Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition

multiple issues
notability = July 2008
advert = July 2008
primarysources = July 2008 infobox software

developer = PortableApps.com
latest_release_version = 3.0.3
latest_release_date = release date|2008|09|29
operating_system = Windows, Linux,Mac with Wine
genre = Web browser
license = MPL, MPL/GPL/LGPL tri-license
website = [http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/firefox_portable Firefox Portable Website]

Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition (formerly known as Portable Firefox and commonly known as Firefox Portable) is a repackaged version of Mozilla Firefox created by John T. Haller. The program is included in the PortableApps Suite available at their website. [ [http://portableapps.com/suite PortableApps.com Suite] ] The application allows Firefox to be run from a USB flash drive, CDROM or other portable device on any Windows computer, Mac OS X computer or Linux/UNIX computer running Wine. The program does not require Firefox to be installed on the computer, nor does it leave personal information on the computer or interfere with any installed versions of Firefox, though installation on a hard drive is possible.

The current stable release is version 3.0.3, released on September 29, 2008. It is compatible with 2000, XP and Vista as well as Wine on UNIX-based systems. However, version 3 has serious compatibility issues with WinPE XP and BartPE XP. Nevertheless, version 2.0.0.14, which is still available, is compatible with Windows 98, Me, and PE XP.

Changes from Mozilla Firefox

Firefox Portable retains all of Mozilla Firefox's abilities such as extensions and automatic updating. However, modifications have been made to the default settings to reduce the number of writes to the flash drive. The cache and browser history were previously disabled under the release of 2.0 (Firefox Portable's ability to delete cookies and the download history on exit is not enabled by default as per a licensing agreement with Mozilla).

Personal settings, bookmarks, plugins such as Flash and Shockwave, and any installed extensions and themes are stored on the flash drive along with Firefox Portable. As well as for personal use, Firefox Portable can be used to demonstrate the features of Mozilla Firefox to various audiences.

Features

* PortableApps.com Launcher - Firefox Portable Launcher is included. It performs a number of functions including: adjustment of paths to external programs (mime types), adjustment of paths to local homepages, intelligent recreation of the component registry as you move drives, backup/restore of certain registry keys in certain instances, cleaning of folders and directories in certain instances, adjustment of some extension setting paths making non-portable extensions portable.
* Default Profile - A default profile exists within the firefox directory with setting to improve portability.
* No Default Browser Check - Firefox won't check to see if it is the default browser on startup.
* Download Prompt - Firefox will ask where to save downloads.
* No Disk Cache - The browser disk cache has been disabled to decrease disk size and the number of writes to the disk, increasing disk life.
* Update Prompt - As updating the browser on a flash drive can be very slow, Firefox Portable asks you if you'd like to update rather than doing it automatically.
* PortableApps.com Format - Firefox Portable is packaged in PortableApps.com Format with a PortableApps.com Installer. It allows for easy installation to a portable device, detection of existing installs of the PortableApps.com Platform, in-place upgrades allowing you to install a new version right over your existing one and tight integration with the PortableApps.com Menu.

See also

* Mozilla Firefox
* PortableApps.com

References

*http://portableapps.com/support/firefox_portable#modifications

External links

* [http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/firefox_portable Firefox Portable Website]
* [http://www.fastfirefox.com Fast Firefox Portable Website]
* [http://www.theplaceforitall.com/portablefirefox/ CrossPlatform Mac OS X and Windows Portable Firefox.] - Not regularly updated
* [http://digitalhymn.com/projects/porfire/ Portable Firefox CX] , Mac OS X *only* version with Cocoa GUI. Useful also to keep multiple copies of Firefox and to switch multiple profiles. Not regularly updated.