A lot of things are getting changed in the Firefox web browser. A big part are made up of interface changes, that are supposed to optimize the interaction of the user with the browser. The Firefox add-on manager for instance has been totally revamped, now loading up in a tab instead of a window.
But that’s not the only changes that Firefox 3 users need to get used to when it comes to the new add-on manager. Users who take a closer look at the information listed under extensions will notice that there are only buttons to open an add-on’s options, and to enable or disable it.
On a personal note, the whole new add-on listing feels hard to read and impractical to me, but that is not the point of this article. So, how are add-ons uninstalled in Firefox 4? Let us look at a closeup:
Do you see it? That little x next to the date of one of the add-ons listed in the about:addons menu? That’s how you uninstall add-ons. A tooltip appears if you move the mouse cursor over the x.
A click on the x shrinks the size of the row, and displays options to restart the browser and to undo the removal. The information is easy to miss among all the other links and colors in the manager.
Some add-ons can still not be uninstalled directly from within the add-ons manager. That’s for instance true for add-ons that are added during third party software installations. Especially security software “like” to add extensions to the browser that way.
That’s something the developers should prioritize if you ask me. Why have they made the decision to place that tiny x there for the uninstall functionality? I do not know, but there are other means that appear to make more sense, like adding another button next to Options and Disable, or making use of the space above the two existing buttons.
Have you played around with the new Firefox 4 add-on manager? Let me know what you think of it in the comments.
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Firefox 4 Beta 7 will have a “Remove” Button instead of the small x.
Users can already see this in the nightlys.
It is worth noting that thee new Addons Manager is still a WIP.
Good to know ;)
Addons installed in system-wide manner with previous version of FF (eg 3.6.x) can’t be uninstalled using add-ons manager.
I’m still looking for an elegant way to uninstall them. Otherwise, I think I have to check manually every add-on folder to see if it’s what I’m looking for.
That’s really stupid. Thumbs DOWN for FF developers.
I dont see any small “x” in ANY addons i have, and i cant remove any of them!!!!!
Ashley this has been changed in the final version of Firefox 4. A remove button is now available to uninstall add-ons.
>Ashley this has been changed in the final version of Firefox 4. A remove button is now available to uninstall add-ons.<
But the majority of the extension have NO remove button an ALL of the not compatible extension CANNOT BE REMOVED, there an no buttons at all!!
Jan then check out this article how to uninstall them manually: http://www.ghacks.net/2010/11/08/how-to-uninstall-firefox-add-ons-userscripts-directly/
great!
This is the most retarded thing I’ve seen in a long time. No little x, no remove buttons. I installed DivX HiQ and DivX Web Player – both now show that they’re incompatible with FF – yet I can’t remove either of them. Got three versions of Java Console (why three???) and neither has a remove option. And FF is soooo damn slow now. If I didn’t need it to test my websites on it, I’d dump the whole thing already and stick with one of the other five browsers I got installed. Really, really not happy with FF at the moment.
Yesh, totally agree, that’s really retarded. And if you go to https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=644279
you’ll see how retarded the developers are in the way they replied and how they tried to hide their misunderstanding (thus, incompetence) to how add-on worked in previous versions.
>>Jan then check out this article how to uninstall them manually: http://www.ghacks.net/2010/11/08/how-to-uninstall-firefox-add-ons-userscripts-directly/
<<
NO RESULT!!
dirs and file mentioned are not to be found or no result
The whole add-ons window is incredibly sluggish on my PC. Please – we just want a fast-loading basic page.
Also why do you pick add-ons from a tab called “add-ons” but those that are installed then appear on a tab called “extensions”? It’s stupid.
> Also why do you pick add-ons from a tab called “add-ons” but those that are installed then appear on a tab called “extensions”? It’s stupid.
That’s a good point! I think nobody here could answer your question. Only FF developers know that. And they now act like *dictators*: they made some rules, then if they break it, they don’t care and don’t take a damned of it.
Because extensions are add-ons, plugins and everything else that you can “extend” Firefox with. Add-ons on the other hand are small programs that you can add to Firefox.
This thread started October 2010.
And there is still no solution.
FF WILL be deleted soon . . . . . . .