
     • Status text (this will display the website address while loading and "Done" when the page has completed loading in the Add-on Bar instead of as a "tooltip" type display in the lower left corner)
     • Download status (will display No Downloads or number of downloads in progress)
     • Progress meter (progress of page loading)

Questions 2 & 3

1. Set the options for Status-4-Evar
   • click Firefox button, click Add-ons, click Extensions, scroll down and click Options next to Status-4-Evar
   • if using the Menu bar, click Tools, click Add-ons, click Extensions, scroll down and click Options next to Status-4-Evar
   • In the Options window for Status-4-Evar, click on "Add-on Bar" on the top
     • un-check "Show the close button" to remove the Add-on Bar close (X) button
     • check "Use alternate toolbar borders" to place a 1 pixel border across the top of the Add-on Bar
       • You can also do this with a userChrome.css addition and you can color the Add-on Bar, but it is a bit involved. If you want some basic instructions, post back and I will try to provide the information.

Question 4 You can add this Extension to get some color toolbar buttons similar to Firefox 3.6:

• Firefox 3 Theme for Firefox 4: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/firefox-3-theme-for-firefox/

Question 5

1. Firefox 4.0 has a combined Go/Reload/Stop button that is positioned at the far right of the location bar.
   • During the page load process it shows as a Stop button and after the loading has finished the button is changed to a Reload button. If you type in the location bar then that button becomes a Go button.
   • You can middle-click that button to duplicate the current tab to a new tab.
   • In Firefox 4.0 you can move the Stop/Reload button out of the location bar and put them wherever you want on the toolbar. You can also make them appear as separate buttons on the toolbar.
     • click Firefox button > Options > Toolbar Layout
     • if using the Menu Bar: click View > Toolbars > Customize
     • Swap the two buttons by dragging them or move them to their previous position at the left of the location bar.
     • If the order is "Reload - Stop" you will get a combined "Reload/Stop" button.
     • Swap the order (by dragging) to "Stop - Reload" or separate them otherwise (like inserting another button or a "Space" or "Separator" between them) to get two distinct buttons.

Question 6 There should be a "+" to the right of the last tab by default. If it is not there, open the "Customize Toolbar" window:

• click Firefox button, click Options, click Toolbar Layout
• if using the Menu Bar, click View, click Toolbars, click Cutomize

look for a "New Tab" icon and drag it to the end of the Tab Bar while the Customize Toolbar window is open. You may need to "Restore the default toolbar set". See: https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Back%20and%20forward%20or%20other%20toolbar%20items%20are%20missing

What Add-on did you install for the Open New Tab button on the toolbar? Did it disable the "+" on the Tab bar?

You need to update the following. The Plugin version(s) shown below was/were submitted with your question and is/are out of date. You should update to avoid known security issues with the version(s) you have installed. Click on "More system info..." to the right of your question to see what was included with your question.

• Next Generation Java Plug-in 1.6.0_24 for Mozilla browsers

1. Check your plugin versions on either of the following links':
   • http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/plugincheck/
   • https://www-trunk.stage.mozilla.com/en-US/plugincheck/
   • Note: plugin check page does not have information on all plugin versions
   • There are plugin specific testing links available from this page:
     • http://kb.mozillazine.org/Testing_plugins
2. Update the Java plugin to the latest version.
   • Download site: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html (Java Platform: Download JRE)
     • Be sure to un-check the Yahoo Toolbar option during the install if you do not want it installed.
   • Also see "Manual Update" in this article to update from the Java Control Panel in Windows Control Panel: http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Using+the+Java+plugin+with+Firefox#Updates
   • Removing old versions (if needed): http://www.java.com/en/download/faq/remove_olderversions.xml
   • Remove multiple Java Console extensions (if needed): http://kb.mozillazine.org/Firefox_:_FAQs_:_Install_Java#Multiple_Java_Console_extensions
   • Java Test: http://www.java.com/en/download/help/testvm.xml

@jscher2000

1-3

Yes tweaking the current Add-on bar is what im looking for rather than installing another add-on. Trying to cut down on them all together. I found how to remove the "preview link pop up bar" by editing my userChrome.css file. Surely there must be a way to make the link preview appear on it and add a border to it. I will keep digging and hopefully find a way.

4. "This probably is a theme issue. I imagine there are other themes by now."

Yes most probably so and I will definitely look for them theme buttons later :) Why FF have this set of dull grey buttons as standard rather than an option puzzles me though.

5. "Here's what I've read, but I haven't tested: once you drag them off the end of the address box (e.g., to the left of the address box), reverse the order. In other words, put Stop before Reload. "

That worked like a charm thank you! I think I can learn to live with them having switched places.

6. "The "+" button has been combined with the new tab button. If you can find either of them on a toolbar or in the button palette, you can drag it to the tab bar. The attached image shows how to go the other way, so you would be looking for that last button to move to the tab bar."

Thank you very much, exactly what I wanted!

@Helper7677

1-3

I might try "Status-4-Evar" if I cant sort this in another way. You mention editing userChrome.css to tweak Status-4-Evar. Doesn't sound to far fetched that I could similarly edit the appearance of the current add-on bar the same way? Even though I am not fully up to date with modern tech, applications and scripting/programming languages(have a 9 year gap since I stopped working with computers both professionally and privately), I am not a complete novice and shouldn't have difficulties understanding/following your instructions. If it is indeed very complicated and time consuming for you, I would be happy enough with a pointer to where I can read and learn about FF GUI tweaking/editing on my own. Quick search didn't help me much, but I haven't had a lot of time for it this morning. I'll have more time this evening.

4. "You can add this Extension to get some color toolbar buttons similar to Firefox 3.6:..."

Thank you, I will check them themes out this evening.

5. "Swap the order (by dragging) to "Stop - Reload" or separate them otherwise (like inserting another button or a "Space" or "Separator" between them) to get two distinct buttons."

That worked great, I can live with the small extra space between them in order to get them in the order I want them, thanks!

6. "...look for a "New Tab" icon and drag it to the end of the Tab Bar..."

Yes I had it as a button on the toolbar, didn't realize i could drag it to the tab bar. Thanks!

"You need to update the following. The Plugin version(s) shown below was/were submitted with your question and is/are out of date. You should update to avoid known security issues with the version(s) you have installed. Click on "More system info..." to the right of your question to see what was included with your question.

     Bulleted list itemNext Generation Java Plug-in 1.6.0_24 for Mozilla browsers" 

I have recently rolled back a lot of drivers for trouble shooting on a completely different issue, hence im not currently up to date. But I appreciate your time and effort with those instructions.

Finally I would like to mention something not directed towards anyone personally, but the entire "helper team" and Mozilla community.

If I do give up trying to tweak the current bar, I would appreciate a more professional solution than installing something that isn't even spelled correctly. "Status-4-evar"?? Really? I am not 13 years old. I think it hurts Mozilla to offer such things as a primary solution. For example, could you imagine Microsoft offering a new third party developed browser called "Superlightw8 ExpreZz" as an option for handheld devices? I know you aren't representing Mozilla directly but this still the the official boards. Even if it would be that Mozilla, I am just guessing, have a younger average customer, and more privates than professionals, than lets say Microsoft, I would still think Mozilla would be a professional company firstly.

Just a thought, and no Offence intended towards anyone!

Thanks a lot for your time both of you, jscher2000 and Helper7677

EVAR is a medical term meaning endovascular aneurysm repair. Firefox 4 suffered a life threatening aneurysm when the developers left out the status bar, which is very important and something many users rely on for security and page status.

An EVAR is a less invasive procedure than open surgery and can quickly save the patient's life as opposed to surgery (Mozilla adding back the status bar natively.) However, there is a tradeoff because a further procedure is more often needed after EVAR than after open surgery.

@the-edmeister

Ok, ignoring the "4", are you saying that that add-on was purposely named "evar" to symbolize a way to quickly save Firefox future? Are you also saying that the status bar will come back in later versions?

Or was this just a funny coincidence?

I actually did check the word "evar" in an online dictionary that returned no hits before writing that earlier just to make sure I wouldn't make a fool out of my self as English is only my 3rd language. Now I googled it instead and found a very interesting article explaining the medical technique in detail..

So either way, thanks alot, very interesting :)

As to the true meaning of the name of that extension, you'd have to ask Sparky (Bluefang) - the developer of that extension - as to whether it is "medical" or "urban slang". Sorry if my posting misled you, the Statusbar is dead, replaced by the Add-on bar.

For the last 6 months I thought that Evar was urban slang. I saw that information about EVAR in a blog posting a couple of weeks ago about Status-4-Evar and then checked it out in the Merriam-Webster online medical dictionary.

Overall, I think Mozilla gave up "professional" a long time ago when they came up with the Personas garbage. Then again, I'm just a grumpy old man according to my sister's kids kids - the grand nieces and nephews.

19 Red Bulls later, I have made some progress on my own...

Adding the following to userChrome.css:

/* This adds a top and bottom border to the add-on bar. Should obviously be tweaked a lot more. */

#addon-bar {

-moz-appearance: toolbar !important;

 border-top: 3px ridge rgba(0,0,0,0.5) !important;
 border-bottom: 1px groove rgba(0,0,0,0.5) !important;

}

/* This removes the add-on bars very annoying close button. */

#addonbar-closebutton {
 visibility: collapse !important;

}

/* This moves the statusbar (link hover preview bar) on top of the new add-on bar. I added an extra 20px as left margin because I have placed an activity indicator (by dragging it from the "Customize Toolbar" window) there for my personal liking. */

#statusbar-display {
 position: fixed !important;
 bottom: 1px !important;
 left: 20px !important;

}

/* CODE END */

The two problems I have left is to remove the background of the statusbar, and make the statusbar be fixed to the left side no matter what. It currently move when I chase it with my mouse pointer as it did before.

Here is my screenshot.

Any suggestions?

PS. Sorry for terrible formatting with spaces where it shouldn't and bold text all over but i did my best with these limited tools we have. Hope its clear enough.

@the-edmeister

Sorry forgot to reply to you. Thanks for clearing that up, but misleading or not.. I learnt something new thanks to you :)

cheers

I give up..

What ever I search for it all leads me to articles that advice me to install "status-4-evar" and that is simply not good enough for me.

It is probably a really potent add-on but I don't like not knowing what it contains, and the source code for it is not made "open" as far as I can understand/find. I probably could manage to "hack" (in lack of a better word) it to understand the mechanisms but I already wasted far too much time on this very annoying issue.

During the past week I have started to learn basic javascript. I have learned about XUL and Gecko. I have learned about the basic file structure of Firefox and how to start creating basic add-ons on my own. approximately 30 hours effective study time, I still can not figure out how to Make the add-on bar display the status messages and link hover information properly.

I am sure it would all come to me should I dig just a little bit deeper and continue my "FF studies", but yesterday, after numerous attempts on finding a new angle and approach, still keep ending up with someone saying "install status-4-evar" -> RageQuit

Thanks for a few great years Firefox! Maybe I will come back to try it again in the future, but right now Google Chrome and Internet Explorer offer me, if not always better solutions, a lot less frustration.

Thanks to those who answered.

It is probably a really potent add-on but I don't like not knowing what it contains, and the source code for it is not made "open" as far as I can understand/find.

For future reference, you usually can read the source of an extension. Try this:

From the install page, right-click the install button and choose Save Link As. Save the .xpi file to a convenient working folder. Then rename the file with a .zip extension. Browse it with Windows XP's built-in ZIP browser or "unzip here" with your favorite Zip utility.

The main scripts usually are in the components folder, while UI elements usually are in the chrome folder. At least in the ones I've opened.

---

Sorry to see you go, and maybe you'll like version 6, 7 or 8. (The accelerated release schedule is mind-boggling...)

@jscher2000

Thanks to your very quick reply, and me having dinner, I didn't leave yet. Talk about having a "duh" moment when I saw your very simple solution on how to check the source code. Now this made me a bit interested again and I will give this some more time. My aim is only to understand how to do it. Want to add very few lines of code to userChrome.css to make the Add-on bar look a bit more like the old status bar without creating or installing another add-on.

It should be pretty straight forward from here. Weather I succeed or not, will probably only depend on if I have the time and energy for it. So no matter what, consider this solved :)

Cheers!

EDIT: Can't I choose several solutions? Well, I appreciate all your time all of you. Thanks again! /EDIT

Although the site only allows 1 solution, you can "Helpful" others posts you think that future readers of this thread might want called to their attention. Good luck in your customization question. It could make an interesting article.