About:config provides access to many under the hood settings of the Firefox browser. That's helpful for users who want to modify system settings beyond what is offered in the default options of the browser. It is also one of the distinct advantages of the Firefox browser over its competitor Google Chrome.
The core audience on the other hand is almost entirely made up of advanced users who know that about:config exists, and know how to use it properly.
Probably the biggest drawback, besides the obvious lack of information about each parameter, is the user interface itself. It basically consists of a large unsorted table with hundreds of different entries.
Gui:config for Firefox offers a solution for the two drawbacks. It turns the about:config list of parameters into a user interface that resembles the Firefox options menu.
You can access the menu via the Alt-key > Tools menu or by placing its icon into one of the toolbars of the Internet browser.
It will take some time to browse through all the options offered by the extension. The developer has divided settings into the two tabs accessibility and browser.
Accessibility deals with mouse behavior, the address bar, websites and other settings that are accessible to the user in the browser. The Browser configuration tab handles under-the-hood changes mostly.
Lets take a closer look at the available options:
Mouse Behavior - Mouse Click
Mouse Behavior - Vertical Mouse Scrolling, Horizontal Mouse Scrolling
Awesombar
Websites
Session Restore
Misc
Browser Cache
Websites
Extensions
Most options are self-explanatory, while some, like instant apply, require research on part of the user to find out what they are about. That's a issue that the developer needs to take into consideration. It could easily be fixed with tooltips that explain a setting on mouse over.
Gui:Config is a handy replacement for the about:config dialog in Firefox. I cannot really say if it contains all settings of that dialog, or only select ones. What I know for sure is that the add-on is not displaying extension preferences in its interface. Firefox users can download and install Gui:Config from the official Mozilla Firefox add-on repository.
Update: The most recent version of the add-on comes with a different interface that divides options into seven tabs.
Browser is still available but you find content, input, appearance, tabs, network and developing added to the mix. Accessibility has been moved to the content tab but part of what was listed previously under it is now available in other tabs.
One great addition is tooltip support for preferences. When you hover over a preference you get information about it now that help you understand what it is about.
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Ghacks is a technology news blog that was founded in 2005 by Martin Brinkmann. It has since then become one of the most popular tech news sites on the Internet with five authors and regular contributions from freelance writers.
I was looking out for this kind of addon for a long time. Thanks martin
It is pretty solid.
Not supported on v6 beta
This reminds me of an add-on called Configuration Mania, what do you think?
I have reviewed Configuration Mania here: https://www.ghacks.net/2008/03/14/firefox-configuration-mania/
It seems that some of the settings are similar, and that Configuration Mania has more of them. Good point.