Guide: Mozilla Firefox Unattended

[SiMoNsAyS]

Introduction

I've spent a lot of time working on an unattended installation of Firefox and I wrote a guide to accomplish it but I've seen people look at that amount of text and simply giving up after a few lines. The original guide is now attached to this post so you can still build your custom installer following those easy steps described on "jdoe method" and my batches to do the cleanup (included in the zip too).

Here you can find some default silent installers for your choice:

Firefox 1.0.2 and Above Silent

Check this post.

Firefox 1.0.1 Silent

Features List:

* Silent by default! No switches needed!

+ Optionally invisible †1

* English language

* Removed QFA Component †2

+ ADT (Advanced Developer Tools) Component is now always installed

* Icon size boosted up to 128x128 †3

+ Prefetch tweak added to shortcuts. Optional shortcuts to default profile and profiles admin †4

* Removed certain searchplugins: Amazon, eBay and Creative

* Added certain searchplugins: MSFN, Filemirrors, Google (images), IMDB, Microsoft

- Removed certain searchplugins: Babelfish Translation (SP/EN, EN/SP)

* Added certain plugins: Adobe Acrobat 7, RealPlayer™ (Live Connect included), QuickTime, Shockwave Flash, Shockwave for Director

- Removed certain plugins: RealJukebox, Microsoft Office 2003, Java™ 2 Platform, removed some unnecessary files too.

* Preferences Tweak †5

* MSFN Forum Thread Bookmark

+ Custom Extensions, Themes, Defaults\Profile, Plugins, Searchplugins and Language Pack support! †6

* Powered by RarLabs †7

†1 CMDOW needs to be placed on System32 foler in order to hide the command prompt window. Open the setup file with WinRAR and remove "REM" from the third line of setup.cmd

†2 Removed QFA completely, including the XPI file that results on a smaller setup

†3 Icon rebuilt with more image formats

†4 Optional shortcuts are available once you remove "REM" from some lines at the bottom of Setup\setup.cmd (only for english and spanish systems)

†5 LocalFocus set to false and speedup improvements on navigation tweaks

†6 Open the setup file with WinRAR, place on Setup\XPI your extensions and on Setup\JAR your themes

Files present on Setup\DefaultsProfile will be copied to \defaults\profile on Mozilla's Firefox directory

Setup\Profile is where you can place your custom profile. Profiles.ini and Profiles\ folder goes there (originally they can be found on %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox)

Setup\Plugins and Setup\Searchplugins folders can also be used, just drop the necessary files there. Just to remember that plugins won't work if you obviously don't have those programs installed. Quicktime and Realplayer are free plugins (alternatives).

Finally if you place the spanish langpack on Setup\XPI it will be automatically detected, that means you can take a look at the code (Setup\setup.cmd) and add your own language

†7 Setup no longer uses the mozilla's installer, silent switch implemented since 1.0.1

DOWNLOAD 6,41 MB (6.722.217 bytes) - RapidShare main mirror, please use this

DOWNLOAD 6,87 MB (7.214.719 bytes) - Mirror 2

DOWNLOAD 6,87 MB (7.214.719 bytes) - Mirror 3

DOWNLOAD 6,87 MB (7.214.719 bytes) - Mirror 4

C'mon people I want to hear a big thanks to @buletov, @SoreGums and @solohelp for hosting mirrors 2, 3 and 4

If you want to add a mirror or report a broken link, PM me inmediately!

Call the installation from RunOnceEx without swithces, like:

REG ADD %KEY%\001 /VE /D "Mozilla Firefox 1.0" /f
REG ADD %KEY%\001 /V 1 /D "%CDROM%\SOFTWARE\FIREFOX\Firefox101_Silent_en-US.exe" /f

Understanding the Installation Process

If you just want to install Firefox you don't need to read further. Now if you want to create a custom installation, you must now the setup is a simple Rar-SFX that launchs a .cmd file.

When run, it will silently install Firefox, then it will be set as your default browser and it'll be pinned on top start menu. After that, associations will be set for .htm, .html, .swf, .xpi, and optionally .jar. You'll need to edit Setup\setup.cmd for this last.

Next, files for your custom profile and defaults\profile will be placed on their propper locations. Similar will happen with Setup\searchplugins and Setup\plugins.

Extensions and themes are installed if they exist on Setup\XPI and/or Setup\JAR. Finally shortcuts will be copied, take a look at the bottom lines of Setup\setup.cmd for more info.

Custom Profile

Original idea by crahak.

You'll be able to add skins, themes, bookmarks... More to be written

Defaults Profile Method

Astalavista has found useful information on how work on your unattended profile and has created a default one that you can review and download here.

There's also a Firefox 1.0.4 version with a built-in profile available here

After you have created your Defaults Profile, download my default Setup and open it with WinRAR. Fill the folder Setup\DefaultsProfile with the contents of %PROGRAMFILES%\Mozilla Firefox\defaults\profile.

During the installation, Defaults\Profile will be restored to its original location, also you can place shortcuts to it by removing "REM" from Setup\setup.cmd on my installation file.

Final Notes

Let me remember you that bookmarks.html contains your favorites and can be exported to the user profile. The same for user.js, prefs.js and your preferences.

For more information about how to use the %CDROM% variable, more about cmdow, switches for common installations visit the MSFN unattended section.

Thanks to Most of You

• jdoe was the first one who induced me to write this, he wrote the .vbs files needed to export the profile and replace the strings.
  
• totoymola was the one who created the .msi installation for personal use and then he shared it.
  
• crahak wrote the code used to install the extensions and themes.
  
• toe_cutter showed us more about the config.ini file.
  
• Astalavista created a default profile with preinstalled extensions.
  
• utln wrote a searchplugin for MSFN that I include in the pack.
  
• 2forza gave me the idea to create a desktop shortcut similar to IE.
  
• List is still open...
  

Silent_Firefox.zip

Edited June 27, 2005 by SiMoNsAyS

[taemun]

Easier method: mine I haxxed the 7z archive, and modified the config file, and added my AutoIt script....

You can get rid of all the dialogs bar one (thinks).

Then a simple AutoIt script.

Addmittedly not entirely silent, but it works.

You can hide the setup window anyhow....

[jdoe]

@taemun

I have no doubt about your way to install Firefox but your installation is not pre-configure for multi-user.

This guide is for an other purpose than just installing Firefox silently.

[MCT]

nice guide i currently dont use firefox (i use opera) but ill keep this in mind for someone asking about it

[SiMoNsAyS]

nice guide i currently dont use firefox (i use opera) but ill keep this in mind for someone asking about it

LOL, thanks, i'm very proud

[teh1337357]

What is this CD.TXT you need to create and do you need any code in it? Also, where are you supposed to put your newly created FIREFOX.EXE? Lastly, do you need to change any of that code for English?

[SiMoNsAyS]

A1: for CD.TXT you can read this that will explains better than me http://unattended.msfn.org/xp/runonceex_cd.htm

A2: your firefox.exe in the example goes to %CDROM%\SOFTWARE\FIREFOX\FIREFOX.EXE (where CDROM it's the root of your windows intallation CD)

A3: **** no! , this guide it's intended to be user, path, drive and language dependant.

ps: i haven't forgot the step2 part but still having issues

[teh1337357]

Thanks man. Just wasn't totally clear on a few things.

And BPP, no more ieX?

[big poppa pump]

Nah! Not as much as I used to. Too many **** 13 year olds with single digit IQ's running wild over there.

@Simonsays - Nice guide. Will keep as a reference when I decide to move over to Firefox. IE is still my preferred browser.

[SiMoNsAyS]

Nah! Not as much as I used to. Too many **** 13 year olds with single digit IQ's running wild over there.

@Simonsays - Nice guide. Will keep as a reference when I decide to move over to Firefox. IE is still my preferred browser. 

thanks guy but be aware... if you try firefox i'm sure you won't return to IE

[teh1337357]

Hopefully my last question... Do you need to put everything in %CDROM%\Software if you're using the RunOnceEx method?

[CoffeeFiend]

thanks guy but be aware... if you try firefox i'm sure you won't return to IE

So true, you never want to go back B)

[Thermopyle]

You know I was all prepared to do this, and in fact had started to, but then I realized that my CD would be outdated so soon.

Firefox 1.0 will be out this month, and I'm pretty sure that I read that the devs were aware of deployment issues and would be addressing them soon...if not in 1.0 then not long after.

Just some information for those of you thinking on doing this.

[SiMoNsAyS]

Hopefully my last question... Do you need to put everything in %CDROM%\Software if you're using the RunOnceEx method?

in the example yes, but there are several methods and mine it's only one of them.

Firefox 1.0 will be out this month, and I'm pretty sure that I read that the devs were aware of deployment issues and would be addressing them soon...if not in 1.0 then not long after.

@Thermopyle, i've got to correct you guy

what is going to be released this month it's RC1, far from the final version on october, 11.

you know that if we wait for software releases we couldn't just record a CD, because everyday appears a new version. i don't know about the new installation way but it's very probably (i think about 90%) that it will use the same installer and this guide will work with the new version too. if that it's not the fact, the guide will be updated with new changes

[Thermopyle]

Oh, yeah I forgot it was just a RC coming out

I haven't had a chance to try this out yet, but can you tell me what is wrong with doing Firefox unattended this way....

1. Install Firefox, add all bookmarks, extensions, whatever. Clear cache, history, and cookies. Add plugins...

2. Zip up firefox program file directory

3. Zip up profile directory.

4. On unattended extract firefox directory to %ProgramFiles% and profile to %APPDATA%

5. When firefox is run it should look in %appdata%\mozilla\firefox for the profile.ini which will tell it the directory of the profile.

Thoughts?