FF2.0b2 - file opening dialog was changed? Or else, WTF?

Discussion of features in Mozilla Firefox
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zaw
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Post by zaw »

the-edmeister wrote:
kfleong wrote:I like the old behavior. Leaving the choice to *ME*, not FF. This is more so since most of the sites are sending wrong MIME types, i.e. .PDF as application/octet-stream.

To revert to the old behavior, look for the file nsHelperAppDlg.js in "c:\program files\bon echo\components" for nightly builds, or "c:\program files\mozilla firefox\components" for 2.0b2.

Use an editor or Notepad to edit the file. Search for:

Code: Select all

hide feature

You will see the code as per below:

Code: Select all

...
if (shouldntRememberChoice && noDefaultApp) {
        // hide featured choice
        this.mDialog.document.getElementById("normalBox").collapsed = true;
        // show basic choice
...


Change the true to false & save the file. Re-start ff / bon echo.

Ed


This was the only useful information in this whole thread! Thanks for doing that. Now all file extensions are extension are opening with application I programmed in windows. It work but don't really have the choice of program to open with thought.

This pissed me off because I use it to program harmony remotes which is web based. They have java software but slow and I just use the text based webpage version to program them.

They send out different ext for different things you need to do. Also there is two version of software 4.0 for older remotes and 6.0 for newer ones, they use same ext but not compatible. I have customer with different versions of remotes so if I'm programming and open file dialog come out I manually choose which version to open with and everything work for me. Yesterday I want to add some features to remote at customer place with FF 2.0 What a nighmare it was! I had to use IE to program it!!!
mbriody
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Post by mbriody »

I was pointed to this thread after posting about being unable to open .nfo files and have now implemented the patch above.

Whilst understanding the motivation for it, I too am very surprised about the direction that has been taken here. At the least I would expect an option to re-enable the old behaviour along with suitable warning text.

I consider myself computer-literate, having worked as a professional developer and tester for over 20 years. I am aware of the risks in opening files downloaded from the net but I don't want FF to take that decision away from me.

The average guy in the street is not going to delve into the philosophical reasons for the decision - he or she is just going to see this as a retrograde step and an annoyance. I am sure this will cause innumerable problems, support postings and even defections back to IE once FF comes out of beta if this issue is not addressed.
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Vectorspace
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Post by Vectorspace »

FF 2.0 is already out of beta - it's into Release Candidate stage, meaning its 100% feature complete. Each release candidate will be the final release if no significant bugs are found.
"All things being equal, the simplest answer is usually the correct one" - Occam's Razor
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mbriody
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Post by mbriody »

Okay, once its officially released then. My comments still apply.
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the-edmeister
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Post by the-edmeister »

mbriody wrote:I am sure this will cause innumerable problems, support postings and even defections back to IE once FF comes out of beta if this issue is not addressed.
Wait a few weeks, someone will come up with an extension to make that hack without a user having to dig into Program Files and edit that file.


Ed
A mind is a terrible thing to waste. Mine has wandered off and I'm out looking for it.
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Thumper
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Post by Thumper »

I am sure this will cause innumerable problems, support postings and even defections back to IE


YAWN. IE 7 is even more draconian. I truly wonder what it will take for people to stop making idle insinuations that their pet bug is going to cause a mass exodus back to Internet Explorer. It hasn't happened in the last eight years.

- Chris
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Vectorspace
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Post by Vectorspace »

My point was that now, this can not be changed until 3.0
"All things being equal, the simplest answer is usually the correct one" - Occam's Razor
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Post by Lost User 240852 »

mbriody wrote:I consider myself computer-literate, having worked as a professional developer and tester for over 20 years.


...which, in effect, means that you are the extreme minority. I would say that people like you will be numerically about equal to the minority of users on the other end of the spectrum who will praise this new feature.

mbriody wrote:The average guy in the street is not going to delve into the philosophical reasons for the decision - he or she is just going to see this as a retrograde step and an annoyance. I am sure this will cause innumerable problems, support postings and even defections back to IE once FF comes out of beta if this issue is not addressed.


Uh... No. These "average guys", who account for the vast majority of the user base, will either

1. Not care either way
2. Learn to live with it

So... I don't see why this is so hard to accept - especially when it's been proven that all you need to do is edit one line in one file. Which also means that within weeks of 2.0's official release, someone's going to make an extension so that you won't even have to do that. It's not like they crippled the function for good. Just wait a few weeks, or do a little modification. I don't see what's so hard about this.

Seriously, look around you. Simplicity is the key in all products aiming for the masses these days. For instance, iTunes and iPod combo did not get this huge chunk of userbase for having tons of features for the technologically savvy peeps.
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RenegadeX
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Post by RenegadeX »

blackwizard wrote:So... I don't see why this is so hard to accept - especially when it's been proven that all you need to do is edit one line in one file. Which also means that within weeks of 2.0's official release, someone's going to make an extension so that you won't even have to do that. It's not like they crippled the function for good. Just wait a few weeks, or do a little modification. I don't see what's so hard about this.
That is a very arrogant attitude. You've just finished saying that millions of people are essentially clueless idiots, and now you expect them to either "live with it" or find an extension and install it. There's at least 2 problems with this way of thinking:

1. I have personally managed to get many 'real life' people switch to Firefox, wow them with some time-saving and productivity-enhancing extensions, shown them AMO, made sure AMO is bookmarked and keyworded and encouraged them to take a visit once or twice a month to see what's new... Only to visit them 6 months later and find out that they're dumped FF and are now using IE, Opera, or Maxthon -- due to A NUMBER of small trivial issues, that combined make FF "too much of a nuisance".*

What a shame. It's true - there is often a quick fix, there is often an extension available to rectify a problem - but you have to have the wherewithal, time, and patience to find it, install it, test it, and fix it when it breaks due to an FF upgrade. And that's assuming that there *is* a workaround. Until then, most just see it as "FF is broken", or "FF can't do xyz-feature but insert_name can".

2. There IS already an extension that works around the problem. Only it too is now "broken".
The 'OpenDownload' extension that in the past was an excellent workaround - is not compatible with FF2.0, without installing or tweaking other files (as mentioned by a poster in this thread already). I emailed the extension author six weeks ago notifying him that FF2.0 had changed things and that it would wonderful if he could find the time to update the extension (OD was last updated on Jan 12, 2006). I have not heard back. And to be honest, I do not expect to before (or after) FF 2.0 is officially released - it's an ongoing burden to produce and share an extension and - like so many before him, and like so many after him - he's abandoned his extensions. This was the very point I made in my 2nd post in this thread, and it takes us full-circle to 'blackwizard''s "someone will fix it" attitude.

*A long time ago, I started writing a post titled "The Firefox Paradox", but FF crashed before it was done and I didn't have form-session saving at the time so it was lost. In a nutshell the paradox is that FF Devs keep saying "We've designed FF for clueless newbs who freak out when they're presented with 'too many' options", and yet they then expect these clueless newbs to hack a "userChrome.css" file (whatever that is), find and install extensions, and possibly even delve into 'Advanced Options' config in order to get Firefox to behave the way they want (and expect) it to. For these people, it's much easier just to use another browser.
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BenBasson
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Post by BenBasson »

Why do you think that the Firefox developers expect "clueless newbs" (nice berating of non-geeks, incidentally) to hack userChrome? They don't.
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RenegadeX
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Post by RenegadeX »

/* Use the old-style / and ' QuickFind Bar instead of the featureless waste of time that is found in FF2.0 */
#FindToolbar > * {display:-moz-box}
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BenBasson
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Post by BenBasson »

Was that meant to be an answer or just a general posting of information?
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RenegadeX
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Post by RenegadeX »

Yes and no.
:wink:
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BenBasson
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Post by BenBasson »

In which case, I'll carry on leaning firmly towards "you don't know what you're talking about".
zaw
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Post by zaw »

I wish to have feature like Right click on a link and have option to open the link with registered program. Like avi file I wish to save it right click save, open in browser simply click, want to stream it in Media Player Classic right click and choose open with..
:)
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