Deploying Firefox

[Arthur]

Does using the -install-global-extension option to install the British English dictionary via its .xpi make any difference? I've always installed extensions using this method and never had any problems. I use an AutoIt script to do this (attached to this post) which automates the installation of Firefox using its native installer.

Out of interest, is FFDeploy definitely compatible with Firefox v3.5 since it hasn't been updated in almost 5 years? I had a quick look through the CreateProfile.vbs and it doesn't seem to use Firefox -CreateProfile default to create the default profile. Not sure if this makes any difference though.

[Michael]

Thanks for that. Do you know where I can download a standalone copy of the British Dictionary in .xpi format?

[Arthur]

Either of these links works for me (right-click > save link as if you are using Firefox though).

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/fir...366-latest.xpi
http://releases.mozilla.org/pub/mozi...9-fx+zm+tb.xpi

It looks like you replied while I was editing my post. Doing the above to save a standalone copy of the .xpi will work. I've just tried it.

[Michael]

This link works for me.

Again it 'attempts' to install the dictionary automatically. I can't download a standalone copy which I could integrate; just as I did with the Favourites menu which is an add-on.

Hopefully this'll be fixed in a future update as the dictionary should work by default in the first place

[Arthur]

You might want to try again. See my post above for details.

[Michael]

Thanks. I copied and pasted the links into IE and I can download them. If I try in FF, it'll try to install the dictionary automatically. I'm going to attempt to integrate it now

[Michael]

Well I tried and it failed. The included dictionary still takes priority, so unfortunately until this gets fixed I'll leave the dictionary disabled. Thank you for all your efforts

[Edu-IT]

Do you have a version with the Config disabled? Also, would you be willing to do the proxy tweaks?

[Michael]

Do you have a version with the Config disabled? Also, would you be willing to do the proxy tweaks?

No I don't, but I can disable the about:config. You'll just receive an error message, but this will lock out everyone, including administrators. I have locked down the more critical options so I see no need in the school where I installed V7 today.

I just need to know proxy name, port, any exceptions, homepage and which LA it's for.

[Michael]

I need some help from other Birmingham schools (BGFL). I've discovered a problem whereby when visting secure websites using FF, sometimes it works and other times it doesn't. A good website to test is PayPal. You can download my FF build here

If you already have FF installed, backup your settings and then uninstall it. Then run my file (which is completely silent), then navigate to C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox and create a shortcut to your desktop from Firefox.exe, then run Firefox. All feedback would be much appreciated.

I can only come to the conclusion that requests are being made to different core Birmingham proxies which is why it sometimes works fine and other times it doesn't. It works first time, everytime when trying to visit secure websites from home.

[Michael]

Good news, I've cracked it. I've uploaded the latest v7.1 and both normal and secure websites work correctly when using BGFL. If you've already downloaded/installed V7 you can install V7.1 directly on top without any problems

[Edu-IT]

Okay. So in theory this is in a suitable enough state to be deployed site wide within a school without causing any 'issues' to the network/profiles etc?

[Michael]

So in theory this is in a suitable enough state to be deployed site wide within a school

I have tested, tested and tested again and the only issue found was with Yahoo Mail, but I later found this affected all secure websites. v7.1 hopefully will become final if all goes to plan where I am deploying tomorrow. It's a school which use e-portal (which is a secure website also) so things will certainly become interesting.

The best advice I can offer is to test with a select few users and go from there. The speed improvement is pretty big over IE and I have designed FF to be as transparent as possible so users can easily use both browsers if required. FF does insert entries with any user profile (under Application Data and Local Settings). Hope this helps!

[Michael]

I can confirm v7.1 is now officially the final version. Additional testing was completed successfully today with a noticeable speed improvement (especially with ePortal)

[Michael]

If you want a good comparison how good Firefox is, open up IE and FF on the same machine, search for the same clip on youtube, then play them both at the same time. The speed difference is very noticeable.