RootsChat.Com
General => Technical Help => Topic started by: doddsie4 on Thursday 13 September 12 08:28 BST (UK)
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After switching from an IE browser to Firefox, I now find that I can't just right click a page on any site and see the words: Create Shortcut. So how do I create a shortcut when using the Firefox browser?
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You go to the website where you want to create the short cut, then click on the circular mark at the side of the name of the website on the address bar and whilst holding the mouse down just move it across to your desktop. Hope you understand what I mean.
You'll end up with a white square with the top right hand corner turned down with the Mozilla logo in the centre and the name of the website underneath - you can re-name the shortcut by right clicking on it. I don't like the effect as all the icons look the same. The other shortcut icons I have for Irfanview, Big Calculator, Windows Snipping Tool etc. look much better, but I copied a shortcut to the desktop for those when I downloaded them.
Lizzie
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I go to the Website page that I want to make a shortcut to, and that page covers the whole screen. So when I click the circular mark on the address bar - what do I do then? (I call the desktop the main page with all the icons on it). But the desktop with the icons is hidden or has disappeared because I have a website page up.
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You have to make the page smaller so that you can see the icons on the desktop. I mean the same thing as you do. You can do it by either clicking on the box next to the x in the red box on the top right hand corner, or by using your mouse which when you put it on the sides or top of the screen will change to a double ended arrow. Then just push the mouse across and the screen will shrink. If you always use a full screen then clicking on the icon at the top of the screen is probably the easiest.
I always have the screen I'm viewing smaller than the total screen size so that I can see icons and open them if I want to, for instance a word document to copy and paste part of an article, or whatever.
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Having lots of shortcuts on your desktop can get very confusing, messy and my IT expert nags me it is " Just not done" !!! ???
Rather than use shortcuts, Bookmark the site: ( Firefox instructions)
Go to Bookmarks at top of menu bar, click, check Bookmark this page.
You will then start a list of your most useful sites and you can sort them too. I have a set of consumer pages, travel pages and genealogical pages etc. You can click and drag them about to sort, its very easy.
If you no longer want the site, you can right click the entry and use the delete option.
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Rather than use shortcuts, Bookmark the site: ( Firefox instructions)
Go to Bookmarks at top of menu bar, click, check Bookmark this page.
You will then start a list of your most useful sites and you can sort them too. I have a set of consumer pages, travel pages and genealogical pages etc. You can click and drag them about to sort, its very easy.
If you no longer want the site, you can right click the entry and use the delete option.
I'd definitely go along with this good advice, it's the way I do it and far easier ! :) :)
Pels.
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Pity. I wanted to continue as before. But that white square wasn't appearing because of the full page - which I simply can't reduce.
Thanks anyway.
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And if you really want quick access Firefox also has a Bookmarks toolbar! Give it a try.
Can't understand why you would want to clutter up your desktop with indistinguishable shortcuts :o ??? :-\
Hope you like it
Alan
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I have re-named these short-cuts, so they are not "indistinguishable". ...I know exactly what they are. They are named, for instance...... Ancestry ....Scotlands People ..... Curious Fox .... LFHS ...... sites I use every day. I turn on the laptop and the desktop is there. One second and I am right onto the page I need no bother.
I review these icons, getting rid of whichever I haven't been using much, keeping whichever I am currently using, and adding new ones.
Don't get me wrong, I realize you are quite right in saying that it isn't the normal thing but I confess am not so hot at the technical site and so if something is too complicated I have to get round it by my own methods like this.
I did see the Bookmark toolbar, but am not clear at all how I would access it; I already put one site onto it, but have no idea what good it did! Dumb, eh? I will have a look again.
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Please do not be frightened!
Bookmarks are very, very easy to use. When you add a bookmark, the system suggests a name for the bookmark, just edit the suggestion to make sure it makes sense for YOU, sometimes the suggestions are very long winded and a bit odd!
Open up Firefox, then go to the bookmarks at the top and scroll down until you find the site you want to visit. Click and off you go.
Eventually you can get a long list, so they do not all display, but at the bottom and top of the list are little arrows to scroll up or down accordingly
What makes bookmarks so easy is that you are always in control.
Needless to sat RC is in my bookmark list and I am onto the site within a second!
Good luck
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To create a shortcut on the desktop do this. Copy the link that is showing in your browser. Go to the desktop and create a new shortcut by right clicking. From the window that opens paste in the link and click ok. You can rename afterwards as you have done in the past.
Your Firefox bookmarks are accessed by clicking on the little drop down arrow in the square box with the star in it at the top right hand side. Find the bookmark and click on it to open the webpage.
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Midsae,
You mentioned that little downward pointing arrow. It is so small I never bothered with it before, but I clicked it, and apparently I have five or six items on a list. I clicked one of them and it opened the site -one of my icon sites. I could identify it before opening it too.
I think I am getting there.....
Maybe when I switched from IE to Firefox at the beginning of the week, some items somehow found their way there. If all I need to do is click that little arrow, then choose from what is there, it would be easy, and as you all say, I would tidy up my desktop that way.
I will have a look at this again tomorrow, and see if I can get other items onto Bookmark. But there is a snag that I saw someone mention somewhere. When you try to put something to Bookmark on Firefox, there are two Bookmarks it can go to, and apparently it goes to the wrong one first.
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Firefox may well have imported any bookmarks from IE. To bookmark a site all you need do is either right click on the web page that you are on where you will see the option to Bookmark the page, or simply click on the star icon to the far right in the address bar. I don't understand about bookmarks being put in the wrong place, I simply ask it to bookmark the site and it ends up in my long list.
I actually use an add-on called speed dial. This allows you to have multiple shortcuts and is set as your home page. I think that is a wonderful thing to have and I currently have 20 sites available, you can specify what you want to suit your needs. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/speed-dial/?src=search
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Hi doddsie4
I changed to Firefox yesterday and your post showed me I didn't know how to do a shortcut and like you I like shortcuts on my desktop.
So I googled the problem.
First of all, to make your web site page smaller click on the two squares between the minus sign and the red cross in top right hand corner of page. This reduces the page without it disappearing completely.
You will find the favicon next to the back arrow [on the left hand end of the location bar (address bar)]
Click and hold on the favicon and drag onto the desktop to create a shortcut.
Worked a treat for me.
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Lot of confusion in my mind about the FAVICON on Firefox. I googled it and it is supposed to be a small red house - is that right? Well, when you google: "Show me the Favicon on Firefox. What does it look like?", you get folk saying that Firefox have stopped using it. But it still showed what it looked like.
I don't have this small red house at all. I have seen what it looks like but I don't have it.
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First of all, to make your web site page smaller click on the two squares between the minus sign and the red cross in top right hand corner of page. This reduces the page without it disappearing completely.
I had already mentioned that to doddsie4 who said she couldn't do it because the white square doesn't appear as she has the screen so large. I didn't understand that, because as far as I'm concerned there is always the minus, the white square and the red cross in the top right hand corner.
If I have a photo on the screen which fills it completely so that the white square can't be seen, I just press escape and that reduces the size of the photo.
Lizzie
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Can I just explain the way I think you place the shortcut on Bookmark, because it differs greatly from what I have been told so far...
You bring up the page of the site you want to make a shortcut to. You look for the yellow star in the bar at the top of the page. Click that.
A box appears:
EDIT THIS BOOKMARK.
You rename the site in a way that is best identified by yourself. You click the down arrow of folder. You select BOOKMARK MENU. Click that.
Now to check it out, you go back to the small downward arrow right next to the yellow star. Click that and you see that the newly created shortcut has been added to your list (if you have already created others) of old shortcuts.
Can anyone tell me if this is correct?
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Now to check it out, you go back to the small downward arrow right next to the yellow star. Click that and you see that the newly created shortcut has been added to your list (if you have already created others) of old shortcuts.
Can anyone tell me if this is correct?
I would then click on Bookmarks at the top, the drop down box will appear and you should see your chosen webpage saved there.
What I didn't know was if you clicked on the star it bookmarked the page. I've always clicked on the Bookmark at the top and saved it that way !
This is also turning into an education for me and I've had Firefox for years ! :-[ ;D
Pels.
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The easiest way to bookmark a page in Fire fox is
Go to the page you are interested in
Press Ctrl and D this brings up the dialog box where you can name the Bookmark and even decide where you wish to save the Bookmark to
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Falkryn,
I tried that and that is a good way too, I think. ...See the page that comes up, which is marked PAGE BOOKMARKED, the top right hand side of that box points to the yellow star, so the yellow star is seemingly always involved in creating the shortcut.
Pels,
I DON'T KNOW anything! I don't know what I am doing ... I am just feeling my way. But this stuff about dragging Favicons across the page ... is that right? Or is the yellow star right? I must say I think doing it with the help of the yellow Star, or Falkryn's way, (which might be even better) looks far easier to me.
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Lot of confusion in my mind about the FAVICON on Firefox. I googled it and it is supposed to be a small red house - is that right? Well, when you google: "Show me the Favicon on Firefox. What does it look like?", you get folk saying that Firefox have stopped using it. But it still showed what it looked like.
I don't have this small red house at all. I have seen what it looks like but I don't have it.
It isn't a red house on my screen. It is a grey circle between the black, back arrow and www. rootschat.com (or other web address)
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doddsie4
Below is what the top of your page (as you look at this topic) should look like. From this you can see the round grey circle next to where it starts www.rootschat.com/forum/ etc. etc. and at the top right hand corner a minus sign, a square box and a red cross.
Is this what the top of your screen looks like?
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Sorry it's not very clear, but I reduced the size to fit on here.
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crisane and lizzie,
Yes, that is exactly what I have. I tried the google because I was uncertain whether you all had the same set-up as myself.
But I had a surprise when I saw that folk were saying that FIREFOX was changing their Favicon, and I saw the small red house Favicon they were talking about. As long as the grey thing is the up-to-date one that is fine.
It's just that all this about dragging the Favicon across the page
seems a bit out. Using the yellow star etc seems better. I am just trying to get a true picture. Not trying to be awkward. Hope I don't come across like that.
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Using the yellow star etc seems better. I am just trying to get a true picture. Not trying to be awkward. Hope I don't come across like that.
I'll still stick to my way of dropping the bookmark column down to save a page, but that's only because it's familiar. If I was only just getting used to it - the yellow star seems to be the easiest option.
You are coming across as being refreshingly honest and certainly not awkward. It's interesting how we all use a different way to achieve the same aim ! :) :)
Pels.
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All this about Favicons is probably a good way but not all sites use them. The simplest way to add a bookmark is just right mouse click on the web page and select Bookmark This Page.
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Would anyone care to say how many shortcuts they have on their Bookmark? I may like to put as many as 20 to 30 shortcuts to Bookmark but I have no idea if this would overload the page, or if there is a limit to how many you can put onto Bookmark.
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I've literally got hundreds and all in some kind of order.
By right clicking with your mouse on the drop down box it gives you the choice to open a new folder. You can then create different folders to keep all your bookmarks separate.
Drag your bookmark into the new folder by placing your cursor onto the link, left click with your mouse while keeping your finger pressed down until you've dragged it where you want it to go.
Hope that makes sense ?
Pels.
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Like Pels I have loads, well 50 at least.
I have set mine out as columns, 1) general 2) family history3)personal sites
No problems as I see it with your 20-30, just think before hand what/where you want things.
Brian
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I am just trying to get a true picture. Not trying to be awkward. Hope I don't come across like that.
There really is no "right" way or "wrong" way to work with a program like Firefox it is really down to experimentation to find a way which suits you best.
Firefox keyboard shortcuts can be seen here http://www.mouserunner.com/FF_Shortcuts1Printable.html
ctrl Shift and B brings up the Bookmarks organiser or you can use the mouse - again whatever suits you.
As to number of bookmarks 20 - 30 is a doddle
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Apart from the ones I have in my Speed Dial I too have a long list uncounted.
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I've got loads of Bookmarks, which are all sorted into groups, but for the sites I use the most I much prefer Desktop shortcuts, it is much quicker just to click on the shortcut than search through all the bookmarks.
Each to their own I suppose.
Lizzie
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pels,
I have decided to make the shortcuts your way - by going to Bookmark at the top of the page, as you do. There are a few little things I am unsure about when using the Star method, and I am getting on fine doing it your way anyway, which I now think is probably best.
Lizzie,
I agree with you. But in the last hour I have rid my desktop of about three quarters of the icons that were cluttering it up, leaving only those I prefer to be seen. I have the majority on Bookmark now, have been testing Bookmark to see if everything works properly, and to my delight I am reaching the shortcut pages very easily.
A big clear-out on my Desktop has just been carried out. ...It all looks a lot tidier and more manageable now. Thanks everyone!!!!
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And your boot time is marginally shorter. Nice to hear that all is going well. :)
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pels,
I have decided to make the shortcuts your way - by going to Bookmark at the top of the page, as you do. There are a few little things I am unsure about when using the Star method, and I am getting on fine doing it your way anyway, which I now think is probably best.
Lizzie,
I agree with you. But in the last hour I have rid my desktop of about three quarters of the icons that were cluttering it up, leaving only those I prefer to be seen. I have the majority on Bookmark now, have been testing Bookmark to see if everything works properly, and to my delight I am reaching the shortcut pages very easily.
A big clear-out on my Desktop has just been carried out. ...It all looks a lot tidier and more manageable now. Thanks everyone!!!!
An advantage to using the Bookmark method is that if you choose to change your browser again you should be able to import them into the "other" browser and save yourself a lot of work and anguish.
PS once you have set up your bookmarks it would be a good idea to save a backup copy (Ctrl Shift B and then Import/Backup)