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How To: Make Firefox in Linux Look and Act Like Firefox in Windows

5K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  Bluescreen_Of_Death 
#1 ·
Linux Firefox Tweaks
Making Linux Firefox Behave Like Windows Firefox

One thing I do as soon I install a Linux distro is tweak Firefox to act like it does in Windows. This includes fonts, mouse behavior, and program actions. I will base this on Ubuntu so for different distros, tweak as needed. So here goes.

1. Fonts: The fonts that are used in the Linux version of Firefox are not the same as the ones you are used to seeing in the Windows version. This is due to a couple reasons, a big one which is the Windows fonts don't come pre-installed on Linux as they are proprietary. There are lots of methods. I just show two.
Method 1
Either find "msttcorefonts" in the Package Manager or open a terminal and type:

Quote:


sudo apt-get install msttcorefonts

Method 2
First, download the font package here.

Open a console and make a truetype directory in your fonts folder:

Quote:


sudo mkdir /usr/share/fonts/truetype

Unpack the font files to the directory:

Quote:


sudo tar -zxvf msfonts.tar.gz -C /usr/share/fonts/truetype

Download the font configs here.

We now unpack these:

Quote:


sudo tar xvjpf fontconfig.tbz -C /etc/fonts/

And update the Font Cache:

Quote:


sudo fc-cache

Log out and then back in and you should now have the Microsoft fonts installed.
Applying Fonts in Firefox

Now, we enter the Firefox options and go to the Content tab. Here, set the default Font and Size as seen in the screenshot:


Then click the Advanced button and set the fonts as shown in the next screenshot:



Okay, now you have the fonts the same as the Windows version. To me, it feels much cleaner and friendly. On to the next one.
2. Address Bar: In Windows, when you click on the address bar, it immediately selects the entire address so you may begin typing to replace it or copy it. In Linux, a single click in the address bar simply places your cursor in that spot.
To change this, go to the address bar. Type
Quote:


about:config

Say you'll be careful (and be careful, this is like opening the hood on a car). In the Filter bar, type:

Quote:


browser.urlbar.clickselectsall

Double click the only entry that remains to change its value to True. You're done. Now when you click the address bar, it will select the entire address.
3. Middle Mouse Button: When you click the middle mouse button in Windows on a link, it opens that URL in a new tab. In Linux, however, it is sometimes set to open whatever is on your clipboard.
This is an easy fix, however. Just enter:

Quote:


about:config

Say you will be careful (if you didn't uncheck the box last time) and in the Filter bar, type:

Quote:


middlemouse.contentLoadURL

Change this value to False and then type:

Quote:


middlemouse.copennewwindow

Make sure this set to True. That should solve this little annoyance.
So now your Firefox under Linux looks and acts strikingly similar to Firefox in Windows. It has been a little while since I have installed a Linux distro so if I missed something or something doesn't work, let me know so I can fix/add whatever it is. Feel free to leave comments.
 
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#3 ·
Quote:


Originally Posted by timw4mail
View Post

Maybe I'm just not that picky, but I never notice the difference in behavior...

Yeah, they are little things but if you use them often and switch back and forth between OS's a lot, it sure helps to have some continuity. I am sure there are more differences, but these are the ones I feel Windows does better.
 
#7 ·
Personally I prefer the Linux fonts. After looking at both side by side, I'm convinced that the Linux fonts and rendering are just much better. Of course, this depends on which fonts you're using and your Linux distribution.
 
#10 ·
Reading back through the original post, you've actually hit on two things I hate about Firefox on Windows, and I would like a guide to do exactly the opposite: to make the Windows version of Firefox behave normally.

#1 basically can't be solved easily, since Microsoft's fonts are so horrible.

#2 is ridiculous. I don't WANT the whole address bar selected when I click on it. I'm trying to edit the URL to take out a typo or something! If I wanted to put in a whole new URL I'd just hit Ctrl-L like a normal person.

Now #3 I can't really argue with. I understand why the Linux version does this, but it's way too inconsistent and may as well just not be there.
 
#11 ·
Quote:


Originally Posted by error10
View Post

Reading back through the original post, you've actually hit on two things I hate about Firefox on Windows, and I would like a guide to do exactly the opposite: to make the Windows version of Firefox behave normally.

#1 basically can't be solved easily, since Microsoft's fonts are so horrible.

#2 is ridiculous. I don't WANT the whole address bar selected when I click on it. I'm trying to edit the URL to take out a typo or something! If I wanted to put in a whole new URL I'd just hit Ctrl-L like a normal person.

Now #3 I can't really argue with. I understand why the Linux version does this, but it's way too inconsistent and may as well just not be there.

#1 I like them


#2 Good thing Firefox allows you to change it then, huh?


#3 It never made much sense to me either.
 
#12 ·
Oh, #3 makes sense to me, since middle click has been "Paste" in UNIX since the 1980's and long time UNIX users will be expecting it to paste, but it doesn't seem to always paste as expected. E.g. you hit middle click to paste some text in a text box and it tries to load the clipboard text as a URL instead. I consider this a bug.
 
#13 ·
yeah, I'm with error10 on #2. I prefer the Linux way vs the windows way with mouse clicks on the address bar. Thanks for showing me how to change it xD
 
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