How to Open Helperbird in the Firefox Sidebar

Learn how to access Helperbird through the Firefox sidebar panel so it stays open while you browse. A step-by-step guide for Firefox users.

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Firefox lets you open Helperbird in a sidebar panel that stays visible while you browse. This means you can adjust your reading settings, use text-to-speech, or toggle features without closing and reopening the extension every time.


Step 1: Open the Firefox Sidebar

Click the sidebar icon in the Firefox toolbar. It looks like a small panel on the right side of the toolbar. If you don't see it, you can also open the sidebar by pressing Ctrl + B on Windows or Cmd + B on Mac, or by going to View > Sidebar in the menu bar.


Step 2: Switch to Helperbird

The sidebar will open — by default it might show Bookmarks or History. At the top of the sidebar, click the dropdown menu or use the panel switcher to select Helperbird from the list of available panels.


Step 3: Browse with Helperbird Open

Helperbird will now stay open in the sidebar while you browse. You can navigate to any website and Helperbird will remain accessible on the side of your screen. Adjust fonts, turn on text-to-speech, enable reading mode, or change any setting without interrupting what you're doing.


Tips

  • Resize the sidebar by dragging its edge to make it wider or narrower.
  • Close the sidebar at any time by clicking the sidebar icon again or pressing the keyboard shortcut.
  • The sidebar remembers your choice, so the next time you open it, Helperbird should still be selected.

Video Tutorial

Coming soon


Need Additional Help?

Having trouble opening Helperbird in the Firefox sidebar? Reach out to our Helperbird support team and we'll walk you through it!

What People Are Saying

Join over 1,000,000 people who use Helperbird every day.

A truly great extension! We installed this on all of our 200 Chromebooks across the 3 special schools i work in and it has greatly helped our students use technology to learn. It not only helps our dyslexic learners, but also our autistic and ADHD students by helping remove distractions and making the web a more accessible place. Support is fast and efficient, and updates are very regular with new features constantly being added!

Josh Sharrad

Josh Sharrad

Helperbird user

so useful and helpful!! i can actually retain so much more info in my head now. thanks man, you are so awesome and i appreciate all the kind words. thank you. :)

A Google User

A Google User

Helperbird user

Immersive Reader from Microsoft is amazing, but my friends in Google districts were missing out until I found Helperbird. Great for proofreading! Simply highlight the text and have it read back to you, change the spacing in your view, highlight parts of speech, even translate by word or by document to have it read to you and adjust the speed! So amazing that I posted a YouTube tutorial within days of installing it. Plus, unlike many extensions, it didn't ask for obnoxious permissions like asking to delete everything in my Google Drive. #Winner #a11y

GK Techies

GK Techies

Helperbird user

the BEST addon for accessibility on Firefox. I very much love using its Reading Ruler, and sometimes its Reading mode/voice too.

Colin

Colin

Firefox user

The free version of this is so great and helpful to a LOT of people...but the upgraded version is next level:)

Mia Laudato

Mia Laudato

Helperbird user

Huge fan of the zoom feature. It trumps the native zoom in your browser since the zoom level you set actually stays with you no matter what page you go to, which is very helpful and meshes well with the other features the app offers.

Taylor Kirkpatrick

Taylor Kirkpatrick

Helperbird user

Helperbird logo: Stylized owl with large yellow eyes and a beige face, against a green background.

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