-no-remote problems

[Chuck Anderson]

Firefox just can not seem to understand one of of it's own features, using two
versions and profiles of Firefox simultaneously.

I have a Firefox 13 shortcut ..../Firefox 13/firefox.exe -p "Firefox 13"
-non-remote
I have a Firefox 3.6 shortcut ..../Firefox 3/firefox.exe -p "Firefox 3"
-non-remote

I have successfully set Firefox 13 as the default browser - using the Firefox
13 profile (after some help from Sailfish in a previous thread)

(It actually only works if I remove -no-remote from the shortcut to test it -
and I can see it in the Windows Registry. FF3.6, however, does not have this
problem. It is happy to open pages sent to it by other programs, even when
started with -no-remote.)

If I have both FF13 and FF 3.6 open and I click on a link in an email message
in Thunderbird, the page does not open in FF13 as it should, instead it opens
in FF3.6. The same thing happens of I double-click (open) an html file. It
goes to FF 3.6, not FF 13.

If I ask FF3.6 to check if it is the default browser, it says no and asks if I
want to set it. This is what it should do. If I ask FF13 to check if it is
the default browser it says that it already is. Yet, as I stated above, if I
click on a link in a Thunderbird message, or on an HTML file, it opens in
FF3.6 (if it already open - see below), not FF13. Something just ain't right
there.

In the Windows Registry I have:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\FirefoxHTML\shell\open\command; value = "C:\Program Files
(x86)\Mozilla Firefox 13\firefox.exe" -requestPending -osint -url "%1"

This looks like it should. I don't where to look in the registry to see what
the "default browser" is, but that's right for html files.

Here's the real wrench in the works for me. If I close FF3.6 and click on a
link in Thunderbird, or on an HTML file, or "View in default browser" in my
text editor, I get the FF popup warning me that Firefox is already running and
I must exit or restart my system(?!?!). For some reason, FF13 can not handle
the -no-remote when another program requests a new page. I even checked ....
I close FF13 and reopen FF3.6 (with -no-remote) and everything works again,
(except that the links are not opening in the actual default browser).

I have found one bug in Bugzilla relating to this, but no one seems to want to
work on it. I voted for it, but that's the end of what I can do.

This transition from 3.6 to whatever the "new FF" is called (FF4+ ?) is doing
just what I had feared would happen. I have wasted hours and hours (AND
HOURS) of my time - not even getting to other things I need to do - because
I'm trying to coax and massage it into doing what I want it to - things it has
done in past versions that I have incorporated into my work flow. The new FF
has broken my work flow.

I hope someone has some answers for this, but I think I have hit the wall on
this one.

--
*****************************
Chuck Anderson • Boulder, CO
http://cycletourist.com
Turn Off, Tune Out, Drop In
*****************************

[WLS]

You are using -no-remote for your default Firefox, which is a no, no.

"Important: Never use -no-remote to start the "default" profile (the one
that is set to open without asking when you launch Firefox). That's
because when you launch Firefox, for example, by clicking a link in your
mail program, you will get a Firefox is already running but is not
responding message if the default profile is already in use. The
solution is to always start the default profile normally and launch all
others with -no-remote. Then it will work."

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Opening_a_new_instance_of_Firefox_with_another_profile


--
Thunderbird (16.0a1) Daily | openSUSE 12.1 | KDE 4.8.4
Practice Safe Computing. Create user accounts for your OS.

[Chuck Anderson]

Yes, I do remember reading this page long ago (probably when I transitioned
from 2.0 - 3.5 and 3.6).
I wish that it still actually worked that way, but it does not work when
trying to open FF 3.6 after FF 13.

Two shortcuts.
Firefox 13 ..../Firefox 13/firefox.exe -p "Firefox 13"
Firefox 3.6 ..../Firefox 3/firefox.exe -p "Firefox 3" -non-remote

If I first open FF13 (without using -no-remote) when I double click on the
shortcut to FF3.6 (without -no-remote), it does not open the correct
exe or profile, instead, I get another window in FF13.

It will work with FF 10. Opening FF 10esr with -no-remote (with FF13 already
open as above), does open FF 10.

Between this problem and misbehaving pinned icons in Windows 7 (FF generates a
second icon with -no-remote -
http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/844131 ), I ended up using
-no-remote with all versions as it was the only way I could get FF3.6 to be
open at the same time as FF 13.

[»Q«]

On Mon, 18 Jun 2012 23:19:38 -0600
Chuck Anderson <cyclet...@invalid.invalid> wrote:

> Firefox just can not seem to understand one of of it's own features,
> using two versions and profiles of Firefox simultaneously.
>
> I have a Firefox 13 shortcut ..../Firefox 13/firefox.exe -p "Firefox
> 13" -non-remote

^

> I have a Firefox 3.6 shortcut ..../Firefox 3/firefox.exe -p "Firefox
> 3" -non-remote

^

You're not using -no-remote with, but you are using something Fx can't
"seem to understand". I didn't spot it, someone else did (and posted
it to mozilla.general, which I don't understand).

Also, as was pointed out in the other thread about this, this isn't a
feature Mozilla have stood behind or guaranteed from version to
version. I'd be careful, make backups before testing each new version.

[Chuck Anderson]

»Q« wrote:
> On Mon, 18 Jun 2012 23:19:38 -0600
> Chuck Anderson <cyclet...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>
>> Firefox just can not seem to understand one of of it's own features,
>> using two versions and profiles of Firefox simultaneously.
>>
>> I have a Firefox 13 shortcut ..../Firefox 13/firefox.exe -p "Firefox
>> 13" -non-remote
> ^
>> I have a Firefox 3.6 shortcut ..../Firefox 3/firefox.exe -p "Firefox
>> 3" -non-remote
> ^

> You're not using -no-remote with, but you are using something Fx can't
> "seem to understand". I didn't spot it, someone else did (and posted
> it to mozilla.general, which I don't understand).

I don't subscribe to .general.

I spotted my typo some time after I'd posted and figured it would be obvious
enough that I knew it should be otherwise.

> Also, as was pointed out in the other thread about this, this isn't a
> feature Mozilla have stood behind or guaranteed from version to
> version. I'd be careful, make backups before testing each new version.

As a last resort, I'm going to try the stand-alone Profile Manager to see it
can handle running FF3.6 concurrent with FF13 - the default browser. It would
nice if it worked, but I'm not hopeful. I already know that it simply uses
-no-remote.