Editing the list in about:plugins - Is it possible?
 

Kernel 2.6.21.5, slackware 12.0
Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.4
Seamonkey 1.1.2

Hi:
Under any of Firefox or Seamonkey web browsers, if I type the URL about:plugins, a list of the installed (I assume they mean "installed in my machine") plugins appears. How do you do if you want to edit that list. Say, to disable a mime type or just delete it from the list? Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

In Firefox, configuration of plugins is done in the main preferences > applications tab. You can also disable a plugin entirely in the add-ons window.

The "about:" screens themselves are generally there for simple information display purposes only.

I haven't used Seamonkey in a long time, but it's probably similar.

IDK about about:plugins but I have done plenty of tinkering in about:config

Actually, in Preferences>Content>File types>Manage (Firefox 2.0.0.4), I only have what has been downloaded by means of Firefox download manager.
I mean, only those file types. It's not possible, there, to add a new type (whereas in Seamonkey and also in Preferences you can).

In the add-ons window I have themes and extensions listed, but no plugins. Thank you very much for your reply, David the H.

No, it's not possible to manually add mime-types to the list. FF will only show ones it's encountered before. The devs apparently decided it was a non-essential function or too likely to cause problems for end-users or something. Once upon a time there was an extension that added it back, but it's been non-functional for a long time now. I don't know if anyone else has created a replacement.

It's likely possible to use about:config to add new types, but I've never looked into it myself.

Thanks you for these "things behind the curtains". Well, as I am certain there must be a solution, I'll keep trying to find it.

Meanwhile, thanks for your posts and regards.

I did a little snooping, and this page has a general run-down of mime-types in mozilla browsers. At least up to FF3.

http://kb.mozillazine.org/File_types...wnload_actions

Whereas this page goes into detail on how the mime-types are stored and tracked.

http://kb.mozillazine.org/MimeTypes.rdf

I used the info in that page to manually add a mime entry of my own.

First, shut down the browser and open up the mimeTypes.rdf file from your profile in a text editor.

Find this section:

Add your desired mime-type to the list:
Then create a new section like this somewhere in the file. Be careful not to break up any existing entries, and make sure the name is the same as above:
This appears to be the minimum necessary to make the entry show up in the FF preferences.

Save the file and re-start your browser. After that you should be able to use the gui to configure the actions it will take.

I haven't yet tested it out on a real file of the new type though, so I don't know for sure if the added mime-type is handled correctly yet.

Thank you very much, David the H. I was meanwhile studying the formal structure of these xml files. I saw that, as in C or Pascal, the text is divided and subdivided in blocks, children blocks and so on until reaching a leaf block (= statement).

OrAnd familiarized as I am with the famous slash in the end pair of square brackets of [quote]text[quote], plus having inserted blank lines between the outer blocks, I readily saw the structure. Only a begining, indeed.

I tell you this, because at somebody's suggestion, I inserted a block (of lines) that he posted me, but I did not know at what position in the file to insert it. However, the experiment ended in failure. The reason could have been that I did not put anything in between the RDF:Seg lines.

Also, I have received many good will posts, in threads more or less related to this one, with links refering to standards and specifications.

But, at last, I shall be able to experiment with a sound basis. Please, hold on until I let you know about results. Regards.

Hi, and forgive me. But a terrible doubt assaults me. You saidI supposed it is then the file in /home/semoi/.mozilla/firefox/u88mwxdz.default/mimeTypes.rdf. But what about the paths containing /profile/ as an element? Regards.

The ones in your home directory are your personal profiles. You'd have to modify, or copy over, the mimeTypes.rdf for each profile you want the changes to appear in.

The ones in /usr/lib are, as the path says, the default files. You could modify these too, and any new profiles you create will then also likely have the same entries, at least until the next time you update the browser and new default files are installed over them.

Hi, David the H. I was just about to post you when I was brought to examine the matter of "which of the many mimiTypes.rdf files" more closely. As a result, I will continue testing.

Of course, by the time I'll come to some result and will be able to come with new questions, you'll have forgotten the whole thing and, if willing, shall be force to reread the whole thread.

Well, we who ask in LQ always run that risk. Or else should study a bit more. Very kind regards.