1. USB contains FFPortable and a www folder containing index.html
2. I run FFP with index.html on the command line. Sort of like this:
FirefoxPortable index.html
If the desktop already has a copy of the desktop version of FF running, then the index.html file is open in the desktop instead of being open in the USB FF. Of course the USB FF has all the plugins needed to view index.html.
I've tried adding -new-window to the command line but it just opened a new window on the desktop instance.
So I need to either instruct users to close any copies of FF before plugging in USB.
OR
have index.html JS detect which FF it is running in. However, I cannot figure out how to do this? JS doesn't seem to have any way to detect a distinction. I would be nice if I could set a preference value - but not possible.
OR, IDEALLY,
Have FirefoxPortable.exe actually run its copy off FF that is on the USB. How can I force that?
Sorry, long question. Any suggestions are appreciated.
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firefox only supports one instance (though multiple windows) by default. did you change anything in the firefoxportable.ini?
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
I didn't change that file.
But if FF only supports one instance, I have come to accept that.
Thanks.
By default, Firefox Portable shows an alert that another instance of Firefox is already running. Does that not happen when you run FirefoxPortable.exe?
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
I don't get that alert any more. When I launch FirefoxPortable.exe while my local FF is running it is killed almost instantly and another window of my local FF is opened instead (no other instance).
Without a local FF running, the portable version is launched as expected.
Strange... has something changed in the launcher or have Mozilla added detection for FirefoxPortable.exe.
Is there a debug option for the (custom) launcher?
Nothing new. It alerts as expected for me. What OS, antivirus, etc are you running? Are you sure you have no FirefoxPortable.ini alongside FirefoxPortable.exe? How are you launching it?
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
I didn't touch this FF Portable for a while but just let it update with the platform. No FirefoxPortable.ini, launched under WinXP SP3 from my local hard disk (D:\PortableApps). It makes no difference launching it standalone or from the platform. MSSE has no alerts.
I did some quick testing, all with 17.0.1 Portable in D:\PortableApps (local hdd).
A vanilla FF Portable produces the alert for another instance already running.
My old FF Portable does not produce it but opens another window of the local FF.
After running the vanilla FF Portable once (just to let it create its settings, nothing altered manually) it behaves the same as the old FF Portable (no alert but new window of the local FF).
Launching FF Portable from my USB-Drive produced the alert at first until I launched it once without the local FF running. Afterwards it switched to opening new windows...
Maybe it's just my machine, I can do some testing tomorrow when I have access to another pc.
I have similar behaviour here. Although I cannot test it now, I think that the "you can't open another instance" window would be open on a computer that does NOT have Firefox installed.
However, I have worked for years with computers that have non-portable Firefox installed and set as my default browser. Clicking the Portable Firefox icon – or the taskbar icon of the regular Firefox – opens another instance of whatever Firefox version is currently open.
Michel Gagnon
Montréal (Québec, Canada)
Hi John, I did some testing with a fresh install of the platform and FF Portable on an empty USB-Stick. I tried several PCs with WinXP SP3 or Vista Business.
Every time the same behaviour:
It works as expected (alert) as long as it has not been run once to create its data folder.
If it has been run and its settings have been created, it starts opening new windows, if another firefox is running already.
I can reproduce this in both directions. If FF Portable is running, starting the local FF just opens another window of FF Portable as well.
It even works with FF Portable 17.0.l and FF Portable 18 beta.
Like in this matrix:
As long as FF (Portable) has been run at least once, this bug occurs. I have no VM at hand atm to test, if a new FF local would still produce the alert.
-edit-
forgot to close pre