Customize your Firefox theme using Personas

Posted on November 27, 2008 at 5:56 am

Changing the look and feel of your Firefox 3 browser could take a couple of steps. Traditionally a user will need to get individual themes from the web and then install them individually. In Firefox, there is a lightweight theme where basic portions of the browser’s look is modified.

This allows web developers to provide instantly downloaded themes without installing the theme. With Firefox Personas you have to follow steps to change themes (compared to traditional downloadable themes). Personas is a plugin currently being tested on Mozilla Labs. Although in its testing stage, it amused me enough because it works fine with Firefox 3.

To install Personas, click the install now link (make sure you use Firefox as browser when doing this step):

http://labs.mozilla.com/2007/12/personas-for-firefox/

After downloading, you will see a software installation prompt. Click Install Now to install the plugin. (Note: this will install as a plugin in Firefox)

Close Firefox and open it again to activate the plug-in. The Personas can be accessed on the bottom left part of the Firefox window. Click the cute baby fox icon to see the categories from most popular, recent, new, to all. Click any theme to apply that theme on your browser:

In this example I chose “Groovy Orange” under the “Most Popular” category. It looks like a concentric image of different shades of orange:

My favorite theme as of now is “Suede” which I found on the “Most Popular” themes. These themes could change over time depending on the availability and popularity of new themes.

Bonus tip: To install downloadable themes manually go to the website below:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/browse/type:2

Choose from any themes available and the click “Add to Firefox” button. It will install like an ordinary plugin:

Click restart Firefox to have the template loaded. You should see your Firefox window using the installed theme:

The installed themes could change the overall look of your Firefox browser. The buttons, scrollbars, background picture etc are skinned. You can combine an installed theme with a Personas theme to achieve more variation. Below is a sample combination of Aeon Jumbo installed theme and Personas Suede: