Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Mozilla Updates Firefox Add-Ons Site with Collections [Firefox Extensions]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/6G3aWDBuRmc/mozilla-updates-firefox-add+ons-site-with-collections

Wouldn't it be nice if you could click one link and have all your favorite add-ons automatically installed on a new copy of Firefox? Mozilla makes it so with Collections, the newest feature of a revamped add-on site.

We'd seen beta previews of the new add-on site, but as of this morning, the redesign has gone live. The new skin and organization make it more apparent how to search, sort, and install add-ons, but Collections, and the Add-On Collector extension, are the real new hotness.

Put simply, Collections are just a pre-packaged set of add-ons, themes, dictionaries, and language packs that are given a name, a description, and a unique URL, like addons.mozilla.org/collections/davesawesomecollection (Note: Not a real collection, at least until someone spoofs it). So it's kind of convenient if you happen to know of or find a great collection set, but the real power comes in creating your own collections, either by typing and selecting add-ons on the site, or automatically culled from your current extensions with the Add-On Collector. As you can see in the screenshot at right, Subscriptions becomes a part of your Add-Ons options when you install the Collector, and the extension itself gives you some control over what gets published to your private or public collections, along with allowing you to subscribe to mulptiple collections if you'd like.

By creating a new collec! tion, wh ich you can make private or public, you basically create an up-to-date backup of your must-have Firefox extensions. For frequent Firefox re-installers, a good collection is going to be a must. For those looking to help out Firefox newcomer friends or keep a group of workers updated, it seems like a pretty nifty tool. The Add-On Collector was having some problems connecting to my Mozilla account this morning, but that is, hopefully, just launch morning bugs.

Mozilla explains in video detail how Collections, and the Add-On Collector, work:

The Add-On Collector is a free download for Firefox, while the Collections site works on the web. Both require a Mozilla account to save and synchronize collections.

Got a great collection already built? Link us to it and give us a few details in the comments.



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