Monday, December 31, 2007

Save the bookmarks in Firefox

This article will explain how to save your bookmarks, so you can replace them if you ever have to reinstall Firefox. Remember that if you don't save them prior to a reinstall, you will lose all of them. It's also a good idea to save a copy everytime you backup your personal files, in case your computer ever crashes or you have to do a complete reinstall of your PC.



Quick and easy version:



Go to the Firefox browser and Select Bookmarks > Manage Bookmarks

Select File > Export



Choose the folder to save your bookmarks in (We recommend adding today’s date to the file name so that you can easily identify it in the future).



More Detailed Instructions:



First, set windows to show hidden files. To know how to view hidden files see this link: How to see hidden files in Windows



Then navigate to:



C:\ Documents and Settings\




  • Administrator\




  • ApplicationData\

  • Mozilla\

  • Firefox\

  • Profiles\

  • wplpwcgf.default\(before ‘default’ are randomly generated characters, your’s will be different)

  • bookmarkbackups (select the one with the most recent date)



    C:\ Documents and Settings \ "your user name" \ Application Data\ Mozilla \ Firefox \ Profiles \ default.random characters \ Bookmark.html




  • Select Bookmark.html with the most recent date, right click it and select Copy.

  • Go to your Desktop, and in an empty area, right click and select Paste.

    That will put a copy of the file on your Desktop.

  • After you install a new copy of Firefox, go to the Profile folder again, and delete the new Bookmark.html file that is in there.


  • Go back to your Desktop and Copy the Bookmark.html file you put there, then Paste it into the Profile folder where you deleted the new Bookmark.html file.




Now, all of your old Bookmarks are back in your Profile folder, just like they were in the version of Firefox you removed.

Also, since this is an .html file, you can open it in Internet Explorer, by double clicking it, and using the links that way. Just click a link, and it will open in Internet Explorer.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Upgrade the Firefox browser with the most recent updates.

The images below, showing how to update Firefox, are from Firefox 1.5. The steps are the same for Firefox 2.0. Don't know which one you're running? Here's how to check (click here to jump to the update procedure).


  1. Open Firefox.



    gjgf

  2. Click on Help and click on About Mozilla Firefox.



    jfjf

  3. It will show you which version is running.



    jfjf



  4. From the same menu, click on Check for Updates (just above About Mozilla Firefox).



    jfjf

  5. You will get a screen, which will show the progress bar.



    jfj

  6. Click on Download and Install Now. It allows you to update to the immediate version from the existing one.



    fjf




You'll need to close Firefox, then reopen it for the update to take effect. Some extensions and add-ons might not work after updating, but generally those authors are quick to fix any problems. Click on Tools > Add-ons, then click the Find Updates button to get recent version of your add-ons.


For different versions of FireFox you can use, check out Campus FF and eBay FF

Thursday, December 27, 2007

How to set the home page for Firefox?

Here are your options for what opens when you start Firefox.  First open the Firefox Options dialog box:




  • From your menu bar, click Tools > Options.



    shs


  • Click on Main tab, the first section is Startup.


hdshsh



You can set your own home page, have a blank page, or have Firefox load your last session (all the pages that were open when you last closed Firefox).



The second and third options are pretty straight forward, select them and there is nothing else to be done.



If you select "Show my home page", you'll have to set a home page.  If the website you want as home page is in your bookmarks, then click "Use Bookmark" ...



hshs



... and this box will appear:



dhs



Select the bookmark and click OK. Another way to do this is to have the website open in Firefox, then come to the Options section and click the "Use Current Page" button.



Here's a real convenient feature in Firefox.  You can set multiple pages to open in different tabs when you start Firefox. This is helpful if you always check the same three or four sites everyday.  For example, you may be in the habit of first checking your email, a favorite news site and the weather forecast everyday. Open those three sites in three separate tabs (but just one Firefox window). From your menu bar, click Tools > Options. Under the Main section, select Show my home page and click Use Current Pages (notice the "s" at the end of page). That's it. Click OK and you're done.



dshsh



Back to top

Troubleshooting Firefox hanging issues

There can be many scenarios that can cause Firefox to freeze.  Freezing/hanging is different from a crash. A crash is when the browser closes unexpectedly.   Freezing means not responding your actions.



Check the following symptoms and how to troubleshoot hang/freeze problems. 



Your Firefox Froze:









1. Froze while loading/starting Firefox
:



Check your Extensions and Plug-ins:



Determine when the problem started. Check whether it is a problem with an extension that you have recently installed. Some extensions might cause problems like slowing down the browser or freezing up.  Disable the extension and check. If you find it as a culprit, uninstall it. The best thing to do is restart Firefox in safe mode and disable plug-ins and extensions and check. Here's how you open firefox in safe mode:




  1. Close your Firefox browser.

  2. From the desktop, click Start > Run.



    ghmh

  3. Key in, firefox -safe-mode.



    mgm

  4. You will be popped with a new window called "Firefox Safe Mode"



    mgmg

    • Just select the options displayed and if you click "Make Changes and Restart", Firefox applies changes and restarts in normal mode.

    • If you choose to select "Continue in Safe Mode" no settings will be applied.

    • If you choose to "Exit" the browser will just exit without saving any settings.






Back to top





2. Can't load certain Websites:



It might be JavaScript problem:



Firefox might not work because of the Javascript on the webpage getting messed up.  Just close the browser and reopen it.  You can disable Javascript selectively for certain webpages by downloading and installing NoScript extension.





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3. Froze while downloading files
:



Clear Download History:



Keeping the Download History can cause extensive usage of memory and this can slow down or freeze Firefox. 




  1. Delete the "downloads.rdf" file to clear the download history.

  2. You need to make a little change to the browser setting.  Here's what you do:

  3. Open Firefox browser.

  4. From the menu bar, click Tools -> Options.



    gmg

  5. Click Privacy tab. Uncheck "Remember what I've downloaded" check box.



    mhmg




Back to top



4. Froze while loading Java, Flash or PDF files:



Check the Associated Plug-in:



If your Firefox is freezing when you click on a PDF link, it means that there should be some problem with an associated Firefox plug-in.  Click here to see a related article.



There can be other applications that also might cause Firefox to freeze.  Check the anti-virus and anti-spywares that are running on your computer.



Run a Standard Diagnostic if the above steps doesn't take care of your problem.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

How to prevent PDF's from freezing FireFox?

If your Firefox is freezing when you click on a PDF link, it means that there is some problem with an associated Firefox plug-in. There are several ways to fix this problem:




  1. Download and Install Firefox plug-in.

  2. Uninstall and Reinstall Firefox.

  3. Uninstall and Reinstall Adobe Reader.






1. 
Download and Install Firefox plug-in:



By downloading a plug-in which is available on Firefox website, you can have an option of opening a PDF file in HTML format.



Important: If you choose to download this Firefox plug-in, ensure that you have a copy of Adobe Reader installed on your computer.  Otherwise this won't work.



Here's what you do to download and install the plug-in:




  1. Open Firefox Browser.

  2. Key in, https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/636/ in the address bar.



    hdhd

  3. Click on Install Now shown on the web page to download the file.



    dhd


  4. In few seconds, you will see a Firefox pop-up prompting you to install the plug-in.  Click Install Now to proceed.



    hfd

  5. After the installation completes, close and restart Firefox.

  6. You need to make some changes to the browser settings for the plug-in to work properly.

    • Click Tools -> Add-ons.



      hdhd

    • Click on Extensions, navigate to PDF Download item and then click Options.



      hd

    • Select General tab.  Check Open PDF check box.



      dghd

    • Select PDF Opening tab.  Check Use OS Default Viewer check box.



      fdhd

    • Close and restart Firefox.







The above steps should take care of your problem but if doesn't then, try the steps below





Back to top





2.  Uninstall and Reinstall Firefox:



Before you go ahead, check the Firefox version you have.  Here's how you check it:




  1. Open Firefox browser.

  2. On the menu bar, click Help > About Mozilla Firefox.



    hdgh


  3. It should show up something like below:



    hdgh


  4. The latest version of Firefox is version (2.0.0.1).  If you are still running the older version, consider upgrading it to the new one.  Click here to download latest version of Firefox.

  5. Uninstall the existing Firefox (if you have an older version).  Here's how you do it:

    • From your desktop, click Start > Control Panel.

    • Double-click on Add/Remove Programs.



      dgh

    • Navigate to the item that says Mozilla Firefox and click Remove.



      ghd

    • This will take you to Firefox uninstallation wizard, follow the steps to remove Firefox.



  6. After it is done, double-click on the file that you have downloaded for the Firefox browser and install it.




Note:  Most of the times, uninstalling and reinstalling takes care of most of the issues with the browsers.





Back to top



3.  Uninstall and Reinstall Adobe Reader:



Before you go ahead, check the Adobe Reader version you have.  Here's how you check it:




  1. Open Adobe Reader.

  2. On the menu bar, click Help -> About Adobe Reader.



    ghdfgh

  3. It should show up something like below:



    dh




  4. The latest version of Adobe reader is version (8.0.0).  If you are still running the older version, consider upgrading it to the new one.  Click here to download latest version of Adobe Reader.

  5. Uninstall the existing Adobe Reader (if you have an older version).  Here's how you do it:

    • From your desktop, click Start -> Control Panel.

    • Double-click on Add/Remove Programs.



      dh

    • Navigate to the item that says Adobe Reader and click Remove.



      img



  6. After it is done, double-click on the file that you have downloaded for the Adobe Reader and install it.




Note:  Most of the times, uninstalling and reinstalling takes care of most of the issues you encounter.





These steps above should fix your problem.

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Extend Firefox 2 is Here!

Will you be the brain behind the next great web innovation? Get ready to show the world what you’re made of… Extend Firefox 2 is here!

Extend Firefox 2 is a developer contest with prizes awarded for creating new Firefox Add-ons. All entries will be judged by a panel of experts, with three Grand Prizes and 12 Runner-up Prizes awarded for entries that demonstrate excellence in user experience, innovativeness, and use of open standards. Need inspiration or want to share ideas? Check out the Idea Wiki!

Saturday, December 22, 2007

United Nations Agency Awards Mozilla World Information Society Award

International Telecommunication Union selects Mozilla for its outstanding contribution to the development of world-class Internet technologies and applications.

Geneva, May 16, 2007 - The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in Geneva, the leading United Nations agency for information and communication technology issues, awarded Mozilla the World Information Society Award 2007.

Mitchell Baker, Mozilla’s CEO and president attended the World Information Society Day in Geneva to accept the award on behalf of the tens of thousands of contributors to the Mozilla Project. The ITU World Information Society Award honors individuals or institutions for significant contributions that promote, build, or strengthen a people-centered, development-oriented and knowledge-based information society. Recognized achievements and contributions may take the form of social accomplishment, mobilization of public opinion, or a key technical innovation. The ITU selected Mozilla for its outstanding contribution to the development of world-class Internet technologies and applications.

“This award is shared by hundreds of thousands of advocates, tens of thousands of contributors and approximately 100 million end-users,” said Mitchell Baker in her address to World Summit on the Information Society. “Mozilla is a global community of people who believe that openness, innovation and opportunity are key to the continued health of the Internet.”

The main objective of the World Information Society Day is to raise global awareness of the benefits brought by the Internet and new technologies. It also aims to help reduce the digital divide.

Additional Laureates include Margarita Margarita CedeƱo, Dominican first lady selected for her outstanding personal contributions towards building an inclusive and equitable global information society; and Professor Dr. Mark L. Krivocheev, Chief Scientist of the Radio Research Institute in Moscow selected for his lifetime achievements in the technical development of television services and systems.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Firefox 3 Beta 2 Arrives Early


In the modern world of software development it's a rare day when a release actually comes out ahead of schedule. But that's the case with Mozilla's Firefox 3 Beta 2 release, which came out this morning some three days ahead of schedule.


In the latest version, Mozilla developers have improved security and performance as well as functionality. In total, Mozilla boasts in its release notes that some 900 improvements were made in Beta 2 over the Beta 1 release, which came out about a month ago.


Many improvements are focused on how Firefox handles memory. Firefox developer Mike Beltzner claimed in a mailing list posting of over 330 memory leak fixes. Memory handling and leakage issues have been a high priority item for Mozilla developers throughout the Firefox 3 process.


Firefox 3 Beta 2 also fixes leaks in how the browser handles JSON (define) (JavaScript Object Notation) cross site requests, making the browser more secure. JSON is often used in Ajax web development and is an alternative to XML over HTTP (XHR) Requests.


Security is further enhanced with anti-virus integration in Firefox's download manager.


Beta 2 also improves on the security of plugins by implementing a version check to identify plugins that are not secure.


Mozilla has also taken steps to further improve its Places bookmarking and history system which is a major new feature of the Firefox 3 browser. The Places system was originally intended to be part of the Firefox 2 release but wasn't ready in time. It has been part of the Firefox 3 development cycle since at least the Alpha 5 release in June. Fundamentally, Places makes it easy to create, manage and use bookmarks and history information.


The Beta 2 release is the tenth milestone release from Mozilla in the Firefox 3 browser development process. Though this release was ahead of schedule, the overall Firefox 3 browser effort is behind its original schedule which at one point had a final Firefox 3 release set for 2007.


While Mozilla's next generation browser development effort has had a very public milestone release cycle its chief competitor, Microsoft's Internet Explorer has been veiled in secrecy. Microsoft has publicly stated that they are working on Internet Explorer version 8. However except for a few
comments made by Microsoft executives, details of the release and what it may include have not been forthcoming.


"You will hear a lot more from us soon on this blog and in other places," Dean Hachamovitch IE General Manager wrote in a recent blog post. "In the meantime, please don't mistake silence for inaction."

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Firefox 3 Beta 2 now available for download

New features and changes in this milestone that require feedback include:

  • Improved security features such as: protection from cross-site JSON data leaks, tighter restrictions on site-specific content using effective TLD service, better presentation of website identity and security, malware protection, stricter SSL error pages, anti-virus integration in the download manager, version checking for insecure plugins.
  • Improved ease of use through: better password management, easier add-on installation, new download manager with resumable downloading, full page zoom, animated tab strip, and better integration with Windows Vista, Mac OS X and Linux.
  • Richer personalization through: one-click bookmarking, smart bookmark folders, location bar that matches against your history and bookmarks for URLs and page titles, ability to register web applications as protocol handlers, and better customization of download actions for file types.
  • Improved platform features such as: new graphics and font rendering architecture, JavaScript 1.8, major changes to the HTML rendering engine to provide better CSS, float-, and table layout support, native web page form controls, colour profile management, and offline application support.
  • Performance improvements such as: better data reliability for user profiles, architectural improvements to speed up page rendering, over 330 memory leak fixes, a new XPCOM cycle collector to reduce entire classes of leaks, and reductions in the memory footprint.
Get it here

Saturday, December 15, 2007

First look: Safari 3 beta on Windows vs. Firefox 2 and IE7

At the World Wide Developer Conference this week, Apple announced the availability of Safari 3 for the Windows operating system. Today, we put the Safari 3 beta to the test to see how it compares to Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2 on Windows. What we found didn't impress us very much. Although Safari offers slightly faster page loading, the beta is extremely unstable and suffers from interface deficiencies that make its value on the Windows platform questionable at best.

Windows quirks

The most glaring flaw of Safari 3 on Windows is its utter lack of stability. The prerelease beta status of Safari 3 obviously must be taken into account when evaluating the program's reliability, but the problems I faced during testing really exceed tolerable limits for beta software. The Firefox 3 alpha build I reviewed last week is far more stable and robust than the current beta build of Safari 3. Safari hangs and freezes frequently, and once it completely locked up my system, necessitating a hard reset. Unlike Firefox, Safari 3 can't automatically restore the previous browsing session after a crash. Instability makes testing a frustration, but I don't think that this problem should be interpreted as an intractable failing of Safari 3 in light of the program's prerelease status. Although I think it is likely that Apple will resolve these problems before issuing an official release, I strongly discourage users from testing the current Safari 3 beta on a production system.

[Image]

When using Safari 3 on Windows, one can clearly see that much effort went into making the Windows Safari experience as similar as possible to the Mac OS X Safari experience. The adaptation is, perhaps, too literal. There are several aspects of Apple interface design that make Safari 3 incongruous with the Windows user experience to an extent that causes frustration. In particular, Safari 3 for Windows inherits one of the most aggravating failings of the Mac OS X window manager: windows can only be resized from the bottom right corner.

Safari 3 for Windows also uses the Mac OS X font anti-aliasing mechanism rather than ClearType, which is native to Windows. Although this is largely a matter of personal preference, I greatly prefer ClearType, and I think that the Safari 3 fonts are fuzzy and difficult to read. This complaint has been echoed all over the web. Safari 3 allows users to choose between three different levels of "font smoothing," but none of them really improve the readability of text. Users who rely on tools like Microsoft's ClearType Tuner to customize Windows font anti-aliasing specifically for their displays will probably be most frustrated by the use of a nonstandard antialiasing mechanism in the Windows port of Safari 3. For comparison purposes, I've included a screenshot that shows how Safari's font rendering compares to that of Firefox 2 and Internet Explorer 7.

[Image]

1. Safari, 2. Firefox, 3. IE

Font readability issues aren't isolated to the page content. The text on the menu bar, toolbar, status bar, and tabs is rendered to look as though it is etched into metal, which is pretty but difficult to read. The problem is greatly exacerbated by the dark background of those interface elements. The worst offender is the status bar, which is completely unreadable. Safari really ought to respect Windows font selections and display fonts in a manner consistent with the rest of the operating system.

Cross-platform Safari quirks

I also ran into several frustrating keyboard issues. Most mainstream web browsers allow users to rotate through tabs by hitting Ctrl + Tab. Safari is the exception this rule and uses Ctrl + Shift + [ and Ctrl + Shift + ] instead of Ctrl + Tab and Ctrl + Shift + Tab. Unfortunately, this behavior is not configurable. Even more frustrating than that, Safari's inline search feature doesn't let you activate links with the Enter key. With Firefox, I've grown accustomed to selecting and activating links by initiating a quick find operation with the forward-slash key, typing a few letters to jump to a link, and then hitting Enter to activate the selected link. With Safari, hitting enter during an inline search just jumps to the next instance of the search query within the page rather than activating a link. This really cripples the user's ability to browse without having to constantly use the mouse.

There are a few other interface problems that further detract from the Safari user experience. When you launch the bookmark manager by clicking the book icon in the bookmarks toolbar or by selecting Show All Bookmarks from the Bookmarks menu, the bookmark manager loads in the currently active tab. When the bookmark manager is closed, the page that was previously displayed in that tab is reloaded. I can't fathom why anybody would want the bookmark management interface to replace the actively viewed web page. To compensate for this bizarre interface blunder, I frequently find myself opening a new tab or window before using the bookmark manager. The absence of a bookmark sidebar is also really frustrating. In Firefox, I frequently find myself dragging links from a page into my bookmarks hierarchy using the Bookmarks sidebar. In order to do the same thing with Safari, one needs to use two separate windows, which is really inconvenient.

Safari's built-in RSS support also leaves a lot to be desired. When a web page's header specifies multiple associated RSS feeds, Safari will automatically show the first one by default when the blue RSS icon is clicked in the URL bar. Unfortunately, Safari doesn't provide any easy way to access the other feeds. Firefox handles this better, displaying a menu of available feeds when I click the yellow RSS icon in Firefox's URL bar.

Security vulnerabilities

Although the Safari 3 web page claims that Safari was designed to be "secure from day one," a number of security vulnerabilities have already been found. Although some of these vulnerabilities were discovered by security prima donna David Maynor, who is infamous for his exaggerated Apple WiFi vulnerability claims, other researchers with more credibility (particularly Thor Larholm) have found serious security bugs as well.

In under two hours, Larholm was able to find a URL protocol handler injection vulnerability that facilitates remote command execution. Larholm points out that Safari doesn't properly handle URL validation in iframes, which can be used to manipulate programs associated with protocol handlers in unpredictable ways. Larholm demonstrates how to exploit this vulnerability by providing a page with an iframe that will crash Safari when loaded and can launch an arbitrary executable if Firefox is set as the default browser. Larholm's exploit uses the gopher protocol and Firefox XPCOM components for process instantiation, so it won't be able to launch another executable if Internet Explorer is set as the default browser, but it will still crash Safari.

It's not all bad

Is there any aspect of Safari 3 that will appeal to the average Internet Explorer 7 or Firefox user? Aside from the slight rendering performance advantage, Safari 3 also includes a few nice features. For instance, Safari allows users to resize text boxes that are embedded in web pages. I'm also moderately impressed with Safari 3's inline find feature despite the fact that it can't be used to activate links. Rather than just highlighting words that match the page search query, Safari will dim the rest of the page to make matches stand out more clearly. Safari will also put orange highlighting around the active match and display a little animation when the user hits Ctrl+ G to rotate to the next match. The animation draws the user's attention to the new active match and makes it easier to see.

Apple claims that Safari 3 is the "world's best browser," but with alternatives like Camino and Omniweb, many will argue that Safari isn't even the best browser for Mac OS X, let alone the best browser for Windows. The modest increase in rendering performance is hardly worth the deficiencies, and Safari's user interface simply doesn't provide the usability or flexibility of competing products. If the folks at Apple think that providing Windows users with a taste of Mac OS X through Safari is going to entice them to buy a Mac, it's going to take a better effort than the Safari 3 beta. Even if the final release is more polished and completely bug-free, it still won't be as powerful or feature-loaded as Opera or Firefox.

Firefox eBay edition: Enjoy a better eBay experience with Firefox

With Firefox you can get more from the web and eBay. Find out more about how you can get the most from your surfing and be safer online.




Never miss a bid


You’re always securely signed in so you can check out your eBay progress whenever you like. Customize your alerts and get the heads up when an auction you’re bidding on is about to end.





  • eBay Button


    Once you are signed in, the eBay button in your browser means you’re always only a click away from eBay! The eBay button opens and closes the eBay Companion sidebar and provides quick access to popular eBay bookmarks.





  • eBay Companion Sidebar

    The eBay sidebar contains all the information that you need to make your eBay trading super-quick and easy. You can instantly check on your buying, selling and feedback status. Everything you need from My eBay is at your fingertips. Take advantage of the quick search bar and shortcuts to eBay My World, your feedback and popular eBay bookmarks.






  • eBay Alert Box

    The Alert Box means you get important eBay alerts when you need them. If an item you are watching is about to end or you have been out-bid you’ll be notified right away by the Alert Box that appears on the bottom right corner of the browser window.





  • eBay ‘Glow’ Alerts


    For less urgent information -- such as eBay bidding up on your behalf -- you’ll enjoy the convenience of ‘Glow’Alerts. When the eBay logo in the Firefox browser glows, you’ll know instantly that there are changes to your items; open the sidebar to see the items that have changed.





  • Total Control

    You have total control on what alerts you receive and how you receive them. Customize your experience in the preferences section.








Stay up-to-date


Never miss the eBay action. No matter where you’re browsing, and whatever you’re doing online, you can get an at-a-glance update on all your eBay activities: watching, buying or selling.






  • Detailed Tooltip Information

    Each item has basic information listed, such as the number of bids and current price it is selling for. You can get more information about the item by hovering your mouse over the item to get the number of watchers (if you are selling), seller’s feedback (if you are buying) and other critical information.





  • Intelligent Refresh


    Your eBay information is updated at regular intervals. The refresh rate is increased intelligently as watching, bidding and selling items near their end time.





  • Quick Access to Item Actions

    You can quickly access contextual actions for your items by right clicking on any item. For example, you can view a seller’s feedback page, or remove a watched item from My eBay.









Safer Browsing


You’re safer with the Firefox Companion. You’ll know you’re on a genuine eBay or Paypal page and not a spoof site or lookalike. When you’re using Firefox you’re also at less risk from pop-up ads, spyware and other web threats.






  • eBay and PayPal Site Verification

    eBay and PayPal padlock icons appear on verified eBay and PayPal sites indicating that it is safe for you to sign-in using your eBay username and password.





  • Account Guard


    For extra security, you can activate Account Guard, which warns you if you enter your eBay or PayPal passwords on sites that are not verified as being official eBay and PayPal sites.




Firefox for Dummies

Written by Firefox co-creator Blake Ross, this insider's guide is a solid introduction to Firefox and covers the latest release, Firefox 1.5. Firefox for Dummies covers topics such as downloading and installing the Firefox browser, tabbed browsing, protecting your privacy and security, customizing your browser with extensions and themes, banishing popups, and downloading and saving files. Discover how Firefox can make you more productive in everything you do on the web. 384 Pages.

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A pick from Mozilla Store http://intlstore.mozilla.org/product_info.php?products_id=65

How to have Firefox 3 and Firefox 2 running at the same time

Firefox 3, or Gran Paradiso, is really shaping up with some pretty cool new features being implemented in the recent months. That’s not including the cool FUEL (Firefox User Extension Library) JavaScript library that promises to make extension development a bajillion times more productive, Places for data storage, and the use of Cairo for graphics.


The problem with playing around with Firefox 3 is (by default) you can’t run both Firefox 2 and 3 at the same time since they both insist on using the same profile and insist on running only 1 copy of Firefox at any one time.


Want to get in on checking out the new features but still want good old Firefox 2? Here’s how:



  • First, you should create a new profile just for testing Firefox 3. You should do this to keep your precious Firefox profile safe from any problems in Firefox 3. Otherwise, Firefox 3 will use your current Firefox 2 profile by default. You can create a new profile easily with the Profile Manager, which you can access by running:
    /path/to/firefox -profilemanager -no-remote

    Firefox profile manager




    Create a new profile (I gave it an obvious name, ‘minefield’, which is the codename of the current Firefox trunk). If you get confused, the official Firefox website has more detailed instructions on how to create a new profile.



  • Now, you should already have one of the Firefox nightly builds. If not, you can download the latest nightly build from the Firefox nightly build directory. You can start up Firefox 2 normally (just so you can see Firefox 2 and 3 running side by side). For Firefox 3, we’re going to start it differently.


  • We’re gonna run Firefox 3 using our newly created profile. I’d written earlier on how you can run two Firefox profiles at the same time, and you can still do the same with Firefox 3:


    /path/to/firefox3 -P minefield -no-remote &

    The ‘minefield’ in the command is the name of the profile we created earlier. Windows users should leave out the ‘&’ (on UNIX-based systems, this just runs Minefield in the background so that you can exit your terminal).




  • Firefox 3 should start up with your new clean profile!


    Firefox and Minefield icons in my Mac OS X dock

    That’s the Firefox 3 (Minefield) icon living right next to Firefox 2 icon in dock




Here’s Firefox 2 and one of the recent Firefox 3 nightly builds running side by side:


Firefox and Minefield running side by side

 

Firefox users urged to install new patch

As expected, Mozilla has pushed out another Firefox update - version 2.0.0.11 - to fix a new bug that caused problems when the browser was rendering 'canvas' HTML elements. The newest update comes just days after Mozilla released Firefox version 2.0.0.10, the first time the open-source browser has been updated in the same week.

The most recent canvas problems were detailed last week by Mozilla, which said at the time it expected to have an updated version out by last Friday.

Canvas elements, which were first used by Apple in its Safari browser, allow website designers to dynamically render bitmap images in HTML. Firefox, Safari and Opera support Canvas natively; Microsoft's Internet Explorer does so with a plug-in.

All editions of Firefox 2.0.0.10 - for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux - break pages that include the Canvas element, and cripple at least two Firefox extensions, FoxSaver and Fotofox.

The new version of Firefox is available for free download on the Mozilla website.

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