View source for Talk:Installing Extensions

These instructions do not work. I still get "corrupted file" messages on install. Is someone out there actually doing something about this? If not, you may as well shut down this site, as it's completely non-functional.

I like Firefox but it's things like this that are going to prevent it from being taken seriously by home users and the corporate world. It will remain merely the toy of computer geeks and "power users," as it has been for some time now. If you really want to make Firefox ubiquitous on the Internet, this stuff simply cannot be allowed to happen.

I say this because I would really like Firefox to become the "gold standard" of the Internet.



:: All extensions are tested prior to being accepted onto Update Mozilla. This means that they are fully examined to ensure that they install and unstall correctly, allow Firefox to operate properly, work correctly and do not contain any spyware or other undesirable malware. 

:: The messages that you are receiving about invalid files etc. are most likely because hen you download an extension soon after it has been submitted, it may not have properly propagated to all of the mirror sites, resulting in these errors. Additionally, some mirrors fail to receive the files from time to time as well for various reasons. 

:: Admittedly, the terminology for these error messages could be cleared up a bit, but that's the basic reason for the majority of messages that people receive. --[[User:Chrisblore|Chrisblore]] 14:07, 9 May 2005 (PDT)

== Where do I get help please ? ==

I am a recent convert to Firefox and am having a few teething troubles. Could someone please tell me how I can find help and where should I be lookng to get it. Cheers

== Installing Themes ==

This is just a nuisance while the team is involved with a security issue, but thought it should be known: The temporary instructions for adding themes don't seem to work.

Downloading the .jar is fine, starting the "Themes" dialog window works, but dragging the .jar into the Themes dialog, while giving no error, also doesn't seem to add the theme .jar to Themes.

Details:

WindowsXP Tablet edition / Firefox 1.0.2 / Modern Pinball 1.0.3

In the meantime, thanks for making Firefox such a great browser, and sorry about your current issues. This, too, shall pass.

If mirroring is to blame for corrupt downloads, what is being done to fix this? Where and when are users notified that the things they download may or may not work? Downloading things ought not to be a "hit or miss" proposition. If your mirroring infrastructure inherently causes lots of corrupt downloads, perhaps it needs to be redesigned?

Maybe it's the result of being in IT for 20 years and using computers for well over 30, but I get the impression I'm expecting more than is possible of this project. But if this is the best that can be done, I can tell you that corporate IT will not take the Mozilla project seriously. Reliability is important in corporate decision-making; companies are typically willing to spend money on something reliable, rather than use something for free, that isn't reliable.

:: There is something being done to fix this I think, but for the meantime, I heard that they intended to add a message, saying that extensions and themes that have recently been approved may take up to 1/2 hour to propagate to all mirrors. --[[User:Chrisblore|Chrisblore]] 13:33, 10 May 2005 (PDT)

== Product failure - becoming a habit.... ==

Once again, I get egg on my face.  My clients are begging me to save them from Microsoft "update of the day that don't work right" madness.  So I convince them to "take the plunge" and try Linux.  They trust me, so they do.

It's Tuesday.  Since last Thursday I have had six trouble calls.  Every one about "well Firefox said I needed to upgrade, so I clicked on the box, and it asid it upgraded, and now I cannot surf the web".  I had to make personal visits to two of these folks, but could not charge them for a service call to fix broken software that I recommended and installed.  This is the reason I gave up, closed my shop, and quit being a Microsoft MSCNE!  NOT AGAIN!!!!

Why does an upgrade of Firefox require all Internet settings be reinitialized on Windows - and fail to successfully complete on Linux, requiring a full delete/re-install??

And now, when folks lose their favorite, or [to them, now] required Themes and Extensions can these not be re-installed??

Extensions - will usually install IF you have read all the instructions and understand them, and follow them correctly.  How many end users can do this?  From the past week I would say zero out of four.....  The other two were running Windoze, and just needed NIS/NAV settings changed to "Permit" from "Block".  Why does the Firefox update cause NIS/NAV to not display a "new program" dialog and just set the access setting for Firefox to "Block".  I went back and tested it on the second machine, and there was no NIS/NAV "new app" dialog asking for guidance.  The settings were silently changed to "Block".  I don't suppose your installation script supresses script output messages.....

Themes- Your instructions say "Once the download completes, from the Firefox Tools menu, select Themes. Find the saved Theme's .jar file."  Find it with what???  I tried finding it with my main file managment tool, Krusader, and "Drag and drop the Theme's .jar file to the Themes list" - does nothing.  Tried it with Nautilus and Konqueror - no result whatsoever.  I've only been a Network Engineer for 32 years, and only have a PhD in Physics (Computer Science was not available when I was in school), so perhaps you can help me (I also got my BA in English - so I can read) understand what your instructions mean, since you name no tool or method to "Find the saved....".

Like the previous message says - this is a battle for the hearts and minds of computer users around the world.  If the monopoly is to be staunched, we need to have something beter than what they have - SOFTWARE THE JUST DOES NOT WORK, POOR INSTRUCTIONS, AND EXCUSES INSTEAD OF ANSWERS.

Feel free to contact me if I can be of any assistance in helping your team get your product back on track.  I offer you my lifetime experience in Quality Assurance, Programming, Network Security, Application Development, and Product Marketing and Maintenance and am willing to help you get this mess fixed.  I might as well, because the free service calls and lost personal credibility are killing me.

I'm on your side - that's why I am being so blunt with the truth.  It's time to get to the bottom of these problems and solve them; and if it is deliberate sabatoge by competitors, as some have suggested - to address that vigorously.

Prompt action is needed.

Is nothing being done to sort this out - not even an answer to the posts.  It's sad 'cos I love Firefox -I'll still continue to use it tho', it's still head n shoulders above IE -but I want my themes back please.

== I still get corrupted file ==

This has happened twice to me. I guess it's time to get rid of firefox if they can't fix the corrupt file thing. It keeps getting rid of my bookmarks and cookies.

== Installing from local .jar file under KDE 3.4.0 ==

Hi,

I downloaded a theme for KDE 3.4.0, which, amongst other things, included a theme file for Mozilla in jar format.

However, the instructions, "dragging the icon to the Themes window" doesn't work when dragging from Konqueror, and this machine only has the barest minimum of Gnome libraries installed (enough to keep apps like The Gimp and Inkscape happy).  Therefore, I don't have the gnome file manager.

How does one do this from the command line?

Regards,
Stuart Longland

Hi Stuart,

http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Creating_a_Skin_for_Firefox:Getting_Started
pointed me to:
http://www.eightlines.com/neil/mozskin/installjar.html

which you can save to disk.  Apparently it has the javascript needed to install a .jar theme.  This worked for me with firefox 1.0.6 on linux