888363 - [MP] Defect - unable to make Nightly my default browser if a different Firefox installation exists

Status: VERIFIED FIXED

(Firefox for Metro Graveyard :: Install/Update, defect, P2)

Description

[juan becerra [:juanb]]

Tested on 2013-0-28 using latest nightly. A user wasn't able to set Nightly as the default browser as manifested by the fact that they couldn't go into Metro mode. Setting its defaults in the program defaults dialog didn't change it. The user had an existing installation of Firefox 22.

I was able to reproduce this with the following steps:

1. On a clean Windows 8 machine (remove all previous Firefox installations) install Firefox 22 (www.mozilla.com)
2. Set it as your default browser when prompted by the browser and the system.
3. Go to nightly.mozilla.org and download an installer
4. Run the installer and at the end make Nightly your default browser when prompted by the browser and the system prompt

Expected: At this point Nightly should be your default browser and the Nightly tile on the Start page should launch the Nightly in Metro mode.

Actual: Nightly launches in desktop mode. The only way to make it launch in Metro mode is by going to the Options/Advanced/ and clicking on the "Check if it is the default browser" button, and going through that process, or by setting IE as the default first and then setting Nightly as the default again.

Also, if you go to the default programs dialog so that you set Nightly as the default, you will see that its icon is the official Firefox as opposed to the dark blue one.

Additional note from bbdondy: "If you have a different firefox as default, install new build of nightly to a new location, set Nightly as default from control panel, shotcut on start screen never updates.  I think we can maybe do some one time detection after firefox is started and is the default to make sure the start menu tile is updated to the new default.  (Which is what happens when you set the default from within Desktop Firefox."

Comment 1

[Brian R. Bondy [:bbondy]]

Attachment: Patch rev1

See comments at the top of the patch for more info about the fixes

Comment 2

[Jim Mathies [:jimm]]

Comment on attachment 790438 [details] [diff] [review]
Patch rev1

Went through a bunch of link/file assoc tests plus launching from the start tile - no issues. Code looks good.

Comment 3

[Brian R. Bondy [:bbondy]]

https://hg.mozilla.org/integration/fx-team/rev/60bf438fa2f2

Comment 4

[Phil Ringnalda (:philor)]

https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/rev/60bf438fa2f2

Comment 5

[Manuela Muntean [Away]]

Unfortunatelly this issue is still reproducible, while testing this today, for iteration #13.

Please take a look at the following observations:

1) While going through the STR from comment 0, after step 1, I installed Firefox 23.0.1, not 22. Also, at step 4, I was never prompted to make Nightly (which I installed in the standard folder) my default browser (neither by the browser, nor by the system). So I went to Default Programs and set it manually, and I was able to see that Nightly had there the Firefox icon, and that Firefox wasn't present in that list at all. Even though the icon from the start screen is the Metro one (and not the Nightly one), Nightly still launches in desktop mode, and what is even more alarming is that Firefox 23.0.1 is the one opening and not Nightly. 

2) I also tried the other suggested scenario: " "If you have a different firefox as default, install new build of nightly to a new location, set Nightly as default from control panel, shotcut on start screen never updates.", and I got the same results as 1)

Does anyone have any suggestions/thoughts? Thanks!

Comment 6

[Brian R. Bondy [:bbondy]]

Please post new issues for that.

What this bug fixes is:
1) Other installation won't open firefox.exe anywhere when you launch it.
2) You are able to set a different default browser now through Firefox if another instance exists.

Going directly through control panel and bypassing Firefox set as default isn't covered here.  I updated the title to reflect that now too.

Comment 8

[Manuela Muntean [Away]]

After discussing with bbondy, we agreed that I post here the STR, for future reference and taking into consideration only comment 6, part 2), since part 1) is verified in bug 841610.

-- on Win 8 64bit

STR

1. Install one version/release of Firefox (in my case 22)
2. Install a Nightly (in my case, latest one - build ID: 20130905030206)
3. Go to Control Panel -> Default Programs, and make both programs default ones, consecutively 

Expected results: You should be able to make the first Firefox the default browser, and then imediatelly the other one, without setting a different browser (Chrome, IE, etc.) as default in between. This works for me.

Note: this can also be applied with 2 Nightly versions (in my case, I installed the latest Nightly in 2 locations: the standard one and a custom one)


I have a question regarding what I found in comment 5 part 1): I didn't retry that, since I tested with the STR posted in this comment. Should I retry and log a bug if I can still reproduce, or can I mark this as verified, based on the results from this comment?

Thanks!

Comment 9

[Brian R. Bondy [:bbondy]]

>  So I went to Default Programs and set it manually, and I was able to see that Nightly had there the Firefox icon, and that Firefox wasn't present in that list at all. 

Please post this if you can find steps to reproduce. It isn't related to this bug though so please post it in a new bug.

Also if there isn't a bug about Metro Firefox not working if you go directly to the control panel and not within Firefox to set default, you can post that as a new bug as well.  Please CC me on any new bugs along those lines.

Comment 10

[Manuela Muntean [Away]]

(In reply to Brian R. Bondy [:bbondy] from comment #9)
> >  So I went to Default Programs and set it manually, and I was able to see that Nightly had there the Firefox icon, and that Firefox wasn't present in that list at all. 
> 
> Please post this if you can find steps to reproduce. It isn't related to
> this bug though so please post it in a new bug.

I can't reproduce that issue anymore.
 
> Also if there isn't a bug about Metro Firefox not working if you go directly
> to the control panel and not within Firefox to set default, you can post
> that as a new bug as well.  Please CC me on any new bugs along those lines.

I've logged and CC'ed you in bug 918253 and 918287. Thanks!

Comment 11

[Cornel Ionce [:noni] [Hubs QA]]

Verified on latest nightly (build ID:20131003030203) using the STR from comment 8, I got the expected results.

Installing the release version of FF + setting as default and installing the nightly afterwards will result in showing only nightly in Control Panel(which I think is expected due to the fact that Firefox is already set as default).

Marking this issue as verified because Nightly can be set as default browser even if another FF installation exists.