Google Toolbar for Firefox Has Been Discontinued

Another Google product bites the dust. This time it's a well-liked add-on: Google Toolbar for Firefox. Many users were surprised to see that Google hasn't rationalized the toolbar for Firefox 5, even though it wasn't a difficult task. After enabling the Add-on Compatibility Reporter, most of the features worked well in Firefox 5.

It turns out that Google no longer wants to modernize Google Toolbar for Firefox, but it doesn't admit that the product has been discontinued.

"Google Toolbar for Firefox is well-matched with Firefox version 4 or older. If you use Firefox version 5 or newer, you won't be talented to use Google Toolbar."

Google suggests a long list of add-ons that might replace Google Toolbar's features, but the suggestions are too generic. For example, Google links to the hunt results for [bookmarks sync] or [language translate] in the Firefox add-ons gallery.

A Google blog post offers an explanation: "many features that were once obtainable by Google Toolbar for Firefox are now already built right into the browser" and thanks the loyal users. That's also true for the IE toolbar, but there are many useful features that aren't built-in in the browser: auto-translation (a built-in Chrome feature), Google Bookmarks integration, using Google Docs to open documents, smart spell-checking using an online service, highlighting search terms, suggestions for navigation errors (another built-in Chrome feature), custom buttons and gadgets.

You almost certainly remember that Google Toolbar for Firefox was released in 2005, five years after the Internet Explorer version. At that time, Firefox users who wanted to put in a Google Toolbar with PageRank support could try an unofficial extension called Googlebar. Maybe that addition will be resurrected, now that Google Toolbar for Firefox is no longer available. Releasing some of the source code under an open-source license would be helpful.

For now, Google Toolbar still works in the latest Firefox releases if you put in the Add-on Compatibility Reporter first and restart the browser. Here's Google Toolbar in Firefox 7 Alpha 2 (Aurora):

Google Toolbar 7—cleaner, fresher and faster

Today we’re bringing the speed of Google immediate to the latest version of Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer. We’re also introducing a fresh, clean look that personalizes Toolbar with the tools you use most.

Toolbar Instant

If you’ve used immediate on google.com or in Chrome, you’ll be right at home with Toolbar Instant. Just start typing in the search box and search predictions and results will emerge instantly as you type, receiving you the results you want faster.

You can also type Alt+G to get to the Toolbar look for box more quickly.

To enable Toolbar Instant, visit Toolbar Options and click “Enable immediate for faster searching and browsing.” Toolbar Instant works on IE8 and IE9; if you’re on an older browser, you can also upgrade your Internet Explorer version or try Instant in Chrome, which includes many of the same tools you’re recognizable with in Toolbar.

Personalized Toolbar

This new version of Toolbar is simpler, cleaner and emphasizes what’s significant to you. The tools that you use most will remain noticeable on the toolbar, while buttons that you haven’t used lately will be moved to the new “More” button.

As you discover and use exacting tools that help your browsing experience, like Share or Translate, they’ll automatically appear on the toolbar, making your most pertinent tools easy to access. This personalization is stored only on your computer, so no information is sent to Google except your usage statistics are enabled. You can learn more concerning this personalization at our Help Center.

Making Toolbar work for you

Some Google Toolbar features, such as PageRank and spell check, need sharing some information with Google in order to function properly. With Google Toolbar 7, we’ve made it easier for you to manage your privacy settings. From a single settings menu, you can decide which of these features you'd like to allow and which ones you'd like to stay off.

We’ve also sustained to improve the performance of Toolbar 7 without slowing down your browser, creation it one of the fastest add-ons you can use in Internet Explorer.

Google Toolbar 7 is available in English on our download page and resolve be coming to our other supported languages over the next week. If you’re already using Toolbar, you’ll automatically be updated to the new description over the next few weeks. You can also find out more about Toolbar on our skin page. 

Google Quick Scroll Integrates with immediate Previews

If you use Quick Scroll for Chrome or Google Toolbar, Google things to see the sections of the page that are the most related to your query. That means you can click on a search effect and quickly find the best matches.

Google Quick Scroll now integrates with immediate Previews, so you can click on a stress from Google's screenshot to be magically full to that part of the page. It's a lot faster to find what you're looking for, particularly if you have to scroll to the bottom of the page.

Google's previews are now obtainable for Microsoft Office documents and presentations. There's also support for Flash, so you'll no longer see a puzzle piece image as a substitute of a Flash object.

No More Starred outcome in Google Search

Last year, Google replaced SearchWiki with starred consequences. You only had to click on a star to bookmark a search result and to rapidly find it later.

Unfortunately, this feature is no longer available and you have to find other ways to bookmark hunt results: bookmarklets, Google Toolbar and other extensions.

A Google employee established this change. "The Star feature no longer exists on Google. The Star function continues to exist throughout google.com/bookmarks though. Anything you formerly starred will show up when you visit bookmarks."

Starred results and SearchWiki were really useful for refinding web pages, but most likely not many people used them. These features were a lot more helpful than Instant Preview, which is still available.