![]() ![]() The f hint mode will open the link in the current window, while F tells Firefox to open URLs in a new tab. Type the number and Firefox will go to that URL. The hint mode highlights each link with a number. The easiest way to navigate to URLs you see on a page is to type f or F, then look for the numbers on the page. Like Vim, Vimperator supports counts, so you can add a number and go two or more pages forward/back by using counts. Going back or forward through your history is as easy as typing :back or :forward. ![]() Using gU will take you immediately to the root URL. For instance, if you’re at “ and type gu it will take you to “ and so on. You can also navigate through a site by going up through parent directories, using gu. Navigating through a Webcomic archive? If it has a number in the URL that specifies the comic number, you can go to the next by hitting Ctrl-a or go back one with Ctrl-x This works with any site where the URLs are sequential, of course - so it should work with picture galleries, blog entries, etc., as long as the previous/next pages have URLs with a number for each entry. Instead of opening in the current window, you can use :winopen to open in a new window, or to open in a new tab use :tabopen. Note that the autocomplete works with other Vimperator commands as well. Hitting Tab will select the first one, and you can tab through the results and hit Enter when you find the right entry to go to that page. So for instance, if I start typing :open linux (no http, here) it will start showing me items from my bookmarks and history. In Vimperator 3.0, it has a completion feature that you can use to navigate through items that match bookmarks and Firefox history. To go to a new URL, use the :open command, like open. Let’s look at some of the things that Vim doesn’t do - like browse the Web. See the Vim Series we ran last year to get up to speed with Vim keybindings and such. The h,j,k,l keys move you as they would in Vim, and so on. Naturally, Vimperator supports Vim-like keybindings as well. I wanted to start there not only because it’s one of the first questions you might have when running Vimperator the first time (where the heck did the toolbar go?) but also because it demonstrates command mode in Vimperator. Vimperator for Firefox 4.x leaves the Awesomebar, because it needs somewhere to display status.īut if you really, really want to have your toolbar you can. Also, removing the toolbar gives you extra space to look at Web pages in, which is good. The idea here, of course, is that Vimperator lets you do the things that the Toolbar does with the keyboard so the toolbar is redundant with Vimperator installed. Now that Vimperator is installed, you’ll notice that a few things have gone away - like the toolbar. Restart Firefox and now you’ll be running Vimperator! xpi and walk through Firefox’s regular install process. The 3.0 series does not work with Firefox 3.x because it takes into account some of the GUI changes in Firefox 4.0, like the dearly departed status bar. If you’re on the 4.0 beta series (or final, if you happen to read this after 4.0 is released) you’ll be wanting the Vimperator 3.0 development version. It ought to be a mainline feature…) If you’re on the 3.5 or 3.6 series, you’ll want Vimperator 2.3.1. If you want to use the Vimperator extension, you’ll have to download it from the Vimperator site, as it’s not in Mozilla’s collection of add-ons for Firefox. Yes, Vimperator does more than just let you scroll and search using the keyboard. Vimperator doesn’t take away your ability to use the mouse - it just adds the ability to navigate without it, plus some. Note that you don’t have to stop using the mouse entirely. But if people continue to stare at you oddly while you fly through browsing and work without touching a mouse, you have your second reason - if you’re a Vim fan or aspire to go mouseless as much as possible (as do many Linux users) then Vimperator will give you the tools you need to manage Firefox using mostly the keyboard. First off, if you’re a Vim lover and geek simply because you can is all the reason you need. Why would you want to Vim up your Firefox? I have a couple of stock answers to this. Have some time this weekend? You can be an expert with Vimperator by Monday. It’s a great add-on for Firefox that brings the power of Vim to Firefox. If you ever find yourself wishing that other applications had Vim-keybindings, I have good news for you. ![]()
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