Import own data from ESR Firefox to normal Firefox?

[Dirki]

I have the newest Firefox ESR browser (to go on using some extensions not available for the normal Firefox) and consider to better use the normal Firefox now and to not to use the incompatible add ons anymore. Is there a reason to not to change the ESR Firefox with the normal one?

How could I import / get all of my data to a normal Firefox?

[DanRaisch]

No importing involved. Installing the current release version of Firefox will automatically cause it use the existing profile with all of the user data.

Note that it is usually not practical to revert to an older version of Firefox from a Quantum version as changes in the profile will cause problems. Make sure to backup your current profile before upgrading so you will have the option to revert, restoring the old profile at the same time.

[Dirki]

I guess, it is the same with a portable Firefox, just copy the new portable Firefox over the ESR Firefox.

Note that it is usually not practical to revert to an older version of Firefox from a Quantum version as changes in the profile will cause problems.

An older version? Quantum version? I am not quite sure what that means. I want to use the newest normal / not ESR Firefox. That might cause problems when just over installing / copying the profile?

Yes, a back up, thank you.

[DanRaisch]

Yes, by "older version" I meant any pre-Quantum version.

[Dirki]

So not the normal Firefox?

[kerft]

You should make a backup now. Here is the article: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_backup Any downgrading from a higher number version to a lower can make problems. Your upgrade to current Firefox should be fine, but it is irreversible.
Note that current Firefox has removed RSS / live bookmarks features. If you use RSS or live bookmarks, research first before continuing. Current Firefox also removes the disable updates UI option.

[DanRaisch]

Quantum is the "normal" Firefox since version 57.

[Dirki]

Thank you for the link.

May be it is not necassary to change the Firefoxes. I had started to use the ESR because of the incompatible add ons with the normal Firfox back then. What is the advantage of using the normal Firefox instead of ESR? What drawbacks does the ESR have (compared to the normal one)?

Note that current Firefox has removed RSS / live bookmarks features. If you use RSS or live bookmarks, research first before continuing. Current Firefox also removes the disable updates UI option.

I do not use anything of them.

[Dirki]

Quantum is the "normal" Firefox since version 57.

OK, didn't notice / know that.

[kerft]

Firefox ESR gets an update with new features once a year. The next will be Firefox 68. Normal Firefox gets new features every 1.5 months. Webrender for example may come to normal Firefox in September. It may not come to ESR until July of 2020. The Flash plugin is set to be terminated. That will likely happen in normal Firefox about a year before it happens in Firefox ESR. The new features mean in theory, normal Firefox should be faster and more secure than ESR because of the constant improvements it is getting.

[Dirki]

So usually one should use the normal Firfox, if I understand it right?

[DanRaisch]

The ESR versions were originally intended for corporate users for whom the frequency of updates could be problematic. Non-corporate users adopted the ESRs to avoid losing access to legacy extensions that were not updated promptly to be compatible with Quantum or could not be updated to be compatible with Quantum versions because of changes in the browsers code.

[CaJazzman]

So usually one should use the normal Firfox, if I understand it right?

As, the others have stated, you should always use the latest version of Firefox, because of issues you may find using the older versions, such as, going to some websites will cause the older version to crash constantly, and allot of websites won't connect. It's just so much better to use the latest, since it's the most stable as well. Believe me, I thought like you had about using older versions, but finally came to my senses, and upgraded. Just update, and you will be fine.

[Dirki]

The ESR versions were originally intended for corporate users for whom the frequency of updates could be problematic. Non-corporate users adopted the ESRs to avoid losing access to legacy extensions that were not updated promptly to be compatible with Quantum or could not be updated to be compatible with Quantum versions because of changes in the browsers code.

Meanwhile I have changed / exchanged / reduced the add ons not compatiblie, so there seems to be no need to keep on using ESR Firefoxes.

As, the others have stated, you should always use the latest version of Firefox, because of issues you may find using the older versions, such as, going to some websites will cause the older version to crash constantly, and allot of websites won't connect. It's just so much better to use the latest, since it's the most stable as well. Believe me, I thought like you had about using older versions, but finally came to my senses, and upgraded. Just update, and you will be fine.

So ESR is an older / not up to date browser? I always use / try to use the newest Firefoxes actually. I thought this one is the newest:

[kerft]

ESR is both up to date and outdated, depending on how you look. Current Firefox is version 65. ESR is version 60, but with some (not all) security patches backported. So, ESR is probably secure, because of those backports. It shouldn't give you a virus. But say a website needs new technology that was added in version 62. ESR will not have it. In practice, new technologies are not much of an issue. What happens in the real world is websites are coded by people who don't care about Firefox or are not experts in it. The boss says warn, or block our users if they are on an old browser, we don't want to be blamed if they have trouble or have to support them if they ask something. Coder uses user agent to check, is Firefox >64? Then ok, otherwise block user. ESR is secure, but the website doesn't care or know that, it just blocks.

If you were a business, using Java for example, using ESR would have given you an extra year or more to develop an alternative after it was removed from normal, before it was removed from ESR. When Firefox blocks Flash, ESR would give you an extra year to adapt. For a home user, if you already have no non-Webextensions, and have no plugins like Flash, there is essentially one benefit of ESR. With ESR, the UI will only change once a year. With normal Firefox, every 1.5 months the UI could change. For example, if you are using userChrome.css to put the tabs not on top, that broke in Firefox 65. It can be fixed, but only if you have time to fix it. If you used ESR, it won't break until you get the ESR 68 update. So, you can adjust to all the breaking once a year.

If you don't use Flash or RSS, I recommend you switch to normal Firefox, not ESR.