Firefox 4

{{expand section|date=April 2011}}

On October 13, 2006, Brendan Eich, Mozilla's Chief Technology Officer, wrote about the plans for "Mozilla 2", referring to the most comprehensive iteration since its creation of the overall platform on which Firefox and other Mozilla products run.{{cite web|url=https://brendaneich.com/2006/10/mozilla-2/|title=Mozilla 2|last=Eich|first=Brendan|author-link=Brendan Eich|date=October 13, 2006|website=Brendan Eich (blog)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426093408/https://brendaneich.com/2006/10/mozilla-2/|archive-date=April 26, 2016|url-status=live|access-date=September 27, 2013}} Most of these objectives were incorporated into versions 3.0, 3.5, and 3.6. The largest changes, however, were deferred to Firefox 4.0.

In early May 2010, Mozilla's plans for Firefox 4.0 were officially detailed through a blog post by Mike Beltzner, Firefox director.

On May 25, 2011, the Firefox release manager wrote in an email "Firefox 5 will be the security update for Firefox 4," confirming Firefox 4 had entered its "end of life" phase where Mozilla will no longer issue updates. Mozilla continued to issue updates for Firefox 3.6 after 4's EOL declaration. Only one update (4.0.1) was issued for Firefox 4 during its lifetime. Many looking for a copy of this version 4 will be directed to version 6, which cannot run on PowerPC Macintoshes.{{cite web|url=https://www.computerworld.com/article/2509296/desktop-apps/mozilla-retires-firefox-4-from-security-support.html|title=Mozilla retires Firefox 4 from security support|last=Keizer|first=Gregg|date=June 22, 2011|work=Computerworld|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516131221/https://www.computerworld.com/article/2509296/desktop-apps/mozilla-retires-firefox-4-from-security-support.html|archive-date=May 16, 2018|url-status=live}}

Mozilla Firefox 4 includes many new features since version 3.6.{{cite web|url=http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/4.0b6/releasenotes/|title=Firefox 4 beta 6 release notes|date=September 14, 2010|publisher=Mozilla|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519105302/http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/4.0b6/releasenotes/|archive-date=May 19, 2011|url-status=live|access-date=September 27, 2013}}

Firefox 4 brought a new user interface, with a new look designed to make it faster.{{cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/05/10/firefox_4_dot_o_plan/|title=Mozilla spills plan for, yes, Firefox 4|last=Metz|first=Cade|date=May 10, 2010|work=The Register|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180729200619/https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/05/10/firefox_4_dot_o_plan/|archive-date=July 29, 2018|url-status=live|access-date=May 10, 2010}} Early mockups of the new interface on Windows,{{cite web

| url=https://wiki.mozilla.org/Firefox/4.0_Windows_Theme_Mockups

| title=Firefox 4.0 Windows Theme Mockups

| work=MozillaWiki

| publisher=Mozilla Foundation

| date=June 2, 2010

| access-date=August 11, 2010

}} Mac OS X,{{cite web

| url=https://wiki.mozilla.org/Firefox/4.0_Mac_Theme_Mockups

| title=Firefox 4.0 Mac Theme Mockups

| work=MozillaWiki

| publisher=Mozilla Foundation

| date=June 16, 2010

| access-date=August 11, 2010

}} and Linux{{cite web

| url=https://wiki.mozilla.org/Firefox/4.0_Linux_Theme_Mockups

| title=Firefox 4.0 Linux Theme Mockups

| work=MozillaWiki

| publisher=Mozilla Foundation

| date=July 21, 2010

| access-date=August 11, 2010

}} were first made available in July 2009.

{{technical|date=June 2011}}

New features included improved "doorhanger" notifications, Firefox Panorama (a feature that lets the user visually group tabs),{{cite web|url=https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/tab-groups-organize-tabs|title=Use Tab Groups to organize a lot of tabs|publisher=Mozilla|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906063224/https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/tab-groups-organize-tabs|archive-date=September 6, 2018|url-status=live|access-date=December 11, 2013}}{{cite web|url=http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/designing-tab-candy/|title=Firefox Panorama: Tab Candy Evolved|last=Rankin|first=Aza|author-link=Aza Raskin|year=2010|website=AzaRask.in (blog)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130304160913/http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/designing-tab-candy|archive-date=March 4, 2013|url-status=dead|access-date=September 27, 2013}} application tabs, a redesigned extension manager,{{cite web|url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20004620-264.html|title=Firefox 4 release plan: The need for speed|last=Shankland|first=Stephen|date=May 11, 2010|work=CNET|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100513034126/http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20004620-264.html|archive-date=May 13, 2010|url-status=dead|access-date=May 28, 2010}} Jetpack extensions support, integration with Firefox Sync,{{cite web|url=http://mozillalabs.com/sync/2010/08/24/sync-in-firefox-4-beta/|title=Sync in Firefox 4 Beta|last=Connor|first=Mike|date=August 24, 2010|publisher=Mozilla Labs|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100827004439/http://mozillalabs.com/sync/2010/08/24/sync-in-firefox-4-beta/|archive-date=August 27, 2010|url-status=dead}} and support for multitouch displays.{{cite web|url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20006239-264.html|title=Mozilla prepares coders for Firefox 4 features|last=Shankland|first=Stephen|date=May 28, 2010|work=CNET|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100831101450/http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20006239-264.html|archive-date=August 31, 2010|url-status=dead|access-date=May 28, 2010}}

Many changes were made to the user interface. By default, tabs were displayed on the top of the window, above the location bar in the area formerly occupied by the window's title bar.{{cite web|url=http://blog.mozilla.com/faaborg/2010/06/24/why-tabs-are-on-top-in-firefox-4/|title=Why Tabs are on Top in Firefox 4|last=Faaborg|first=Alex|date=June 24, 2010|work=The Mozilla Blog|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120619103246/https://blog.mozilla.org/faaborg/2010/06/24/why-tabs-are-on-top-in-firefox-4/|archive-date=June 19, 2012|url-status=dead|access-date=September 27, 2013}} The "stop", "reload", and "go" buttons were combined into a single button, placed on the right side of the address bar. The button changed dynamically, based on the current state of the page.

On Windows Vista and Windows 7, the menu bar is hidden by default with the most common actions moved to a new "Firefox" menu in the upper left-hand corner of the browser. Users can create persistent "app tabs", and customize the tab bar, as well as the bookmark and navigation bars.{{Citation needed|date=November 2010}} Many of these features are similar to ones introduced by Google Chrome.

Firefox 4 is based on the Gecko 2.0 engine, which adds and improves support for HTML5,{{cite web|url=https://hacks.mozilla.org/2010/05/firefox-4-the-html5-parser-inline-svg-speed-and-more/|title=Firefox 4 HTML 5 parser – inline SVG, speed and more|last=Sivonen|first=Henri|date=May 11, 2010|work=Mozilla Hacks|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100626115608/https://hacks.mozilla.org/2010/05/firefox-4-the-html5-parser-inline-svg-speed-and-more/|archive-date=June 26, 2010|url-status=live|access-date=May 11, 2010}} CSS3, WebM, and WebGL. Also, it includes a new JavaScript engine (JägerMonkey){{cite web | url = https://hacks.mozilla.org/2010/03/a-quick-note-on-javascript-engine-components/ | title = a quick note on JavaScript engine components | first= Christopher |last= Blizzard |work=Mozilla Hacks |author-link=Christopher Blizzard | date = March 8, 2010 | access-date =March 19, 2010 }} and better XPCOM APIs.

JägerMonkey is a new JavaScript engine designed to work alongside the TraceMonkey engine introduced with Firefox 3.5. It improves performance by compiling "non-traceable" JavaScript into machine language for faster execution.{{cite web|url=http://blog.mozilla.com/dmandelin/2010/02/26/starting-jagermonkey/|title=Starting JägerMonkey|last=Mandelin|first=David|date=February 26, 2010|website=The Mozilla Blog|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100830003504/http://blog.mozilla.com/dmandelin/2010/02/26/starting-jagermonkey/|archive-date=August 30, 2010|url-status=dead}}

Firefox 4 is the first version of Firefox to drop native support of the Gopher protocol; however, continued support is available through an add-on.{{cite web |url=https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Firefox/Releases/4#Other_changes_2 |title= Firefox 4 for Developers |work=Mozilla Developer Network |date= August 25, 2010}}

Firefox 4 introduces an audio API, which provides a way to programmatically access or create audio data associated with an HTML5 audio element.{{cite web|url=https://wiki.mozilla.org/Audio_Data_API|title=Audio Data API |work=MozillaWiki |publisher=Mozilla Foundation |date=August 25, 2010|access-date=September 29, 2010}} It allows, for example, to visualize raw sound data, to use filters or to show the audio spectrum.{{cite web|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/60496/20100908/mozilla-firefox-4-beta-api-browser.htm|title=Firefox 4 beta flaunts audio API to create music visuals |work=International Business Times |date=September 8, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915041554/http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/60496/20100908/mozilla-firefox-4-beta-api-browser.htm |archive-date=2012-09-15}}

Firefox 4 no longer relies on the underlying OS for text layout/shaping. Instead, it uses HarfBuzz. This allows for smart OpenType layout/shaping which is consistent across different operating systems.

Firefox 4 has marked a major change in performance in comparison to former versions 3.6 and 3.5. The browser has made significant progress in Sunspider JavaScript tests as well as improvements in supporting HTML5.{{cite web |url=http://blog.mozilla.com/blog/2010/11/10/fasten-your-seatbelts-latest-firefox-4-beta-boosts-speed-in-the-browser/ |title= Fasten Your Seatbelts – Firefox 4 Beta adds new JavaScript power and faster graphics |first=Jay |last=Sullivan |date= November 10, 2010 |access-date=November 10, 2010}}

Since Firefox 4.0 Beta 5, hardware acceleration of content is enabled by default on Windows Vista and Windows 7 machines using Direct2D, on OS X using Quartz (basically CPU-only), and Linux using XRender. Hardware acceleration of compositing is enabled by default on Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 machines using Direct3D, OS X and Linux using OpenGL.{{cite web |url=https://hacks.mozilla.org/2010/09/hardware-acceleration/ |title=Firefox 4: hardware acceleration |first=Paul |last=Rouget |work=Mozilla Hacks |date=September 7, 2010}} Using hardware acceleration allows the browser to tap into the computer's graphics processing unit, lifting the burden from the CPU and speeding up the display of web pages. Acceleration is only enabled for certain graphics hardware and drivers.{{cite web |url=http://blog.mozilla.com/bjacob/2011/03/04/upgrade-your-graphics-drivers/ |title=Upgrade your graphics drivers! |first=Benoit |last=Jacob |date=March 4, 2011 |access-date=August 2, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110806143508/http://blog.mozilla.com/bjacob/2011/03/04/upgrade-your-graphics-drivers/ |archive-date=August 6, 2011 |url-status=dead }}

One of the performance optimizations was moving all application data into a single file, omni.jar, using a new file format based on the Java Archive format(previous versions used multiple files in the Java Archive format).{{cite web|last=Glek|first=Taras|url=https://blog.mozilla.org/tglek/2010/09/14/firefox-4-jar-jar-jar/|title=Firefox 4: jar jar jar | All About Performance|work=The Mozilla Blog|date=2010-09-14 |access-date=2010-09-14|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003115800/https://blog.mozilla.org/tglek/2010/09/14/firefox-4-jar-jar-jar/|archive-date=2016-10-03}} For later versions the file was renamed omni.ja.{{cite web|last=Guru |first=The |url=http://blog.ffextensionguru.com/2011/11/16/omni-jar-to-become-omni-ja/ |title=omni.jar to become omni.ja | Firefox Extension Guru's Blog |publisher=Blog.ffextensionguru.com |date=2011-11-16 |access-date=2013-09-27|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170310040711/http://blog.ffextensionguru.com/2011/11/16/omni-jar-to-become-omni-ja/|archive-date=2017-03-10}}{{cite web|url=https://www.raymond.cc/blog/edit-files-inside-firefox-4-omni-jar-to-auto-save-password/|title=How to Optimize or Deoptimize Firefox OMNI.JA File|date=2016-12-15|access-date=2021-09-23}}

Firefox 4 contains support for the "do not track" header, an emerging standard for Web privacy.{{cite news |last=Mossberg |first=Walter S. |author-link=Walt Mossberg |title=New, Lean Firefox 4: Re-Built to Play Catch-Up|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704471904576230923249332158?mod=googlenews_wsj|access-date=March 31, 2011 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=March 31, 2011}} The header signals the user's request to the web service that any web visitor tracking service be disabled. In the future, this privacy request may become a legal requirement.{{cite news|last=Valentino-DeVries|first=Jennifer|title=Firefox Maker: 'Do Not Track' Likely to Be Regulated|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2011/03/14/firefox-maker-do-not-track-likely-to-be-regulated/?mod=google_news_blog |work=Digits |publisher=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=March 31, 2011|date=March 14, 2011}}

It also introduced the ability to delete flash cookies, subjecting them to the same deletion rules as ordinary HTTP cookies.{{cite web

|url=https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=625495

|title = Bugzilla entry 625495 – Clear Adobe Flash Cookies (LSOs) when Clear Cookies is selected in the Privacy > Custom > Clear History

|last=Beltzner

|first=Mike

|access-date =September 28, 2011

|date = January 13, 2011

|quote = Change to the "on close" firefox behavior to use the new NPAPI ClearSiteData API.

}}{{cite web

|url=https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=625496

|title = Bugzilla entry 625496 – Clear Adobe Flash Cookies (LSOs) when Cookies is selected in Clear Recent History

|last=Beltzner

|first=Mike

|access-date =September 28, 2011

|date = January 13, 2011

|quote = Change to the "clear recent history" firefox behavior to use the new NPAPI ClearSiteData API.

}}

Nightly builds were marked as 4.0a1pre between February and June 2008,{{cite web |url=https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/nightly/2008/02/2008-02-20-02-mozilla-central/ |title=Index of /pub/mozilla.org/firefox/nightly/2008/02/2008-02-20-02-mozilla-central |date=February 20, 2008 |work=FTP.Mozilla.org}}{{cite web |url=https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/nightly/2008/06/2008-06-06-02-actionmonkey/ |title=Index of /pub/mozilla.org/firefox/nightly/2008/06/2008-06-06-02-actionmonkey |date=June 6, 2008 |work=FTP.Mozilla.org}} but were renamed to 3.1a1pre afterwards.

{{Firefox usage share}}

On 22 March 2011, and during the 24-hour launch period, Firefox 4 received 7.1 million downloads, as counted and verified by the Mozilla Foundation. Before that date, 3 million people downloaded the second release candidate of the browser, which later became the final version.{{cite web |url=http://blog.mozilla.com/blog/2011/03/23/firefox-four-day-one/ |title=Firefox Four: Day One |first=Gary |last=Kovacs |author-link=Gary Kovacs |work=The Mozilla Blog}} As a result, the new version of the browser received 10 million downloads on the first day.{{cite news |url=http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2036733/mozilla-confirms-million-firefox-downloads-hours |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110326221337/http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2036733/mozilla-confirms-million-firefox-downloads-hours |url-status=unfit |archive-date=March 26, 2011 |title=Mozilla confirms over 10 million Firefox 4 downloads in 24 hours |first=Lawrence |last=Latif |date=March 23, 2011 |work=The Inquirer}} Notwithstanding, it fell behind the previous record established by the launch of Firefox 3 in 2008, which was 8 million. Second-day downloads for the browser were reported to be 8.75 million, but the lack of an official representative from Guinness to monitor the numbers, made the record attained by Firefox 3 only unofficially been broken.{{cite web|last=Keizer|first=Gregg|url=http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9215243/Firefox_4_sets_unofficial_download_record|title=Firefox 4 sets unofficial download record|work=Computerworld|date=March 27, 2011|access-date=March 29, 2011|archive-date=October 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011112844/http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9215243/Firefox_4_sets_unofficial_download_record|url-status=dead}}

{{see also|Usage share of web browsers}}

On the official launch date, the usage share for the Firefox 4 was 1.95%, which was 0.34% higher than the previous day according to analytics website StatCounter. As a comparison, the usage share for the Internet Explorer 9 on March 22 was 0.87%,{{cite web |url=http://gs.statcounter.com/press/firefox-4-hits-the-ground-running-and-eclipses-internet-explorer-9 |title=Firefox 4 Hits the Ground Running and Eclipses Internet Explorer 9 |date=March 23, 2011 |work=StatCounter}} and it was released the prior week, on March 14. A potential factor on Firefox 4's higher usage share is that the latter supports both Windows 2000 and XP, two operating systems Internet Explorer 9 does not support.

Also, at launch, Mozilla prompted existing customers to upgrade their browsers to the newer version, something Microsoft hadn't applied to users of older versions of Internet Explorer.{{cite web|url=http://windowsteamblog.com/ie/b/ie/archive/2011/03/29/a-thoughtful-approach-to-measuring-browser-adoption.aspx | title=A thoughtful approach to measuring browser adoption |first=Ryan |last=Gavin |work=Exploring IE |date=March 29, 2011}} Instead, Microsoft prompted users to upgrade via Windows Update several weeks after launch.

On March 26, 2011, Firefox 4's usage share exceeded that of the 10-year-old and discontinued Internet Explorer 6 for the first time. Also on that date, the browser's usage share was higher than all versions of Safari, Opera and older versions of Firefox with the exception of Firefox 3.6. As a reference, Internet Explorer 9's usage share first exceeded that of Internet Explorer 6 on May 1, 2011 (48 days after release), and Internet Explorer 9 became the second most used version of Internet Explorer for the first time on May 22, 2011 (69 days after release).

According to StatCounter, Firefox 4 reached its usage share peak of 16.7% on June 19, 2011. After that date, it started to decline due to weekly trends and the release of Firefox 5.

File:FirefoxButton40.png

Firefox 4 represents a departure in user interface layout and behaviour from previous versions.{{cite web | url=http://mashable.com/2011/03/23/firefox-4-review/ | title=Faster, Sleeker & More Stable: Hands-on With Firefox 4 [REVIEW] |last=Warren |first=Christina |work=Mashable |date=March 23, 2011 | access-date=April 1, 2011}} Users face some issues negotiating these changes, some of which are not documented in the release notes.{{cite web | url= http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/4.0/releasenotes/ | title= Firefox 4 release notes | publisher= Mozilla | access-date= April 1, 2011 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110323143835/http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/4.0/releasenotes/ | archive-date= March 23, 2011 | url-status= dead }}

The Firefox button groups the menus in Firefox 4. It is displayed by default on the Windows 7 and Windows Vista operating systems. It can be displayed on other operating systems by selecting "Toolbars" from the View menu and unchecking "Menu Bar". The Menu bar can be restored by selecting "Options" from the Firefox button menu and checking "Menu Bar". Certain menu items, such as "Page Info" and "Import" (for importing bookmarks and other browser data), are not available from the Firefox button menu but remain available from the Menu bar.{{cite web | url=http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Page%20Info%20window?s=page+info&as=s | title=Firefox Help: Page Info window | access-date=April 1, 2011}} The Menu bar can be displayed temporarily by pressing and releasing the Alt key.{{cite web |url=http://www.howstruct.com/how-to-import-bookmarks-into-firefox-4 |title=How to Import Bookmarks Into Firefox 4 |last=Buckskin |first=Greg |work=Howstruct |access-date=April 3, 2011 }}{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Selecting a Menu bar command or pressing the Alt key again dismisses the Menu bar.

A prompt to save the session (tabs and windows) was presented by default in Firefox 3, with the session restored on the next start if the user selected the "Save & Quit" option. In Firefox 4, all sessions are saved. On the next start, the session is available from the History menu.{{cite web | url=https://groups.google.com/group/mozilla.dev.apps.firefox/msg/025ea6c5ff307346?hl=en | title=Mozilla Firefox Developer Forum |work=mozilla.dev.apps.firefox |publisher=Google Groups | access-date=April 1, 2011}}

This new feature, called on-demand session restore, overwrites the previous session on exit without prompting. The user can check whether there is a saved session at any time by viewing the History menu item "Restore Previous Session".{{cite web | url=http://zpao.com/posts/restore-previous-session/ | title=Restore Previous Session |first=Paul |last=O’Shannessy |work=ZPAO |date=September 10, 2010 | access-date=April 1, 2011}} If it is available (not greyed out) there is a restorable session available.

In beta 7 introduced new config option to limit the number of tabs loaded at once during session restore. This also made possible to lazy load tabs,{{Cite web |date=2010-09-17 |title=Cascaded Session Restore + a Hidden Bonus |url=https://zpao.com/posts/cascaded-session-restore-a-hidden-bonus/ |access-date=2024-06-19 |website=zpao.com}} the preferences option to switch this behavior appeared in version 8.{{Cite web |date=2011-08-17 |title=max_concurrent_tabs is Dead; Long Live restore_on_demand |url=https://zpao.com/posts/max-concurrent-tabs-is-dead/ |access-date=2024-06-19 |website=zpao.com}}

• Firefox early version history

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

• {{Official website}}
• [https://nightly.mozilla.org/ Firefox Nightly Builds]
• [http://blog.pearce.org.nz/2011/02/firefox-4-video-decoder-architecture.html Firefox 4 video decoder architecture]
• [https://wiki.mozilla.org/RapidRelease#4.0.x_and_Previous_Releases_.5Bjoduinn.2C_.5D Rapid Release plans]

{{Mozilla}}

{{Timeline of web browsers |2010s}}

{{Web browsers}}

4.0

Category:2011 software

Category:Free software programmed in C++

Category:FTP clients

Category:History of web browsers

Category:Linux web browsers

Category:MacOS web browsers

Category:POSIX web browsers

Category:Unix Internet software

Category:Windows web browsers

Category:Software that uses XUL

fr:Firefox 4