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Right-click on an OS X Stack to open its preferences menu and change the way it displays files on the screen.

Q. When I previously clicked on the Downloads folder in my Mac’s Dock, the files inside would spring out in a vertical column with the newest file at the bottom. Now, when I click on the Downloads folder, it opens in a giant window and blocks half my screen. I must have accidentally changed a setting, but how do I change it back?

A. In OS X parlance, those folders for Downloads and Documents on the right side of the Mac’s Dock are called Stacks. When you click on a Stack, it opens to reveal the folder’s contents. As a timesaver, you can open a file directly from the Stack, instead of having to open the folder, find the file and then open the file.

The system gives you several ways to see the contents of your Stacks. The vertical column you had before is called the Fan view, but you can also display the folder’s contents in the space-consuming Grid view of icons, or as a List of file names.

To change back to the Fan view from the Grid view, right click on the Downloads folder in the Dock; if you do not have a two-button mouse, hold down the Mac’s Control key while clicking. In the menu that appears, go to the View Content As area and select Fan.

Other menu options here let you choose to display the Downloads folder as a generic folder icon or as a Stack, which shows a thumbnail of the first item in the folder. You can also have the Stack display files by the name, kind, date added, date created or date modified. Once you adjust your preferences here, the Downloads folder should behave as it did before.

Fighting a Firefox Hustle

Q. Does the Firefox browser have a technical-support department that calls you about viruses?

A. Mozilla, the company that makes the Firefox browser and Thunderbird email program, does not have an official public technical-support department, nor has it endorsed a third-party company to handle the work. Telephone calls or email messages you get out of the blue from those claiming to be Firefox technical support or from a “Mozilla representative” are the same type of frauds as those calls claiming to be from Microsoft’s help desk.

Likewise, telephone numbers that appear in your Firefox window with messages telling you to call Mozilla’s technical-support line right away are also bogus. The fraudulent calls and messages have been going around for years, and the aim is usually to steal personal information, plant malware on your computer, make off with your credit-card number — or all of the above.

If you actually do need help with Firefox, visit Mozilla’s official support pages for Firefox or the company’s community forums. If you do not see the answer you need, you can also pose a question to the company through its website. You should always download Mozilla software from Mozilla’s sites and not from third-party sources.

If you do receive a similar call or message again, Mozilla recommends letting the company know about the abuse of its trademarks and reporting the incident to the Federal Trade Commission. Microsoft, which has even sued a few parties, has its own page to report telephone frauds targeting its Windows operating system.