276595 - Need more user-friendly way of installing extensions globally

Status: RESOLVED WORKSFORME

(Toolkit :: Add-ons Manager, enhancement)

Description

[wiktorw]

I did a fresh Windows installation and wanted to give all users the same set of
Firefox extensions. I generally don't use any administrative account for work,
so this sounds reasonable (I think).
I found and tried to use the "-install-global-extension" facility. I even
wrote a simple .cmd file so I could drag'n'drop an .xpi file onto it to have
an extension installed globally.

I found that while all the extensions work for the administrator, it is not
always the case for other users. For example, on one user account I was unable
to see any signs of work for "Mouse Gestures" until I tried to disable it and
restarted the Firefox. Actually, the extension hasn't been disabled, but
suddenly it started working. The same holds for "Cute menus" and probably for
some other extensions too. In some cases ("Mouse Gestures") all the settings
were completely "zeroed" on other user account -- where there was no single
gesture in gestures list.

I would appreciate if we were given more user-friendly way of installing
a chosen set of Firefox extensions globally for all users, and have them
working correctly for all the users too.

I suppose this may be like opening a can of worms, with the problems like:
* keeping the extensions' options PROPERLY (global vs. local profile)
* dealing with extensions' updates
* allowing the user to disable the extension at will, for him/her only

Yes, they are the architectural considerations and/or changes, but they
must be resolved sooner or later, if the extension mechanism is going to
be used effectively (seriously?) in corporate environment, and not for
the hobbyists only.

I remember at least one Mozilla Suite installation I did (it was a localized
version with predefined set of extensions), where all the extensions were
working fine for all users. So, if it was once possible for Polish Mozilla
team (http://www.mozillapl.org), why is it still so hard for Firefox?

Best regards,
Wiktor Wandachowicz

Comment 1

[Nickolay_Ponomarev]

Can you please search for existing bugs / file new for the different issues you
reported here (like disabling per-user).

Also I suspect that the problems with extensions you've been having may be a bug
in those extensions, not in Firefox. I can't check it myself now, so please
contact extensions' authors on the problems you were having (if they are
reproducible).

Comment 2

[wiktorw]

I'm very sorry, but I won't have enough time for searching the bugs until
February, probably. But this issue still itches a bit.
I filed this RFE especially for not forgetting about it. If someone could
do some digging in the meantime, it would be very, very nice :)

Oh, and happy new year to everyone!

Regards,
Wiktor Wandachowicz

Comment 3

[wiktorw]

Well, it bothered me long enough to find the solution.

I created a completely new user account to investigate the problem with missing
Firefox extensions. Similarly, I tried to rename existing Firefox profile
directory (%USERPROFILE%\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox) to force the
browser to regenerate it. At start, the program always displayed a message
"old extensions that you have installed have been disabled".

Indeed, all extensions were disabled at this point. Completely, and for good!
Even though there were displayed as "enabled", they were not working. Trying
to disable / re-enable anyone on them, with and without restarting the browser
proved to be unsuccesful too.

Finally I did one simple thing. I read about _uninstalling_ problematic
extensions in "safe mode". And guess what! After running Firefox in safe mode
and then in normal mode, all installed globally extensions work!!! Hooray!


So, this is the answer to my problems. Let me summarize:
* The "-install-global-extension" switch seems to work right.
* Running Firefox the first time disables all globally installed extensions.
* Running it in safe mode ONCE, and then running it normally enables back
  all globally installed extensions.

I think this could be put in some kind of FAQ or something...


Anyway, I still think there should be more user-friendly (read: more
administrator-friendly) and fool-proof way of installing Firefox extensions.
I'm also thinking about unattended installations, remote management, etc.
But the two latter are best done using "-install-global-extension" :-)

Best regards,
Wiktor Wandachowicz