[Tip] Restore “Compact Mode” Density Option in Firefox Customize Window
With the release of Firefox 89 and later versions, Mozilla team has removed the classic “Compact Mode” option from Firefox Customize window. In previous versions of Firefox browser, whenever a user selected “Customize Firefox” option from title bar right-click menu or from Firefox main menu, “Compact Mode” option was available in “Density” drop-down box.
Compact mode reduces the spacing and extra space between toolbars and other UI elements and many Firefox users like and use Compact mode.
Unfortunately, Compact mode option is no longer available in Firefox 89 and later versions and people are asking how to restore the missing compact mode option in Firefox?
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Fortunately, Mozilla team didn’t remove Compact mode feature from the code. They just disabled or removed the option from Firefox customize window and it’s still possible to re-add the missing option.
Following screenshot shows Compact mode option restored successfully in Firefox newer versions:
There is a hidden preference/flag which can be modified to bring back Compact mode option in Firefox browser.
If you also want to restore Compact mode option in Firefox 89 and later versions, following steps will help you:
1. Open Firefox and type about:config in the address bar and press Enter. It’ll show you a warning message, click on “Accept the Risk and Continue” button. It’ll open Firefox’s hidden secret advanced configuration page i.e. about:config page.
2. Now type compactmode in Search filter box and you’ll see following preference in the window:
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browser.compactmode.show
The preference value is set to false by default, which means the Compact mode option is hidden and removed in your Firefox browser.
3. To restore Compact mode option, double-click on the preference and set its value to true. Alternatively, you can click on the Toggle icon given next to the preference name.
That’s it. It’ll immediately restore Compact mode option in Firefox customize window.
PS: In future, if you decide to restore default settings in Firefox, set above mentioned preference/flag to false again.
BONUS TIP:
You can also modify another hidden preference/flag browser.uidensity using about:config page to direct change Density options.
Set browser.uidensity to any of following:
- 1 (for compact mode)
- 0 (for normal mode)
- 2 (for touch mode)
PS: If you want to restore classic UI and theme in Firefox and want to get rid of floating tabs, extra padding and spacing between menus, following tutorial will help you:
[Tip] New Working Method to Restore Classic Theme and UI in Firefox 91 and Later Versions
Also Check:
[Fix] Restore Real Working Search Box on New Tab Page in Firefox 89 and Later
[Tip] Restore Classic Print Preview Dialog Box UI in Mozilla Firefox
Please restore our ability to customize density. I have carpal tunnel symptoms and having to move the mouse or scroll further than previously was necessary through these widely spaced menus is a problem. I see there is a cumbersome workaround, but why make it so difficult. Mozilla is getting more and more like Microsoft in giving (forcing on) us “features” we don’t want. That is why many of us switched from IE to Firefox many years ago.
Please give us more options, not fewer options, to customize the browser. Otherwise you are going to lose many of us to Edge or Chrome.
Thank you.
I agree with everything Bill Saunders said
I find “browser.uidensity it by myself i feel like an …hacker!… No no is not true 🙁 i’m a noob :((
Agreed. User options and preferences rule.
Say no to Big Brother hand holding and a one size fits all Monopoly$oft approach.
None of the options above fixed the drop down menu double space between bookmarks that came down with a recent update.
All the “density” setting does is compress the tool bar height.
I DO NOT WANT SPACES, RESULTING A GREAT LONG LIST IN MY BOOKMARK TOOLBAR DROP DOWN MENUS. A couple of these menus were already long enough without double spacing.
^^ Check following:
https://www.askvg.com/tip-new-working-method-to-restore-classic-theme-and-ui-in-firefox-91-and-later-versions/
Thank you so much for this tip, compact mode looks so much better lol
When compact density was removed, chess and similar sites became nearly unusable. While playing a game, alerts would go on and off in the tab bar after every move, causing a resize of the browser window, and as a result the game board was constantly shifting vertical position. This problem was not easy to troubleshoot; I initially assumed the problem had something to do with the font family and spent some time changing that. If I hadn’t realized that this could be fixed by enabling compact density, I was prepared to switch to a different Web browser.
Worked great on macOS 12.3.1 with Firefox 99.0. After flipping the browser.compact.show flag to “true”, went to “customize toolbar”, and at the very bottom, clicked on “Density” and then “Compact – not supported”. Line spacing on bookmark menu immediately changed to single-spaced from the useless default double spacing.
Thanks!