Tech:Open Source/Browsers/Firefox and Flash

From Cyclopath

Jump to: navigation, search
up to: Tech:Open Source > Browsers

Contents

[edit] Install Firefox and Flash

[edit] Install Firefox

[edit] Download Firefox

Core developers without root access will have to update Firefox manually.

Here's how you'd install Firefox 3.6. 

cd /export/scratch/checkout
wget "http://download.mozilla.org/?product=firefox-3.6&os=linux&lang=en-US"
tar xvf firefox-3.6.tar.bz2
mv /export/scratch/checkout/firefox-3.6 /export/scratch/opt/firefox-3.6
cd /export/scratch/checkout/firefox-3.6
./firefox &

[edit] Configure Firefox

Here's how I like Firefox configured. You might like something different.

In Firefox's location bar, enter 

about:config

For Firefox 3.6, find and set these options

  • browser.ctrlTab.previews ==> false
  • browser.tabs.closeWindowWithLastTab ==> true

[edit] Install Plugins

Recommended: Install Firebug 

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/downloads/latest/1843/addon-1843-latest.xpi?src=addondetail

Optional: Install Web Developer 

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/downloads/latest/60/addon-60-latest.xpi?src=addondetail

[edit] Create Custom Application Launcher

Core developers will find that running Firefox through Gnome will not load any plugins you've installed locally. This is because you need to run firefox from a terminal (e.g., "firefox &"), or you need to add a custom Gnome launcher to call the startup script in $HOME.

Here's how to add a launcher:

  1. In Gnome, Right-click on a Panel and click Add to Panel...
  2. Double-click Custom Application Launcher
  3. Fill in the following:
    1. Type: Application
    2. Name: Firefox
    3. Command: <path-to-your-home-directory>/firefox (e.g., /home/user/firefox)
  4. Finally, click on the icon in the upper-left and select an appropriate icon for your new launcher.

Quit Firefox Gnome and click on your new launcher.

Next, disable the Flash plugin if it already exists. From Firefox, go to Tools > Add-ons and check the Extensions list for Flash. If you find it, click Disable, then click Uninstall.

See the next section for instructions on installing the Flash Debug Pl

[edit] Install Flash Debug Plugin

[edit] 64-bit Flash Debug Plugin

Download and unpack the Flash Debug Plugin for Linux. This is a 32-bit plugin, so we'll have to do some magic to get 64-bit Ubuntu to load it. 

cd ~/Downloads
wget http://download.macromedia.com/pub/flashplayer/updaters/9/flash_player_9_linux_dev.tar.gz
tar xvf flash_player_9_linux_dev.tar.gz

The plugin comes with an installer, but it doesn't work on 64-bit distros, so let's do this manually.

FIXME Double-check is /usr/lib and not /usr/lib64

Unpack and copy the library file to the system-wide plugins directory. 

cd ~/Downloads/flash_player_9_linux_dev/plugin/debugger/
tar xvf install_flash_player_9_linux.tar.gz
sudo cp -i install_flash_player_9_linux/libflashplayer.so /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins

Unpack and copy the executable to the same directory. 

cd ~/Downloads/flash_player_9_linux_dev/standalone/debugger
tar xvf flashplayer.tar.gz
sudo cp flashplayer /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/

Fix the permissions of the two flash files. 

cd /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/
sudo chmod 755 libflashplayer.so
sudo chmod 755 flashplayer

Now do the magic. Use nspluginwrapper to persuade 64-bit to load 32-bit. 

cd /usr/lib/nspluginwrapper
sudo ./npconfig -i /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/libflashplayer.so

Fix the permissions on the new wrapper.

FIXME Notes say the wrapper is installed to /usr/lib64? 

sudo chmod 755 /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/npwrapper.libflashplayer.so
sudo chmod 755 /usr/lib64/mozilla/plugins/npwrapper.libflashplayer.so

Copy the library locally and fix its permissions. FIXME Could we `ln -s` instead? 

sudo cp /usr/lib64/mozilla/plugins/npwrapper.libflashplayer.so ~/.mozilla/plugins
sudo chown you ~/.mozilla/plugins/npwrapper.libflashplayer.so
chgrp you ~/.mozilla/plugins/npwrapper.libflashplayer.so
chmod 0755 ~/.mozilla/plugins/npwrapper.libflashplayer.so

Finally, quit Firefox, restart it, and open "about:plugins" to verify that the debug plugin works.

[edit] 32-bit Flash Debug Plugin

Core developers on 32-bit machines can link to the group's copy of the Flash debug plugin. 

cd ~/.mozilla/plugins
ln -s /project/Grouplens/flash/10.0.32.18/plugin/debugger/libflashplayer.so .

Restart Firefox. Open a new browser window, type about:plugins in the location box and hit Enter. Check that the version of Shockwave Flash matches the version you just installed. E.g., 

Shockwave Flash
  
  File name: libflashplayer.so
  Shockwave Flash 10.0 r32
Retrieved from "http://cyclopath.org/wiki/Tech:Open_Source/Browsers/Firefox_and_Flash"
Personal tools