Portable apping is a great way to test new betas of anything in order to avoid the conflicts in multiple version installs on the same machine. When Firefox 2.0 was released, portable apps had released a series of betas for testing it which integrated well with the final release. The transition from the version 2.0 final betas to the release was able to seamlessly work through the updates. Now it may necessary to rerun the installer over the old install. But the transfer of any customizations should still be pretty easy.
Firefox 3.0 Beta 2 (Installation)
As with version 2.0.0.11 the first step is downloading the self-extracting executable from portableapps.com. You can find this download the file at http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/firefox_portable/test
As always it is important to note that for Portable Firefox or any other Mozilla product, John T. Haller's version is the only legitimate one. Any other versions you may find on the net are not recommended.
To install run the EXE you just downloaded and as before browse to the location you wish to install the program. Be default this will be X:\PortableApps\FirefoxPortableTest with X being your drive letter. The program will work no matter where it is installed as long as the internal file structure is not changed.
The download for the beta is a little bigger that FF2, coming in at 7.1 MB with an expanded size of 22.9 MB. After the first run this number goes up to 25.9 MB. By default the files install to a folder called FirefoxPortableTest which I rename to FirefoxPortable3.
A note to portable apps framework users: The start menu that comes as part of the portable apps framework DOES create two separate entries if you have both FF versions installed on your portable device. The text for FF 3 Beta 2 has (test) in parenthesis.
Now you are ready to test drive the new FF 3 Beta. Before we get into customization it's important to note some of the things that are different about this version of Firefox. If you run the program for the first time you will notice your toolbar has a couple of smart bookmarks for most visited and recently added links. There are two procedures for importing your bookmarks into this new version of firefox, one that will obliterate these quick starts and another that will keep them. It might be a good idea to test the beta without importing your bookmarks at first to see if you like the new features before deciding whether or not to delete them.
It is possible to restore these smart bookmarks after they are deleted, though it is not possible to move the links using the normal cut and paste procedure. In order to restore or move these links they must be recreated.
To recreate the smart bookmarks go to the folder where you wish them to be located and right click to bring up the context menu. From there select new bookmark. For description choose the function of the list being created and for location put any information from the location field in the old bookmark. For your convenience I am including the location codes for the three smart bookmarks I had below:
Most Visited
place:sort=8&maxResults=10
Recently Bookmarked
place:folder=2&folder=5&folder=3&sort=12&excludeQueries=1&excludeItemIfParentHasAnnotation=livemark%2FfeedURI&maxResults=10&queryType=1
Recent Tags
place:folder=4&group=3&sort=12&applyOptionsToContainers=1&maxResults=10&queryType=1
Importing Bookmarks from Firefox
As with the 2.0 installation export your bookmarks to a file called bookmarks.html. Unlike the installation of version 2.0, however, it is not enough to simply write over the file in the folder. The bookmarks must be imported through 3.0's bookmarks manager. There are two different ways to do this, one which will remove the custom bookmarks in version 3.0, and one which will not.
The two methods are:
- Import Your Bookmarks from a file (keeps new bookmarks intact)
- Restore bookmarks from your exported file (replaces bookmarks with those from file)
To import your bookmarks first bring up FF 3.0's bookmarks manager by selecting Bookmarks->Show all bookmarks. This opens the Places Organizer where you can import your bookmarks. Simply click the button "Import and Backup" and select "Import" from the drop down. Choose the from file option and browse to the file where you exported your bookmarks. All of the bookmarks are imported to the bookmark menu folder. In order to restore your toolbar select the folder Bookmarks Toolbar Folder from under Bookmark Menu. All of the bookmarks that are normally in the toolbar will now show on the right. Sadly as of FF 3.0 Beta 2 the organizer is not drag and drop so in order to move any bookmarks you must select them and then cut, pasting them in the folder to which you wish to move them. Personally I see this as a step back from previous versions and I hope they revert the change as soon as possible.
It is NOT possible to move the smart bookmarks from the Bookmarks Toolbar to the Bookmarks Menu by employing the method of copying and pasting. You must RECREATE them using the above procedure if you do not want them in the toolbar.
Any other changes you wish to make to clean up the organization you should do using this same method remembering that the Bookmarks Toolbar Folder has been shortened to Bookmarks Toolbar.
A little bit messier than in FF 2.0 but not too difficult if you are willing to do a little rearranging and recreating. the next method is simpler but will obliterate the active bookmarks included in FF 3.0.
Restoring from a file
New to Firefox 3.0 is the ability to restore your bookmarks cleanly from a file. Restoration erases any changes made to the current bookmark set and replaces it with the set from the file. This method will auto detect your toolbar and move the links to the correct new folder. This will obliterate any smart bookmarks however so it is important to make sure you know how to recreate them or that you don't want them.
To restore simply click the"Import and Backup" button again and select "Restore". Of the options that appear you will want to choose from file. Then browse to file you where you stored your bookmarks and select open. These bookmarks will replace the default set and will no be available to you.
Whichever method you choose its a good idea to export the final changes to a file once you are done. That way if a new release of the beta comes out and you went through the procedure to move the smart bookmarks, you can re import them in the same place without losing them.
Note: Smart Bookmarks exported from FF 3.0 WILL be restored when restoring from a file.
So now you have a new version of Firefox with all of your bookmarks. What else can you add? The answer is not much.
Incorporating Add-Ons
Of all the add-ons mentioned in the previous entry only Ad-Block Plus has a 3.0 compatible version as of this writing. It is likely that new versions will come out so its a good idea to check the developer sites for those add-ons to see if they have released a new version. Most Add-ons list the range of versions they work across. The procedure for installing them is the same, simply open the file from FF 3 and click install. As for SWF and Flash ability, the plugin installation procedure is the same as well, either follow the on-line prompts to the plug-in or copy over the two necessary files from a previous installation.
Final Thoughts
As always back up and organize your intermediate files so as to be able to go back if you have made any mistakes. For the betas especially keep up with the forums at portableapps.com and the Mozilla site for any issues that arise. And of course feel free to submit your comments and suggestions to me and check back for any updates as I will be testing this software as well.
Next week we'll have the Opera 9.25 procedure and the performance tests so stay tuned and stay warm!
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