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Hah, I'm using Firefox 3.0b5pre Portable :P... Or am I? Is it this simple?

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March 23, 2008 - 2:28pm
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blahblah
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Hah, I'm using Firefox 3.0b5pre Portable :P... Or am I? Is it this simple?

Yo!...
I've been testing the Firefox 3 Beta 4 Portable from this site... Then reporting that it has some bugs, I am told that I should try the latest trunk/version. This bug I reported: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=424228 and I was told that it was fixed in Firefox 3.0b5pre. Hmm to bad that a portable version is not out of that I thought to myself.

The person 'Ria Klaassen' also told me that there was a .zip version available and something about a .bat file method. I couldn't figure out that .bat file method. But I downloaded the .zip file of the latest FF version trunk: http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/nightly/latest-trunk/ and unzipped it.
I noticed that I now had a folder called 'firefox' similar to that one in Firefox Portable located in: drive/someplace/portablefolder/'App'-> here it is = 'firefox'

I took a look at the containing of the two folders and the inside looked pretty much the same... So I tried to delete the 'firefox' folder of the Firefox Portable, replacing it with the 'firefox' folder of the unzipped latest Firefox 3.0b5pre. Then I moved up/back in the directory and clicked on the 'FirefoxPortable.exe'. Hah. When I launched now, and press 'Help' and 'About', this is what I see: http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/3346/latesttrunkusingyihaaky4.png . Haha looks like I'm using the latest trunk/Firefox 3.0b5pre . Also the Home button has been modified.
Best of all: The bug has been fixed and is no longer there. Still have all my extensions and stuff.

Is it this easy? Am I using Firefox 3.0b5pre? So actually you can make it yourself this easy when Beta 5 e.g. comes out? just download the zip, unzip it, and replace the 'firefox' folder? No need to download the version from here, doing all the no splash screen fix and stuff all over?

Can this really be? Is there no catch about this? I was just curious, didn't expect it to work... I got totally surprised that id did. If it really is this easy I think you should post a guide to it, so more people could learn about it. I would indeed have liked to know about it earlier.

Damn I'm just so excited!!!!!!! Biggrin Blum

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March 23, 2008 - 2:36pm
Tim Clark
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Depends

It depends on the changes introduced in each "latest trunk/version"
It is possible that the changes will have no effect on the portability of FFP or it's possible that it could, in which case I would wait for John to release the next beta.

It's like changing the "Max version" of an Add-On/Extension.
Sometimes it works, sometimes not.

Tim

[edit: p.s.
How do you know it worked?
Did you do full beta testing to see that the new version left no files, directories, or registry changes anywhere on your machine?
Or are you just observing that FireFox 3.0b5pre itself is working when launched from FFP Wink

Things have got to get better, they can't get worse, or can they?

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March 23, 2008 - 4:21pm
rab040ma
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See John's note

See John's note

MC

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March 23, 2008 - 3:09pm
John T. Haller
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Should Work

While this should work, you need to keep in mind a few things:

  • Additional local files could be left behind if something new was introduced (as happened with the Extensions and Crash Reports folders in the previous FF3 betas)
  • Be sure to delete all files within App\Firefox first as some files in the last beta may not be in the current and cause issues (the installer handles this for you)
  • Beta 5 Pre is essentially considered alpha quality and may have additional bugs introduced from Beta 4 and should not be used as your everyday browser

As long as you keep the above in mind, you should be ok.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

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April 2, 2008 - 2:43am
(Reply to #4)
ReneL
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Firefox 3.0 Beta 5

Now that the final builds are available (even in 5 more languages than Beta 4) and the release announcement is only 10 hours away, I hope we will see a portable version soon Smile
http://wiki.mozilla.org/Releases/Firefox_3.0b5

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March 24, 2008 - 8:21am
blahblah
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Replying

@Tim Clark:
Quote:
"How do you know it worked?
Did you do full beta testing to see that the new version left no files, directories, or registry changes anywhere on your machine?
Or are you just observing that FireFox 3.0b5pre itself is working when launched from FFP"
I did as in your second example. When I had downloaded and unzipped the zip file, I first tried to double click the firefox.exe in the unzipped folder - didn't do anything. But when doing as I have described in my first post it opened = I was happy :P.
Don't know how to do full beta testing... would like to learn it though. Is there any program out there which can test if a program leaves any "files, directories or registry changes"? I have 'Startup Monitor' installed, it didn't popup with a warning, but guess that, it just warn about startup registries...

@rab040ma:
Did actually see your comments yesterday the following hours after I posted, but decided to wait till today with answering so that more people could get to answer... I remember that in your first post - unedited. You said something about a program that could cross-check the differences between two directories or files... Unfortunately I doesn't remember the name of it, could you please inform me about that program again?

@John T. Haller
@your dot nr. 1
Quote:"Additional local files could be left behind if something new was introduced (as happened with the Extensions and Crash Reports folders in the previous FF3 betas)"
Ahh okay I see. Could be perfect then if you did maybe a separate blog or something or had a topic (in this forum) where you posted if some changes like that were going to come in the next versions + which versions there wasn't such changes in - and then maybe you described some fixes one could do in order to be able to use the latest trunk portable. = Then we could get a hole bunch of more trunk/release FF testers Biggrin
Maybe you could inform about this in a link on the main FF portable info site.
Just like the currently: "
# Installing Firefox Portable
# Using Firefox Portable
# Upgrading Firefox Portable
# Copying your local Firefox settings to Firefox Portable
# Improving Firefox Portable's Performance
# Configuring Proxies - Suggestions for moving between PCs with different network settings
# Installing Plugins (Flash, Shockwave, etc.)
# Configuring Helper Apps (PDF reader, document viewers, etc)
# Running From a CD (Firefox Portable Live)
# Known Issues
# Modifications"
which then expands when you click on one of then. - Just adding an extra link to them. I don't know, it could be called something like 'Modifying to latest trunk?' or something.

@your dot nr. 2: Yes okay, that was instinctively what I did (I deleted the whole folder). Although I did think about if I should just paste in the new 'firefox' and overwrite existing files - but didn't do that.

@your dot nr. 3: Yeah I know that it does not have any "guarantee", but right now it is very tempting to use it as an everyday browser instead of FF3B4, here's why:...
I was already using FF3B4 over FF2 as my daily browser because of the "search in bookmarks locationbar", mem usage and maybe also the "virus scan downloads (can you give me a link to a virus file so I can test if it really works? (I'm using AVG Free)". So I'm already using a non-final build...
Okay now to FF 3.0b5pre. Beside the previous mentioned bug fix this have. I have just today discovered a new feature that to me is amazing (did go back and checked FF3B4 - but it doens't have it).
Migrating from FF 2 to FF3B4 I was sad that this userstyle didn't work: http://userstyles.org/styles/1030 = true fullscreen. Just by luck I discovered that this had been added to FF 3.0b5pre.
I was at rebubbled.com . Wanted to play it in fullscreen so copied the .swf file url (mochiads something) from 'Page Info' and put it in locationbar. To my fury (:P) a banner in front of the game came up saying that I was not allowed to play the game from nowhere else than rebubbled. = I couldn't play in fullscreen. Then I remembered the new zoom function in FF3 and I zoomed so the game took up the entire screen. Hah! Nice. Then I pressed F11 and to my surprise the navigation bar and tab bar disappeared = yihaa.
Found these links backing up my statement giving more info about this (first link isn't as informative - but was the first link I found - see bug nr. 3):
http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=635052
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=240859
http://mozillalinks.org/wp/2008/03/true-full-screen-for-firefox-3/#comme...

Lastly:Maybe my main post (and this one sometimes) could give the impression that I do not appreciate your work: criticizing that you doesn't inform well enough about this and so on. That's not the case. I'm very happy about your work - and Mozilla's - fabulous that something this simple and intuitive is at our hands = because its free and open source. I'm just giving ideas how to make this experince even better.

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March 24, 2008 - 9:13am
(Reply to #6)
rab040ma
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WinmergePortable is the

WinmergePortable is the program I had in mind that compares two files or directories.

The source code for the launcher and installer are included with FFPE, and in effect give an outline and details for how to make the application portable. So it isn't exactly a secret. Coupled with the full source for Mozilla's products and sites giving tips and pointers, there's not much that is hidden about it -- but there are depths there that few people have explored.

MC

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April 6, 2008 - 9:29am
(Reply to #7)
blahblah
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Thanks a lot. One day I

Thanks a lot. One day I shall check it out.

Maybe you could answer me if it is this program which has been used to make this: http://pastebin.mozilla.org/375641 . Or if it is a similar functionality this program is capable of doing?
Cheers

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