尽管过去几年Firefox 的使用量一直在下降，但在使用量方面仍落后于(Firefox usage)谷歌 Chrome(Google Chrome)。其背后的主要原因是附加组件。Firefox可以以一百万种不同的方式进行定制，这是其他浏览器无法复制到该级别的。
在Firefox 术语(Firefox lingo)中，附加组件可以包含许多东西：扩展、主题、插件、服务、搜索提供程序、语言包等。附加组件允许您更改Firefox的工作方式、扩展其功能或自定义外观浏览器。
在最新版本的Firefox中，附加组件会自动更新，但可以在设置中进行更改。此外，您从Firefox 浏览器(Firefox browser)的附加组件页面(Add-ons page)安装的附加组件均已获得Mozilla的批准，应该可以安全使用。您也可以从第三方站点下载附加组件并手动安装它们，但Mozilla不会检查这些附加组件。
寻找附加组件
让我们从寻找一些要在Firefox(Firefox)中安装的附加组件开始。有两种方法可以做到这一点：通过网络浏览器本身或通过Firefox 附加组件库(Firefox Add-ons gallery)网站。对于前一种方法，单击最右侧的设置图标（三条水平线），然后单击Add-ons。
这将打开另一个选项卡，您可以在其中查找和管理加载项、扩展程序、主题、插件等。如果您已经知道要查找的内容，只需在顶部的框中搜索加载项即可。
要安装附加组件，只需单击安装(Install)按钮。有些附加组件需要重新启动浏览器，有些则不需要。出于某种原因，只有网站库会向您显示哪些附加组件不需要重新启动。
查找附加组件的第二种方法是访问Mozilla 附加组件网站(Mozilla add-ons website)。我更喜欢这个界面，因为您可以按类别、最受欢迎、评分最高、大多数用户、最新等进行搜索。
在网站版本上查找主题和收藏也容易得多。Collections是一个非常酷的部分，由将几个与特定想法或概念相关的(idea or concept)Firefox附加组件组合在一起的用户创建。
例如，您可以安装 Reference Desk 集合(Reference Desk collection)，它将同时安装ScrapBook、Merriam-Webster 和 Memonic Web Clipper(Merriam-Webster and Memonic Web Clipper)。如果您是Web 开发人员(web developer)，Web Developer's Toolbox有 12 个附加组件，非常适合故障排除、编辑和调试 Web 项目。
现在您已经安装了一些附加组件和主题，让我们谈谈我们如何管理它们。
管理加载项
安装插件后您可能会注意到的第一件事是Firefox 工具栏中(Firefox toolbar)的新图标。在这里，我有一个AdBlock Plus 图标(AdBlock Plus icon)和一个自动添加的NoScript 图标(NoScript icon)。
工具栏中的按钮允许我控制我访问的每个网页的设置，因此将它们放在那里很有意义。其他插件不一定会在您的工具栏上添加按钮。您可以通过单击设置图标然后单击最底部的自定义来自定义工具栏中显示的内容。(Customize)
这将打开一个允许您自定义Firefox的新选项卡。左侧是一个名为Additional Tools and Features的部分，它基本上是当前可供您添加到工具栏或右侧设置菜单的所有选项。
只需根据需要拖放项目(Simply drag and drop items)。如果您安装的附加组件还有其他可用的按钮，这些额外的按钮将显示在左侧部分。
现在让我们回到文章开头的附加组件页面。您现在将看到默认情况下，该页面打开到Extensions选项卡，而不是 Get Add-ons。
在右侧，您将看到所有当前安装的插件。在最顶部，您会看到一个齿轮图标，它允许您手动检查插件更新、从文件安装插件或关闭插件的自动更新。如果您想手动更新您的附加组件，只需取消选中相应的框。
至于附加组件本身，您有几个选择。您可以删除插件，这将完全卸载它。您还可以禁用插件，这将关闭该功能，但将其安装在Firefox中。
最后，选项(Options)按钮特定于每个附加组件，允许您配置开发人员包含的设置。例如，Google插件中的“按图像搜索”选项可让您选择在将鼠标悬停在图像上时是否显示相机图标。(camera icon)
这就是你可以用附加组件做的所有事情。如果单击外观(Appearance)，您可以将Firefox 主题(Firefox theme)更改为您安装的任何其他主题。
单击启用(Enable)按钮为Firefox激活一个新主题，并且无需重新启动浏览器即可应用该主题。最后，单击插件(Plugins)以管理任何已安装的插件。默认情况下，Firefox安装了OpenH264 Video Codec和Primetime Content Decryption插件，因此您可以毫无问题地观看YouTube、Netflix和其他在线视频！
总体而言，在Firefox(Firefox)中使用附加组件非常简单，并且可以为浏览器添加相当多的功能和自定义(power and customization)功能。如果您已经在使用Firefox，请务必查看我关于让Firefox再次快速运行并在 about:config 中调整设置的帖子。如果您有任何问题，请随时发表评论。享受！
How to Use Firefox Addons
Even thoυgh Firefox usage has been оn the decline over thе last few years, it’s still in second place behind Google Chrome in terms of usagе. The main reason behind that is add-ons. Firefox can be custоmized in a million diffеrent ways, something no other browser can replicate to that level.
In Firefox lingo, add-ons can consist of a number of things: extensions, themes, plugins, services, search providers, language packs, etc. Add-ons allow you to change how Firefox works, extend its functionality or customize the appearance of the browser.
In the latest version of Firefox, add-ons are updated automatically, though this can be changed in the settings. Also, add-ons that you install from the Add-ons page in the Firefox browser have all been approved by Mozilla and should be safe to use. You can also download add-ons from third-party sites and install them manually, but these add-ons are not checked by Mozilla.
Finding Add-ons
Let’s start by finding some add-ons to install in Firefox. There are two ways you can go about doing this: either through the web browser itself or via the Firefox Add-ons gallery website. For the former method, click on the settings icon at the far right (three horizontal lines) and then click on Add-ons.
This will open another tab where you can find and manage add-ons, extensions, themes, plugins, etc. If you already know what you are looking for, you can simply search for the add-on in the box at the top.
To install an add-on, just click the Install button. Some add-ons will require a restart of the browser and some will not. For some reason, only the website gallery shows you which add-ons don’t require a restart.
The second way to find add-ons is to visit the Mozilla add-ons website. I like this interface better because you can search by categories, most popular, top rated, most users, newest, etc.
It’s also much easier to find themes and collections on the website version. Collections is a really cool section that is created by users who group together several Firefox add-ons that relate to a specific idea or concept.
For example, you can install the Reference Desk collection, which will install ScrapBook, Merriam-Webster and Memonic Web Clipper together. If you’re a web developer, the Web Developer’s Toolbox has 12 add-ons that are perfect for troubleshooting, editing and debugging web projects.
Now that you have installed some add-ons and themes, let’s talk about how we can manage them.
Managing Add-ons
The first thing you might notice after installing an add-on is a new icon in your Firefox toolbar. Here I have an AdBlock Plus icon and a NoScript icon that were added automatically.
Having the buttons in the toolbar allow me to control the settings for each webpage I visit, so it makes sense to have them there. Other add-ons will not necessarily add a button to your toolbar. You can customize what shows up in your toolbar by clicking on the settings icon and then clicking on Customize at the very bottom.
This will open a new tab that will allow you to customize Firefox. On the left is a section called Additional Tools and Features, which is basically all the options currently available for you to add to the toolbar or to the settings menu at the right.
Simply drag and drop items as desired. If there are other buttons available for the add-ons you have installed, those extra buttons will show up in the left-hand section.
Now let’s go back to the add-ons page that we began with at the beginning of the article. You’ll now see that by default, the page opens up to the Extensions tab rather than Get Add-ons.
On the right side, you’ll see all the currently installed plugins. At the very top, you’ll see a gear icon, which will allow you to manually check for add-on update, install an add-on from a file or turn off automatic updates of add-ons. If you want to manually update your add-ons, simply uncheck the appropriate box.
As for the add-ons themselves, you have a couple of options. You can remove the plugin, which will uninstall it completely. You can also disable a plugin, which will turn off the functionality, but keep it installed in Firefox.
Lastly, the Options button is specific to each add-on and allows you to configure settings included by the developer. For example, the options for Search By Image from Google add-on let you choose whether or not to show the camera icon when hovering over an image.
That’s about all you can do with add-ons. If you click on Appearance, you can change the Firefox theme to any other theme that you installed.
Click on the Enable button to activate a new theme for Firefox and the theme should be applied without having to restart the browser. Lastly, click on Plugins to manage any installed plugins. By default, Firefox has the OpenH264 Video Codec and Primetime Content Decryption plugins installed so you can watch YouTube, Netflix and other online video without problems!
Overall, using add-ons in Firefox is really easy and can add quite a bit of power and customization to the browser. If you already use Firefox, make sure to check out my post on making Firefox fast again and tweaking settings in about:config. If you have any questions, feel free to comment. Enjoy!
