Control where Firefox is installed

Discussion of features in Mozilla Firefox
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AlbertWagner
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Joined: September 23rd, 2021, 5:30 pm

Control where Firefox is installed

Post by AlbertWagner »

I currently have four(4) OSes installed on my computer.
Until recently I had Waterfox installed in a separate partition with other data shared by each OS. This allowed me you load waterfox in the same state in each OS. I had to abandon Waterfox and return to Firefox.

Is it possible to install a single copy of Firefox in my data partition to be invoked by each of the 4 OSes?
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therube
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Re: Control where Firefox is installed

Post by therube »

What OS's?
Window & Linux certainly will not be running the same set of binary files.
Likewise (I'd think) there could be Profile related issues relating to things like path separators.

If all Windows (or all ...), no reason (that I can think of) that FF shouldn't work just as it did with Waterfox.

You can install FF (basically) anywhere.
You can store Profile (basically) anywhere.

You can set FF to open that same Profile (not at the same time, obviously).
Fire 750, bring back 250.
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.1; en-US; rv:1.9.1.19) Gecko/20110420 SeaMonkey/2.0.14 Pinball CopyURL+ FetchTextURL FlashGot NoScript
AlbertWagner
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Joined: September 23rd, 2021, 5:30 pm

Re: Control where Firefox is installed

Post by AlbertWagner »

I have MX, XUbuntu, Debian, and Solydx installed. All Debian based. So, how do I install Firefox and Profile anywhere?
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therube
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Re: Control where Firefox is installed

Post by therube »

Linux specific, I can't say, but on the Windows end, the installer (optionally) allows you to specify the install location.
(I'd assume the Linux installer from Mozilla would do the same.)

Likewise, with Profile Manager, you can specify the location of your Profiles.
So just specify a location that you can give common access to all.

(
Or you could specify a specific location, bypassing Profile Manager, by using the --profile switch.

Code: Select all

firefox.bin --profile /tmp/common_firefox_profile
)
Fire 750, bring back 250.
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.1; en-US; rv:1.9.1.19) Gecko/20110420 SeaMonkey/2.0.14 Pinball CopyURL+ FetchTextURL FlashGot NoScript
videobruce
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Re: Control where Firefox is installed

Post by videobruce »

I install a 'Portable' version of FF as I do with most of my programs in a 2nd partition of my bootable HDD. That way all my Portable programs remain separate from the O/S in case something happens and I have to resort to using a back-up image of the O/S that would wipe out many of those programs, causing needless re-installs. It also make the image smaller.
The Portable applications would only need shortcuts created, not a huge deal. And I have a backup of those 'Portable' programs in another HDD partition.

The only downside is the need to use a program to make FF (or any other browser) the 'default Browser which hasn't been a problem. That program is called "DefaultBrowserInRegistry". You just type in the full path to the 'Portable.exe' file in the root of the Browsers folder, (NOT the actual browser executable buried inside the 'app' folder).

Of course this is from PortableApps.com :wink:
Browsers that don't have a conventional horizontal Menu bar (where it's been for 25 years) are poorly designed. Period. Stop 'fixing' something that isn't broke!
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James
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Re: Control where Firefox is installed

Post by James »

videobruce, the OP is using Linux distros and not Windows so the portable Firefox (for Windows) is not really an option.

Also this old thread was last active back in Sept 2021 , so locking.
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