295693 - Safe Mode: -safe-mode should prompt user and offer to close existing instances if Firefox is already running

Status: NEW

(Toolkit :: Startup and Profile System, enhancement)

Description

[Jaime Mitchell (use [e-mail] for email)]

If Firefox is already running and the user attempts to load Firefox in safe mode
with -safe-mode parameter another instance of the current browser is opened. 

If any existing instances are open the –safe-mode flag should prompt the user
offering to close those instances and then start in safe-mode. 

This is useful as users often are unable to start in safe-mode because they do
not realise they have existing Firefox instances running (such as chatzilla
running on Firefox et..).

Comment 1

[Peter van der Woude [:Peter6]]

in combination with bug 291534 this would be very usefull

Comment 2

[Dave Townsend [:mossop]]

I'm not too worried about it being able to close the other windows, but
definatly some indication that it couldn't start safe mode for whatever reason

Comment 3

[Ray Kiddy]

If I am interpreting this correctly, this bug might be renamed.

If I start any instance of Firefox and it picks a profile (such as the default), that is in use, one gets a dialog box saying "Cannot run" and that is it. This should happen if one starts in safe-mode also. Perhaps a version of the profile picker window should come up with a message: "Another instance of Firefox is using the selected profile. Please select or create another."

This bug does not seem to be about safe-mode. It seems to be about mistakenly starting an instance with a profile that is in use, or about not starting the instance and not being very helpful thereby.

And, if one can indeed start in safe-mode, using a profile that another instance is using, that would make this a problem, a bug, and not an ER.

Comment 4

[Dave Townsend [:mossop]]

No the bug is absolutely about safe mode. If you run "firefox -safe-mode" and firefox is already running you get a new firefox window that chances are the user believes is firefox in safe mode.

What we are proposing is that when running "firefox -safe-mode", if another instance of firefox is already running then at the very least tell the user that safe mode cannot be started while firefox is already running, preferably offer to close the running firefox so that safe mode can be started.

Comment 5

[Benjamin Smedberg]

This is about the auto-remote to the current instance behavior, which is not present on mac. This bug is Windows+Linux only.