"Always check if Firefox is your default browser" option is grayed out

[John Corliss]

I've updated to the current version of Firefox, 69.0, and just noticed
that under Options/General the "Always check if Firefox is your default
browser" is checked and grayed out. It may have been this way for a
several versions, but I have no way of knowing at this point.

Can anybody explain what's going on here? Why would this option be
grayed out and how can re-enable it?

TIA
--
John Corliss

[Andy Burns]

Assuming you're on windows7, set a different browser in

control pane l> programs > default programs

then the option in firefox will become available again ...

[Nobody]

On Sat, 7 Sep 2019 04:20:38 -0700, John Corliss <r9j...@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>I've updated to the current version of Firefox, 69.0, and just noticed
>that under Options/General the "Always check if Firefox is your default
>browser" is checked and grayed out.

And underneath that greyed out script, mine also says after a smiley,
"Firefox is currently your default browser" in bold black.

Win 10 Ffox 69.064-bit.

[John Corliss]

Thanks, but... any idea why it's unavailable in the first place?

--
John

[John Corliss]

Nobody wrote:

> John Corliss wrote:
>>
>> I've updated to the current version of Firefox, 69.0, and just noticed
>> that under Options/General the "Always check if Firefox is your default
>> browser" is checked and grayed out.
>
> And underneath that greyed out script, mine also says after a smiley,
> "Firefox is currently your default browser" in bold black.

Yes, so does mine. However, that shouldn't have any effect on whether or
not the option is available.

> Win 10 Ffox 69.064-bit.

W7 64 bit.

--
John

[WaltS48]

Because you have already set Firefox as the default browser and enabled
it to check on startup.

Make another browser the default. It will be available again, and nag
you every time you start Firefox asking if you want to "Always check if
Firefox is the default browser".

--
OS: Ubuntu Linux 18.04LTS - Gnome Desktop
https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/get-involved/
Fire the Apprentice!

[Nobody]

On Sat, 7 Sep 2019 15:09:08 -0700, John Corliss <r9j...@yahoo.com>
wrote:

Er, severely scratching head, go into Win 7's 'default' list and
un-default Ffox.

Then go look at <options yadayada>...

[Andy Burns]

John Corliss wrote:

> any idea why it's unavailable in the first place?

The option just seems to make itself unavailable when firefox *is* the
default.

[John Corliss]

Just noticed that even Firefox version 52.8.1 on this old XP computer
does it.

Guess I'll just ignore it then. Thanks for replying, Andy.

--
John Corliss

[John Corliss]

Nobody wrote:
> John Corliss wrote:
>> Nobody wrote:
>>> John Corliss wrote:
>>>>
>>>> I've updated to the current version of Firefox, 69.0, and just noticed
>>>> that under Options/General the "Always check if Firefox is your default
>>>> browser" is checked and grayed out.
>>>
>>> And underneath that greyed out script, mine also says after a smiley,
>>> "Firefox is currently your default browser" in bold black.
>>
>> Yes, so does mine. However, that shouldn't have any effect on whether or
>> not the option is available.
>>
>>> Win 10 Ffox 69.064-bit.
>>
>> W7 64 bit.
>
> Er, severely scratching head, go into Win 7's 'default' list and
> un-default Ffox.
>
> Then go look at <options yadayada>...

I was born at night, but it wasn't last night. Of *course* I know how to
do that.

It just makes no sense to me that the option should be grayed out at any
point. Didn't used to be that way. Seems to me to be unnecessarily
over-controlling by the devs.

--
John

[Andy Burns]

John Corliss wrote:

> It just makes no sense to me that the option should be grayed out

If it was ticked, but not greyed out, what should firefox do when you
unticked it? Easiest to let another browser take the default, rather
than for firefox to give it away ...

[R.Wieser]

Andy,

> If it was ticked, but not greyed out, what should firefox do when you
> unticked it?

Thats easy: Not try to claw everything back when another browser tries to
"take posession".

> Easiest to let another browser take the default

How ? With that tickmark ticked it looks like that FF will do everything
in its power not to let that happen ...

>> It just makes no sense to me that the option should be grayed out

Indeed: That way it looks like you /cannot/ relinguish control anymore ...

.... unless a ticked, grayed-out box means something completely different
than what its commonly considered to be (active, unalterable) - which would
be double-plus-ungood.

And by the way, if it has not been mentioned yet: Under Windows the graying
out of choice-boxes might be related to a policy setting. I can imagine
(corporate use of) FF might have something similar.

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

[WaltS48]

It's not that way in the test I just did with Firefox 45.9.0 ESR.

What was the last version you used where the option wasn't grayed out,
have you filed a bug report, or know what the bug report is that changed
the behavior?