Firefox custom link styles?

January 13, 2005 / Filed under: Browsers, Accessibility

I am looking for some good Firefox extensions that allow me to manipulate link styles.

For example, every browser has default link styles, for each state (regular, visited, hover, active). The default styles kick in at sites where the page author hasn’t applied styles to each state.

I’d like to be able to designate my own styles for links that have no declared styles from the page author.

Heck, even when there ARE declared link styles from the page author, I’d still like to over–ride those styles with my own.

Why custom link styles matter

Link styles should be user based, not author based. Why should the page author decide how the user wants links to appear? The user should be able to decide that. It should be a normal preference.

It’s also an accessibility concern.

I understand that the link styles that a page author sets are part of the entire page "look and feel." They also use colors that are applicable to the colors present around the site... In other words – the color scheme of the entire site.

Still... I’d like to be able to over–ride author based link styles.

I’d like to make links more "eye catching," and appealing. This helps me navigate easier.

Comments/Mentions

# Joshua Street at 1/13/2005 11:20 pm cst

Tools -> Options -> General -> Fonts & Colors -> Always use my: Fonts [] Colors []

Should do it just fine... or have I misunderstood the question? You shouldn't need extensions...

# Joshua Street at 1/13/2005 11:21 pm cst

p.s. that's in Firefox 1.0/Win

# dale at 1/14/2005 12:25 am cst

I think there is a plugin for firefox that allows you to setup your own custom CSS file for each site (the css file loads off your HDD), although I cannot find it at the moment.

I've also heard this feature is going to be part of firefox some stage in the future.

Bit off topic, but I run Safari because firefox seems a little slow on my mac. Plus the scrolling is weird and the middle mouse click doesn't seem to work. Do you notice this?

# Matthom at 1/14/2005 4:16 am cst

Josh, that's just what I was looking for. Thanks. That is pretty much the same location (Preferences > General > Fonts and Colors) on a Mac, as it is on a PC.

Dale, you bring up a good point. Firefox seems strange on a Mac, doesn't it? I noticed it too. However, I still use it because Safari doesn't have KEYWORD browsing, and that's a feature I truly take advantage of, in Firefox.

To speed things up, I tried this - I'm not sure if it worked, but it was worth a try.

And the middle mouse click thing annoys me too. Honestly, I think Firefox runs better on Windows. Same with Opera.