Talk:Plugin scanning
Scanning preferences for various plugins including Flash and RealPlayer
It would help if the article explained why you can't control the scanning for Flash. While there is a default plugin for it in the Firefox installation directory I seem to remember that when I deleted that plugin my copy of Firefox has found and used a Flash plugin that was installed by a non-Mozilla/Netscape application (it might have been Opera) in the past. I've never installed Netscape so there was no Netscape 4.x directory to scan.
It would also be usefull to state whether its possible to create additional preferences such as plugin.scan.FlashPlayer or plugin.scan.RealPlayer that get automaticly mapped to the appropiate plugin. That might help somebody who assumed that you could manage the scanning of other plugins if you could just figure out the right name for the preference. Tanstaafl 08:17, 20 October 2006 (UTC)
- I wasn't sure what you meant by you can't control the scanning for Flash but I figured it might be the Windows registry scan for PLIDs if Flash was installed via the XPInstall method so I added a reference for that, linking to this forum post and also mentioned that Real Player plugins are found via the plugin.scan.plid.all preference. I don't know if any additional preferences control plugin scanning but I think not. For the record, the "all.js" excerpt listing plugin scanning preferences were copied from my "all.js" file and most of the information in the article was taken almost directly from http://plugindoc.mozdev.org/notes.html#Scanning and this forum post by AnonEmoose. Alice Wyman 23:55, 20 October 2006 (UTC)
Editing the all.js file
Thank you. Different question. I understand how you could edit all.js to disable scanning. However, I wouldn't expect those changes to get replicated in prefs.js and even if they were, I'd expect Firefox to silently delete them (since they're settings with default values) the next time its started. I'd also expect all.js to get silently replaced the next time the user upgraded.
Thats why I've never explained how to edit mailnews.js to change a setting in Thunderbird articles (I have explained how they can look at the default preferences in that file to help them identify what preference does what, but told them not to edit that file). I understand all the caveats that this is for advanced users. But why document how to change it that way in the first place if the setting is transient? That seems like its setting them up for a fall (though you could argue that if they are advanced they should know that without somebody having to tell them). Or is my assumption that Firefox behaves similarly to Thunderbird due to common code a bad assumption? Sorry if I'm nit-picking. Tanstaafl 08:05, 21 October 2006 (UTC)
- First let me say that I'm still learning this stuff as I go along and don't claim to be an expert. That being said, as I understand it: Changes made to the "all.js" are not really transient in that those become the new "default" settings (and therefore not reflected in the prefs.js). If you are saying that the all.js settings are not permanent because the file is replaced with a new version the next time the program is upgraded, I would agree, except for maybe in-place partial program updates that may not replace the file. I documented editng the all.js for advanced users only since there may be cases where you wish to edit preferences for all current and future users, as mentioned at the end of this article. After looking at it from your angle I agree that users should not edit the default preferences and should instead modify the preferences in the profile using about:config. I updated the article and left just a link to the forum post on editing the all.js, as a reference. Alice Wyman 12:50, 21 October 2006 (UTC)
Forum feedback
disabling Plugin scanning gotcha
Bruce12345 Guest Posted: 30 Aug 2007
I've was trying to disable "Plugin scanning" by using the edit all.js method in the article http://kb.mozillazine.org/Plugin_scanning and it wasn't working for me. I eventually found out why. The reason is
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the-edmeister Posted: 30 Aug 2007
| I don't know why the original author of the KB article spent so much time talking about all.js, but as mentioned in the last paragraph {which appears to be a recent addition/correction} - Disabling the plugin scan - the "correct" method is either thru about:config or a user.js file, so that the setting is in your user Profile and will sustain after program updates. <snip> |
Based on the above forum feedback I'll reorganize the article to place the all.js information at the end and note that it's for information only. Alice 22:13, 31 August 2007 (UTC)
