Assign custom names to Firefox windows for easier access

Martin Brinkmann
Sep 22, 2013
Updated • Mar 11, 2019
Firefox, Firefox add-ons
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All windows of the Firefox web browser follow the same naming pattern; they always start with the title of the active tab followed by the name of the Firefox channel that is used. The title of Ghacks' homepage is gHacks Technology News  -- Firefox Nightly if you open it in Firefox Nightly.

That's not a problem if you work with a single window at all times, but if you use two, three or even more Firefox windows at the same time, you may find it difficult to select the right window. Additionally, window titles may be used by third-party applications like the password manager KeePass which supports a global login key that relies on the window title for matches.

While some operating systems may provide you with additional information, a thumbnail image of the open tab, it is not the case for all, and the thumbnails that are displayed may not be that distinguishable either.

Update: The add-on is no longer available. Mozilla changed Firefox's add-ons system in Firefox 57 and this particular extension was not updated to remain compatible. Firefox users may use the alternative Add URL to Window Title instead End

FireTitle review

FireTitle is a browser extension for Mozilla Firefox that improves this considerable. It adds options to Firefox to assign custom titles to windows that appear when you switch between open windows of the browser.

On Windows, you see the name when you click on the window stack in the taskbar or when you use Alt-Tab to flip through open windows.

You may enable the titlebar in the Firefox customization options so that you can verify it or keep it displayed to see the full title all the time (and not just the cut title in the tab).

Custom Firefox window titles

custom firefox window titles

You have several options to assign new titles to windows. You can use the shortcut Ctrl-; to bring up the configuration window that allows you to change the name of the current window and make modifications to default window naming rules.

firefox firetitle

Just add to the title of the window by adding a word or phrase to the window name field here. It is automatically displayed in the preview field so that you know how it will look like.

The title pattern defines the order of names in the title. Window titles start with the custom name by default, followed by the name of the tab that is currently open, and then by the version of Firefox.

Additional patterns are available:

  • n - window name
  • t - document title (title of active page)
  • g - document title (title of active tab group)
  • m - document modifier (the Firefox channel)
  • a - the age of the window (in minutes, hours or days)
  • w - when the window was opened
  • [text] - custom text

You can remove some of the information from the title. If you do not want the Firefox channel displayed here, just remove the "m" from the title pattern field and you are done.

The lower half of the screen enables you to define default names and patterns for new windows that you open in the future.

You can alternatively open the options menu with a button. It is not displayed by default, here is what you need to do to display it in Firefox:

  1. Tap on the Alt-key to bring up the menu bar.
  2. Select View > Toolbars > Customize from the menu.
  3. Locate the FireTitle icon and drag & drop it to a toolbar in Firefox.

Closing Words

FireTitle is a useful extension for all users of Firefox who work with multiple windows at all times. It is relatively easy to use and helps you access specific windows easier thanks to its custom naming feature. Window titles are remembered across sessions.

Summary
Assign custom names to Firefox windows for easier access
Article Name
Assign custom names to Firefox windows for easier access
Description
A review of a Firefox add-on that changes the window title to a custom one for easier identification or use with programs like KeePass.
Author
Publisher
Ghacks Technology News
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Comments

  1. Anonymous said on March 11, 2019 at 8:47 am
    Reply
    1. Vivian said on April 22, 2020 at 1:36 am
      Reply

      I wanted to name windows according to their context simply for organization purposes (so seeing the URL of the current web page in each one would leave me on the same situation I was).
      I found this add-on that was exactly what I wanted: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/window-titler/

    2. Martin Brinkmann said on March 11, 2019 at 9:02 am
      Reply

      Thank You!

  2. GHSRobert said on March 8, 2019 at 10:42 am
    Reply

    It can still be found in the Classic Add-ons Archive.

    JustOff/ca-archive: Catalog of classic Firefox add-ons created before WebExtensions apocalypse

  3. Marcus B said on March 7, 2019 at 8:30 pm
    Reply

    This add-on is no longer available.

    1. Martin Brinkmann said on March 7, 2019 at 8:43 pm
      Reply

      Thanks Marcus. I have added a link to an alternative to the article that still works in new versions of Firefox.

  4. GHSRobert said on March 5, 2019 at 4:09 am
    Reply

    Thanks for introducing this. Even after Firefox 57 this is still useful for Waterfox.

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