Introduction to Firefox, part 1, install and initial setup

Mozilla Firefox is one of the best browsers out there on the market, and it's free. Through the unique development methods of Open Source, they are able to make a product with impressive speed and less bugs than programs developed by traditional methods. Mozilla Firefox has a number of unique features, and it is overall a good product. Throughout this series I will try to present Mozilla Firefox for you.

Installation and configuration

Obviously, the first thing you need to do is get your free copy of the Mozilla Firefox browser. The Firefox installer can be by clicking on the Firefox image above - it should come up in your language. Now, I recommend you read on the page which version you should download, as Mozilla Firefox develops at a high pace, it's not always the good thing to get the latest version, as it is with most programs. :) I will use the Windows version, and the series will mainly evolve around Windows issues (although installing, setting up and using on Mac OS X/Linux should be fairly similar). Download the file and you are ready to begin.

If you're on a Mac, here's a short introduction to getting Firefox installed.

Mozilla Firefox installer

Of course there is an installer to Mozilla Firefox. :) I will take you through the simple pleasure of using a installer. This Mozilla Firefox installer is the official release from the Mozilla community.

After you finish your download it's time to begin the install. Locate the installer .exe (in this case named "Firefox Setup 18.0.exe") and double click it. Hopefully you will get this window:

If you got any programs running conflicting this Firefox install, close them as advised. Press next.

If you want to choose what to install and where to install, mark the custom box, if not choose standard.

The installer will tell you where Mozilla Firefox will be installed, most of you will have the same path as I have in this screenshot.  If you want to use Firefox as the standard web browser, leave the box ticked (good idea, get a good trial run of it).

Tick the box for launching firefox, and voila, Firefox starts up.  :)

Mozilla Firefox has the capability of importing settings/bookmarks/cookies etc. from other browsers, when Firefox is started the first time you are first presented with the following screen:

I'm importing from Internet Explorer so that's what I chose. :)  Note: If you like me are using different browsers often, it is possible to import from other browsers later, by following the instructions on this page.

OK, press next and you should get the following screen:

The Firefox Start page is a good start, as you can search straight on Google, or use the bar at the bottom to look at downloads, history and so on.  Press next.

There we are, Firefox startup up for the first time, for the greater good of a free and open web.  :)

This is the first article in a series about Firefox, if you have Firefox-related topics you want covered here, let us know. Comments on this article, thumbs up or flames, can be sent to articles@nidelven-it.no. If you need help using Firefox, we recommend using the Firefox forums.

If you know a language or languages besides English and would like to translate these articles, let us know via articles@nidelven-it.no as well. :)

Or just go on to the next article, tabbing and basic functions.  :)