Windowed for Firefox

When playing a video in your Firefox browser, you can either open a new tab and drag it to watch the clip like in picture-in-picture mode or enjoy it in full-screen mode. But more often than not, people find themselves wanting to watch a video while also doing something else in this century of multitasking. Playing a video in full-screen mode is not an option in this case.

You might argue that some video sharing websites do offer a picture-in-picture mode and, of course, that is very much true. However, the Windowed for Firefox extension makes it much easier to watch a video in minimized mode and avoid full screen, regardless of the website you are using.

Deploying the add-on is just a matter of a few clicks. After the quick installation, a new button is available in the browser’s toolbar, right next to the address bar. There are no additional options to deal with, but you can right-click on the button to open a menu for the currently visited website. This menu will allow you to configure the playback mode for the currently opened page.

The Windowed add-on can configure Firefox to prompt you about the playback mode each time you want to watch a video or use the playback mode you want as default. Needless to say, setting a default saves you the time needed to choose between the playback modes every single time you want to watch a clip. When prompting to maximize a playing video, you will have to choose between full-screen, in-window or windowed.

Mainly designed for users who like multitasking, Windowed for Firefox allows playing a video in picture-in-picture or windowed mode, so that the clip does not occupy the entire desktop. Also available for Chrome, the add-on is compatible with some of the most widely used video sharing services out there. However, keep in mind that Flash videos or native HTML controls might not work with Windowed for Firefox. In essence, it is a handy extension for those who don’t really fancy full screen mode and want to enjoy a video while working on their PC.