CBT Bazar

Extensions are very useful for adding more features to Firefox, and many people tend to install many extensions. You may lose track of the extensions you have installed and how many you have installed. If you need to install a fresh copy of Firefox on another computer, or reinstall Firefox on your current computer, it would be helpful to have a list of the extensions you use.

There are two Firefox extensions that produce a list of extensions installed in Firefox, Extension List Dumper and InfoLister.

Extension List Dumper

Extension List Dumper adds a Dump List option to the Add-ons window in Firefox, allowing you to save a list of all installed extensions to text, HTML, or CSV format. You can then print that list.

Install Extension List Dumper from

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3746.

To generate a list of installed extensions, select Add-ons from the Tools menu.

Click the Dump List button that was added to the Add-ons dialog box in the lower, right corner.

The Extension List Dumper dialog box displays. Select which items to display in the list for each extension by selecting the desired check boxes in the Show box.

Choose whether to display All the extensions, only the Enabled extensions, only the Incompatible extensions, or only the Disabled extensions from the first drop-down list.

Select the type of format for the generated file from the second drop-down list.

Click the Save as button on the Extension List Dumper dialog box. On the Save As dialog box, navigate to the location where you want to save your list of extensions. Enter a name for the file in the File name edit box and click Save.

If you save the list of extensions as a text file, and you open up your saved file in Notepad, the line breaks may not display correctly and the text may run together.

If that happens, open the text file in WordPad and it should display correctly.

To close the Extension List Dumper dialog box, click the X button in the upper, right corner of the dialog box.

To set options for Extension List Dumper, open the Add-ons dialog box from the Tools menu, as mentioned earlier. Scroll down until you find the Extension List Dumper extension. Select it and click the Options button.

The Extension List Dumper options dialog box displays. The Default values box contains the same options available on the main Extension List Dumper dialog box. Selecting options in this box will cause these options to be selected by default each time you open Extension List Dumper. The Change buttons in the Save as box allow you to specify default paths, including filenames, for the files generated by Extension List Dumper.

NOTE: These default paths are just initial suggestions. If you set these, you can still change the location and filename when you save the list of extensions, themes, or plugins.

You cannot specify the paths and filenames manually in the boxes. You must use the Change buttons. Click the Change button under the Extensions box.

The Save As dialog box displays. Navigate to the location you want to use as a default location for your generated lists of extensions. Enter a default filename in the File name edit box and click Save.

Use the other Change buttons, as desired, to select default locations and filenames for the lists of Themes and Plugins. Click Close when you have finished setting your options.

To generate a list of installed themes, click the Themes button at the top of the Add-ons dialog box and click the Dump list button. The process for selecting options and saving the file is the same as for extensions. You can do the same thing for your installed plugins on the Plugins screen.

To close the Add-ons dialog box, click the X button in the upper, right corner of the dialog box.

If you save the list of extensions in HTML format using Extension List Dumper, links to the home pages for the extensions are added, when available.

InfoLister

InfoLister adds an option to the Tools menu and allows you to save and print a list of extensions just like Extension List Dumper. However, there are not as many options available in InfoLister.

Also, the extensions, themes, and plugins are all included in the same list. InfoLister has a couple of features missing from Extension List Dumper. InfoLister allows you to upload your list to a website and you can also add a button for InfoLister to the toolbar in Firefox.

Install InfoLister from

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/447.

To generate a list of installed extensions, themes, and plugins, select InfoLister from the Tools menu.

The InfoLister dialog box displays. First, we will explore the options available for InfoLister. Click the Options button.

The General screen on the InfoLister options dialog box displays. If you don’t want the InfoLister option to display on the Tools menu select the Show Tools menu item check box so there is a check mark in the box. The Show Information button opens or activates the main InfoLister dialog box. There is also a tip listed for adding the InfoLister button to the toolbar. We will discuss how to do this later in this post.

Click Customize Input at the top of the InfoLister options dialog box. The check boxes in the Select which pieces of information to include allow you to include and exclude parts in the generated list. Select the format for the generated file from the Format as drop-down list.

The Upload screen allows you to enter information necessary to upload your list to a website using the Upload button on the main InfoLister dialog box. If you always want to upload your list, you can do so automatically when you close InfoLister by selecting the Automatically upload on exit. You can also select to Upload your list immediately on the Upload screen, once you have entered the necessary information, by clicking the Upload now button.

To save your list, click the Save button.

On the Save As dialog box, navigate to the location where you want to save your list. Enter a name for the file in the File name edit box and click Save.

If you saved your file as an HTML file, you can open it in a web browser. Links are provided to the home pages for the installed extensions.

NOTE: We found that, if you save the list of extensions in HTML format using the InfoLister dialog box, every extension in the list had a link, even if it just linked back to the same saved HTML file containing the list of extensions. There is another method of generating an HTML list of installed extensions containing links only for extensions for which they are available. We discuss this method later in this post.

To close the InfoLister dialog box, click the Close button.

You can add InfoLister as a button on your toolbar. For this example, we show you how to add the InfoLister button to the toolbar in Firefox. Refer to your browser’s help if you are using another browser.

Select Toolbars | Customize from the View menu.

The Customize Toolbar dialog box displays. Scroll down until you see InfoLister in the list of available toolbar buttons. New buttons are usually available at the bottom of the list. Click and drag the InfoLister icon from the Customize Toolbar dialog box to the toolbar.

To close the Customize Toolbar dialog box, click the Done button.

The InfoLister button is now available on the toolbar. If desired, you can go back into the InfoLister options dialog box and turn off the InfoLister option in the Tools menu.

A quick and easy way to generate a list of extensions, themes, and plugins using InfoLister is to enter “about:info” (without the quotes) in the address bar. This generates a list that contains links to home pages for the extensions, when available. You can then save the resulting web page for future reference if you ever have to reinstall Firefox.

NOTE: If you want an HTML list of extensions using InfoLister, we recommend using this method of entering about:info into the address bar. Links are only added when they are available.

NOTE: There is another extension for Firefox, called Mozilla Archive Format, that allows you to save complete web pages in a single file. See http://maf.mozdev.org/ for more information. This would be useful for saving the about:info page generated by InfoLister.

The list of themes we generated using InfoLister was not complete. We have more than just the default theme installed. We got a complete list using Extension List Dumper, so, we recommend you use that to generate a list of installed themes.

It’s a good idea to keep your list of extensions updated and backed up as you install new extensions, in case you have to reinstall Firefox. If you save your list of extensions as an HTML file, using either Extension List Dumper or InfoLister, it will be easier to reinstall most of the extensions in the future using the links provided in the saved HTML file.

When you run the “superuser terminal,” available in some versions of Linux, you automatically have root user privileges and you can perform system administration tasks unhindered. Of course, you have to enter your password when you first open the terminal. If you have a lot of administrative tasks to perform, this can be very useful. This post shows you how to create a shortcut that opens a superuser terminal window, providing immediate root access.

To create a superuser terminal shortcut, right-click on the desktop and select Create Launcher from the popup menu.

The Create Launcher dialog box displays. Enter “Terminal (superuser)” in the Name edit box. Enter “gksu gnome-terminal” in the Command edit box. Once you start typing “gksu,” the icon changes to a guy flashing an ID card. This seemed an appropriate icon for this option, so we accepted it. You can click on the icon to change it, if desired. Do not type the quotes for in either edit box. Leave the Comment edit box blank, and click OK.

Your new Terminal (superuser) shortcut is added to the desktop. Double-click the shortcut to open a superuser terminal window.

Enter your password when prompted. The root user terminal window displays, providing superuser access.

To add this shortcut to a menu, select Preferences | Main Menu from the System menu.

On the Main Menu dialog, select a menu from the Menus list on the left to which you want to add the Terminal (superuser) option. We selected the Administration menu under the System menu, because the main purpose of the superuser terminal is to perform administrative tasks.

Drag the Terminal (superuser) launcher shortcut from the desktop to the desired location in the list of Items on the left and let go of the mouse button. We added our option to the top of the Administration menu, so it can be accessed quickly and easily.

The new Terminal (superuser) launcher is added to the top of the list of Items with a check mark to the left of it, showing that it will be active in the menu.

Click Close on the Main Menu dialog box.

When you open the Administration menu on the System menu, you will see your new Terminal (superuser) option at the top of the menu. This option opens a root user terminal window with superuser privileges, just like the launcher on the desktop did.

If you don’t like icons on your desktop, you can delete the shortcut you created on the desktop once you have added it to the menu.

We previously wrote about generating strong, secure passwords in our post, Two Free Methods for Generating Strong, Secure Passwords. If you do not have a very secure password on your Ubuntu account, you may want to follow one of those methods to generate a new, secure password and change your password in your Ubuntu account. There are two methods for changing your password in Ubuntu.

Graphical Method

The first method uses a graphical interface. To begin, select Administration | Users and Groups from the System menu.

On the Users Settings dialog box click the Change button to the right of the Password field.

On the Change User Password dialog box enter the password you are currently using in the Current password edit box. If you are using a password you choose or one you generated, enter/paste your new password twice, once in the New password edit box and again in the Confirmation edit box.

If you want Ubuntu to generate an 8-character random password, consisting of alpha-numeric characters (a-z, A-Z, 0-9), select the Generate random password option. A password immediately displays in the Password set to edit box. If you want a different password than the one displayed, click the Generate button to generate a new one.

NOTE: To generate longer passwords with more different character sets in it, see the post mentioned at the beginning of this post. You can paste any password generated by an outside tool or website into the New password and Confirmation edit boxes under Set password by hand.

When you click OK on the Change User Password dialog box, Ubuntu analyzes the new password you chose. If you try to use a password that is too similar to the current password, Ubuntu warns you and does not allow you to choose that password. When you click Close on the warning dialog box, you are returned to the Change User Password dialog box.

Ubuntu also does not let you assign a password to your account that it thinks is too simple.

Once you have entered a password Ubuntu finds acceptable, your new password takes effect immediately, and you are returned to the User Settings dialog box. Click Close.

Command Line Method

The second method involves using the command line in a Terminal window. Select Accessories | Terminal from the Applications menu.

At the prompt in the Terminal window, enter the following:

$ passwd

You are asked to enter your current password, and then to enter your new password twice. If you need to paste a password you generated, right-click at the command prompt and select Paste from the popup menu. Do that again you are asked to retype your new password.

Just like when changing your password using the graphical method mentioned above, if you enter a password that is too simple, Ubuntu warns you and does not let you use that password. You are asked to enter your new password twice again.

Ubuntu also warns you if your old and new passwords are too similar.

Remember to use strong, secure passwords when protecting your information and your accounts. If you need a method for storing, secure, but hard-to-remember, passwords, check out options such as KeePass and LastPass. See the post mentioned at the beginning of this post for more information.