Customize Firefox controls, buttons and toolbars

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Firefox's toolbars provide easy access to common features. Make Firefox your own by adding the controls you need where you need them.

The Menu button The image "new fx menu" does not exist. gives you the most popular Firefox features conveniently in one place. Use them directly in the menu panel or add the ones you need to your toolbars.

How do I show and hide the different toolbars?

Most toolbars can be shown or hidden depending on your needs.

To show or hide a toolbar, right-clickcontrol-click on an empty section of the Tab Strip and check or uncheck it in the pop-up menu.

  • Menu Bar: This toolbar at the top of the Firefox window contains the browser menus (File, Edit, Help, etc.). On Windows Vista and 7, the Menu Bar is hidden by default, and its features are contained in the Firefox button. If the Menu Bar is hidden, you can temporarily show it by pressing the Alt key.
  • Menu Bar: This toolbar at the top of the Firefox window contains the browser menus (File, Edit, Help, etc.). Hiding the Menu Bar will make the Firefox button appear which contains a simplified menu.
  • Tab Strip: This is where your tabs are displayed. You can't hide it. By default, the Tab Strip is above the Navigation Toolbar. If you want it below, right-clickcontrol-click an empty section of the Tab Strip and uncheck Tabs on Top. For more information, see How to make the new Firefox look like the old Firefox.
  • Navigation Toolbar: This toolbar contains your web site navigation buttons, the Location Bar, the Search Bar, the Home button and the Bookmarks button.
  • Bookmarks Toolbar: This toolbar contains your Bookmarks Toolbar Folder bookmarks. For more information, see Bookmarks Toolbar - Display your favorite websites at the top of the Firefox window. On new installations of Firefox, the Bookmarks Toolbar is hidden by default.
  • Add-on Bar: This toolbar at the bottom of the Firefox window contains buttons associated with your extensions (if they are made available by the add-on developer). See The Add-on Bar gives you quick access to add-on features for more information.

Toolbars - win1Toolbars - mac1Toolbars - lin1

To show or hide a toolbar, right-clickcontrol-click on an empty section of the Tab Strip and check or uncheck it in the pop-up menu.

  • Navigation Toolbar: This toolbar contains everything you need to explore and save web pages and download files. This gives you your address bar, search bar, Back, Forward, Home, Bookmarks, Downloads and Menu buttons. This toolbar cannot be hidden.
  • Bookmarks Toolbar: This toolbar contains your Bookmarks Toolbar Folder bookmarks. For more information, see Bookmarks Toolbar - Display your favorite websites at the top of the Firefox window. On new installations of Firefox, the Bookmarks Toolbar is hidden by default.

How do I customize or rearrange toolbar items?

  1. Right-clickHold down the control key while you click an empty section of the Tab Strip and select Customize.... The Customize Toolbar window opens.
  2. Change the toolbar items as necessary. For an explanation of what each item does, see Customize Firefox controls, buttons and toolbars.
    • To add an item, drag it from the Customize Toolbar window onto the toolbar where you want it to appear.
    • To remove an item, drag it to the Customize Toolbar window.
    • To rearrange an item, drag it to the spot where you want it.
  3. When finished, click Done.

Toolbars - win2Toolbars - mac2Toolbars - lin2 Try it out: Experiment with different arrangements. You can always restore the default toolbar settings by clicking Restore Default Set in the Customize Toolbar window.

  1. Click the menu button New Fx Menu to open the menu panel. Go to the bottom and click on Customize.
  2. Drag the items you want from the menu to your desired spot on the toolbar. To remove items, drag them back to the menu. Click Done when you're finished.
You can experiment with different arrangements by dragging your items within the toolbar. You can always restore the default toolbar settings by clicking Restore Default Set in the Customize Toolbar window.

Icon appearance options

There are additional options to change the appearance of your toolbar icons at the bottom of the Customize Toolbar window:

  • Show: From the Show dropdown menu, you can choose what to display in the toolbars: icons, text, or icons and text together. By default, Firefox shows icons only.
  • Use Small Icons: Check this option to make the toolbar smaller.

How can I add extra toolbars?

  1. Right-clickHold down the control key while you click an empty section of the Tab Strip and select Customize.... The Customize Toolbar window opens.
  2. At the bottom of the Customize Toolbar window, click Add New Toolbar. The New Toolbar window opens.
  3. In the New Toolbar window, enter a name for your toolbar and click OK.
  4. Add items to the toolbar as described above. If you don't add any, Firefox won't create your toolbar.
  5. When you're finished adding items, click Done.

Your new toolbar appears below the Navigation Toolbar.

  1. Click on the Menu button The image "new FX menu" does not exist. on your toolbar to open the menu panel.
  2. At the bottom of the menu panel, click on Customize.
  3. At the bottom of the window, click on the Show/Hide Toolbars menu, select Menu Bar, and then Exit Customize to finish.

The Navigation and Menu Toolbars will always show up on the Mac, but you can hide or unhide your Bookmarks Toolbar. Here's how:

  1. At the top of the window, go to the View menu, then select Toolbars.
  2. Click Bookmarks Toolbar to turn the check mark on or off.

Try it out: Make a new toolbar. You can always remove extra toolbars by clicking Restore Default Set in the Customize Toolbar window.

I have missing toolbars, unwanted toolbars or toolbars that get reset

See these toolbar troubleshooting articles: