Mozilla General FAQ

1. Is there a Calendar component available. Where can I get it?
2. Where can I find language packs?
3. How can I setup Mozilla to autodial in Windows?
4. How do I stop Mozilla from activating the auto-connect in Windows?
5. What are command line arguments; and which ones are available when starting Mozilla?
6. How do I change the splash screen at startup(Windows only)?
7. How do I uninstall an extension?
8. How do I use different icons for each component(Windows only)?
9. How do I change the URL Mozilla goes to, when I click on the throbber?
10. How do I change the throbber graphic in the top right corner?
11. How do I remove the grippies on the left side of each toolbar?
12. How do I reverse the direction of items on the status bar? (component bar on the right)
13. How do I style the text in the window menus?
14. How do I prevent others from using the "Show Passwords" button on my profile?
15. Can I decode the password file?
16. I found a "timebomb" preference in my prefs.js. What is it for?
17. How do I make "About Mozilla" open in a popup, rather than a new browser window?
18. How do I completely uninstall Mozilla on Windows?

1. Is there a Calendar component available. Where can I get it?

Yes. The Calendar is a third party project developed at mozilla.org.
Go to http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/ to install it.

2. Where can I find language packs?

http://www.mozilla.org/projects/l10n/mlp_status.html#contrib

3. How can I setup Mozilla to autodial in Windows?

In Windows 98, open the Control Panel (Start -> Settings -> Control Panel). Double-click Internet Options. Select the Connections tab. Set the dial option to "Dial whenever a network connection is not present". Also, select one of the dialup connections and press the "Set Default" button.

In Windows 2000/XP open the Control Panel (Start -> Settings -> Control Panel). Double-click Administrative Tools. Double-click Services. Look for the following services:

* Remote Access Connection Manager
* Remote Access Auto Connection Manager
* Telephony

Set all those services to automatic.

If that doesn't appear to work, set to the preference network.autodial-helper.enabled to true.

4. How do I stop Mozilla from activating the auto-connect in Windows?

If you want to turn on auto-connect for other Internet clients but turn it off for Mozilla, enter about:config in the Location Bar. Find the item network.autodial-helper.enabled and set its value to false.

5. What are command line arguments; and which ones are available when starting Mozilla?

A command line argument is a command added to the end of a program file path, that controls how the program is opened.
How do you add one?

On Windows, right-click the Mozilla shortcut icon and choose Properties. In the Target input box of the Shortcut tab, put the command option after the quote, for example
"C:\Program Files\mozilla.org\Mozilla\mozilla.exe" -p myprofile.

On Linux or Unix, type the command option after the Mozilla command, for example, ./mozilla -p myprofile .

On Mac OS, create a text file with the following syntax:

type:TEXT
creator:MOZZ
containing:ARGS: -P myprofile

Syntax rules:
* Command parameters containing spaces must be enclosed in quotes; for example, "Joel User".
* Command actions are not case sensitive.
* Command parameters except profile names are not case sensitive.
* Blank spaces ( ) separate commands and parameters.
* Each message option follows the syntax field=value, for example:
 o to=foo@nowhere.net
 o subject=cool page
 o attachment=www.mozilla.org
 o body=check this page
* Multiple message options are separated by comma (,), for example: "to=foo@nowhere.net,subject=cool page" . Comma separators must not follow or precede spaces ( ).

Mozilla command line arguments:

-height <value>           Set height of startup window to <value>

-h or -help               Prints this list

-installer                Start with 4.x migration window

-width <value>            Set width of startup window to <value>

-v or -version            Print Mozilla version

-CreateProfile <profile>  Create <profile>

-P <profile>              Start with <profile>

-ProfileWizard            Start with profile wizard

-ProfileManager           Start with profile manager

-SelectProfile            Start with profile selection dialog

-UILocale <locale>        Start with <locale> resources as UI Locale

-contentLocale <locale>   Start with <locale> resources as content Locale

-console                  Start Mozilla with a debugging console

-nosplash                 Disable splash screen

-quiet                    Disable splash screen

-addressbook              Start with the addressbook

-news                     Start with news

-jsconsole                Start with Javascript Console

-edit <url>               Start with editor

-chrome <url>             Load the specified chrome

-mail                     Start with mail

-compose <url>            Start with messenger compose

-browser                  Start with browser

6. How do I change the splash screen at startup(Windows only)?

Put a picture in BMP format in your Mozilla program folder (where mozilla.exe is) and name it "mozilla.bmp".

7. How do I uninstall an extension?

Sometimes extensions will have an uninstall button, somewhere in the preferences menu. In such cases, it is best to use that. In cases where you'd like to remove an extension, that does not have an uninstaller, you can install the Extension Uninstaller extension.

8. How do I use different icons for each component(Windows only)?

All the icons are available in \mozilla.org\Mozilla\chrome\icons\default\
To change an icon for a specific shortcut, right-click on the shortcut and select "Properties", then click on "Change Icon".

9. How do I change the URL Mozilla goes to, when I click on the throbber?

There is a separate preference for the throbber in each of the components.
Enter about:config in the location bar, and press enter.
Search for either:
browser.throbber.url
messenger.throbber.url
compose.throbber.url
addressbook.throbber.url

Set the value to whatever URL you wish.

10. How do I change the throbber graphic in the top right corner?

There are two files required for a throbber. One is the still graphic, and the other is the animated graphic that is displayed when Mozilla is busy. Name them accordingly:
animthrob_single.gif
animthrob.gif
Then copy the new throbbers into your profile directory's chrome folder, and add the following lines to your userChrome.css:

#navigator-throbber
{
list-style-image : url("animthrob_single.gif") !important;
}
#navigator-throbber[busy="true"]
{
list-style-image : url("animthrob.gif") !important;
}

Actually, you can name the files whatever you like, as long as they match the names in the userChrome.css lines.

11. How do I remove the grippies on the left side of each toolbar?

Add this script in your userChrome.css (See Editing Config Files):

toolbargrippy { display: none; }

12. How do I reverse the direction of items on the status bar? (component bar on the right)

Add this script in your userChrome.css (See Editing Config Files):

#status-bar {direction: rtl;}
#status-bar > * {direction: ltr;}

13. How do I style the text in the window menus?

Add this script in your userChrome.css (See Editing Config Files):

menupopup > * {
font-size: 9pt !important;
}

Of course, you can change "9pt" to whatever size you want; as well as add more style scripts.

14. How do I prevent others from using the "Show Passwords" button on my profile?

Go to Edit -> Preferences -> Privacy & Security -> Master Password, and set a Master Password. Whenever the "Show Passwords" button is clicked on, the user will be prompted to enter the master password.

You can also hide the button, by adding the following script to your userChrome.css (See Editing Config Files):

#togglePasswords {display: none !important;}

15. Can I decode the password file?

http://www.holgermetzger.de/moz-passwords.html

16. I found a "timebomb" preference in my prefs.js. What is it for?

When in the "beta" period, if a user did not update to the latest version, the Time Bomb would go off after 90 days and disable certain features, etc. The TimeBomb now does nothing at all and is quite harmless. Users can remove the line from their prefs.js, and it will stay gone.

17. How do I make "About Mozilla" open in a popup, rather than a new browser window?

Add the following line to your user.js file:

user_pref("browser.show_about_as_stupid_modal_window", true);

Or you can enter about:config in the location bar.
Search for the preference browser.show_about_as_stupid_modal_window.
Modify the value to true.

18. How do I completely uninstall Mozilla on Windows?

Assuming you don't have SeaMonkey or Netscape 6/7 installed...
After you uninstall via Add/Remove Programs, reboot, then delete the directories:

• C:\Program Files\mozilla.org
• C:\Program Files\Common Files\mozilla.org
• %APPDATA%\Mozilla
  (If you don't know what %APPDATA% is, use Windows Start -> Run, and enter %APPDATA%\Mozilla )

Then remove the files:

• C:\WINDOWS\mozver.dat
• C:\WINDOWS\MozillaUninstall.exe

Following the instructions above will remove all profile data (bookmarks, email, address book, settings, passwords, etc.).

Again, I can't stress this enough, if you have any other Mozilla based products installed, do not follow the instructions above.