April 07, 2009, 8:43 PM — Is your Firefox browser cramping your style? Split Browser just might be able to help. This free add-on lets you split the content area of your browser into as many windows as you'd like, allowing you to see more information at once.
To use Split Browser, you'll need to have at least two browser tabs open. Once the add-on is installed, it adds a new option, called Split, to your Firefox menu. To split your browser window into two separate panes, you simply select "Split Current Tab to" from the new Split menu. Your two tabs are now merged into one, with the screen split between the two of them. You can select the position of the panes (top, bottom, left, or right) from within the Split menu.
This allows you to compare two Web pages side-by-side, or to leave one Web page open and viewable while you browse other sites. This could be handy if you want to continually monitor a browser-based e-mail account or a calendar, for example. Sure, you could toggle between browser tabs--or even browser windows--to accomplish the same task, but Split Browser's approach is much more streamlined.
Split Browser allows you to split your Firefox window as many times as your system's memory will support. On my test system's 17-inch display, though, I found that displaying four different sites was the maximum before they became too small to be of any use.
