The QuickTime application from Apple, Inc. includes a browser plugin that enables you to play movies and other online media in your Firefox browser. QuickTime is included on Mac systems and is available for Windows. This article explains how to check that QuickTime is installed and working and includes some troubleshooting suggestions if you are having problems with QuickTime.
If your web browser says that it's missing the QuickTime plug-in.
Table of Contents
Testing QuickTime
To see if QuickTime is installed and working,To see if the QuickTime browser plugin is working, visit this page:
- Embedded QuickTime Movie Test Page at mac.sillydog.org
If the QuickTime video plays, the QuickTime plugin is installed and enabled.
Installing or updating QuickTime
To install QuickTime or to update to the latest version:
- Go to the Apple QuickTime download webpage.
- Download the QuickTime installer file to your computer.
- When the download completes, close Firefox.
- Find the file you downloaded and double-click it to start the QuickTime installation.
Starting with QuickTime version 7.7.9, the browser plugin is no longer installed by default and will be removed if you have a previous version of QuickTime on your computer.
If you are installing QuickTime 7.7.9 or above you should select the "Custom" install option instead of a "Typical" install, so that you can include the optional QuickTime Web Plug-in. If you have already installed or updated QuickTime, you can add the browser plugin using these steps:
- Find the Quicktime Installer file you downloaded previously and double-click it. (Alternatively, open the Windows Control Panel, choose , then , select QuickTime from the list of installed programs and click .)
- In the "QuickTime for Windows" window that opens, select Modify.
- In the "QuickTime Product Features" window, choose and, under chose the drop-down option, .
- Click the button.
The QuickTime installation will complete and the browser plugin will be installed. If you see an installation error, close Firefox (if open) and try again. When you next open Firefox you should see the QuickTime plugin listed in the Add-ons Manager.
QuickTime is pre-installed and can be updated using the Mac OS X Software Update feature.
Enabling or disabling the browser plugin
You can disable or enable the browser plugin in the Firefox Add-ons Manager when QuickTime is installed.- Click the menu button , click and select .
- In the list of plugins, select QuickTime Plug-in.
- If you want to disable the plugin, select in its drop-down menu.
- If you want to re-enable the plugin, select in its drop-down menu.
Changing how media is handled
Links to media files
When you click on a link to download a media file and the QuickTime plugin can handle that type of file, it will open automatically in Firefox with the QuickTime plugin. You can change this behavior by selecting a different download action in your Firefox Application settings. For more information, see Manage file types and download actions in Firefox.
Embedded media
You can only change the file types that are associated with QuickTime Player. The Internet media types that are handled by the browser plugin are enabled by default for all supported media types and cannot be reconfigured.
The QuickTime plugin enables certain media types by default. If you are having problems with embedded content in a webpage, you can reconfigure the QuickTime browser plugin:
- Open the QuickTime Player.
- At the top of the QuickTime window, select the menu, select , and then select . The QuickTime Preferences window appears.
- In the QuickTime Preferences window, select the Browser tab, and then click . The MIME Types window opens.
- In the MIME Types window, you can specify the media formats you want QuickTime to play in Firefox. These settings apply only to online files; they do not apply to files opened through your operating system.
Suggested MIME Types
Audio
- AIFF audio
- uLaw/AU audio
- MIDI
- WAVE audio
MPEG
- MPEG media
- MPEG audio
- MPEG-4 media
MP3
- MP3 audio
Uninstalling QuickTime
For information about uninstalling QuickTime, see these Apple Support articles:
Based on information from QuickTime (mozillaZine KB)
