320396 - Inbuilt flash plugin installer fails

Status: RESOLVED WONTFIX

(Toolkit Graveyard :: Plugin Finder Service, defect)

Description

[Steve H]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9a1) Gecko/20051214 SeaMonkey/1.5a
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9a1) Gecko/20051214 SeaMonkey/1.5a

Using the "click here to install plugin" component in SeaMonkey to install flash failed. The browser indicates that it is downloading the plugin and then just forgets about the entire process.

Reproducible: Didn't try

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Without the flash plug-in installed, browse to a page with an embedded flash file
2. Click the "click here to install plugin"
3. Confirm by clicking "Get Plugin"
4. Wait, then click "Click here when plugin is installed"

Actual Results:  
Seamonkey's status bar indicates retrieving information from macromedia.com and then goes blank. Nothing else happens. Upon refreshing the page the plug-in is either not there or not funtional.

Expected Results:  
The flash plugin would be installed and working, or at least an error message of some form.

I'm running Build:2005122409 of SeaMonkey 1.5a

I've just migrated from Mozilla Aplication Suite that had the flash plugin installed

Comment 1

[Trey Ethridge]

I have seen this fail while using Ubuntu Dapper Drake too.  The wizard prompts for confirmation of the license, then downloads the plugin.  Then it gives the error message stating that it failed and that I need to install manually.

Comment 2

[Will Howard]

I am using Windows Vista and when I tried a Flash installer )that showed up on the page on WSJ.com), it failed and said to report it to you.

Comment 3

[Serge Gautherie (:sgautherie)]

Do you have any idea of what could be the cause ?

Comment 4

[Tony Mechelynck [:tonymec]]

Tentatively moving to Toolkit::Plugin_Finder_Service

Is this problem still present in SeaMonkey 2.0.14 or later (preferably 2.1 or later)?

Comment 5

[therube]

WFM, though it is a convoluted, confusing process.
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:2.0.1) Gecko/20110511 Firefox/4.0.1 SeaMonkey/2.1

The Flash (plugin) installer requires that all (Mozilla) "browser" instances are closed (don't ask me why?).  So seamonkey.exe & firefox.exe (& whatever else...).

0.  uninstall Flash

URL: URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqZmtq5LhFo

1. visiting URL, you are prompted to, 'Install Missing Plugins...'
- (would be nice if it told you WHAT! plugin - at that point!)
[after accepting that prompt...]
2. Plugin Finder Service says Adobe Flash Player 10.3.181 is available.
- (you only learn that after the fact)
3. the plugin downloads
4. the Flash installer runs.  Clicking 'Install', it says "The installer will automatically continue when these conflicting applications are closed:  Seamonkey".

- the Flash installer dialog /only/ shows a Quit button
[that is confusing, how are you to proceed?]
> what to do at that point is not clear <
[The Plugin Finder Service window is still open (in a "waiting" mode), as are all other windows/tabs.]

If at that point you Quit SeaMonkey, without doing anything else, the Flash Installer (automatically) continues & finishes its' installation.

On browser restart, Flash is successfully installed.

However if you had chosen the QUIT button on the Flash Installer, the Flash installer exits.

The 'Plugin Finder Service' window shows (incorrectly), "SeaMonkey finished installing the missing plugins:  Adobe Flash Player 10.3.181   Installed".

Though that is incorrect.  It did not install.

Quiting SeaMonkey & restarting affected no change.  The plugin still is not installed.

Choosing QUIT in the Flash installation dialog aborted the process.  (It was unclear whether choosing QUIT would abort or actually complete the install the next time "Mozilla" was closed, but it aborted.)

So yes, you can say it is WFM, though the way things work, it is confusing, the 'Plugin Finder Service' is incorrect in declaring success, & depending on whether you Quit SeaMonkey & let the Flash install continue, or whether you QUIT the Flash installation, determines whether the plugin actually gets installed or not.

Comment 6

[Tony Mechelynck [:tonymec]]

In reply to comment #5:

You're right, it is confusing indeed. I'm removing the contitional CLOSEME entry and adding a keyword; but instead of "user doc" I guess the best thing to do would be to rework the UI, but how...?

Comment 7

[Justin Dolske [:Dolske]]

Bug 836415 has now removed the Plugin Finder Service (PFS) from Firefox. As a result, I'm closing all the remaining PFS bugs.

If you're getting this bugmail for an ancient PFS bug, the basic summary of the world today is:

* NPAPI plugins are a dying technology
* PFS was already restricted to assisting with only the 4 most common plugins
* Sites commonly provide their own UI for install a required plugin
* Mozilla is generally focusing on  improving the web platform so that proprietary plugins are not required.

(Note that "plugins" are a completely separate from "browser extensions", such at those found on addons.mozilla.org. The latter are not going anywhere, and are not impacted by the removal of PFS.)