Firefox: Installing old extensions in new releases

Yesterday, I wrote about changing your browser title and it was found that the Titlebar Tweaks extension wouldn’t work with FF 1.5.x. After playing around with the extension, I was able to get it to work with FF 1.5.0.1. I also found, in the process, the way I got it to work also worked for other extensions that would error out if you tried to install them on newer versions of FF.
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31.Mar.06 Browsers, Technology Comments (0)

Change the title of your browser

Titlebars are boring. All they every say is the title of the web page and the name of the browser. I want mine to say something, to stand out.
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30.Mar.06 Browsers, Tech Tip Comments (6)

Firefox profile on the desktop

I worked on a friends computer last night, getting it setup on a wireless network, when I noticed that his desktop was full of files that looked like the profile folder for Firefox. I asked him about it and he said “Yeah, it just started doing that a couple of days ago.” After deleting the files, I started Firefox and it put the files right back. Odd.

I tried uninstalling and then reinstalling Firefox but that didn’t work. I also tried searching Google and Yahoo but couldn’t find any information for that problem. I checked his profiles.ini file (located in his user directory, Application Data, Mozilla, Firefox) and that’s where I found the problem. For some reason, the Path entry was pointing to the Desktop directory. I removed that line and changed it to Profiles/[random].default. That fixed the problem and all his bookmarks were working fine.

It’s weird that it happened because he swore he never editted it. He probably wouldn’t know how even if he did open the file. There are other users on that same computer so I checked their profiles.ini file. The others were set to the correct profile path. I did go ahead and run a spyware/virus scan but it didn’t find anything so I don’t know what happened. All I know is that I fixed it.

A HUGE congratulations goes out to my friend Jamie. She finally found a house to purchase (at a killer deal, I might add) so she’s no longer renting. It was a long search but it’s paid off.

The friend is the man who knows all about you, and still likes you. – Elbert Hubbard

10.Jan.06 Browsers, Technology Comments (0)

Firefox 1.0.7 to 1.5 RC3 failed

I downloaded the latest Firefox release candidate, 1.5 RC3, in order to try out the new features. I had tried the 1.5 beta releases but ended up just using the stable 1.0.7 release. I liked the 1.5 beta so I thought the latest release candidate would be nice to try out and see if the extensions I use would work out.

I didn’t uninstall 1.0.7 first because I wanted to see if the update would work. It didn’t. After running the installation for 1.5 RC3, I clicked the the Firefox shortcut but nothing happened. I checked the running processes (Windows XP Pro) and didn’t see firefox.exe listed.

The way I got it to work was to go into the directory that Firefox was installed in (C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox) and delete all the files. Renaming the directory would also work but there wasn’t anything there I needed to save because extensions and bookmarks are held in the profile directory. After the files were deleted, I ran the 1.5 RC3 installation again. This time, it worked without a problem.

The latest version of Firefox seems to be a little faster than 1.0.7. All the extensions I use, Forecastfox, Web Developer, Gmail Manager and Tab Browser Preferences, all work without a problem. The IE Tab extension looks interesting because it embeds Internet Explorer in a Firefox tab so that you can view a page using IE without having to open IE in a seperate window. I haven’t tried this one out, yet, so I make no claims on how well it works.

No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path. – Buddha

21.Nov.05 Browsers, Technology Comments (4)

The fat lady is singing

After contending with constant crashes in Firefox release 1.0.6 and 1.0.7, and the high amount of security issues that seem to pop-up weekly, I have moved my second choice browser into the pole position. Opera is now my number 1.

I really liked Firefox but, as mentioned, I got tired of dealing with the problems that seemed to be plaguing my setup since release 1.0.6. Version 1.5 looks promising but I am just using it as a secondary. Opera, on the other hand, works like a champ (still).

The final straw that pushed me to drop Firefox was that it “lost” my profile. Seriously, my default profile (bookmarks, extensions, etc.) was completely reset so everything was gone. The ForecastFox extension had to be re-setup and all my bookmarks were just gone. After looking in my profile folder, I found a bookmarks.html.xxxxxxxx.yyyy (x’s and y’s were random characters). I renamed that to bookmarks.html and it turned out to be a really old list of bookmarks. Weird.

I did end up finding my most recent bookmarks.html file but it was located in a different Windows user profile directory. I copied it back over to the Firefox profile folder in my main Windows profile directory and it works ok. What’s weird is that the Web Developer extension is working but there are no extensions showing up if I go to Tools -> Extensions.

In case you didn’t know, Opera is now completely free. You no longer have to pay for it (or crack it) to get rid of the banner ads. Version 8 is a big improvement on the Opera of old. The free version starts at 8.5 and it works great. I’m sure there are a few people out there pissed they paid for it within the last couple of months. You will have to pay if you want support directly from the Opera makers but there is a huge community that will probably give you an answer to any problem.

Now, if only I could get my Firefox extensions working in Opera.

Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life. -Buddha

30.Sep.05 Browsers, Technology Comment (1)