Firefox 55.0.3 DownloadThemAll Problem

[James]

Look the DownThemAll! Extension has not been updated by the author since September 29, 2016 so there was bound to be a time that it would have some issues or not work in a new Firefox version.

Just because a Extension is not working or has issues in a Firefox Release or update does not automatically mean it is a bug with said Firefox version. There may have been changes or fixes or tweaks in the updates that were made and any extension that may have been barely working fully to begin with to then have issues in a new Fx version. There has been the rare times in past over the years a update had a bug discovered after release and not in testing that affected some Extensions and a minor Firefox update was done to fix it.

Note the word Addons is a general term (started later during Fx 2.0/3.0 days) to group together a number of things and the word Plugins refers to say the Flash Player, Silverlight, Java Plugins. https://addons.mozilla.org/faq

[GHM113]

It looks slightly different with Win 7 64bit but essentially those pictures therube posted show exactly what I am talking about.

It is absurd heaping the blame for this on other extensions.

Everything works fine: http://i.imgur.com/NiYAQx1.png
Also, DTA worked fine even in Nightly 57 up until the moment when Mozilla removed the needed APIs.

[Frank Lion]

It is absurd heaping the blame for this on other extensions. I've added no new extensions/plugins since I built my PC 2 years ago in fact I've actually reduced them. This issue is specific to the updated FF 55.0.3.

Oh yes and don't blame this on reverting to FF 54.01 either which I notice Mozilla say that should not be done with FF 55.0 or it might cause problems. The trouble described all happened prior to doing that as should be obvious.

I posted about this in the Mozilla Help Forum too (a patently awful mechanism for dealing with such problems) and, as I expected, the only reply so far, in effect, blames DTA too. A predictable response but hopefully we may receive other, more helpful advice or even action rather than expecting someone else to fix an extension/plugin they've, inadvertently, broken themselves.

The only thing absurd around here is you, sunshine, and if you think shouting your silly mouth off at the volunteers here is going to do you any good, then think again.

Why do you think extensions are always being updated? I'll tell you, it's so that they keep working with the latest versions of Firefox, that's why. It's a 'dog wags the tail, not the other way around' type thing, with Firefox being the dog and the tail being the extension.

This DTA extension has not been updated in almost a year and now breaks on the latest Firefox. That means the extension author needs to fix it. Understand? Whether you do or not, just behave your damn self here, you cheeky bugger.

[therube]

(untested)

https://github.com/downthemall/downthemall/issues/251


https://github.com/downthemall/downthemall/issues/246
Talks about it being a Windows 7 only issue, & presumably working in current https://code.downthemall.net/nightly/.

Also note,

the nightly has a different GUID so it gets installed in parallel but it uses the same preference as the release build you basicly have 2 different addons accessing the same preferences and bugs are sure to follow, you should disable (not remove) the release build and install the nightly-trunk not the nightly-dta-3.0 as that one doesn't work

[greybeard2012]

I've not 'shouted' at anyone.

I've very simply and calmly provided evidence, supported by others, that the latest FF messes up the DTA download GUI on my system and others too. I've now been patronised and told its the fault of DTA because it hasn't been updated.

DTA is, quote: "The first and only download manager/accelerator built inside Firefox!". Mozilla have, with the update to FF 55, clearly moved the goal posts significantly somehow and it has caused a problem because DTA is such an integrated Add-on.

Whatever it is was no doubt done inadvertently and may well be specific to certain OS or even appearance settings. It is, from the other evidence here, not a universal problem. That just makes it slightly more mysterious but the question: remains: who knows what's actually causing the trouble?

Well, that's the whole point of coming here, making the problem known, see if other users are having the same trouble and to find out if anyone has a solution which will fix the issue as described.

Isn't that the main purpose of a forum like this?

[Benjamin Markson]

The DownThemAll! add-on is indeed broken because of FF55.

I've already seen some rendering strangeness under FF55 on one of my own add-ons. In my case it had something to with using -moz-appearance:none and I was able to 'fix' the effect using Stylish. Although, my advice is to use ESR 52 if you want to keep on using useful legacy add-ons. FF55, which ultimately leads to FF57, is a dead-end. More and more things are going to be broken until nothing works at all with FF57.

The DownThemAll! one is odd because you can't normally see, or change, the DOM for the Title Bar and its associated buttons. But, under FF55 it suddenly has a vbox called #titlebar (this is not apparent under FF52). I did briefly try and mess with it but I didn't really get it to do anything useful.

I think you just have to accept that with FF55 things are broken. I for one will not be updating my add-on even though I have a fix because I feel it is pointless to do so. The time for rearranging the deck-chairs has past, now is the time to get in the lifeboat.

Ben.

[therube]

downthemall-3.0.8-fx+sm.xpi ---> chrome.manifest


I removed the following lines:

Code: Select all

override chrome://dta/content/dta/manager.xul chrome://dta/content/dta/manager-aero.xul os=WINNT osversion=6
override chrome://dta/content/dta/manager.xul chrome://dta/content/dta/manager-newer.xul os=WINNT osversion>6
override chrome://dta/content/dta/manager.xul chrome://dta/content/dta/manager-aero.xul os=WINNT osversion=6.1

And with that you get your Title line with Minimize, Maximize, & Close buttons back again (in dTa's Manager).

I have no idea what any of what I did does, but it does seem to work.
Do note that once you remove those lines from chrome.manifest, you do break signing (sigh), so you've got to work around that.

Win7 x64
FF 55.0.3
(I don't use "aero" [if that's what its called?], or anything "fancy" in Win7. Very simple, very basic, efficient, "classic" they might call it, looking like XP.)

[greybeard2012]

I should have come back here and asked at the time about this but I was hoping that eventually somebody at Mozilla would apply a fix for the problem described with DTA's GUI display on the recent Firefox versions.

Firefox v56.0 and still the problem remains.

So, exactly, where do I find that code location helpfully provided by therube and do I need any tools to be able to edit it? If so, what?

[therube]

Go here, https://code.downthemall.net/nightly/trunk/
Install, downthemall-nightly-20171029.xpi

Should work.

I have no idea what differences may exist between 3.0 & trunk, nor between any particular build (of which I just selected the latest).

[greybeard2012]

No joy.

Installed "downthemall-nightly-20171029.xpi" as suggested and rebooted: same DTA display issues which started with 55.03

Just used System Restore to return to the last version of FF that doesn't have the problem. I'll just have to wait some more and hope it gets fixed in one of the future releases.

EDIT

I think I have now found where that Code provided resides inside the FF > browser > extensions > numbered folder so if a fix is not forthcoming I might try editing that as suggested.

[therube]

Did you verify that 20171029 nightly was installed (& probably that any earlier versions were uninstalled)?
And can't hurt to restart FF after doing both.


The problem with the code is that it breaks signing, so then you have to work your way around that.

[greybeard2012]

Yes, the version shown wasn't the v56.00 I'd installed earlier that day and had an additional item on the far right of the toolbar which I removed so it must have been the nightly version. As said I rebooted and also shutdown and restarted the PC too. But when I tried a test download using DTA whilst everything else was fine the actual download box was still immovable and missing the normal close/reduce/minimise buttons as previously described.