Extensions in Web browser improve functionality. You can able to add other features that are not built-in to a browser via extensions. Till now, Firefox displays extensions in the overflow menu icon on the toolbar, Mozilla is now going to replace it with a new Unified Extensions Panel.
Highlights:
- Firefox to get a unified Extensions Menu on the toolbar
- When you click on the puzzle button, all extensions will appear.
- Each extension with a gear icon displays a context menu with options to manage, report, and remove that extension.
- The Unified Extensions Context menu contains the “Manage extensions” option to visit the add-ons Manager.
Firefox Extensions Overflow Menu
A few years back Mozilla revamped Firefox Add-ons Manager. It has included the ability to report extensions and themes of abuse.
Apart from Report, the Extensions Menu that appears when you click on the Overflow icon on the toolbar also included the ability to remove the extension from its right-click menu.
When you install extensions in Firefox, they’ll appear on the toolbar by default.
To save space, you can pin each extension or remove it from the toolbar. When you pin to the Overflow menu, they’ll be available to access from it.
As part of Manifest version 3 work, Mozilla is preparing to replace the Overflow menu with a unified Extensions Panel.
You’ll find the new extensions UI similar to Chrome and new Microsoft Edge‘s extensions menu toolbar button and other Chromium browsers.
Firefox’s Unified Extensions Panel
Both current and upcoming extension menu buttons serve the same purpose: save the space on the toolbar by putting them in the icon dropdown, they are one click away.
When compared with the overflow menu, the unified extensions menu icon looks much better and has parity with Chrome and Edge browsers.
The new Extensions toolbar Menu button is being tested in Firefox 105 (pre-release version). Here is how you can enable and test it in Firefox right now.
How to enable the Unified Extensions Toolbar button in Firefox
- Open Firefox
- Visit about:config
- Search for unified, under the results displayed, Enable “extensions.unifiedExtensions.enabled” Pref by toggling its value to true.
- Restart Firefox.
The context menu is accessible and appears when you click on the puzzle piece icon, it provides Manage, report, and remove extension options
As of now, it doesn’t provide options to remove and unpin extension from the toolbar. These could come later.
Summary:
Mozilla is looking to drop Overflow Menu for extensions in favor of the Unified Extensions Menu on the toolbar. The feature is part of Manifest version 3. The new extensions panel is being experimented with in Firefox 105.
What’s your take on this? Do you think new extensions toolbar UI is necessary? Let us know in the comments below
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