Firefox has changed. It’s not the same user-oriented browser it was… at least not completely. I still like it and it’s still my main browser but lately Mozilla has been more worried of thinking about new features instead of maintaining their releases fast and stable.

One thing that did really bother me is the fact they removed some functions from Firefox, especially because these where features that affected directly to the user experience.

With the Firefox 23 release,  Mozilla removed three configurations from the Options menu. Those were the convenient “Load images automatically” and “Enable JavaScript” check-boxes from the Content panel, and “Always show the tab bar” in the Tab panel.

Fortunately, a user under the nickname RealityRipple created an add-on called SettingSanity which returns these characteristics to the Options menu without having to go through the impractical about:config every time we want to activate or deactivate any of the features.

HOW TO RESTORE REMOVED FEATURES TO FIREFOX WITH SETTINGSANITY

SettingSanity Firefox add-on can be downloaded from here. Using it is pretty straightforward: We install the add-on, restart Firefox and see the options available again.

The following are screenshots of the Options pages before installing SettingSanity in Firefox

And then we got the restored check-boxes just as they were on pre-23 editions.

Here are some comments from the developer:

The Content panel sees a return to the ever-useful “Load images automatically” and “Enable JavaScript” checkboxes, along with their respective “Exceptions” and “Advanced” buttons and dialogs. The Tabs panel gets its “Always show the tab bar” checkbox back, and support for the config “browser.tabs.autoHide” preference is returned to normal.

CONCLUSION

This is a simple add-on that I wanted to share because if there’s one thing I hate is to deprive the user of basic and useful options, especially when they’re related with the way we discover the web.

This is an add-on that restores features I have constant interaction with. When I’m lurking on the web and suddenly I discover a new site I don’t know if it’s totally safe, I uncheck the “Load images automatically” option so I won’t run into some picture that’s not safe for work. Same way I do with the JavaScript one.

Now if you didn’t know how to get back these options or you didn’t even care about them but suddenly you feel the desire of being in control, SettingSanity is the way to go. Check it out.