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How do I get Firefox to preserve my "Options" selections?

  • 5 replies
  • 2 have this problem
  • 50 views
  • Last reply by cor-el

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We want the Firefox Options selections we make to be preserved. It seems like some of these Options get re-set to something different, from time to time.

For example, Options - General - Files and Applications - Applications - Choose how Firefox handles the files you download from the web or the applications you use while browsing. Content Type: PDF, Action: [we change it to what we want, such as "use Bluebeam" or "use Adobe" or "preview in Firefox", and then it will re-set to something else, such as "Save File" (which saves the file to Downloads and does not open the file in a program)]

And also Options - General - Firefox Updates - Keep Firefox up to date for the best performance, stability, and security. Allow Firefox to... Automatically install updates (recommended) OR Check for updates but let you choose to install them [in older versions of the browser, there was also a third option for NOT automatically checking for updates at all. But newer versions of Firefox do not seem to offer this.] Whichever of the first two options we choose, we have had cases where Firefox does not preserve the selection and switches the user to the other selection.

When the selections get re-set to something other than what the user chose, it likely happens due to a Firefox software update.

I have been told by an IT consultant that the way to preserve the selections is to use Firefox Sync and under "choose what to sync," make sure the "Options" box is ticked. But we have done that, and users with Sync turned on still find that not all of their Options selections are preserved.

We want the Firefox Options selections we make to be preserved. It seems like some of these Options get re-set to something different, from time to time. For example, Options - General - Files and Applications - Applications - Choose how Firefox handles the files you download from the web or the applications you use while browsing. Content Type: PDF, Action: [we change it to what we want, such as "use Bluebeam" or "use Adobe" or "preview in Firefox", and then it will re-set to something else, such as "Save File" (which saves the file to Downloads and does not open the file in a program)] And also Options - General - Firefox Updates - Keep Firefox up to date for the best performance, stability, and security. Allow Firefox to... Automatically install updates (recommended) OR Check for updates but let you choose to install them [in older versions of the browser, there was also a third option for NOT automatically checking for updates at all. But newer versions of Firefox do not seem to offer this.] Whichever of the first two options we choose, we have had cases where Firefox does not preserve the selection and switches the user to the other selection. When the selections get re-set to something other than what the user chose, it likely happens due to a Firefox software update. I have been told by an IT consultant that the way to preserve the selections is to use Firefox Sync and under "choose what to sync," make sure the "Options" box is ticked. But we have done that, and users with Sync turned on still find that not all of their Options selections are preserved.

All Replies (5)

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Hi Kerry, the file handling preferences are stored in the user's profile folder in the

handlers.json

file. Most likely, these settings are not synchronized.

Setting aside the possibility of file corruption, one reason the PDF handling setting might change is if the built-in PDF Viewer gets disabled by a policy or a preference in an Autoconfig file. Otherwise, the setting should be stable for that Firefox profile.

The selection between auto updating and notification is written to a file in a completely different path. (On 64-bit Windows, approximately: C:\ProgramData\Mozilla\updates\308046B0AF4A39CB\) There is no preference to synchronize for this. The selection should be stable on the same Windows user account for the same edition of Firefox (for example, 32-bit/64-bit, regular release/Extended Support Release).

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Thanks, I will go over your advice together with our IT consultant company, because they manage some of our policies. This will be after the first of the year. I appreciate your input and I hope that you would be open to some follow-up questions if they have any, when the time comes.

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(deleted; wrong thread)

Modified by cor-el

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cor-el, what extension are you referring to?

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Looks that this reply in meant for another thread, so you can ignore it. It is from too long ago to check this out.