AddOns for all users
I am trying to deploy Firefox on staff machines at my work.
We are using Windows 7 on them and want to be able to have extensions available for all users on that machine.
However, after much research it seems that all the prior solutions for this problem have been restricted or removed.
There should be an easy way to have addOns installed for all users. Its not feasable to make every single user install every single addOn one by one.
Chosen solution
So while the links were good and it all worked, but I figured that there should be an easier source of step by step to get an addon to work for all users in a "dumbed down" version. Following this I got any addOn to work for all users, there might be shortcuts here and there but this worked for me.
So here it is:
1. First you need to download the ".XPI" file of the addOn. This is normally done by downloading it using a seperate browser (Internet explorer).
2. Once Downloaded you need to extract the contents of the ".XPI" file into a folder. I used WinZip for this.
3. Go to the extracted files and you should see a file in it called "install.rdf". Open this file with WordPad.
4. Within this file is a Unique ID, specific to the addOn. It is normally at the top of the file. You can search for
<Description about="urn:mozilla:install-manifest">
and the next line after this should be your ID in the form of:
{d10d0bf8-f5b5-c8b4-a8b2-2b9879e08c5d}
as an example.
5. Using this Unique ID, you need to create a folder within the Install Directory of Mozilla Firefox called "distribution", and a subfolder in that called "extensions", and a subfolder in that using the name of your Unique ID.
Example:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\distribution\extensions\{d10d0bf8-f5b5-c8b4-a8b2-2b9879e08c5d}
Within this folder you should dump your extracted contents of the ".XPI" file.
6. You now need to tell Mozilla to look in these folders. To do this you need to change the global preferences. This is done by going to:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\defaults\pref
Within this folder you should have 2 files:
channel-prefs.js user.js
If they aren't there, please create them.
Inside "channel-prefs.js" you need to put the following at the end of the file:
pref("app.update.channel", "release");
pref("extensions.enabledScopes", "0");
user_pref("extensions.autoDisableScopes", 0);
Inside "user.js" you need to put the following at the end of the file:
user_pref("extensions.shownSelectionUI", true);
user_pref("extensions.autoDisableScopes", 0);
7. That's it, you're done! Your addOn should be automatically enabled next time the user starts up Firefox.
All Replies (4)
Chosen Solution
So while the links were good and it all worked, but I figured that there should be an easier source of step by step to get an addon to work for all users in a "dumbed down" version. Following this I got any addOn to work for all users, there might be shortcuts here and there but this worked for me.
So here it is:
1. First you need to download the ".XPI" file of the addOn. This is normally done by downloading it using a seperate browser (Internet explorer).
2. Once Downloaded you need to extract the contents of the ".XPI" file into a folder. I used WinZip for this.
3. Go to the extracted files and you should see a file in it called "install.rdf". Open this file with WordPad.
4. Within this file is a Unique ID, specific to the addOn. It is normally at the top of the file. You can search for
<Description about="urn:mozilla:install-manifest">
and the next line after this should be your ID in the form of:
{d10d0bf8-f5b5-c8b4-a8b2-2b9879e08c5d}
as an example.
5. Using this Unique ID, you need to create a folder within the Install Directory of Mozilla Firefox called "distribution", and a subfolder in that called "extensions", and a subfolder in that using the name of your Unique ID.
Example:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\distribution\extensions\{d10d0bf8-f5b5-c8b4-a8b2-2b9879e08c5d}
Within this folder you should dump your extracted contents of the ".XPI" file.
6. You now need to tell Mozilla to look in these folders. To do this you need to change the global preferences. This is done by going to:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\defaults\pref
Within this folder you should have 2 files:
channel-prefs.js user.js
If they aren't there, please create them.
Inside "channel-prefs.js" you need to put the following at the end of the file:
pref("app.update.channel", "release");
pref("extensions.enabledScopes", "0");
user_pref("extensions.autoDisableScopes", 0);
Inside "user.js" you need to put the following at the end of the file:
user_pref("extensions.shownSelectionUI", true);
user_pref("extensions.autoDisableScopes", 0);
7. That's it, you're done! Your addOn should be automatically enabled next time the user starts up Firefox.
I don't think that the user_pref() calls will work because these files are run as JavaScript and not interpreted like the regular user.js file is.
Also it is bad practice to modify built-in files like channel-prefs.js when you can easily add another .js file that contains all the pref() calls.