I want to update but keep all my addons and settings intact...
Is this possible at all?
If not what is the best way to update and minimize how long to reset, after all, the best thing about a portable app is not having to reinstall all the time?
Cheers!
Visit the Community page
Join our forums
Subscribe to our email newsletter
Subscribe with RSS
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on LinkedIn
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on Mastodon
Follow us on BlueSky
What is it you want to update to?
Firefox 3.0.11 from Firefox 3.0.10 or prior
Simply run the Firefox 3.0.11 installer, it will update your Firefox. Your settings are located in the Data folder, and this is untouched by the installer. When you start Firefox, it will check to make sure the add-ons are compatible.
Firefox 3.5 RC 3 from Firefox 3.0.11 or prior
This installer defaults to a different folder, FirefoxPortableTest. That is not a problem. Install it, and then copy the data folder from your FirefoxPortable directory to your FirefoxPortableTest directory. You should keep your stable Firefox just in case, but if not, you can delete your FirefoxPortable directory.
Note that .paf installers are not installers in the usual sense; while they do have some setup tasks, they don't make any change to the host computer, they merely set up the folders on the flash drive, and in any case don't work outside their main directory (e.g. FirefoxPortable). Uninstallation is as simple as deleting the directory.
This worked fine automatically:
Firefox 3.0.11 from Firefox 3.0.10 or prior
But in the future, will this upgrade also be automatic? :
Firefox 3.5 RC 3 from Firefox 3.0.11 or prior
Is it just better and easier to have Firefox update me automatically? The reason I want to updated is because my Firefox is constantly freezing when pages take too long to download...any idea why it's doing that?
My whole computer and firefox just freezes if I touch anything before the page shows "done"
Thanks,
Vincent Moving Company
1222 Melville St, Vancouver, BC V6E 2Y1
(778) 300-6592
http://www.vincentmoving.com
It is never better with PortableApps packages to let the app itself handle an update automatically.
At best, no damage will be done, nothing will be left behind, and you will end up with an app that works, but has not, for example, been compressed to reduce the space taken up on your portable drive.
At worst, the update will break your portable app, break the installed copy of the same app, break portability, cause personal data to be left behnind, lose your settings, lose your documents, etc. Any or all of this might happen when you use the application's built-in upadater.
Whereas, the PortableApps.com installers are specifically designed to cleanly and safely update already installed versions. This means that, for example, to go from FirefoxPortable 3.0.10 to 3.0.11, you just download the 3.0.11 portable installer from here, run it, and point it at your stick, which it will most likely detect and have the correct path pre-filled in. This will cleanly update you to 3.0.11, maintain portability, preserve your setting, addons, themes, etc, and all will be good.
FFP 3.5 currently does not exist. The main application has not yet been released. There are beta versions available (the release candidate series), and if you wish to test it, you can install FFP3.5RC3 in parallel with your current 3.0.11. It does not upgrade or replace it. Once FF3.5 is released, the main installer for it here will follow, and that will safely update your portable version.
However, I would say that, at the moment, if you're not comfortable with FF(P) profile manipulation, with copying and moving that data around on the stick, with backing up and restoring portions of your config, then I would very strongly recommend that you not try to use the beta version as your main browser, and that you wait for its release (real soon now)