bunnyhero dev

Since I recently upgraded Firefox to version 3, I updated my Firebug install to version 1.2 Beta. One of the first things I noticed was that the little icon in the status bar had changed from a checkmark (or a grey slash when disabled) to the little insect icon (it’s grey when disabled, and colour when enabled).

I don’t mind seeing the Firebug icon occasionally (like when the Firebug panel is open), but I find it a bit distracting and, yes, disturbing to have that little bug always onscreen. Oddly, I never found Safari’s “report bug” button distracting in the same way—perhaps it’s because the Safari bug icon is more abstract than the more finely detailed Firebug icon. (Although I admit that looking at these two screenshots side by side, there doesn’t seem to be much of an obvious difference!)

In any case, I decided to create my own status bar icon for the new Firebug. As you can see, my icons are very abstract, to get away from the creepy-crawliness of it all. The six legs are represented by six stubby horizontal lines, and the body has become a sphere.

(disabled) and (enabled)

If you want to install these alternate icons yourself, here is what you’ll need to do:

1. Download the Firebug 1.2 Beta XPI file from https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1843 (right-click [or CTRL-click on a Mac] on the “Install Now” button and choose “Save Link As…”)
2. Change the file’s .XPI extension to .ZIP
3. Extract the contents of the ZIP file into a new folder
4. Download the two icon files: firebug16.png and firebug-gray-16.png
5. Copy the two PNG files into the folder skin/classic. When prompted if you want to replace the existing files, say “Yes”
6. Zip the folder into a new archive (for example, you might call it firebug-1.2.0b3-myicons-fx.zip). Make sure that the directory hierarchy of the archive is the same as the original (i.e. the top level includes the files chrome.manifest, intall.rdf, etc)
7. Change the ZIP file’s extension to .XPI
8. In Firefox, open the Add-Ons window
9. Drag your customized XPI file from your Explorer/Finder window into the Add-Ons window
10. Click “Install” in the dialog box
11. Restart Firefox!

If all goes well, you will no longer have a creepy-crawly bug in your status bar