Classicish Add-on Manager For Firefox

Martin Brinkmann
Feb 4, 2012
Firefox, Firefox add-ons
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Not every Firefox user likes the new add-on manager that the developers have added to the browser some time ago. Veteran users may recall a time when the add-on manager opened up in a popup window instead of a browser tab. The design changed as well, everything feals bigger and less streamlined in the new add-on manager than in the old.

The Classicish Add-on Manager add-on for the Firefox web browser restyles the current add-on manager to look and feel more like the classic one. The most notable change is that it moves the add-on manager from the browser tab into its own window, making it completely independent from the browser window it was opened in.

add-ons manager

Another benefit of that approach is that you can change the add-ons manager's window size without changing the size of the browser window itself. The interface lists all installed add-ons on startup. Add-ons are listed with a black font color on white background for better readability.

Each add-on listing takes up the same screen estate in the window, and displays the extension's icon, name, description and an options button.

Everything else has been moved into the right-click context menu. This includes options to disable listed add-ons, to remove them or to check for updates.

add-ons manager

The options button opens the add-on's options menu. Depending on the add-on, it may either open in a new window or on the same page. The back and forward buttons, and the sidebar can be used to navigate back to the listing afterwards.

The sidebar lists add-ons, plugins, themes and userscripts, but no option to install add-ons from the window. Most Firefox users install add-ons directly on the Mozilla site anyway and not in the Add-ons Manager.

Classicish Add-on Manager is a useful add-on for Firefox users who prefer to open the add-ons manager in an extra window instead of the browser tab.

Firefox users can download the add-on from the official Mozilla website.

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Comments

  1. Umpio said on February 7, 2012 at 9:42 am
    Reply

    There are also many userstyles to enhance the new add-on manager created since the firefox 4.

    to just name few,

    Firefox 9 – Stripped Down Addons Manager
    Firefox 4 or newer – Compact Addons Manager
    Ergonomic Add-ons Manager
    Dual pane Firefox 4 add-ons manager
    AiOS – Simple Addon Manager

    http://userstyles.org/styles/browse/app/manager

  2. Sina said on February 5, 2012 at 9:24 am
    Reply

    Thanks Martin for great article as always.
    There are some more alternatives, such as:
    Cleanest Addon Manager – Addon Manager Firefox 4 – Addon Manager Fix – Add-ons Manager Dialog Returns …
    And also Classicish seems to be a great tweak.
    I, Personally, really hate new firefox addon manager style.

  3. boris said on February 5, 2012 at 3:47 am
    Reply

    I have ony one problem with Addon box/tab. I have a lot of extensions and sometimes I do not remember exact name. Do you know anything that can search in Addon tab?

  4. Midnight said on February 5, 2012 at 1:53 am
    Reply

    I don’t have a problem with the Add on Manager opening in a new Tab!
    As long as it opens, that’s fine with me! :)

    I use Slim Add on Manager to keep all the Add ons trimmed down, only showing the basic information!
    I can easily check for updates which get applied when needed!

  5. WebHybrid said on February 5, 2012 at 1:00 am
    Reply

    On my system, this did not behave as described.

    It did cause the Add-ons Manager to become a separate, resizable window in a white-background color scheme – and that’s all it did.

    “Everything else has been moved into the right-click context menu.” Nope. There were no right-click menus for the listed add-ons, and their previous arrays of buttons remained just as they were before I installed this.

  6. Sina said on February 5, 2012 at 12:31 am
    Reply

    Thanks Martin.
    There are some more alternatives, such as:
    Cleanest Addon Manager
    Addon Manager Firefox 4
    Addon Manager Fix
    Add-ons Manager Dialog Returns
    And classicish is a great tweak too.

    I, Personally, really hate new firefox addon manager style.

  7. Robert Palmar said on February 5, 2012 at 12:06 am
    Reply

    Looks like a must have, thanks.

    The add-ons manager in the browser tab is
    one of several changes I found annoying
    and inferior to prior versions of Firefox.

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