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Prevent Nightly's Metro App from Launching on a convertible laptop

chronovivi
chronovivi
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I have a sony vaio duo 13 which is a sliding laptop tablet hybrid. I run nightly on the desktop for all my web browsing because i guess i am what is called a power user. I need all the options and features that firefox gives us, and don't care for the barebones yet more fluid experience of the Metro app. My problem is that when I am using Nightly in Desktop it runs great, but anytime i close my screen (which doesnt close in the traditional sense, it folds the screen out) and transforms it into tablet mode, it launches the Metro version of Nightly. If i was using the desktop version it transfers all my tabs to the metro app. and when i open the screen to laptop mode, it simply closes everything. AFAIK i don't remember installing the Metro version... I can go to the Start Screen and find the metro app but i am afraid to uninstall it because i think it will uninstall the whole Nightly Application, which i dont want to happen. I created an administrator account and went to the MetroApp repository on the harddrive but there is nothing there related to nightly or firefox so i can't just delete it.

I have a sony vaio duo 13 which is a sliding laptop tablet hybrid. I run nightly on the desktop for all my web browsing because i guess i am what is called a power user. I need all the options and features that firefox gives us, and don't care for the barebones yet more fluid experience of the Metro app. My problem is that when I am using Nightly in Desktop it runs great, but anytime i close my screen (which doesnt close in the traditional sense, it folds the screen out) and transforms it into tablet mode, it launches the Metro version of Nightly. If i was using the desktop version it transfers all my tabs to the metro app. and when i open the screen to laptop mode, it simply closes everything. AFAIK i don't remember installing the Metro version... I can go to the Start Screen and find the metro app but i am afraid to uninstall it because i think it will uninstall the whole Nightly Application, which i dont want to happen. I created an administrator account and went to the MetroApp repository on the harddrive but there is nothing there related to nightly or firefox so i can't just delete it.

All Replies (3)

philipp
philipp
  • Moderator
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hello chronovivi, yes the normal firefox and firefox for windows 8 touch get installed through the same setup and as one application - so when you uninstall nightly, you'd also remove the destop browser.

i'm not aware that there is any straightforward way to disable the firefox optimized for touchscreens, but you could try if it works with the method described here: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/mozilla.support.firefox/cPUc4-RsBtU

alternatively because of microsoft's strange scheme that only the system's default browser can hook into the metro interface, you may get around your issue by setting another browser as the system's default - though this would obviously have the downside that links from third-party applications won't open in firefox anymore...

jrp
jrp
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I have a Vaio Duo 11, and the BIG PROBLEM is that when I close the lid (turn the laptop into a tablet) Nightly closes the desktop mode and opens the Metro app, cancelling any active download, and making me loose any work I haven't saved.

Who thought forcing this kind of behavior was a good idea?

Matt Brubeck
Matt Brubeck
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We've turned off automatic switching between desktop and "Metro" modes in the latest Nightly and Aurora builds.

For users who do want this behavior, there is a hidden pref in about:config to turn it back on. For details, see https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=940677