Fire Up Firefox: Our Favorite ExtensionsFire Up Firefox: Our Favorite Extensions

Name: RadialContext
Version: 2004.11.08
Site: http://www.radialthinking.de/radialcontext/
What it does: Powerful browser control using just the mouse.
Reviewer: Mitch Wagner

RadialContext is the most useful Firefox extension I have. It's an alternative to the context menu, which is the menu that comes up next to the mouse pointer when you right-click. RadialContext gives you a larger variety of options, arranged in a circle around the mouse pointer.

I can better explain how it works by giving you examples. These are the three RadialContext options I use most often:

This takes a lot longer to explain than to do, and once you've done it a few times, it becomes instinctual. After a while, you don't even need to look at the menu -- your fingers just know the mouse gestures.

RadialContext's menu is faster than the context menu, because it's more compact, packing more options into a smaller area of screen real estate, with multiple menu levels, each level revealing new choices. For example, moving the mouse pointer up and to the right, then down, doesn't only close a tab. You can also change the focus of the browser to the next tab in sequence, or the previous tab. Or you can open a new tab. In fact, I count 58 different actions you can perform, all by wiggling your mouse a little bit.

The extension has several configuration options. You can set which mouse button you want to use to activate it. If you have a five-button mouse, you can use any of the buttons to activate RadialContext, and you can require Ctrl and Shift modifiers. You can also temporarily suppress RadialContext menus so you can use other extensions that require the conventional context menu.

RadialContext is not for everyone; I'm sure it's the kind of thing that some people will fall in love with, and that will drive other people batty. I'd hate to be without it, myself.