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bbear2
Premium Member
join:2003-10-06
dot.earth

bbear2

Premium Member

[Firefox] Where are the add-on files kept in FF27?

For various reasons I ended up doing a fresh install of FF27. I added back a bunch of add-ons and found that FF used/found an old location on my desktop for some add-ons. I even renamed that desktop location and when I restarted FF, it found them again.

Is there any way to control where add-on files are stored? Or how can I get all the add-ons in one (default) location?
redwolfe_98
Premium Member
join:2001-06-11

4 edits

redwolfe_98

Premium Member

there shouldn't be a problem if you did a "clean" install of FF 27.. it sounds like you failed to do a clean install and so "old" settings are being used, as they were, before..

to do a clean install, first, adjust the folder-view-settings on your computer, enabling "show hidden files and folders" (but NOT unchecking "hide protected operating system files" ).. when you enable "show hidden files and folders", you will be able to access files-n-folders within the app-data-folder (the "documents and settings" folder, with windows xp) and then you will be able to delete any mozilla files-n-folders that are left over, after uninstalling firefox, as part of making sure that everything-mozilla has been removed, after uninstalling firefox.. (you also need to make sure the "mozilla" folder in "c\program files" has been removed, as part of uninstalling firefox)..

(one way to double-check is to use your computer's "search" to search for mozilla files-n-folders, using the search-terms "mozilla" and "firefox", after having uninstalled firefox, to make sure that all mozilla files-n-folders have been removed)..

you also could try to make sure that all mozilla regkeys have been removed, in HKCU\software and HKLM\software.. (don't worry about removing other regkeys that might have "mozilla" in them.. you could mess things up if you try to remove every regkey that references "mozilla", or that references "firefox" ).. just remove the mozilla-regkeys in HKCU\software and HKLM\software, as part of uninstalling firefox, before installing a new version..

i don't know why you are using FF 27 (why not FF 28?), but if you are just wanting the old, classic GUI, which the newer versions of FF don't have, you could use the ESR version of FF, FF 24-ESR, instead.. the ESR version has all of the needed security-patches, which FF 27 (and FF28 and FF 29) don't have..

i am using firefox 24.x-ESR (i hate the "stupid", new GUI)..

here is some information about the ESR-version of firefox:

http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/faq/

there is a link, there, that can be used for downloading the ESR version of firefox.. personally, i always download firefox from mozilla's "FTP downloads":

https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/

therube
join:2004-11-11
Randallstown, MD

therube to bbear2

Member

to bbear2
What are these "addons"?
Extensions or Plugins?
Which ones are being found?

Extensions are typically stored in your Profile.
Installing a new Profile will not find/use any extensions from an old Profile.

Extensions can be installed globally, but that is not typical.

Plugins are installed into your OS & are "found" by FF.
Plugins would be seen by all Profiles.

Davesnothere
Change is NOT Necessarily Progress
Premium Member
join:2009-06-15
Canada

3 edits

Davesnothere to bbear2

Premium Member

to bbear2
said by bbear2:

For various reasons I ended up doing a fresh install of FF27. I added back a bunch of add-ons and found that FF used/found an old location on my desktop for some add-ons. I even renamed that desktop location and when I restarted FF, it found them again.

Is there any way to control where add-on files are stored? Or how can I get all the add-ons in one (default) location?

 
Is the location on your desktop holding a backup of your previous profile ?

Do you still need that folder ?

If yes, then zip it up and copy the archive onto removable media and onto a different drive volume, and delete that entire folder from your desktop.

FF likely looks for the files, not the folder, if renaming it did not help.

And yes, the ESR version of FF is more current in patches than FF 27 or 28, but it too will soon 'inherit' the dreaded new UI.
bbear2
Premium Member
join:2003-10-06
dot.earth

bbear2 to redwolfe_98

Premium Member

to redwolfe_98
I was unaware of the ESR version and it does look like a good path to go down. However, what happens after Oct 2014? Looks like we're screwed with regards to the new UI.
bbear2

bbear2 to therube

Premium Member

to therube
Sorry, I still tend to equate add-ons with extensions and I know that gets confusing. I was speaking only of extensions. Not sure how they would get install globally, meaning I don't recall doing anything in particular. Seems that FF is finding them, regardless of how the extensions were installed,.
bbear2

bbear2 to Davesnothere

Premium Member

to Davesnothere
.Yes
.No
.Great idea. I will remove those extensions, zip them up, move them away and see what happens.

Davesnothere
Change is NOT Necessarily Progress
Premium Member
join:2009-06-15
Canada

1 edit

Davesnothere to bbear2

Premium Member

to bbear2
said by bbear2:

I was unaware of the ESR version and it does look like a good path to go down.

However, what happens after Oct 2014?

Looks like we're screwed with regards to the new UI.

 
In the meantime, you can also test PaleMoon, and if necessary, switch at that point.

PaleMoon authors have promised not to go to the Australis UI, but will still follow the FF ESR security updates, which proves that the FF authors are doing what they damned well please to us.

AND, there are PORTABLE versions of FireFox, PaleMoon, and SeaMonkey, which can each be installed into their own individual uniquely named folders on any drive, including your hard drive (I have several of them testing currently on a networked hard drive which is really hooked to the USB of another computer) and they do not interfere with your main FireFox install.

BTW, most add-ons for FF are compatible with PM, but many are not OK with SM, though SM has many other worthwhile advantages.
bbear2
Premium Member
join:2003-10-06
dot.earth

bbear2

Premium Member

If Pale Moon works out, then I plan to use it as the main browser, but for now the portable version is it. Are there any disadvantages to using the portable version?

Can the extracted folder that contains the portable version be "moved" or "renamed"; or will I have to start all over with customizations to change the extracted folder?

And, won't Pale Moon have the same v24 ESR issue come October? How will they get around it?

Davesnothere
Change is NOT Necessarily Progress
Premium Member
join:2009-06-15
Canada

4 edits

Davesnothere

Premium Member

 
You can install any add-ons to them which each regular version will accept, and this applies each to FireFox, PaleMoon, and to SeaMonkey.

They only hiccups which I have noticed, are :

(1) Browser updates sometimes do not complete properly, but you can still choose to install a newer version to overwrite the old one if you wish, into the existing destination folder, using the appropriate executable file, and it keeps the current profile.

(2) If you have any version of FireFox running, even in a separate folder, and with a different profile, then you cannot launch any other version of FireFox until you exit the first one and wait for that to complete.

Their profiles do not interfere and can be separate for each (and SHOULD be).

I would expect 2 versions of PaleMoon to 'notice' each other too, if tried to launch together.

But I have FireFox (one or another of several versions), PaleMoon and Sea Monkey all open at the same time, each with its own folder and profile, in another test PC.

As for the 24esr soon changing UI issue, the PaleMoon dev claims that they know how to separate the related coding of FF24esr, and thus can keep the security updates and not the UI, and have apparently already incorporated some of the fixes which are part of FF 29 & 30 into whichever PM that we have now.

FireFox, however, plans to change the UI of THEIR esr edition when they get to version 31 of regular edition, IIRC.
Davesnothere

2 edits

Davesnothere

Premium Member

 
I have not tried to transfer any of my portable versions anywhere else, nor to rename their folders, so cannot properly answer that part.

Worst case, I would expect that you could export your bookmarks using the bookmark manager, and import them into another installation, then reinstall and config any add-ons, along with the new main app.
bbear2
Premium Member
join:2003-10-06
dot.earth

bbear2 to Davesnothere

Premium Member

to Davesnothere
said by Davesnothere:

...

(2) If you have any version of FireFox running, even in a separate folder, and with a different profile, then you cannot launch any other version of FireFox until you exit the first one and wait for that to complete....

In this case, does PaleMoon = Firefox?

Davesnothere
Change is NOT Necessarily Progress
Premium Member
join:2009-06-15
Canada

4 edits

Davesnothere

Premium Member

said by bbear2:

said by Davesnothere:

(2) If you have any version of FireFox running, even in a separate folder, and with a different profile, then you cannot launch any other version of FireFox until you exit the first one and wait for that to complete....

In this case, does PaleMoon = Firefox?

 
No.

That's what I meant when I said this :

But I have FireFox (one or another of several versions), PaleMoon and Sea Monkey all open at the same time, each with its own folder and profile, in another test PC.

 
I have FireFox 2.0.8, 3.6.28, 14, 24.5esr and 30 each installed over there, and only open one of those at a time, but PM & SM can be open at the same time as any one of those FireFox installs, and I only have the latest version of each of PM & SM.

So 3 apps can be open together, one of each name.

All are portables except FF24.5esr.
bbear2
Premium Member
join:2003-10-06
dot.earth

bbear2

Premium Member

Would it matter if they weren't portable versions?

Davesnothere
Change is NOT Necessarily Progress
Premium Member
join:2009-06-15
Canada

4 edits

Davesnothere

Premium Member

said by bbear2:

Would it matter if they weren't portable versions?

 
Not insofar as how many could be actively open and running at the same time, AFAIK.

As long as each FireFox had its own install folder and separate unique profile folder too, I believe things should not interfere, and that you also limit to only opening one of any app with the same name at a time.

After I had first posted a few weeks back, about my distaste with my first trial of FF 29.01 (I think it was that version), and how I had made it update my MAIN FireFox install on that same test PC, but then had to delete the FireFox folder, install the earlier FF again, and restore my profile which I had backed up before the 'upgrade', some kind soul in this forum told me about the Portable versions.

That was the point at which I also upgraded the 'installed' FireFox on this PC and that one to version 24esr from 14.

The FF24esr which is on the test PC just happens to be my main install - Otherwise I could have done a portable of it too.

My testing has been considerably easier since then, and all I need to backup are any bookmarks gained during the trials, if I wish to keep them.

BTW, my portables are all installed onto a networked hard drive, which is actually on THIS PC, but accessed from the other one.

And it works, as we should expect for a portable app.
bbear2
Premium Member
join:2003-10-06
dot.earth

bbear2

Premium Member

Thanks for that additional information. I also like the idea of putting the portable versions on the network drive.

Like you, during "an experiment" i was bitten by that auto update from FF. I went to download a previous version without the new UI, and that too had the auto update on by default. So I actually had to uninstall, disable the network, then reinstall, only to then disable auto update. This is not the FF team it used to be. These kind of hoops we have to jump through are ridiculous.

Davesnothere
Change is NOT Necessarily Progress
Premium Member
join:2009-06-15
Canada

Davesnothere

Premium Member

said by bbear2:

....These kind of hoops we have to jump through are ridiculous.

 
Yes, and then there is Microsoft and their Windows 8 UI.

THEY actually expect folks to PAY for new products born of similar ineptitude and arrogance !

At least FireFox only costs us our sanity.

AND, yer quite welcome !
bbear2
Premium Member
join:2003-10-06
dot.earth

bbear2

Premium Member

Taking this thread to a new one specifically around PM, if you care to follow here:
»[Pale Moon] Manually upgrading Pale Moon portable