Controlling Popups

This document explains all of the options available in the Preferences window of &brandShortName;.

What are Popups?

Popup windows, or popups, are windows that appear automatically without your permission. They vary in size but usually don't cover the whole screen. Some popups open on top of the current &brandShortName; window, while others appear underneath &brandShortName; (popunders).

&brandShortName; allows you to control both popups and popunders through the Web Features preferences panel. Popup blocking is turned on by default, so you don't have to worry about enabling it to prevent popups from appearing in &brandShortName;.

When blocking a popup, &brandShortName; displays an icon

in the status bar. You can use this icon to add a web site you're viewing to an exceptions list so that the site is allowed to display popups.

Blocking popups may interfere with some web sites: Some web sites, including some banking sites, use popups for important features. Blocking all popups disables such features. To allow specific web sites to use popups, while blocking all others, you can add specific web sites to the list of allowed sites.

Blocking popups doesn't always work: Although &brandShortName; blocks most popups, some web sites may show popups using uncovered methods, even when blocked.

Allowing popups from certain web sites: After you've enabled popup blocking, you can still allow specific sites to display popups. Open the Tools menu and select Options. From the Web Features panel, you can then add and remove sites for which you want to disable popup blocking.

Popup Blocker Preferences

This section describes how to use the &brandShortName; Popup Blocker. If you're not already viewing it, open the Web Features preferences by following these steps:

Open the Tools menu and choose Options.
Click on the Web Features category.

From there, you can do the following things:

Block Popup Windows
Allowed Sites: This is a list of sites that you want to allow to display popups.
- Add Site: Click this to add a Web site to the list.
- Remove Site: Click this to remove a Web site from the list.
- Remove All Sites: Click this to remove all of the web sites in the current list.

When a Popup Window Has Been Blocked

Every time a popup is blocked, an icon

is displayed in the &brandShortName; status bar to indicate that a popup has been blocked.

Using the popup control icon to add allowed web sites: You can use the popup control icon to quickly add a web site to the list of allowed web sites. Click the icon

to open a list of blocked web sites. The current web site is already selected. Click Unblock Site to add the web site to the list of allowed web sites.

Note: Blocking popups may not always work and may interfere with some web sites. For more information about blocking popups, see What are Popups.