311466 - [mac] Open app in safe-mode if the option key is pressed during startup

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(Toolkit :: Startup and Profile System, defect, P2)

Description

[Asaf Romano (gone)]

Except of using |firefox-bin -safe-mode| from the CL, we don't provide any easy
way to start the application in Safe Mode on OS X.

In SeaMonkey, pressing the option key during startup opens the Profile Manager,
it would be nice to morph the same gesture to safe-mode in Toolkit apps.

Comment 1

[Asaf Romano (gone)]

Nominating for 1.8, now that Safe Mode does something useful (bug 304403).

Comment 2

[Asaf Romano (gone)]

Attachment: patch

Comment 3

[Benjamin Smedberg]

*** Bug 291223 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

Comment 4

[Asaf Romano (gone)]

trunk:
Checking in nsAppRunner.cpp;
/cvsroot/mozilla/toolkit/xre/nsAppRunner.cpp,v  <--  nsAppRunner.cpp
new revision: 1.120; previous revision: 1.119
done
Checking in nsCommandLineServiceMac.cpp;
/cvsroot/mozilla/toolkit/xre/nsCommandLineServiceMac.cpp,v  <-- 
nsCommandLineServiceMac.cpp
new revision: 1.4; previous revision: 1.3
don

Comment 5

[Darin Fisher]

Why don't we support this modifier key cross-platform?  It'd be nice if there
were a design doc on this safe mode UI.

Comment 6

[Benjamin Smedberg]

I don't think that an option key is expected or useful to win/linux users, who
have start menu shortcuts and easy access to commandline flags.

Comment 7

[Mike Beltzner [:beltzner, not reading bugmail]]

While an option key modifier doesn't make sense, adding a "Open in Safe Mode" to
the context menu of the Firefox shortcut does. I think that's possible to do
when the shortcut is a system shortcut or somesuch, like the "Internet" one that
we overlay in the Start Menu.

Comment 8

[Mark Mentovai]

The option/alt key might not make sense, but shift is the de facto universal
"c'mon, gimme a break" key.

Comment 9

[Magnus Melin [:mkmelin]]

(In reply to comment #5)
> Why don't we support this modifier key cross-platform?  

+1
Though win/linux users have other (relatively easy) ways to get into safe-mode I
don't see how adding this to other platforms would hurt. User support would be
easier - explaining how to get into this "safe-mode" is often hard enough.

Comment 10

[Jonas Wallden]

According to http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Carbon/Conceptual/Carbon_Event_Manager/
Tasks/chapter_3_section_7.html GetCurrentKeyModifiers() will read modifier keys even if the application is 
in the background. This means a user switching to another app during launch may inadvertently trigger 
safe mode. Apple recommends calling GetCurrentEventKeyModifiers() instead.

Comment 11

[Marcia Knous [:marcia]]

https://litmus.mozilla.org/show_test.cgi?id=5394 added to Litmus.