Firefox Mouse Zoom
Mouse Zoom is a browser extension for the Firefox web browser that improves the mouse zooming capabilities of Firefox. Among the things it adds are using only the mouse to zoom from any location on a page, and configuration of zoom levels.
Users of the Firefox web browser can zoom in and out of pages that are displayed in the Internet browser by using the menu toolbar, or keyboard shortcuts to do so.
The [Ctrl +] and [Ctrl -] keyboard shortcut will zoom in and out of a page which may sometimes be necessary to read all the text and information presented on the website without having to scroll horizontally.
The Mouse Zoom add-on for Firefox adds zooming to the mouse as well which has the advantage that it can be done easier than with the keyboard shortcuts or menu.
Note: Firefox offers native mouse zooming capabilities as well. Just hold down the Ctrl-key on your keyboard and use the mousewheel to zoom in or out of the current page. One main feature of Mouse Zoom is that it does away with having to use the Ctrl-key for that.
The add-on extends the native capabilities: a right-click and the use of the mouse wheel will increase or decrease the zoom on the specific page only. The zoom level will be remembered by the web browser so that the same view becomes available when you open the website, or access it in future browsing sessions.
Mouse Zoom displays the zoom in the Firefox main toolbar. A left-click on the icon will open the add-on's options which can be used to configure the onscreen display of the zoom during changes, the status icon, and the zoom levels offered by the software.
The zoom level can be used to configure individual zoom levels that can be activated with the mouse wheel up to a maximum zoom level of 300%.
The add-on offers a handful of additional options including the option to reset the zoom level to the default value by holding the right-mouse button and left-clicking or pressing the middle-mouse button instead to hide the toolbars.
Mouse Zoom is compatible up to Firefox 3.5x. Users of Firefox 3.6x can force compatibility to make it work in their version as well.
Update: The developer of the extension has updated it so that it is compatible with all versions of Firefox from version 3.0 onward.
Closing Words
Mouse Zoom is a handy extension for Firefox for users who zoom regularly. Using the mouse to zoom may be more convenient for most users, unless you happen to have both hands on the keyboard most of the time when you use the Firefox browser.
I use a Cirque Touchpad mouse (http://www.cirque.com/) and can zoom by sliding my finger up the left side of the pad.
BUT – does zooming work well with an LCD monitor?
I had heard that zooming did not work well with LCD’s (which only display their native size font well).
This is why I keep using my old Sony 20″ CRT monitor.
Nope. Thats exactly what the article says. Gotta love the ones who comment before they read the post.
This is cool for me, because at times my mouse and keyboard are a good distance apart. Good find, Martin!
There is a simple way to zoom in and out and more in firefox with mouse with help of firegestures addon.
Change settings for click and scroll.
Cheers
Firefox doesn’t need an add-on to zoom in and out of pages. As far as I know, it has always been possible to zoom in and out of pages by holding down the Ctrl key and rolling the mouse wheel forward or back. I have been using this feature for several years. The Mouse Zoom add-on does add new flexibility and control to this feature, but it NOT necessary for zooming in and out of Web pages.
Did the article say something different?