458976 - With Firefox 3.0 open and Shiretoko set to default browser, try to launch Shiretoko would result in "A copy of Firefox is already open. Only one copy of Firefox can be open at a time" error.

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(Firefox :: General, defect)

Description

[Vincent Lee]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; Intel Mac OS X 10.5; en-US; rv:1.9.0.3) Gecko/2008092414 Firefox/3.0.3
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; Intel Mac OS X 10.5; en-US; rv:1.9.0.3) Gecko/2008092414 Firefox/3.0.3

This is on Mac OS X 10.5.4, where I have both Firefox 3 and Shiretoko installed, and Shiretoko is set to be the default system browser. The error in question occurs when I launch Firefox 3 first, followed by launching Shiretoko.

This error impacts Adobe AIR applications, like Twitter client Twhirl (please see "Additional Information" section below).


Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Install Firefox 3, and Shiretoko (Alpha 2). I installed Shiretoko from:
http://developer.mozilla.org/devnews/index.php/2008/09/05/firefox-31-alpha-2-now-available-for-download/  (Mac OS X: Shiretoko Alpha 2.dmg)
2. Set Shiretoko to be the default system browser.
3. Launch Firefox 3, followed by launching Shiretoko.
Actual Results:  
While Shiretoko tries to launch (by bouncing its dock icon very briefly), it prompts the error "A copy of Firefox is already open. Only one copy of Firefox can be open at a time." .

Expected Results:  
This behavior is different from that of Mac OS X. If I open a Terminal window, followed by issuing command "open http://www.google.com", I would see Firefox 3 get launched in a new window (or a new tab if that's the preference set). Shiretoko doesn't get launched. So this system behavior should be the expected result.

This error is also seen in Adobe AIR applications, like Twitter client Twhirl. Within this application, one can click on links inside it to have them opened into the default system browser. The following steps can be used to reproduce the same error in Twhirl:
1. Go to http://www.twhirl.org, and click on the "Install Now" button on the right-hand-side "Get Twhirl" section to install the AIR application.
2. Finish the application installation. By default, the application will launch at the end of installation.
3. On the application startup screen, click on the search icon (at the bottom far-right corner), then type in some search terms there, e.g. Adobe AIR.
4. When the search results populate, click on a HTML link there from any entries.
5. As Shiretoko tries to launch, it prompts the error "A copy of Firefox is already open. Only one copy of Firefox can be open at a time".

Comment 1

[Greg Wicklund]

This is not a bug, Shiretoko is the codename for Firefox 3.1/3.5 (all alpha builds).  As you normally can't be running two different versions of a program at the same time (there are exceptions, but Firefox is not one of them) this error occurs.  The solution: Close Firefox 3.0 before launching Shiretoko.  If you have quite a few addons you may need to give the system a few minutes to completely close.

Mac users: I'm not positive, but I believe Mac OS will search for an open web browser (doesn't matter what browser as far as I'm concerned, I may double-check this when I next use a mac) when a command to load a webpage is given.  If one is open, it will bypass the default browser settings and load the page in that browser, thus removing the possibility of this bug being reproduced that way.

Comment 2

[Tyler Downer [He/Him]]

This is a mass search for bugs which are in the Firefox General component, are
UNCO, have not been changed for 500 days and have an unspecified version. 

Reporter, can you please update to Firefox 3.6.10 or later, create a fresh profile, http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/managing+profiles, and test again. If you still see the issue, please update this bug. If the issue is gone, please set the status to RESOLVED > WORKSFORME.

Comment 3

[Tyler Downer [He/Him]]

No reply from reporter, INCOMPLETE. Please retest with Firefox 3.6.12 or later and a new profile (http://support.mozilla.com/kb/Managing+profiles). If you continue to see this issue with the newest firefox and a new profile, then please comment on this bug.