Firefox users who want to use multiple panes of web content at the same time can do so by following these simple steps.
- Open Firefox and click on the menu button (three lines in a row on the top right corner of the browser window).
- Select “Tools” from the menu that appears.
- Select “Options.”
- Under “General,” click on “Multi-Pane Viewing.” Click on the checkbox next to “Use multi-pane viewing.” If you want to use a specific layout for your panes, select it from the drop-down list that appears. You can also choose how many panes of content Firefox should display at once by selecting from one to eight from the drop-down list next to “Number of panes.” Finally, click on “OK” to save your changes and close Options window. ..
Options
Once you have installed the extension and restarted Firefox, the best place to start is with a good look through the options. In the “General Area” you can choose the preferences that you desire for auto-focusing, synchronous scrolling, and split tab behavior.
Select the options that you would like to have active for your split panes and the appearance options that you prefer to have for split buttons in the “Appearance Area”.
Choose how you would like to handle search results in the “Combination Area”.
In the “Menu Area” you have the option to disable the “Split Menu” for the “Menu Bar” and also choose the commands that you prefer to have included in your “Context Menu”.
Decide if you would like to save the state/setup of the split panes and the number of times that you would like to be able to reopen them in the “State Area”.
Toolbar Buttons
If you would like to add toolbar buttons for the extension, there are six that you can choose from.
For our purposes we chose to use the “Main Split Browser Toolbar Button”. This is the menu that is available when you click on it.
The same exact menu can be accessed through the optional “Split Menu” in the “Menu Bar”. Choose the one that best suits your personal preferences and UI setup.
Split Browser in Action
This is how the “Context Menu” looks with a single pane open…time to get started on opening those extra panes!
Note: You can easily adjust the width and height of panes using your mouse.
Two panes open and double the reading goodness!
Once you get at least two panes open, you will notice a new sub-menu available in your “Context Menu”.
All the articles for one day open in the same browser window…not bad at all.
This looks really nice…full width reading for both articles.
Conclusion
If you have a wide monitor (or monitors) and want to make good use of that screen real-estate, then the Split Browser extension is definitely worth taking a look at.
Links
Download the Split Browser extension (Mozilla Add-ons)
Download the Split Browser extension (Extension Homepage)
