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Firefox 3.0 RC2


Tarun

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Firefox is a web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite, managed by the Mozilla Corporation. Firefox is a highly customizable browser that allows you to enhance it using Add-ons. Some examples of Add-ons that you can use to customize Firefox are AdBlock Plus, CuteMenus - Crystal SVG, DownThemAll!, TabMixPlus, No Script and many more. Tabbed browsing is one of the many features that helps to make Firefox more secure than most browser. Firefox does not use ActiveX. Firefox does make use of many plugins to enhance your web experience. From Shockwave, Flash, Quicktime and more; your browsing experience reaches new levels with the Firefox browser.

Downloads: Firefox 3.0 RC 2 | All builds

View: Release Notes

Homepage: Mozilla Firefox

Link: Digg This!

Link: Lunarsoft

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I've been testing the nightly builds of Fx3 for months, they've been stable for quite a while - haven't had a crash in a long time. Lightning-fast, too, I can hardly stand to run Fx2 anymore; it seems like a total dog by contrast.

If you want to try it out before you commit, you can install it alongside the old version. For details: http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=613873

A lot of add-ons are ready to work in Fx3; for those that aren't, that post also tells about tools you can use to force add-ons that haven't been updated for Fx3 to work anyway. They may not all work right, but many will - use with care.

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Holy Bat!! Crapman!!!

I've just looked at the installation instructions and my head is still spinning.

Might wait for a while longer, unless I get adventurous this weekend and have a go.

Thanks for the info.

Cheers :)

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There's no firm date for the final release, target is mid-June. If major bugs are found in RC2, could be a little later; there might be an RC3. If no major bugs, RC2 will become the final.

The instructions I linked to are for having 2 different versions installed, with shortcuts for each that open it with its own dedicated profile. If you don't want to go to that much trouble, you could just back up your current Firefox profile (something you should do anyway), then install RC2. Your profile may or may not work with Fx2 anymore after running with 3.0RC2 - if you decide to go back to FX2, you can always restore the profile to the backed-up configuration.

If you decide to stay with the new version, then just uninstall the old one (RC2 will automatically install into a new folder, it won't overwrite the old release). <edit> That's an error, RC2 will overwrite the previous release by default. Point the installer at a new folder if you don't want to replace Fx2<end edit>

Even if you decide to wait for the final release of Fx3.0, I'd still recommend backing up your Firefox profile before updating. That's always the best practice when updating Firefox, especially a major update like this.

Installing the final release <edit> or a release candidate<end edit> will overwrite your old version, unless you manually point the installer to another folder.

<edit> I left out one thing; if you install to a new folder, copy the Plugins subfolder from the original install folder to the new one. then plugins for Flash, Adobe. media players, etc, will work in the new version without the need to reinstall them <end edit>

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Sorry, I meant how do I backup my profile?
Ok...for complete directions to back up your profile, see: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_backup

Eldmannen basically has it right, but for simplicity you can just copy the whole "Firefox" folder that contains "Profiles" and "profiles.ini". There are programs to automate the whole process, see above link. The best policy is to always keep a backup of your profile folder as insurance against data loss.

You have to have enabled "View hidden files and folders" to get to those folders.

I left out one thing; if you install to a new folder, copy the Plugins subfolder from the previous install folder to the new one. Then plugins for Flash, Adobe. media players, etc, will work in the new version without the need to reinstall them.

In re the question I thought you were asking originally: You could, if you wanted to, rename the C:\Program Files\Firefox 3 RC2 folder to "Mozilla Firefox" (after deleting the old folder), then edit the target of the shortcut(s) to match. Not really necessary, but you could.

You could also just jump in with both feet to begin with and point the RC2 installer to the Mozilla Firefox folder. Uninstalling Fx2 first might be safer, but overwriting the previous install usually works just fine.

With past updates, those who installed RCs didn't have to do anything further when the final was released - just keep running what they had, it would get updates just like the final release. I assume that's still the case, but if not you could just install the final release when it comes out.

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Don't get too effusive...I made a mistake, the RC will overwrite the previous release unless you point the installer at a different folder. It's only the nightly test builds that install to a different folder by default.

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