Firefox on Kindle Fire: Getting Started

Talk about Mozilla browsers for small devices such as PDAs and cellphones.
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jhaber3
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Joined: January 16th, 2005, 9:04 am

Firefox on Kindle Fire: Getting Started

Post by jhaber3 »

I followed some slightly arcane instructions online to install successfully a version of Firefox for Android. (Of course, Kindle Fire wants to discourage this and does not make any browsers available in its Appstore.) But it's a bit unfamiliar after running it on my Windows computer. In particular, I want to import my bookmarks and to set a blank home page. Any thoughts?

By default it opens with Top Sites and with a bar just before the address bar with the choices Top Sites, Bookmarks, and History. Going to Bookmarks, I don't see an obvious "add" or "import" button. Next to the address bar, at right, are icons for reload, something unfamiliar (probably the number 1 enclosed in a rectangle), and a menu icon (vertical dots). From there I can go to settings.

Settings, General, Home, Set a Homepage defaults to about:home. Tapping it brings up a choice of Firefox Home or Custom. I tried about:blank, and now it appears to start with the Bookmarks tab, the screen showing "Bookmarks you save show up here." Is that the best I can do? Oh, wait, maybe I didn't restart Firefox often enough, since now it does start with about:blank. Great!

I don't have a clue regarding importing or adding bookmarks yet. I'm guessing I should export from my computer to an html, copy that via cable to Kindle Fire downloads folder, and proceed somehow from there but is that right? (If so, I may consider installing the Lastpass add-on I use with Windows and migrating its csv output the same way.) Thanks!
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DanRaisch
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Re: Firefox on Kindle Fire: Getting Started

Post by DanRaisch »

Moving to Mobile.
jhaber3
Posts: 374
Joined: January 16th, 2005, 9:04 am

Re: Firefox on Kindle Fire: Getting Started

Post by jhaber3 »

Thanks. Sorry I missed spotting the right forum. Hopeful we'll figure this out. Again, I've got the home page solved, so just importing bookmarks at issue. (FWIW, I did try installing LastPass on the Kindle Fire's version of the browser as an add-on, but it hangs when I try to log into it. But I've posted that on a LastPass forum, as it's not really your problem! I will, though, let you know if I learn anything.)
jhaber3
Posts: 374
Joined: January 16th, 2005, 9:04 am

Re: Firefox on Kindle Fire: Getting Started

Post by jhaber3 »

Some progress. While I couldn't find anything like a bookmark menu with import, and this is puzzling, I went another route -- synched with Firefox on PC (created an account signed in with both devices, returned to sync in settings, and let it run). It's a little awkward in that from Firefox Home and then Bookmarks I have to tap Desktop Bookmarks and then Bookmarks Menu to see my bookmarks (or at least the folders in which they are organized). But it will do.

What remains puzzling is that I still don't see the star symbol to bookmark a page when I go somewhere. Any ideas? Thanks. (FWIW, LastPass still won't work, but I've a feeling that Kindle Fire is just designed to defeat it. We'll see.)
jhaber3
Posts: 374
Joined: January 16th, 2005, 9:04 am

Re: Firefox on Kindle Fire: Getting Started

Post by jhaber3 »

More progress. I see now. When (and only when) one is viewing a page, one can tap the menu icon to see the star symbol for add bookmarks.
jhaber3
Posts: 374
Joined: January 16th, 2005, 9:04 am

Re: Firefox on Kindle Fire: Getting Started

Post by jhaber3 »

Apologies for turning this into a dialogue with myself, burdening others, but I should add that I find that the need to sync bookmarks rather than import from file has a drawback: they appear on the Firefox for Android only when sync is on, not for good.
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