Support for Firefox 2.x browsers ends in Mid-December 2008
Mozilla Foundation has announced that sometime in December 2008 all updates and support for Firefox 2.x browsers will come to an end. After that only version 3.x will receive updates. The following notice is posted on the downloads page for Firefox 2.x browsers.
Firefox 2.0.0.x will be maintained with security and stability updates until mid-December, 2008. All users are strongly encouraged to upgrade to Firefox 3.
This gives the authors of the various add-ons, extensions, plug-ins and themes 6 months notice to update their applications to be compatible with Firefox series 3 browsers.
Those of you who are staying with Firefox 2.0.0.x because you use add-ons that have not been updated for version 3.x will have to consider these options over the next few months.
- Search for replacement add-ons that are compatible with Firefox 3.x and similar enough to our old ones to be suitable.
- Try to force the new browser to use our old add-ons, using browser configuration hacks. This can have disastrous effects on browser stability if an add-on is truly incapable of working with the new security model or rendering engine. A few of these hacks are listed in my extended content, below.
- Upgrade to Firefox 3, let it disable incompatible add-ons, then set it to check for updates to add-ons every time it searches for browser updates. This can be set in the browser Options, under Advanced > Update. This will slow the opening of the browser until the search has completed. Also, if an update is available you will have to interact with the notification box to install it, or skip it.
- You can also check manually for updates to your add-ons (enabled or disabled) by going to the menu item Tools > Add-ons, then clicking "Find Updates." You will have the option of installing any updates, then restarting Firefox. The updates will not "take" until you restart (all instances of) the browser. If you had multiple tabs open when you click Restart they will all re-open when the browser restarts.
All of the add-ons and extensions for Firefox are written and maintained by volunteer authors and are available from the official Mozilla.org add-ons website. All add-ons list the author's website on record at the time the add-on was first submitted for approval. Sometimes these websites will have a newer version available than the Firefox website. So, if your add-ons are not yet updated to work in Firefox 3.x, visit the author's website to see if one is available there. Just be sure you use the author links found at https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/ for your existing or new add-ons.
Unfortunately, some of the add-ons have been abandoned by their authors and are no longer being updated. While you may be able to hack their configuration codes to force them to install, be prepared for possible instability issues in Firefox, caused by incompatible add-ons forced into service.
Here are a couple of browser configuration hacks I have found that will force an out-dated add-on or extension to install into newer versions of Firefox than it was written for.
One method is to tell the browser to not test for add-on compatibility or search for updates. To do this you must alter two values in the browser's configuration utility; "about:config."
- With Firefox 3 open, type this into the Address Bar: about:config
- A notice will pop-up, warning you about the consequences of messing with the browser's configuration. If you really really want to do this, accept the notice (OK) and proceed at your own peril.
- Go to the following settings in about:config, and change both to false by double-clicking them:
- extensions.checkCompatibility
- extensions.checkUpdateSecurity
Another method is to edit the install.rdf files in the downloaded add-on xpi files. First you must save your desired add-ons to your hard drive, rather than opening them in Firefox. To do this visit the official Mozilla Add-ons website. Type in the name, or partial name, of your existing or desired add-ons, then search through the results list until you find the add-on you want. There is an "Add to Firefox" button on the right side of each item in the add-ons list. Right-click on the button and select "Save Link As." Choose your preferred download folder, or your desktop and save each add-on to it. They will all end in the file type .xpi. Do not left-click on the button unless the add-on has already been updated to work in Firefox 3.x. This action would try to install the add-on, which will fail.
Once you have downloaded the add-on .xpi files you will need to open them for editing. They are really zipped files that can be expanded using Winzip, WinRar, Stuffit, 7zip, or a similar decompressor-expander application. If you don't possess an unzipping program you can perform a Google search to find one either for free, or at a price you can afford to pay.
Expand (unzip) the .xpi files, one at a time, locating the file named install.rdf. Open these files in Notepad, or your computer's default plain text editor. Find or search for a line that contains the word "maxVersion" and change the highest number to 3.0, or higher (to allow for incremental updates to Firefox). Most install.rdf files have a range of versions supported, as in 1.0 - 2.0. You would then change the 2.0 to 3.0 or 3.1, then click on File > Save. Close the edited file and allow it to merge back into the zipped file archive. I use Winzip successfully to edit .xpi files and recommend it to you. It just merges the edited file back into the archive, without changing any paths.
If your unzipping program does not offer to merge the altered file into the archive you will have to unzip all of the files to a new folder and allow it to re-create the sub-folders listed in the archive. Edit the install.rdf, then create a new archive of the whole ball of wax, keeping the folder structure, with a file name ending in .xpi. This can get complicated because there are files inside folder locations saved in the .xpi archives and they must be included in the updated archive.
Now, double click on each updated xpi file, one at a time, and if asked which application to use to open them, choose Firefox and allow Windows to remember your decision. Firefox will see the updated version of 3.x and should proceed to install your old add-ons. restart the browser to finish the installation.
There is no guarantee these add-ons will still function properly in Firefox 3.x, but it is worth a try. I would recommend doing this one at a time. Restart Firefox with the forced add-on and test it for function and stability. If the add-on works as it should and the browser doesn't act strangely, or crash, move on to the next one, and so on.
I have hacked several add-ons over the course of the life of Firefox and only a few have failed to work after being forced into service. But, a lot has changed under the hood of Firefox 3.x, so if a forced add-on works you are fortunate. If not, try to find a similar functioning add-on that is compatible with the new browser engine.
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