ClassicFox is a Firefox/Thunderbird extension that fixes the appearance of the default Firefox/Thunderbird theme in Windows Classic. Specifically, it restores menus to the classic style, it restores the missing bevels (outlines) on toolbar buttons that have dropmarkers, and, in Firefox 3, it restores the Classic bevel to the address bar and search box. ClassicFox is customizable, and users can choose which of these "fixes" to enable.

ClassicFox offers several fixes and tweaks. Each of these can be individually enabled or disabled through the extension's options. Also, depending on the application (e.g., is ClassicFox installed on Firefox 3 or is it installed on Thunderbird 2?), some of these fixes and tweaks may or may not be available.

1. Option Name: "Fix the appearance of menus" (bug #243078)
   Applications: Available on Firefox 1.5-2.0, Thunderbird 2.0, and Sunbird branch builds
   Notes: This fix is not available (nor necessary) on Firefox/Thunderbird 3 because Gecko 1.9 uses native menu rendering.
   Screenshot: Before and after…
   
2. Option Name: "Fix the appearance of the dropmarkers of two-part toolbar buttons" (bug #216266)
   Applications: Available on Firefox 1.5-3.0, Thunderbird 2.0-3.0, SeaMonkey 2 nightlies, and Sunbird
   Notes: These two-part buttons are not used in Firefox 3, but some extensions may still be using them.
   Screenshot: Before and after…
   
3. Option Name: "Restore tree lines" (revert bug #425131)
   Applications: Available only on Firefox 3.0
4. Option Name: "Use a native drop-down button for the location bar" (bug #430414)
   Applications: Available only on Firefox 3.0
5. Hidden Option: Always show the "Go" button
   Applications: Available only on Firefox 3.0
   Notes: This is a hidden option and is disabled by default. To enable this tweak, use about:config to set the value of extensions.classicfox.alwaysShowGo to true.

Please note that any changes in the ClassicFox options will take effect only after a restart of the application.

Yes, you can apply these fixes by editing your userChrome.css file instead of installing this extension. However, there are benefits to using an extension:

1. It is much easier to install a new extension than it is to locate and manually edit userChrome.css.
2. With an extension, there is no need to edit userChrome.css if you need to disable or re-enable these fixes. This can be quite handy when changing themes in either Firefox/Thunderbird or Windows.

This extension is really nothing more than a packaged-up version of the userChrome.css file that I have been using. If you prefer to use userChrome.css instead of an extension, you can take a look at the CSS overrides used in ClassicFox.

• 2008/05/14 - 2.1.0
  • Updated for recent changes made for Firefox 3 and Gecko 1.9.
  • Removed the native location bar option now that bug #428878 has landed.
• 2008/04/09 - 2.0.1
  • Improved the Firefox 3 address bar and search box fix-up.
  • Added support for the SeaMonkey 2 nightlies and for Sunbird. I am starting to regret my decision to name this extension "ClassicFox" instead of "ClassicMoz".
• 2008/04/07 - 2.0.0
  • Style sheet loading is now handled entirely by nsIStyleSheetService and no longer relies on chrome style overlays. This eliminates certain types of bugs and affords greater flexibility.
  • You can now select which fixes to load via the extension's options.
  • Added support for altering the appearance of the address bar and search box on Firefox 3.
  • Added support for the Thunderbird 3 nightlies.
  • Added some additional tweaks that can be optionally enabled via about:config, such as always showing the Go button in Firefox 3 (these preferences are "hidden" in about:config because they are not fixes for the Classic theme; they are disabled by default).
• 2006/11/06 - 1.0.3
  • Added support for the Thunderbird 2 branch.
• 2006/10/17 - 1.0.2
  • Cleaned up the CSS a bit.
• 2006/10/16 - 1.0.1
  • Fixed problems with the display of the dropmarker when the extension is used in Luna (not that anyone would be using this extension in Luna in the first place...)
• 2006/10/16 - 1.0.0
  • Initial version.