Ubuntu Firefox Modifications

[Michael.B]

Just really curious to know what the extension "ubuntu firefox modifications" does?

[MmmmJoel]

Just really curious to know what the extension "ubuntu firefox modifications" does?

It allows users to install Firefox add-ons through the Ubuntu package manager.

[uvdevnull]

It allows users to install Firefox add-ons through the Ubuntu package manager.

Joel, is that really all it does?

[SunnyRabbiera]

Joel, is that really all it does?

I think it also helps the update process

[pi.boy.travis]

It helps with integrating Fx with the rest of the system. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it is also responsible for GNOME-ish looking UI.

[frankvw]

Joel, is that really all it does?

No. It also breaks the toolbars of certain extensions, or combinations thereof. A good example is Tab Mix Plus and the Web Developer Toolbar; the buttons on the Web Developer Toolbar disappear and cannot be restored until the Ubuntu Firefox Modifications extension is disabled.

// Frank

[HungryMan]

The annoying "switch page direction" feature

[rootsonwings]

Nevermind, i installed the mozilla version.

[natrik]

No. It also breaks the toolbars of certain extensions, or combinations thereof. A good example is Tab Mix Plus and the Web Developer Toolbar; the buttons on the Web Developer Toolbar disappear and cannot be restored until the Ubuntu Firefox Modifications extension is disabled.

// Frank

I found the same thing on my system, just after doing a recent (Mid-April 2009) distribution upgrade from Hardy to Intrepid. (Ugh, and now Jaunty is released!)

Anyway, I was like WHERE DID ALL MY BUTTONS GO? ... I couldn't access any of my Firefox extensions. I got lucky enough to start at the bottom of the plugins list disabling things, and found out that way. My "text formatting toolbar" (for bbcode etc) and Web Developer toolbars were available, but had NO BUTTONS.

Also, I could not get to ANY of my extensions' icons in the window you get from <right click menubar> -> Customize.

SO WHY THE UBUNTU MODIFICATIONS IN THE FIRST PLACE?

It's my understanding that this plugin integrates the Ubuntu repositories with the "Help > Check for updates" menu item in Firefox, which is now grayed out on my system.
If it has other functions, community please advise!

I DID just now get a notice from Update Manager that a new version of Firefox is available. It upgraded just fine - I'm using it now to type this.

Disabling the Ubuntu modifications, I got back my:
AdBlock Plus
NoScript
Tabs Mix Plus
Web Developer Toolbar
Text Formatting Toolbar
Forecastbar Enhanced (a better Forecastfox)
Greasemonkey et al.
DownThemAll
DownloadHelper
and possibly others.

--Nate

[wyth]

Just in case anyone is still looking for an answer to what Ubuntu Firefox Modifications are --

The package is called ubufox, and it's in the repositories. It just serves to provide a little tighter integration, including apt support (apturl), but isn't absolutely necessary. I came across this thread when looking for why the add-on/package doesn't work with the ppa version of Firefox 3.5, and I've learned that it isn't a problem if it isn't installed.

Here's the description from the packages page:

Ubuntu Firefox specific configuration defaults and apt support

Extension package for Firefox provides ubuntu specific configuration defaults as well as apt support for firefox plugins/extensions.

You can uninstall this package if you prefer to use a pristine firefox install.