Open Bug 1981597 Opened 1 year ago Updated 8 days ago

Add installer option to not install desktop launcher

Categories

(Firefox :: Installer, defect, P2)

Product:
Firefox
Component:
Installer
Type:
defect

Tracking

()

People

(Reporter: cdupuis, Unassigned)

References

Details

(Whiteboard: [fidedi])

This bug is about the new desktop launcher described here: https://mozilla-hub.atlassian.net/browse/FIDE-2525

For enterprise users, we need an option to not install the desktop launcher, leaving the desktop shortcuts in place.

This should be an installer option.

Whiteboard: [fidedi]

:cdupuis Given this is P2 are you taking it on/assigning it?

Flags: needinfo?(cdupuis)

Does it mean it breaks the /DesktopShortcut=false that the installer supports?

Blocks: 1985118
Flags: needinfo?(cdupuis)
Blocks: 1985160

I can't access the mentioned Jira links but I'm chipping in for a comment.

For users who has file name extensions enabled (like myself), seeing an .exe file among other shortcuts on the desktop is aesthetically unpleasant. And seeing a new .exe file out of nowhere might be worrisome too.

We might need an option to disable this for regular users as well, not just enterprise users.

(In reply to Selim Şumlu from comment #3)

For users who has file name extensions enabled (like myself), seeing an .exe file among other shortcuts on the desktop is aesthetically unpleasant. And seeing a new .exe file out of nowhere might be worrisome too.

We might need an option to disable this for regular users as well, not just enterprise users.

I agree it doesn't look great if you have file extensions enabled.

If you're installing Firefox, you can use the full installer from the 'Download options and other languages' link from the homepage, which will use a traditional desktop shortcut. Only the 'stub installer' from the homepage will ever replace the shortcut with a launcher EXE.

If you've already got a launcher, we don't have a great flow right now; if you go to Firefox' installation folder and make a shortcut to firefox.exe manually then it should work as usual.

No longer blocks: 1985118, 1985160
Depends on: 1968279

Could we consider not installing desktop launcher if the full installer install is done silently and/or leveraging clien,t signals indicating that the client is deployed inside an enterprise (https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1891682) to determine if the install is done in an enterprise environment rather than relying on admins pro actively using an install flag for this?

@Romain(In reply to Romain Testard [:RT] from comment #5)

Could we consider not installing desktop launcher if the full installer install is done silently and/or leveraging clien,t signals indicating that the client is deployed inside an enterprise (https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1891682) to determine if the install is done in an enterprise environment rather than relying on admins pro actively using an install flag for this?

The Desktop Launcher currently is not installed with the full installer. With the changes that we're introducing in Bug 2023696, the Desktop Launcher will replace the desktop shortcut during the update only if there are not enterprise policies.

Thanks, this makes sense. Many enterprises will deploy the full installer with MDM tools but only a subset will customize policies.
We have an identifier for silent installs which there are no use cases for consumers - have you considered using it? VOlumes of silent installs are very significant and would catch most enterprise users I would assume https://sql.telemetry.mozilla.org/queries/117779/source

(In reply to Selim Şumlu from comment #3)

I can't access the mentioned Jira links but I'm chipping in for a comment.

For users who has file name extensions enabled (like myself), seeing an .exe file among other shortcuts on the desktop is aesthetically unpleasant. And seeing a new .exe file out of nowhere might be worrisome too.

We might need an option to disable this for regular users as well, not just enterprise users.

I'd love a tick box to have nothing placed on the Desktop and Start Menu, no Shortcut and no EXE.

I have custom tweaks made to my install and have configured the policy that disables the built-in updater so that I can first read the changelog and prepare for any potentially breaking changes.

(In reply to Antonio Borondo [:aborondo] (he/him) from comment #6)

@Romain(In reply to Romain Testard [:RT] from comment #5)

Could we consider not installing desktop launcher if the full installer install is done silently and/or leveraging clien,t signals indicating that the client is deployed inside an enterprise (https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1891682) to determine if the install is done in an enterprise environment rather than relying on admins pro actively using an install flag for this?

The Desktop Launcher currently is not installed with the full installer. With the changes that we're introducing in Bug 2023696, the Desktop Launcher will replace the desktop shortcut during the update only if there are not enterprise policies.

Which policies? Because the one to disable the built-in updater is not sufficient in stopping shortcuts/exe files being placed by the EXE downloaded from the What's New page.

Are you using the full installer or the stub installer?

--

See Also: → 2023696

(In reply to Romain Testard [:RT] from comment #7)

Thanks, this makes sense. Many enterprises will deploy the full installer with MDM tools but only a subset will customize policies.
We have an identifier for silent installs which there are no use cases for consumers - have you considered using it? VOlumes of silent installs are very significant and would catch most enterprise users I would assume https://sql.telemetry.mozilla.org/queries/117779/source

When we decided not to replace the desktop shortcut with the Desktop Launcher, we didn't consider silent installations. We only considered enterprise policies and whether the installer was an MSI, which is the type of installer typically used with MDM tools.

(In reply to Franpa_999 from comment #9)

(In reply to Antonio Borondo [:aborondo] (he/him) from comment #6)

@Romain(In reply to Romain Testard [:RT] from comment #5)

Could we consider not installing desktop launcher if the full installer install is done silently and/or leveraging clien,t signals indicating that the client is deployed inside an enterprise (https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1891682) to determine if the install is done in an enterprise environment rather than relying on admins pro actively using an install flag for this?

The Desktop Launcher currently is not installed with the full installer. With the changes that we're introducing in Bug 2023696, the Desktop Launcher will replace the desktop shortcut during the update only if there are not enterprise policies.

Which policies? Because the one to disable the built-in updater is not sufficient in stopping shortcuts/exe files being placed by the EXE downloaded from the What's New page.

Policies can be defined in either the Windows Registry or the installation directory.

You can find a list of all the use cases we considered in Bug 2023696: Comment 9.

(In reply to Mike Kaply [:mkaply] from comment #10)

Are you using the full installer or the stub installer?

https://download.mozilla.org/?product=firefox-stub&os=win&lang=en-US

The stub installer doesn't provide any options for configuring Firefox. It's designed for the average user.

If you want to configure shortcuts, location, etc, you should use the full installer

http://download.mozilla.org/?product=firefox-latest-ssl&os=win&lang=en-US

Would be nice if the What's New page linked to that or even better, the Help -> About Firefox window would include a link to it if the automated updater is disabled.

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