Keep Windows Taskbar Visible In Firefox’s Full Screen Mode
Firefox has grown a lot over the years. The open-source web browser has become highly versatile and dynamic, allowing users to use it in a multitude of ways. One of the features I like most about it the ability to browse the web in full-screen mode. Activated by pressing the F11 function key, the Full Screen mode automatically hides the tab bar and and other obtrusive UI elements, leaving only the actual web page in view, in turn providing a distraction-free browsing environment. However, along with concealing the tab bar and navigation bar, it also hides the Windows Taskbar. Now if you’re like me who constantly switches back and forth between Firefox and other apps via Taskbar buttons, you might want to have the Taskbar handy in Full Screen mode as well. Fortunately, Fullscreen+ is a small Firefox add on that lets you keep the Windows Taskbar intact even in full-screen.
Here’s a quick look at Firefox’s default Full Screen view. You can see that the browser doesn’t display anything other than the web page. And while you can access the tab bar and navigation bar by moving the cursor to the upper edge, you cannot access the Windows Taskbar in a similar way by moving the cursor to the bottom edge. Additionally, when revealing the navigation bar, the browser pushes the page a little bit downward.
Fullscreen+, on the other hand, not only keeps the webpage from moving downward when revealing the tab bar and navigation bar, but also lets you keep the Taskbar visible under the said mode. The installation is pretty straightforward, though it does require a browser restart.
You can also use Fullscreen+’s navigation bar icon for quick access, but you’ll first have to add it to there. To do that, go to View > Toolbar > Customize and then drag and drop the icon to the required location. Clicking this icon then reveals two options: Full Screen and Max Mode Full Screen (the word Screen is actually misspelled as Scrren). The former activates Full Screen mode without the Taskbar, though without pushing the webpage downward when revealing the tab and navigation bars.
Max Mode Full Screen, on the other hand, also keeps the Taskbar visible, so you may easily access your other apps and files. The screenshot below demonstrates Firefox running under Max Full screen when using Fullscreen+.
Fullscreen+ is available for free at the Mozilla Add-ons page.
Install Fullscreen+ for Firefox
Thanks a lot, unfortunately it has been removed 🙁
Is there something similiar to internet explorer 11 for windows 8.1? Damn I need this so badly…
Good, very useful!