Topic: Firefox Boosts

These are some awesome Firefox performance boosts that I've found totally speed up Firefox on the whole.

You will need to place these in the user.js file, which can easily be edited with the ChromEdit extension.


There has been much argumentation on the issue of FireFox speed boosts that I have found.
This is an important post I've run across and would advise you to listen up:

Most pros I've talked to have it set somewhat like so:

Note: DO NOT USE THESE SETTINGS!

wrote:

network.http.max-connections : 32
network.http.max-connections-per-server : 8
network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy : 8
network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server : 4
network.http.pipelining : true
network.http.pipelining.maxrequests : 8
network.http.proxy.pipelining : true
nglayout.initialpaint.delay : 750

But, this is not for every computer.
Here are some example settings for different kinds of computers:


After installing ChromeEdit just add the settings in the user.js tab..

Quick and Dirty Settings
user_pref("network.http.pipelining", true);
user_pref("network.http.pipelining.firstrequest", true);
user_pref("network.http.pipelining.maxrequests", 8);

These were some settings I ran across sometime ago. Pipelining does multiple data requests at once and should speed things up. I believe IE did this before and this was partially attributable to the speed advantage that IE had over older versions of Mozilla/Netscape. Initial Paint Delay actually slows down the rendering of the ENTIRE page but since users tend to start reading before the entire page is rendered, setting this to a low value gives the impression that the page loads faster.
The following configurations are based off of recommendations off of the Mozillazine thread with some editing on points that I do not agree with
Common to all configurations

These are the settings that seem to be common to all configuration files regardless of connection speed or computer speed with a couple of additions - plugin paths can be found with about lugins and the bookmark menu delay is turned off.

FOR ALL COMPUTERS!!!
user_pref("network.http.pipelining", true);
user_pref("network.http.proxy.pipelining", true);
user_pref("network.http.pipelining.maxrequests", 8);
user_pref("content.notify.backoffcount", 5);
user_pref("plugin.expose_full_path", true);
user_pref("ui.submenuDelay", 0);

Fast Computer Fast Connection
user_pref("content.interrupt.parsing", true);
user_pref("content.max.tokenizing.time", 2250000);
user_pref("content.notify.interval", 750000);
user_pref("content.notify.ontimer", true);
user_pref("content.switch.threshold", 750000);
user_pref("nglayout.initialpaint.delay", 0);
user_pref("network.http.max-connections", 48);
user_pref("network.http.max-connections-per-server", 16);
user_pref("network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy", 16);
user_pref("network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server", 8);
user_pref("browser.cache.memory.capacity", 65536);
A couple settings of note - Firefox is allocated 4096 KB of memory by default and in this configuration we give it roughly 65MB as denoted by the last line. This can be changed according to what is used.

Fast Computer, Slower Connection
This configuration is more suited to people without ultra fast connections. We are not talking about dial up connections but slower DSL / Cable connections.
user_pref("content.max.tokenizing.time", 2250000);
user_pref("content.notify.interval", 750000);
user_pref("content.notify.ontimer", true);
user_pref("content.switch.threshold", 750000);
user_pref("network.http.max-connections", 48);
user_pref("network.http.max-connections-per-server", 16);
user_pref("network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy", 16);
user_pref("network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server", 8);
user_pref("nglayout.initialpaint.delay", 0);
user_pref("browser.cache.memory.capacity", 65536);

Fast Computer, Slow Connection
user_pref("browser.xul.error_pages.enabled", true);
user_pref("content.interrupt.parsing", true);
user_pref("content.max.tokenizing.time", 3000000);
user_pref("content.maxtextrun", 8191);
user_pref("content.notify.interval", 750000);
user_pref("content.notify.ontimer", true);
user_pref("content.switch.threshold", 750000);
user_pref("network.http.max-connections", 32);
user_pref("network.http.max-connections-per-server", 8);
user_pref("network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy", 8);
user_pref("network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server", 4);
user_pref("nglayout.initialpaint.delay", 0);
user_pref("browser.cache.memory.capacity", 65536);

Slow Computer, Fast Connection
user_pref("content.max.tokenizing.time", 3000000);
user_pref("content.notify.backoffcount", 5);
user_pref("content.notify.interval", 1000000);
user_pref("content.notify.ontimer", true);
user_pref("content.switch.threshold", 1000000);
user_pref("content.maxtextrun", 4095);
user_pref("nglayout.initialpaint.delay", 1000);
user_pref("network.http.max-connections", 48);
user_pref("network.http.max-connections-per-server", 16);
user_pref("network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy", 16);
user_pref("network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server", 8);
user_pref("dom.disable_window_status_change", true);
One of the changes made for this particular configuration is the final line where the status bar is disabled for changing web pages to save processor time.


Slow Computer, Slow Connection

We have entered the doldrums of the dial-up user
user_pref("content.max.tokenizing.time", 2250000);
user_pref("content.notify.interval", 750000);
user_pref("content.notify.ontimer", true);
user_pref("content.switch.threshold", 750000);
user_pref("nglayout.initialpaint.delay", 750);
user_pref("network.http.max-connections", 32);
user_pref("network.http.max-connections-per-server", 8);
user_pref("network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy", 8);
user_pref("network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server", 4);
user_pref("dom.disable_window_status_change", true);

Some of the options we chose not to include as opposed to suggestions on the Mozillazine threads included the suggestion of catching SSL pages. Regardless of computer speed, one of the common trends is that pipelining is a good thing. Those with faster computers and gobs of memory may want to up the amount of memory available to Firefox while those with slower computers can still increase the default 4MB to something higher. This was not done in our configuration files however. Powerusers are also welcome to disable the status bar to eek out that extra CPU cycle or two.



The original post can be found in my blog -
http://zanthria.com/blog.php?id=14

Re: Firefox Boosts

btw you can change the settings in firefox just by going to about:config

Re: Firefox Boosts

Connorhd wrote:

btw you can change the settings in firefox just by going to about:config

Yeah, but that's a permanant change. user.js is on a profile-to-profile basis.

Re: Firefox Boosts

ok, btw what is a fast connection? is 512k fast? is 1mbit fast or you talking like 10-20 mbit tongue

5 (edited by erissiva 2005-04-14 17:04)

Re: Firefox Boosts

Connorhd wrote:

ok, btw what is a fast connection? is 512k fast? is 1mbit fast or you talking like 10-20 mbit tongue

In my experience, Fast is 300kbps and up (fast cable to T1 and OC38) tongue

Slower is slow cable...
Slow is 56k or crappy DSL.

Re: Firefox Boosts

nice! i especially notice it here on the pun boards. it makes them more "snappy". are there anymore firefox tweaks/mods?

~James
FluxBB - Less is more

Re: Firefox Boosts

Dr.Jeckyl wrote:

nice! i especially notice it here on the pun boards. it makes them more "snappy". are there anymore firefox tweaks/mods?

There's a ton, but those are the corew ones that I've found to be best.

A good website for tips and trick for FF can be found here.

But, most of the tweaks and such are already included in that first post.

Another good place for documentation is the official website.


Some good tweaks and such are availible in extensions.

The ones I have are these:

ChromEdit - Let's you edit FireFox files easily.
Minimize to Tray - Minimizes FF to tray instead of taskbar
Autohide - Tweaks to make fullscreen better
Gmail Notifier - Um...Well, the Gmail notifier inside of FireFox
Interstitial Buster - Kills those annoying ads that popup on Yahoo and such
FlashGet - Lets me download easily through Download Accelerator Plus, Fre Download Manager, FlashGet, etc...
Bookmark Backup - Creates a backup of my bookmarks every time FF closes
All-in-One Gestures - Mouse gestures
Deepest Sender - LiveJournal posting tool
BBCodeXtra - Allows me to insert BBCode and XHTML from the context menu
Adblock "Button! Edition" - Blocks web ads
FoxyTunes - Allows me to control different media players (WinAmp, XMPlay, iTunes, Apollo, Foobar, Windows Media Player, etc) from FF.
LoremIpsum Generator - Generates random Latin filler content for web development.


These and more can be found at The Extensions Mirror

8

Re: Firefox Boosts

erissiva,

Get the Web Developer extension, it's the most awesome extension for working with web sites.

Re: Firefox Boosts

hcgtv wrote:

erissiva,

Get the Web Developer extension, it's the most awesome extension for working with web sites.

I used to use it, but for some reason, it killed my website when I used the CSS editor.
I was using it to develop my Bauglir Template, and I finally ironed out some errors I was having.

So, I copied and pasted directly into the CSS file from the side bar.

Hit F5.


My site was totally screwed up. I didn't have a backup (now I'm paranoid about that kind of thing) so I had to start from scratch, and I can't figure out most of what I'm missing - so I just gave up...I like the new layout anyways.


Now...I can just find other ways around it.



Oh, I figured out a really good modification that never gets listed:


1) Type "about:config" (without quotes) into the address bar.
2) Find the "browser.tabs.showSingleWindowModePrefs" value.
3) Set it to "true".
4) Go to "Tools>Options".
5) Click "Advanced".

Now, there should be an option to force all links to open up in a new tab instead of new windows.
Saves a ton of computing power. wink


Also, if you want better performance on your computer, use an optimized build.
I would recommend using MOOX's builds: http://www.moox.ws/tech/mozilla/firefox.htm
The builds are optimized for different processors and each one features bug-fixes for different FireFox errors that won't be fixed until v1.1 such as the Tabbed-browsing memory leak, etc.

Anyways, be sure to download the correct build for your computer: http://www.moox.ws/tech/mozilla/mdefs.htm
Instructions on using them: http://www.moox.ws/forum/viewtopic.php?t=154

10

Re: Firefox Boosts

erissiva wrote:

Oh, I figured out a really good modification that never gets listed:

1) Type "about:config" (without quotes) into the address bar.
2) Find the "browser.tabs.showSingleWindowModePrefs" value.
3) Set it to "true".
4) Go to "Tools>Options".
5) Click "Advanced".

Great tip, saves me from clicking the middle mouse button.

As for the Web Developer extension, I've nver used it for editing CSS but it's invaluable for finding errors on a page and for exploring other peoples markup.

11 (edited by erissiva 2005-04-16 04:52)

Re: Firefox Boosts

Well, for checking for errors in markup, I use Checky.

The cool thing about Checky is that it does all the checks that the WebDeveloper's extension does, but with some extra ones.

Easy to use interface to many free and commercial Online Validation and Analysis Services. Validate and analyse HTML, XHTML, CSS, RDF, RSS, XML, WAI, Section 508, P3P, Hyperlinks, Metadata and many more. Adds a context and tools menu.

The only thing that's getting annoying is Mozilla never updating the plugin's site. This is causing a problem in the fact that lots of good extensions are getting overlooked.
The only good collection that is updated constantly is The Extension Mirror.

There is really no good site that I've found that is the same way, but for skins.
EDIT: Oh, wait...The extension mirror does themes too...My bad!

12

Re: Firefox Boosts

erissiva wrote:

The only thing that's getting annoying is Mozilla never updating the plugin's site. This is causing a problem in the fact that lots of good extensions are getting overlooked.
The only good collection that is updated constantly is The Extension Mirror.

The Extension Mirror is sponsored by Round Two, so you can see where all this is heading.

Time to start learning XUL wink

Those Speed Tweaks really made a difference, I used the Fast computer, Fast connection ones. And I'm on Linux, that's the beauty of Firefox, no matter where you run it, we can share tips and tricks.

The only thing on Linux are the themes, it comes down to what Window Manager you use. Some themes work good, some cause problems, so I'm using the default theme which seems to be the fastest rendering one.

Re: Firefox Boosts

hcgtv wrote:

erissiva,

Get the Web Developer extension, it's the most awesome extension for working with web sites.

<3 topographical view its so good for seeing where all the divs have gone lol

14 (edited by shinko_metsuo 2005-04-16 14:35)

Re: Firefox Boosts

Whoa that is kick ass it made it 30 times faster

erissiva do you mind if I post this on my Wiki?

Re: Firefox Boosts

shinko_metsuo wrote:

Whoa that is kick ass it made it 30 times faster

erissiva do you mind if I post this on my Wiki?

Go ahead!
Share and share alike.

I'm actually thinking of devoting a section of my blog/forum to firefox tips and tweaks.
I keep finding all these tip/tweak sites, but they only seem to list stuff from the official site. So, I'm thinking why not just post it all on my site?


Anyways, another tweak that gets overlooked is "user_pref("dom.disable_window_status_change", true);". It stop s the statusbar change everytime a new page is loading. This cuts out a few processor cycles.
I included it on the part for slow computers, but I think it helps no matter how fast your compy is.

Re: Firefox Boosts

I've posted it just tell me if there is something I missed or I need to add

http://shinko.freeprohost.com/forums/do … aster_fire

17

Re: Firefox Boosts

erissiva,

The "browser.tabs.showSingleWindowModePrefs" tweak is nice but it causes popup windows to also display in a tab. Like on my blog I have an edit button to edit posts, these open up in a popup window but with this option enabled it opens up in a new tab.

Is there a way to enable popups that you want to use a new window?

18 (edited by erissiva 2005-04-16 18:27)

Re: Firefox Boosts

hgctv,

Hmm...Now that I think about it, maybe that's why it was disabled in the first place.
*searches around for an extension he knows exists to fix this*

Try "Tab Mix 0.1.6".
http://www.extensionsmirror.nl/index.ph … ;hl=tabbed

I don't know if it will work, but you need to (in my opinion) leave most of the default settings, but change the option "JavaScript popups:" to "Allow resized popups open in a new window".

Try that, if it doesn't work, try the next setting "Allow all popups open in a new window".

This extension also adds some really cool tab options.


shinko - It's not letting me load your site. I get this error:

The operation timed out when attempting to contact shinko.freeprohost.com.

The browser timed out while trying to connect to the specified site. The site may be experiencing high loads that are slowing it down, or network problems are preventing data from being received from it in a timely manner. If the site is likely to be busy, consider waiting a few moments before retrying the request.

19

Re: Firefox Boosts

Thanks, will give a try.

You should go apply at Round Two wink

Re: Firefox Boosts

hcgtv wrote:

Thanks, will give a try.

You should go apply at Round Two wink

*lol*
What for?
I have no real knowledge of my own, just what I dredge up from around the internet using Google and logic.