VimFx is a free Firefox Add-on to control and navigate the Firefox web browser using keyboard. It adds Vim Style keyboard shortcuts for easy navigation and browsing. You can control Firefox completely with the help of your keyboard; no need to use mouse at all. For e.g. you can open new tab by pressing “t”, scroll up using “k”, go to first tab using “g0”, etc. You can also change the default key configuration if required. The size of the extension is very small and you do not need to restart Firefox after installing it. This extension is especially useful for power users, as it improves the navigation speed by using keyboard, instead of mouse.
It places the icon on the top right side of the Firefox toolbar. You have to memorize the useful commands as per your requirement.
How to use VimFx Keyboard Shortcuts in Mozilla Firefox:
First install this Add-on and open the list of available commands by clicking its icon on the toolbar. It would be a good idea to first open a blank tab and open the “Show the Keyboard Shortcuts help dialog” by clicking the VimFx icon on the toolbar. There are four modes available: Normal Mode, Hints Mode, Ignore Mode, and Find Mode. All these modes have their own commands.
Here are some useful keyboard shortcuts you can easily remember:
For Normal Mode:
- Location:
- o: It focuses on Address Bar, and you can type your URL here.
- O: It focuses on Search Bar.
- p: Paste and Go.
- Scrolling:
- k: Scroll Up.
- j: Scroll Down.
- Tabs:
- t: Open a New Tab.
- T: Open a New Tab after Current.
- Browsing:
- [: Click Previous link.
- ]: Click Next link.
- Find:
- /: Begin Find Mode.
- n: Find Next
- N: Find Previous
- Misc:
- w: New Window.
- W: New Private Window.
- Hints Mode:
- <escape>: Return to Normal Mode.
- Ignore Mode:
- <s-escape>: Return to Normal Mode.
- Find Mode:
- <escape>: Close Find Bar.
- <enter>: Close Find Bar.
And many more commands can be easily learned.
For capital letter commands, use Shift key.
Modifying Shortcuts, Commands:
You can also change the default commands if required. The easiest method is to go to its configuration menu by clicking its icon on the main toolbar. Now click on any command shown on the screen and Add-ons window will open. Here you can replace the default key with your choice. But do remember the selected key must be unique and no other command should already assigned to that key.
Conclusion:
This free Add-on for Firefox is very helpful for users who don’t want to use their mouse while browsing. Giving command through keyboard saves a lot of time as compared with mouse. Also it is very helpful in case your mouse is not working properly.
You can also check Vimium for Google Chrome.
