FirefoxNewVersion

Revision 74 as of 2006-02-08 12:47:11

Clear message

Note: This guide is for installing Firefox 1.5 in Ubuntu Breezy 5.10. Ubuntu Breezy and its repositories have Firefox 1.0.7. If you use this guide, do not remove the Ubuntu version of Firefox. Doing so will break the following packages: Yelp (help viewer), Epiphany, Gnome-app-install (Add Applications), Liferea, Blam and any application requiring the gecko rendering engine.

Installing Firefox from mozilla.com

For some reason, the mozilla.com build of Firefox is significantly faster than the default Ubuntu one. Firefox 1.5 is even faster, and has many new features. These instructions lead you through installing Firefox 1.5 final, but should also work for 1.0.7 or any other version.

Notes

  • You will no longer get automatic updates through the repositories (but firefox itself has a built into auto-updater, see below for how that works).
  • The Totem video plugin doesn't seem to work with firefox 1.5. You may want to install package 'mozilla-mplayer' instead before you start.
  • You need package 'libstdc++5' installed.

     sudo apt-get install libstdc++5
  • This is for i386. If you are on amd64, there are some specific tips in [https://wiki.ubuntu.com/FirefoxAMD64FlashJava FirefoxAMD64FlashJava]

  • If you are using scim-1.0.2 as your input method platform, firefox will crash on startup. You may manually build firefox 1.5 to make both of them work. See ["SCIM"] and ["CompileFirefoxNewVersion"] for more information.

Installing

  • First, back up your bookmarks and settings:
     cd ~/.mozilla/firefox/*.default
     mkdir ~/Desktop/ffsettings
     cp bookmarks.html cert8.db cookies.txt formhistory.dat key3.db signons.txt history.dat  mimeTypes.rdf ~/Desktop/ffsettings
  • Download [http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/1.5.0.1/linux-i686/en-US/firefox-1.5.0.1.tar.gz firefox-1.5.0.1.tar.gz] from [http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/ mozilla.com], and change to the directory you downloaded it to.

  • Install it to /opt/firefox:
     # extract tar into /opt (you should make sure /opt already exists)
     sudo tar -C /opt -x -z -v -f firefox-1.5.0.1.tar.gz
     # remove the package if you no longer require it
     rm firefox-1.5.0.1.tar.gz
  • Link to your plugins (and remove totem-mozilla as it doesn't seem to work with Firefox 1.5):
     cd /opt/firefox/plugins/
     sudo ln -s /usr/lib/mozilla-firefox/plugins/* .
     sudo rm libtotem_mozilla.*
  • Change to your home directory, and rename your old profile, leaving it as a backup (using the existing profile may cause problems with Firefox 1.5):
     cd
     mv .mozilla/firefox .mozilla/firefox1.0.x.ubuntu
  • To ensure it is used as the default version, modify the symbolic link in /usr/bin:
     # First, /usr/bin/firefox
     sudo dpkg-divert --divert /usr/bin/firefox.ubuntu --rename /usr/bin/firefox
     sudo ln -s /opt/firefox/firefox /usr/bin/firefox
     # Then, /usr/bin/mozilla-firefox, used as the default gnome browser
     sudo dpkg-divert --divert /usr/bin/mozilla-firefox.ubuntu --rename /usr/bin/mozilla-firefox
     sudo ln -s /opt/firefox/firefox /usr/bin/mozilla-firefox
    The dpkg-divert command will move the original system-wide /usr/bin/firefox to a new name. The ln command will place a symlink to the newly installed firefox in /usr/bin
  • Try it out: Smile :-)

     firefox
  • Restore your old data:
     cd ~/Desktop/ffsettings
     mv * ~/.mozilla/firefox/*.default
  • Restore your Searchplugins:
     sudo cp -i --reply=no /usr/lib/mozilla-firefox/searchplugins/* /opt/firefox/searchplugins/
     sudo cp -i --reply=no ~/.mozilla/firefox/*.default/search/* /opt/firefox/searchplugins/
  • If you want to keep the original Ubuntu icon for firefox, enter this command:
     sudo cp /usr/share/pixmaps/firefox.xpm /opt/firefox/chrome/icons/default/default.xpm
  • To ensure that other programs use version 1.5 of firefox and not the old 1.07 version, go to Preferences -> Preferred Applications in the System menu. For the "Web Browser" tab, choose "Custom" and then enter the command:

     firefox %s
  • Firefox 1.5 should now be installed and working properly. If for whatever reason you become unhappy with firefox 1.5 and would like to remove it, see the "Removing" section below for directions.

Restoring Extensions and Themes

In addition to restoring your settings, you can also restore your themes and extensions. As indicated above, this should only be done after running firefox at least once and fully closing it.

  • Backup the new profile (just in case):
     cd ~/.mozilla/firefox
     mkdir ff1.5
     mv profiles.ini *.default ff1.5/
  • Restore your previous profile:
     # Shutdown firefox
     cp ~/.mozilla/firefox1.0.x.ubuntu/profiles.ini .
     cp -r ~/.mozilla/firefox1.0.x.ubuntu/*.default .
  • Start firefox and try it out. A dialog may appear indicating that one or more extensions and/or themes are not compatible. This is normal and firefox may be able to find updates for you.

Updating

Backup your profile with:

cp -R ~/.mozilla ~/.mozilla.backup.1500

To get firefox's own update/autoupdate to work at all, you have three choices (read them all and choose one):

  • Change the /opt/firefox directory to have 'write' permissions & ownership set for the user instead of the root. To change ownership, after installation type:

     sudo chown -R ${USER}:${USER} /opt/firefox

    This is the only way to get update notification working, but doing this has security implications in a multi-user environment, and is not recommended: a virus or malicious program running as a user may now replace or corrupt the files in /opt/firefox, which would affect other users of the computer.

  • An alternative is to manually run firefox as root to install each update. That is, when there is an update available, you would run:
     $ sudo su
      # firefox -safe-mode
         [install the update (Help -> Check for Updates...), and close firefox]
      # exit
     $

    'sudo su' is used to run firefox as root to ensure your current profile is not modified. The safe-mode is an extra layer of protection since it will not load any extensions. You should NOT browse other websites while you are running firefox as root in this way.

  • A third option, is to use method 1, but only for updates: Keep the firefox folder owned by root and use it normally until you need an update, then give your user ownership: sudo chown -R ${USER}:${USER} /opt/firefox. Start firefox normally and update (Help -> Check for updates...). Once the update is completed, you should restore ownership to root: sudo chown -R root:root /opt/firefox. Again, do NOT browse other sites while firefox has these elevated permissions. This is probably the best option although it is also the most cumbersome.

Removing

If for some reason you want to undo the installation and revert back to the standard Firefox 1.0.7, here's how.

  • Restore the symbolic link:
     sudo rm /usr/bin/firefox
     sudo dpkg-divert --rename --remove /usr/bin/firefox
  • Restore your old profile:
     cd
     mv .mozilla .mozilla-1.5
     mv .mozilla.ubuntu .mozilla
  • (optional) Delete the firefox directory
     sudo rm -r /opt/firefox

Installing Firefox as a debian package

It is nice to have a package (easier to upgrade, etc). There is an experimental package building tool at [http://kidsquid.com/programs/ubuntu/firefox-1.5.0-0nonfree1_i386.tar.gz]. It can automatically download the i386 version of Firefox 1.5 (or you can copy in your existing Firefox download), then it will create a .deb package for it. Follow the steps in the README to install the new package. Please do not distribute any files created by this tool, as copying may violate the Firefox copyright.

Installing Firefox quick and dirty

Some people are too lazy or too impatient to install Firefox the way it should be in Ubuntu (see section 1). This section is not the proper installation method. This current section is for those too lazy and / or too impatient. Please note that if you follow this installation option instead of the others, you may have problems with some plugins. The instructions to install are basically: unzip, move existing profile, change file permissions, run. The instructions to update are basically: change file permissions, launch and update, change file permissions back. The instructions to uninstall are basically: change file permissions, delete its folder. During these instructions, do not use sudo except when apt-getting the prerequisite (dependency).

Installing Firefox quick and dirty

1. Install the prerequisite: You need package 'libstdc++5' installed.

sudo apt-get install libstdc++5

2. Download the tar.gz archive from firefox's site to /home/username (username is your own username; adjust to your settings).

3. Untar to home:

cd
tar -xvzf firefox-1.5.0.1.tar.gz

4. Change permissions so that something does not owerwrite your firefox:

chmod -R uog-w /home/username/firefox

5. Move existing Mozilla Firefox profile:

cd
mv .mozilla/firefox ./firefox.oldfx

6. Run Firefox

cd /home/username/firefox/
./firefox

That's all.

You can manipulate existing shortcuts to point to the new firefox, or create new shurtcuts. I prefered creating a new one in my desktop.

Get bookmarks back (if installed via the quick and dirty section)

Your old bookmarks can be imported back: In your new firefox, go to Bookmarks>Manage Bookmarks>File>Import; navigate to /home/username/firefox.oldfx/somenumbers.default/ and choose bookmarks.html.

Update Firefox (if installed via the quick and dirty section)

1. Change permissions of firefox so it can write to itself:

chown -R u+w /home/username/firefox

2. Launch firefox

/home/username/firefox/firefox

3. Go to Help>Check for updates. Update as needed. You may want to backup your profile beforehand though.

4. Close firefox

5. Restore permissions

chown -R uog-w /home/username/firefox

That's all.

Uninstalling Firefox (if installed via the quick and dirty section)

This is the easiest:

1. Change permissions (as usual):

chown -R u+w /home/username/firefox

2. Use nautilus (or any other file manager) to navigate to /home/username/ and delete the folder "firefox" (just repeating myself: you will be deleting /home/username/firefox -> the folder you untarred firefox into)

3. Move your old profile (from 1.0.x) back to its place

cd
mv .mozilla/firefox .mozilla/firefox.150.uninstalled
mv firefox.oldfx .mozilla/firefox

That's all.


Discuss this page at http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=79283


CategoryDocumentation CategoryCleanup