Cannot install Firefox 6 extension

scooten19

I receive error message on installation :"1Password for Firefox could not be installed because Firefox cannot modify the needed file" Please advise. (this is to place icon in browser toolbar) I am on Macbook Air OS 10.6.7

scooten19

when trying to install extension for FF6 to place icon on toolbar I receive error message on installation :"1Password for Firefox could not be installed because Firefox cannot modify the needed file" Please advise.

scooten19

I have posted my question twice before with no response:

I have FF6 and cannot download the 1password extension. The error message I receive is "1Password for Firefox could not be installed because Firefox cannot modify the needed file." I gave up on FF6 as I kept reading of instability (and obviously was experiencing it)

I have downgraded to Firefox 5 and downloaded 1Password 2 (I have paid for 3) but in Preferences I am unable to tick off Firefox 5 in browser preference-it will not allow me to...nothing happens

I have followed sites to newest extensions, upgraded all versions and I am still unable to get 1P installed. PLEASE advise. i am also not available to access sites through 1password ie just clicking the login in the 1Password app...

[Deleted User]

Hello scooten19,



Would you please let us know which version of 1Password you are running which 1P add-on version you are trying to install?



As of this writing, the current version of 1Password is 3.8.1 (build #31115) & the latest FF6+ browser add-on is 3.8



Please let us know if you have updated to our latest versions, and you are still experiencing the same installation problem.



Cheers!



Brandt

Ben

I sent this to Sheba via PM as well:



Hi Sheba,



I would be happy to help with this. It sounds like you may be having some issues with Firefox extensions in general. Could you please try installing an extension other than 1Password? Any one should do, I just want to see if you are able to install any extensions at all. FlashGot is one you could try: [url="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/flashgot/?src=hp-dl-featured"]https://addons.mozil...=hp-dl-featured[/url]

You can uninstall it immediately after installing, assuming it does install. If it doesn't install, then we've got bigger problems. <img src='http://forum.agilebits.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' />



Please let me know how it turns out.



Ben

[Deleted User]

Hello scooten19,



I tracked down your other topics and merged them here.



From reading your most recent post, it appears that you are trying to use FF 5 with 1Password [u][b]2[/b][/u] for Mac. Is this correct?



1P [b]2 [/b]for Mac does [b]not[/b] support Firefox 5. You will need to reinstall 1P [b]3[/b] for Mac in order to use FF 5.



The last stable version of 1P 3 for Mac released before the addition of the FF 6 add-on was version [b]3.7.5[/b] [b](build 31106)[/b]. You may use the following link to download that version to your computer: [url="http://aws.cachefly.net/dist/1P/mac/1Password-3.7.5.zip"]1P 3.7.5 (build 31106)[/url]



However, if you wish to try FF 6 again, please note that you [b]must[/b] be running at least 1P 3 for Mac version [b]3.8.1 (build 31115)[/b], which is the latest release, as of this writing. You may download 3.8.1 by using 1Password > Check for Updates in the 1P application menu. Alternatively, you may use the direct download link: [url="http://aws.cachefly.net/dist/1P/mac/1Password-3.8.1.zip"]3.8.1 (build 31115)[/url]



Please follow up with Ben via the Personal Message (PM) he sent you, and/or reply here with additional information.



We are here to help you, and we all want you up and running as quickly as possible.



Brandt

Wayne Dickson

Found this answer in the Firefox forum. I still don't know how to fix it, but this might be a start for those more knowledgeable than I:



That means that the extension lacks the required <em:unpack>true</em:unpack> line in the file install.rdf to make sure that the file gets unpacked after installing.

Firefox 4 and later no longer unpacks an extension automatically, but renames the XPI file to the ID of the extension and copies that file to the extensions folder in the Firefox Profile Folder.[list]

[*][url="http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox"]http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox[/url]

[/list][list]

[*][url="https://developer.mozilla.org/en/install_manifests#unpack"]https://developer.mozilla.org/en/install_manifests#unpack[/url]

[*][url="https://developer.mozilla.org/En/Updating_extensions_for_Firefox_4.0#XPI_unpacking"]https://developer.mozilla.org/En/Updating_extensions_for_Firefox_4.0#XPI_unpacking[/url]

[/list]

Wayne Dickson

I haven't heard back re my post just above. I thought it might help if I followed the links and shared the relevant info provided there. Frankly, I don't know what this jargon means, but I'm sure someone here will know what to make of it.



I'm using version 3.8.5 (build 31141) of 1Pass and 7.0 of Firefox. (I had the same problem with version 6, however.)



If nothing else, I'm learning how much I depend on 1Password and how often I use it during a typical online session!



This is from the 2nd link above:



[b] unpack[/b]



[size=1]New in [url="https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Firefox_4_for_developers"]Firefox 4[/url][/size] A true or false value that tells the application whether the extension requires its files be unpacked into a directory in order to work or whether the extension can be loaded direct from the XPI. In versions before Gecko 2.0 all extensions were unpacked, in Gecko 2.0 and later the default is to not unpack. If an extension includes the following then it must request unpacking:[list]

[*]Binary [url="https://developer.mozilla.org/en/XPCOM"]XPCOM[/url] components

[*][url="https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Shipping_a_plugin_as_a_Toolkit_bundle"]Plugins[/url]

[*][url="https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Creating_MozSearch_plugins"]Search plugins[/url]

[*]DLLs loaded with [url="https://developer.mozilla.org/en/js-ctypes"]ctypes[/url]

[*]Dictionaries

[*]Window icons

[/list]

[b]Examples[/b]<Description about="urn:mozilla:install-manifest"> <em:id>extension@mysite.com</em:id> <em:unpack>true</em:unpack> ...</Description>This is from the third:

[b] XPI unpacking[/b]



Firefox 4 [url="https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=533038"]no longer extracts XPIs[/url] when installing extensions. It just places the XPI file in the user profile, and then reads the chrome files and others directly out of the XPI. A jar inside the XPI still works, but is no longer necessary, so that can make your development or build easier. This was done mainly for performance reasons on slow OSes, and allows better cache invalidation, which also helps developers. However, not all kinds of files can be read from within the XPI yet, so if your extension uses one of those, you need to specify [url="https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Install_Manifests#unpack"]<em:unpack>[/url] in your install.rdf to cause Firefox to still extract your XPI and use single files, otherwise your extension will fail when trying to access these files.

If your extension only contains these types of files then you do not need to make any changes:[list]

[*]install.rdf

[*]chrome.manifest

[*]chrome (including content, locale, skin)

[*]default preferences

[*]XPCOM components written in JavaScript

[/list]

If your extension contains any of the following then you will need to include <em:unpack> in the install.rdf:[list]

[*]Binary XPCOM components

[*]Shared libraries loaded with ctypes

[*]searchplugins/ (which are supposed to be loaded automatically by Firefox)

[*]dictionaries/

[*]Window icons (might get [url="https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=595462"]fixed[/url])

[/list]

If your extension code accesses other files that you have packaged in the XPI then you will either need to include <em:unpack> in the install.rdf or you may be able to support packed installation by making some changes to your code. Any code that used getInstallLocation() and nsIFile will either need em:unpack or needs to be changed. You can use the method [url="https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Addons/Add-on_Manager/Addon#getResourceURI%28%29"]Addon.getResourceURI()[/url], it will return an [url="https://developer.mozilla.org/en/XPCOM_Interface_Reference/nsIURI"]nsIURI[/url] pointing to the requested file. If the extension is unpacked then it will be a file:// URI. If the extension is packed then it will be a jar:// URI. You can open streams to these URIs by opening a channel using the [url="https://developer.mozilla.org/en/XPCOM_Interface_Reference/nsIIOService"]nsIIOService[/url] which will allow you to load the files contents without any unpacking.