# The Sidebar

In this section: What is the Sidebar? Using the Sidebar Adding Sidebar Tabs Customizing Individual Sidebar Tabs Reorganizing Sidebar Tabs Removing Sidebar Tabs Opening, Closing, and Resizing Sidebar

## What is the Sidebar?

The Sidebar is a customizable frame in your browser where you can keep items that you need to use all the time---the latest news and weather, your address book or buddy list, stock quotes, a calendar---and many other options you can choose. The Sidebar presents these items to you in tabs that are continually updated.

Mozilla comes with some Sidebar tabs already set up, but you can customize the Sidebar by adding, removing, and rearranging tabs.

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## Using the Sidebar

Unless you have closed the Sidebar, it is always open at the left side of your browser. To view a tab:

- Click a tab's title; for instance, click the words "What's Related." The What's Related tab opens, showing you a list of web pages related to the page you are currently viewing.

If you don't see the Sidebar, it may be closed. To open it:

1. Move the mouse pointer up and down along the left hand border of the Mozilla window. The pointer changes to a hand when it touches the "handle" for the Sidebar, as shown in the picture.

2. Click the handle to open the Sidebar.

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## Adding Sidebar Tabs

To add a new tab:

1. Click "Tabs" at the top of the Sidebar, and select Customize Sidebar from the menu.
2. In the Customize Sidebar window, select a tab from the list on the left. You can open and close folders by clicking the triangles.
3. Click Add.
4. Continue adding as many tabs as you like.
5. Click OK to finish.

Tip: To view an extensive and categorized list of Sidebar tabs available for the Sidebar, click "Tabs" at the top of the Sidebar, and select Sidebar Directory.

You can also turn Sidebar tabs on and off.

1. Click "Tabs" at the top of the Sidebar. Current tabs are listed in the lower part of the menu.
2. Select the tabs you want displayed in the Sidebar. Remove the checkmark to turn a tab off (it will still be available from the menu).

Tip: To quickly turn off a Sidebar tab, right-click on its name and choose Hide Panel.

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## Customizing Individual Sidebar Tabs

1. Click "Tabs" at the top of the Sidebar, and select Customize Sidebar from the menu.
2. Select a tab from the list on the.
3. Click Customize Tab. A window appears with information and options for customizing the tab. (Note: not all tabs can be customized.)

   The instructions vary depending on the source of the tab---in addition to Netscape, tab providers can be any company, organization, or individual who uses the Internet.

4. After you follow the tab provider's instructions, close the customization window (or follow the provider's instructions to close it).
5. Click OK to finish.

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## Reorganizing Sidebar Tabs

1. Click "Tabs" at the top of the Sidebar, and select Customize Sidebar from the menu.
2. Select a tab from the list on the right.
3. Click Up and Down to change the tab's placement.
4. Repeat steps 1 and 2 to continue reording as many tabs as you like.
5. Click OK to finish.

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## Removing Sidebar Tabs

1. Click "Tabs" at the top of the Sidebar, and select Customize Sidebar from the menu.
2. Select a tab from the list on the right.
3. Click Remove.
4. Continue removing as many tabs as you like.
5. Click OK to finish.

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## Opening, Closing, and Resizing the Sidebar

Use the Sidebar's handles to open, close, and resize:

If the Sidebar is closed, you can still see its handle. Move the mouse pointer up and down along the left edge of the Mozilla window. The pointer changes to a hand when it touches the "handle" for the Sidebar, as shown in the picture.

- Click the handle to open and close the Sidebar.

- Click and drag the handle to resize the Sidebar.

To remove the Sidebar, including the handles:

- Under the View menu, open Show/Hide and uncheck the Sidebar option.

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# Changing Fonts, Colors, and Themes

In this section: Changing the Default Fonts Changing the Default Colors Changing the Theme

## Changing the Default Fonts

Normally, web pages are displayed in the default font set by your browser, or in a font chosen by the web pages' authors.

To change the default fonts:

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
2. Under the Appearance category, choose Fonts. (If no options are visible in this category, click to expand the list.)
3. From the "Fonts for" pop-up menu, choose a character set. For instance, to set default fonts for the Western (roman) character set, choose "Western."
4. Select whether proportional text should be serif or sans-serif. You can also specify what font size you want for proportional text. You can select either Serif (like Times Roman) or Sans-serif (like Ariel).
5. If the appropropriate font is available for your language character set, select fonts for Serif, Sans-Serif, Cursive, Fantasy, and Monospace. You can also specify what font size you want for monospace text.
6. Specify whether the default font should be serif or sans serif.
7. Select a fixed width font and size. Certain types of text, such as equations and formulas, are displayed in a fixed width font.

Many web page authors choose their own fonts and font sizes. To allow fonts other then the ones specified in your preferences, check "Allow documents to use other fonts.

To adjust the readability of fonts, type a number for your preferred resolution in the field next to "Display resolution." 96 dpi (dots per inch) is the standard resolution, but you may want to choose a larger value.

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## Changing the Default Colors

Normally, the background and text colors on web pages are determined by the default colors set by your browser, or by the pages' authors.

To change the default colors:

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
2. Under the Appearance category, choose Colors.
3. Click the colored blocks next to "Text," "Background," "Unvisited Links," and "Visited Links." Choose a color for each from the color chart. You can also specify that links should be underlined.

Most web page authors choose their own colors. You can override the authors' intentions by selecting "Use my chosen colors, ignoring the colors specified."

When viewing the source of a web page, you can see the HTML syntax of the souce of a web page highlighted in specific colors by selecting "Enable syntax highlighting."

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## Changing the Theme

You can change Mozilla's look by changing themes.

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
2. Under the Appearance category, choose Themes.
3. Click to select the theme you want to use.
4. Click the Apply button, then click OK to adopt your selection as your theme.

Shortcut: You can also change themes by opening the View menu, choosing Apply Themes, and then choosing the theme you want to use.

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# Toolbars

In this section: Navigation Toolbar Personal Toolbar Taskbar Hiding a Toolbar

## Navigation Toolbar

The Navigation Toolbar, pictured here, helps you move around the Web.

Back | Forward | Reload | Stop

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## Personal Toolbar

The personal toolbar is completely customizable---you decide what you want to keep there. The personal toolbar comes with some buttons already enabled, including your home page. You can easily add, delete, and re-arrange items in the personal toolbar.

#### Turning Buttons On and Off

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
2. Click Navigator.
3. In the Toolbars section, select the items you want to see in the toolbars.
4. Click OK.

#### Adding Personal Toolbar bookmarks

You can add buttons for your favorite bookmarks, or folders containing groups of bookmarks. To create a new bookmark to add to the personal toolbar:

1. Open a Web page you want to bookmark.
2. Drag the bookmark icon (located to the left of URL in the Location Bar) to a desired place on the personal toolbar. You can drag the icon directly to the personal toolbar, or to a folder on the personal toolbar.

Each item in the Personal Toolbar folder appears as a toolbar button. You may need to enlarge the browser window to see them all.

#### Designating a Bookmark Folder as Your Personal Toolbar Folder

1. Open the Bookmarks menu and choose Manage Bookmarks.
2. Select the bookmark folder whose items you want to appear on the toolbar.
3. From the View menu, choose Set as Personal Toolbar Folder.

The buttons in your personal toolbar now correspond to the bookmarks in the folder you designated.

#### Removing Bookmarks From the Personal Toolbar

1. Open the Bookmarks menu and choose Manage Bookmarks.
2. Click the Personal Toolbar Folder.
3. Select the bookmark or folder you want to delete.
4. Press Delete on your keyboard.
5. Close the Manage Bookmarks window.

Tip: To quickly remove a bookmark placed on the personal toolbar (not in a folder), right-click on the bookmark and select Delete.

#### Re-Arranging the Personal Toolbar

1. Open the Bookmarks menu and choose Manage Bookmarks.
2. Click the Personal Toolbar Folder.
3. Select a bookmark or folder and drag it to a new location.
4. When you are finished re-arranging items, close the Manage Bookmarks window.

Tip: To quickly re-arrange a bookmark placed on the personal toolbar (not in a folder), click and drag the bookmark to the another location on the personal toolbar or to a folder.

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## Taskbar

Use the Taskbar at the bottom of the Mozilla window to switch between tasks (such as browsing, composer and mail).

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## Hiding a Toolbar

There are two ways to hide the toolbars.

To minimize a toolbar:

- Click the small triangle at the left of the toolbar. To show the toolbar, click the triangle again. (Note: you cannot hide the Taskbar using this method.)

To completely hide a toolbar, including its triangle:

1. Open the View menu.
2. Choose Toolbars and uncheck the toolbars you want to hide.

To reverse this action, open the View menu, choose Toolbars, and select the toolbars you want to show.

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# Bookmarks

In this section: What Are Bookmarks? Using Bookmarks Creating New Bookmarks Organizing Your Bookmarks Changing Individual Bookmarks Searching Your Bookmarks Exporting or Importing a Bookmark List

## What Are Bookmarks?

Bookmarks are shortcuts to your favorite and most-visited web pages. Rather than typing in long URLs (web addresses), you can create bookmarks that take you directly to the pages you want to see.

You access your bookmarks through the bookmarks menu. You can control what's listed in the bookmarks menu, by adding bookmarks for your favorite web pages and organizing your list of bookmarks any way you want.

## Using Bookmarks

Mozilla comes with some bookmarks already available. To use a bookmark:

1. Open the Bookmarks menu.
2. Choose a bookmark from the list. Most of the bookmarks are in folders such as "Business and Finance," "What's New and Cool," and so forth.

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## Creating New Bookmarks

You can bookmark your favorite web sites to make it easy to return to them.

To bookmark the current page, perform one of these steps:

- To add a bookmark right to the Bookmarks menu, open the Bookmarks menu and choose Add Bookmark.
- To add a bookmark to the personal toolbar, drag the bookmark tag next to the URL to a place on the personal toolbar. You can add add a bookmark to the personal toolbar or to a folder on the personal toolbar.
- To add a bookmark to the Bookmarks tab in the Sidebar, open the Sidebar, select the Bookmarsk tab, and drag the bookmark tag next to the URL to a place on the bookmark list in the Bookmarks tab.

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## Organizing Your Bookmarks

To organize your bookmarks, open the Bookmarks menu and choose Manage Bookmarks. Then do any of the following tasks in the Manage Bookmarks window.

Tip: You can open the Manage Bookmarks window from the Bookmarks tab in the Sidebar. Click on Manage at the top of the Bookmarks tab.

To view bookmarks inside of folders:

- Click the open/close triangles at the left of each folder to view its contents.

To move a bookmark or a folder to another location in the list:

- Click to highlight the bookmark or folder that you want to move, and drag the item to the new location. To put a bookmark in a folder, drag it to the folder.

To create a new folder or separator:

- In the Manage Bookmarks window, click New Folder or New Separator.

To remove a bookmark or a folder from the list:

1. Click to highlight the bookmark or folder that you want to remove.
2. Press the Delete key on your keyboard, or click Delete in the Manage Bookmark window.

#### Handling New Bookmarks and Bookmarked Search Results.

When you create a new bookmark, Mozilla normally adds it to the bottom of your bookmarks list. If you prefer to file your bookmarks in a folder, you can designate a new bookmarks folder.

1. Open the Bookmarks menu and choose Manage Bookmarks.
2. In the Manage Bookmarks window, select a folder to hold new bookmarks.
3. Open the View menu and choose Set as New Bookmark Folder.

If you use the Sidebar Search tab to locate web pages, you can save your search results by clicking the Bookmark this Search button in the Search tab. Saved search results are placed in their own folder at the bottom of the bookmarks list. For instance, if you searched for "parrots," and then clicked Bookmark this Search, a folder named "Search: parrots" would be added to your bookmarks list. Each time you save search results, a new folder is added.

If you prefer to file all your saved search results in a single folder, you can designate an Internet search folder.

1. Open the Bookmarks menu and choose Manage Bookmarks.
2. In the Manage Bookmarks window, select a folder to hold search results.
3. Open the View menu and choose Set as New Internet Search Folder.

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## Changing Individual Bookmarks

You can change the information for any individual bookmark.

1. Open the Bookmarks menu and choose Manage Bookmarks.
2. In the Manage Bookmarks window, click a bookmark.
3. Click Properties.
4. In the Properties window, click the General Information tab.

You can rename the bookmark (the name appears in your bookmark list), add descriptive information, or set a keyword. (A bookmark's keyword can be typed into the location field to go to the bookmarked site.)

You can also set Mozilla to check bookmarked web sites for changes.

1. Open the Bookmarks menu and choose Manage Bookmarks.
2. In the Manage Bookmarks window, click a bookmark.
3. Click Properties.
4. In the Properties window, click the Schedule tab.
5. Use the pull down menus to specify how frequently you want Mozilla to check the bookmarked page for changes.
6. If you want to be notified when the bookmarked page changes, choose a notification option.

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## Searching Your Bookmarks

To search the bookmarks list:

1. Open the Bookmarks menu and choose Manage Bookmarks.
2. In the Manage Bookmarks window, open the Edit menu and choose Seach Bookmarks.
3. In the pop-up menus choose options to define your search, and then click Find. Bookmarks that match your search criteria are displayed.
   Double-click a bookmark in the list to go to it.

Search options:

- Choose "contains," "starts with," or "ends with" if you know only part of the word or phrase for which you're searching.
- Choose "is" if you know exactly what you're searching for.
- Choose "is not" or "doesn't contain" to exclude pages.
- Click the fill-in field and type all or part of name or URL (web address) for the bookmarks or history listings that you want to find or exclude.

Tip:: If the list is hard to read, try expanding the Search Bookmarks/History window.

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## Exporting or Importing a Bookmark List (Advanced Feature)

Your bookmarks are stored in a file named bookmarks.html. You can export a copy of this file and save it in a folder of your choosing. You can then edit it and treat it as you would any HTML file.

1. Open the Bookmarks menu and choose Manage Bookmarks.
2. In the Manage Bookmarks window, open the File menu and choose Export Bookmarks.
3. In the Export Bookmark File window, choose a folder. Your bookmarks.html file will be copied into the folder you designate.
4. Click Save.

Your Mozilla bookmarks are not altered by this procedure.

You can also import bookmarks files from other sources, such as friends, earlier Netscape versions, or other browsers.

Before you start, make sure that the bookmark file you want to import is an HTML file.

1. Open the Bookmarks menu and choose Manage Bookmarks.
2. In the Manage Bookmarks window, open the File menu and choose Import Bookmarks.
3. In the Import Bookmark File window, locate and select the bookmark file you want to import.
4. Click Save.

The imported bookmark file is treated as new bookmarks, and added to the bottom of your bookmarks list. If you have designated a new bookmark folder, the imported bookmark file is added to that folder.

Note: Importing a bookmark file imports the bookmarks and folders from that file. It does not create two bookmark files.

You can use any bookmarks file as your default Mozilla bookmarks, as long as it is an HTML file and is named "bookmarks.html."

Before you begin, close all Mozilla windows and exit from Mozilla.

1. Go to the directory that contains Mozilla on your computer, and find the Users subdirectory.
2. In the Users subdirectory, open the directory for your current profile.
3. In the directory for your profile, find the current bookmarks.html file and rename it. (For instance, rename it "bookmarks.old.")
4. Put the new bookmarks.html file in the directory containing your profile. This replaces the file you just renamed.
5. Restart Mozilla. Your new bookmarks file will be used as the default bookmarks.

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# Specifying How Mozilla Starts Up

In this section: Specifying a Starting Page Changing Your Home Page Specifying Which Components Open at Launch

## Specifying a Starting Page

You can specify how your browser window opens up at launch.

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
2. Under the Navigator category, chose "When Navigator starts up display:" to specify whether you want a blank page, your home page, or the last web page visited to open automatically when you launch your browser.

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## Changing Your Home Page

Your home page is the page that opens when you click the Home button in the personal toolbar. Depending on how your preferences are set, it may also be the page that opens automatically when you launch Mozilla.

To specify your home page:

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
2. Click the Navigator category.
3. In the Home page section, do one of the following:
   - Type your home page's URL (web address) in the Location: field.
   - Click Use Current Page to make the page currently displayed in the browser window your home page.
   - Click Choose File to select a local file from your computer's hard drive.

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## Specifying Which Components Open at Launch

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
2. Click the Appearance category
3. Select the components you want opened automatically each time you start Mozilla.

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20 June, 2001

Copyright © 1998-2001 The Mozilla Organization.