Big IDEA

Google desktop and Firefox

26 October 2004

I’ve downloaded and installed the Google desktop, which lets you search your local computer’s files–MS Office and IE history. But what if you use Firefox instead of IE, are you out of luck as far as searching your Web browsing history? Nope, not anymore. Here’s a step-by-step process for having Google desktop search your Firefox history.

1. Download and install the Slogger extension for Firefox
2. Shutdown Firefox and restart it to finish installing the extension
3. Go to Tools-Extensions and select Slogger and click Options
4. Click the Browse button and browse for a folder to store your files
5. Click the Filters tab and add a couple of sites to the Block URL list:
   • www.google.com
   • 127.0.0.1

   (For an explanation, see Notes from Classy’s Kitchen.)

6. You also need to get the button to turn page saving on and off:
   • Right-click on the toolbar and choose Customize
   • Locate the Slogger button and click and drag it to the desired location on the toolbar
7. Click the slogger button and it turns red; now everything to see gets saved to the folder you specified. Launch Google desktop and search and you’ll now have access to your browsing history.

I’ll let you know in a few days how much space this might require.