5 Minute Tips General How and When to Update Firefox | How and When to Update Firefox |
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| Wednesday, 20 April 2005 | ||
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Last April, we wrote an article on how to update the Mozilla Firefox browser. The article was one of our most popular. However, the process has improved so we thought we’d update the instructions and resources. And for those people using earlier versions, we kept previous portions. That’s our hint for you holdouts that you really should upgrade your browser.
Your browser is probably one of the most essential pieces of software you regularly use. It also happens to be one of those items people avoid upgrading unless there is a good reason. I thoroughly understand as with previous upgrades people may have lost bookmarks and extensions. If you’ve been reluctant to upgrade from a 1.0.x version to a 1.5.x version, I would encourage you. Firefox 1.5 is more secure than the 1.0 versions.
I found this most recent upgrade from Firefox 1.5 to 1.5.0.1 to be easier and smoother than ever. This is the first release since they added the software update feature. Perhaps, the most noticeable difference was that it was hard to escape the software update notice. While doing online research, the following dialog appeared on my screen. The message clearly identified the new version number and a link to the release notes. This dialog appeared as I had set my preferences to automatically check for updates.  Click to enlarge How to Set Firefox 1.5 Update options,1. From the Tools menu, select Options…. 2. Click the Advanced icon on the far right side. 3. Click the Update tab. 4. Adjust the checkboxes to suit your preferences. 5. Click OK.  Click to enlarge Although I appreciate knowing about the automatic installation option, I don’t use it. I prefer to have the program ask me what I want to do. I prefer to read the Release Notes and to see if any of my essential extensions will be incompatible. The release notes are a great help as they can inform you of known issues beforehand like problem PDF files. Sometimes I need to make a trade off between upgrading the browser and losing functionality because an extension won't work. You can always go the Firefox Extensions page to research beforehand if the version is compatible with the recent build. In this recent update, I was willing to lose a few extensions for the benefits of this release. I suspect that two of the three flagged extensions will be upgraded shortly by the developer based on previous experience. Others may look at my extensions and decide to wait for an upgrade.  Click to enlarge Aside from the known extension issue, the install went smoothly. As instructed, I restarted Firefox and was taken to a completion message.  Click to enlarge Problems with UpgradesI wish I could say all software installs smoothly, but it doesn’t. All software has the potential for problems for many reasons. Sometimes, it’s your computer and other times it may be what else is running. If you do run into problems, there is an excellent resource in the mozillaZine Knowledgebase called Standard Diagnostic (Firefox). It outlines steps to take to troubleshoot your problem. The same group also has a Firefox forum where people can post their issues. Often, your question has already been asked and answered. If you're still using older 1.0.x BrowsersHow Can I tell if an Update is Available?By default, Firefox alerts you to software and extension updates by displaying one of three arrows in the top right portion of your browser. An extension is software that you add to the browser that adds or enhances some functionality such as spell checking. In the picture below, you can see an example of a red update arrow. Some people link Updates with the Up arrow. The color of the arrow is significant:  Click to enlarge Red arrow = critical updates
You can obtain the Firefox browser updates several ways. If you click the update arrow, Firefox opens a dialog that displays more information. In the example below, I'm alerted to a critical software update as well as an update for an extension I've installed. Since this is a critical update, Firefox has pre-selected the option for me. To install, I simply click the Install Now button. I can repeat the process to install my extensions.  Click to enlarge Some people reported that they didn't see any update arrows on the web browser. One reason is that the update servers might be experiencing problems. On our notebook, the red arrow didn't appear until a day after the update was posted to the product page. You should also verify you have the update feature enabled. To check your Firefox Update settings,1. From the Tools menu, select Options…. 2. Click the Advanced icon on the left side of the Options dialog 3. Scroll down to the Software Update section 4. Adjust the checkboxes to suit your preferences.  Click to enlarge You'll also notice from the above picture that you can click the Check Now button to see if updates are available. If the browser shows an update, but it doesn't download the file, you may not have changed the default update settings. To check your Firefox Update settings, 1. From the Tools menu, select Options…. 2. Click the Web Features icon on the left side of the Options dialog 3. Make sure the option Allow web sites to install software is checked. 4. Click the button to the right labeled Allowed Sites. 5. Make sure update.mozilla.org is set for Allow. 6. Click OK. Another update option is to go to the Firefox product page. In the top portion of the page, you should see a reference to free download and the current version number. This page has the added benefit of providing a link to the Release Notes. These notes often provide helpful information on installing or upgrading the software. We've been using the latest version since Monday and didn't experience any issues. Your experience also depends on which extensions you also have installed, as some may not work with the newer release. However, given the security nature of this release, we would suggest you install the software even if it means the extension becomes disabled for a short while. Referenced Resources:Firefox Product Page: http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/
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| Last Updated ( Saturday, 14 July 2007 ) | ||
