324571 - PAC: document proxy auto-configuration files

Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 213699

(Developer Documentation Graveyard :: Mozilla Platform, enhancement)

Description

[Marc Bejarano]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.0.1) Gecko/20060111 Firefox/1.5.0.1
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.0.1) Gecko/20060111 Firefox/1.5.0.1

there is currently no help topic that describes how to write and use a proxy
configuration file (aka PAC file).  this is the firefox version of bug 269919.

good info at http://wp.netscape.com/eng/mozilla/2.0/relnotes/demo/proxy-live.html

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:

Comment 1

[Steffen Wilberg]

We might consider linking to http://www.mozilla.org/catalog/end-user/customizing/enduserPAC.html

Comment 2

[Steffen Wilberg]

Moving to sumo.

Comment 3

[benc]

As I mentioned in Bug 244640, I'd like to move the content to SMO and mothball the old article...

Comment 4

[benc]

I'm taking this bug as FF-help specific. The current instructions are wrong. I have smo submission access, so I'll do a short, help-file version.

Comment 5

[benc]

Here's the current text:

http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Options+window?style_mode=inproduct#connection_settings

"Automatic proxy configuration URL: If your workplace has a proxy configuration file, ask the system administrator for its URL and enter it here. Click Reload to load the settings."

I finally got my test server running, so I served out a sample PAC file and looked at the logs...

This needs several changes:

1- Reload is greyed out when you enter new pac. when you hit okay, it saves and loads right away.

2- The relaod button has a specfic context/behavior that should be documented.

I do plan to clean up the enduserPAC.html file and move it to MDC, but I don't think we should link to it in FF (vs. Seamonkey) because it has a strong end-user orientation.

Comment 6

[benc]

Here's my proposed new text:

Choose this if you have a proxy configuration (.pac) file.

Enter the URL and click okay to save changes and load the proxy configuration.

Reload button: The reload button will load the currently available proxy configuration.

---

Probably needs polish, but improves in the following way:

1- Consistent "choose" language for describing the proxy mode choices.
2- Corrects steps so they work for the UI that is actually in FF.
3- Adds documentation for reload button as related UI to this mode.

I'm not sure we would want to provide more text in the help file.

There are design limitations in FF to supporting PAC that changes->refreshing, but they are not inconsistent with the "simple UI for most things, no UI for rare things" design of FF. I don't want to mess w/ that here.

I'll post a chagne to smo in a day or two...

Comment 7

[Chris Ilias [:cilias]]

Ben, is this meant to replace text on the Options/Preferences spec, or are you planning to create a new KB article?

Comment 8

[benc]

In this bug, I am trying to replace the current options text to make it correct.'

If you think we should make more articles on PAC, I'd be happy to try to write them as well... I already have a couple other articles in the pipeline for PAC...

Comment 9

[benc]

Checked in changes to stage copy.

Comment 10

[Chris Ilias [:cilias]]

Sorry for the delay. I was in the middle of applying the style guide to the Options window article. All of that, as well as the changes in this bug are now approved to the KB.

Comment 11

[Marc Bejarano]

ben: thanks for documenting the option, but this bug is about the format of PAC files (see comment #0)

Comment 12

[benc]

Okay, you are right. I don't know why I drifted so much.

So the question is, would you really want to document this in the online help?

Comment 13

[Majken Connor [:Kensie]]

To be more specific, is this something helpful to the typical end-user and is this explaining how to use an out-of-the-box feature of Firefox.

We know using a PAC file is covered by this criteria. If PAC files need to be formatted a specific way to work with Firefox (and if it's not a standard file) then I think knowing how we require PACs to be written is key to being able to use an out-of-the-box in-the-UI feature.

Comment 14

[Marc Bejarano]

the format of PAC files and how they work needs to be documented somewhere by us, even if we just have a pointer to some other authoritative document...

Comment 15

[Majken Connor [:Kensie]]

chofmann suggested wiki.m.o for another request that's out of SUMO scope. This might be an option for here as well.

Comment 16

[Chris Ilias [:cilias]]

Who typically creates PAC files, for users to use? If not the user, than this does not belong on support.mozilla.com.

Comment 17

[Chris Ilias [:cilias]]

I haven't received a reply to comment 16, so I'm closing this as incomplete.

Comment 18

[[:Cww]]

I think usually it's by IT departments (like universities or companies).  So probably better for dev/wiki-mo.

Comment 19

[Steffen Wilberg]

Moving to devmo.

Related docs are
https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Proxies_in_Necko
https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Proxy_UI
https://developer.mozilla.org/en/No_Proxy_For_configuration
http://www-archive.mozilla.org/docs/netlib/pac.html
http://www-archive.mozilla.org/catalog/end-user/customizing/enduserPAC.html

Comment 20

[John Karahalis [:openjck]]

Automatically closing all bugs that have not been updated in a while. Please reopen if this is still important to you and has not yet been corrected.

Comment 21

[John Karahalis [:openjck]]

Reopening for review by Sheppy.

Comment 22

[Eric Shepherd [:sheppy]]

This work does need to be done, but is very low priority compared to other things, so it won't be done anytime soon unless someone volunteers.