help pre-configuring Firefox

[prathapml]

edit the prefs for Ff-

How do you edit "Program Files\Mozilla\Firefox\defaults\pref\firefox.js" (i.e., the profile default settings/preferences)?

Lots of online tweaking guides prescribe adding certain entries "here" or "there" which are applicable either through the address "about:config", or if you want to do it unattended, to directly edit the relevant file. Now, I know which file to edit, and that it is just plain-text (is it ASCII?), and how to get the necessary text in there.

But, if you edit in notepad or wordpad, it loses formatting (which previously was there, but seems to not be there when opened with text-editors). Either that, or saving with formatting inserts lots of unnecessary line-breaks. Editing with Word2003 makes no difference, as it has line-wrap rules for plain-text formatting, and saving with formatting using any other format (RTF/UTF) fills it in with junk which now renders the .JS config file invalid file-format.

One option I have thought of, is that maybe the preferences/config file is made/formatted on linux text-manipulators, and so contains non-Windows formatting. But I haven't yet tried editing it as per that option I thought - asking for suggestions from Mozilla veterans (as many of you indeed are!).

[jrzycrim]

I use the 'ChromEdit Extension". It adds 'Edit User Files' to the tools menu and allows you to edit Chrome.css, userContent.css and user.js.

http://cdn.mozdev.org/chromedit/

[prathapml]

I eventually found out how to do this, but haven't yet posted it, so here goes:

I'm yet to see a single unattender who has any use for the bookmarks and settings importer wizard that runs at first run of the firefox browser. What is it that controls whether or not this wizard runs?

Its a few entries in the user profile's prefs.js - remember this file should not be edited with notepad, use chromedit (above) to do it. Now since doing it for each individual user profile as they login, is difficult, we'll customize the default user's profile. So that when a new user is created, these settings are already set.

So, you need the attached prefs.js to be placed in either default user (preferred)

C:\Program Files\Mozilla\Firefox\defaults\profile

or in user profile:

C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\RANDOM.default

Here's what it contains:

user_pref("browser.search.selectedEngine", "Google");
user_pref("browser.shell.checkDefaultBrowser", false);
user_pref("browser.startup.homepage_override.mstone", "rv:1.7.5");
user_pref("extensions.disabledObsolete", true);
user_pref("extensions.lastAppVersion", "1.0");
user_pref("intl.charsetmenu.browser.cache", "UTF-8");
user_pref("network.cookie.prefsMigrated", true);

prefs.js

[Ejoc]

Didnt know about the default dir for default user prefs, good to know.

But I thought I'd also mention that you dont have to install Firefox, Thunderbird or Sunbird w/ their installer programs, i.e. Firefox Setup 1.0.1.exe. You can install the apps, then use 7-Zip to create a self extracting exe of directories. All you need to do then is manually put shortcuts where you want them, and after you run Firefox once, it will ask to make it the default browser.

I know this works, because I keep Firefox, Thunderbird and Sunbird on my AES encrypted Harddrive, which I do not format when I reinstall XP. And all 3 run just fine without being installed. I also keep the Profile directories on that encrypted drive and I have the unattended CD copy over

C:\Documents and Settings\Me\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\profiles.ini

C:\Documents and Settings\Me\Application Data\Mozilla\Sunbird\profiles.ini

C:\Documents and Settings\Me\Application Data\Thunderbird\profiles.ini

*note Thunderbird profiles are not in the Mozilla Directory

My ThunderBird profiles.ini

[General]
StartWithLastProfile=1

[Profile0]
Name=default
IsRelative=0
Path=N:\Email\Thunderbird\Profiles\02zklz8l.slt
Default=1

This way when I reinstall XP, my browser, email and calendar are all exatctly how I used them last. Copying existing data from your default profile directory to a different location, will take awhile as you have to manually edit some files to make it work. But once you get it working, makes reinstalling XP easy.

[SiMoNsAyS]

@prathapml so you moved to firefox? lol

open the installer with winrar, extract browser.xpi and open it with winrar again. navigate to \bin\defaults\pref\ and replace it with your firefox.js

if the thing is just set your preferences you can do it the way i do: configure firefox as desired, navigate to your profile on %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\randomstrings and copy prefs.js.

open the installer with winrar and extract en-US.xpi (or your localized language .xpi file). open again en-US with winrar and navigate to \bin\defaults\profile\, replace prefs.js. update your setup with the custom .xpi

now everytime you install firefox will be set the way you like it

[prathapml]

wow

This just shows how different people can have different ways of doing things. Thanks for both of your input.

@Ejoc

Indeed, I don't install the app, I just have it already installed and pre-configured and just extract to programfiles, and add shortcuts to start menu.

@SiMoNsAyS

lol, no way. I've always been a firefox supporter, since the days its daddy was in alpha. You might find my posts about mozilla which were made a long time ago (not on msfn, posted it elsewhere).

Somewhere along the way, it ended up being as bloated as its enemy (IE) and so I can't use it for everyday tasks anymore. I shifted to opera for its perfection. But I still recommed the ff/tb combo for most environments (because opera is very advanced and people don't know how to use it, whereas the Mozilla products are simple). I still use 5 different browsers (not just shells, all based on totally different ENGINES) on my machine.

Such being the case, people accusing me of not supporting firefox because I am on opera, is sad.

Well anyways, that's really interesting information you gave - of modifying the XPI archives in installer. I guess I have to make a customized installer then.

But here's a question for you:

firefox + thunderbird as installers = 11 MB

ff + tb + sunbird as already installed folders and pre-configured, compressed into 7zip = 6.3 MB

-- Now I understand that this is because of repeated files, but yeah, if someone makes official combined packages of these, it should be a huge hit in the uA community. Your thoughts?

[SiMoNsAyS]

@pra, that is interesting. i personally don't use thunderbird/sunbird so i never combined them all. would be nice if some1 can create a installer for them; i mean not replacing the default installer with mozilla's, i mean create a new custom installer (autoit f.e.) so it can place the correct folders on the correct locations and add the correct shortcuts/reg entries.

i think i can complete the task with firefox, but never touched other mozilla products.

if some1 want to start this project i'll be glad to help

[Nologic]

Well link to a post that use to be here at one time.

[link]

Any ways looking through the script you can see where I've copied stuff into the default install...so that it would be later added to any new user accounts made.

Any ways you could modify that script to move things around or install themes and extensions...so that they are available for every one.

Sorry this isn't directly on subject....tied up with other things so just kind of spamming threads while I can do so.