Thanks for the support.

By the way, what is ./ for ?

I'm new so I'm not sure, still learning...

But I think it is shorthand of some sort for "bash".

I start firefox by typing "bash firefox" from within the firefox directory.

yeah, same concept as bash command.

what it actually means is the following:

.. = previous directory
. = current directory

/ (slash) always folows a directory when typing a path to a file

so, ./firefox-installer means:

in the current directory run, "firefox-installer" script

if you didn't know already, a script is the equivilent of a batch file in DOS/ windows... just much much more complex.

for some reason bash (the "shell" that most people use) knows that ./ is specifying a script. some people use the "bash" command, which does pretty much the same thing with more keystrokes.

When these guys say it's easy, they simply mean it's EASIER. nothing w/ computers is easy until you've learned it, so if you can stomache the dorks on here, bare with the OS... the more people that use it, the better it'll get! I've been trying for 7 days straight to skin GAIM so it looks like KDE. What a b****.

The ./ means to execute the file in the current directory.

For very good reasons, it is best not to have the current directory (.) in your path, so you always have to use the absolute path (or ./ if you are in the directory) to execute programs that are not in your path.

I suggest creating a symbolic link to firefox in /usr/bin (Which is in your path)
Where /path/to/firefox is wherever you installed firefox. Now you can start firefox by simply typing "firefox" (no quotes) in a shell. Also, if you create a launcher you can have the path to the executable as simply "firefox" (no quotes)

I hope this helps
--Ian

I have to tell you, most people think I'm a smart guy. I have a degree, IT experience, but anybody running linux with Firefox must be a genius!

It seemed to install okay, but where do I go to run it?

It's not on X-Windows anywhere and typing firefox in a terminal windows doesn't work.

somthing has obyously gone wrong.... mine wasnt this hard to install....

type

su
[root password here]
updatedb
locate firefox

When you installed firefox, it asked you where to install to. This was probably /usr/local/firefox. Change to /usr/local, and see if it there. If it is, then the firefox executable will be /usr/local/firefox/firefox. Try running this program, and if it works, try my solution above for adding a sym link.

--Ian

Okay, I got it to work.

I installed it into the /usr directory and executed it by typing ./firefox.

Now, how do I make it show up in the start menu under my available browsers in KDE?

1st thing is to create the symbolic link to firefox as a suggested above. This way you can start firefox simply by typing "firefox" at a terminal.

To add firefox to the K-Menu, right click on the K-Menu Icon, and select "K-Menu Editor." Then simply create a launcher where you want. The ecexcutable is simply "firefox", you don't need to specify the full path.

You can also add a firefox icon to the panel and / or desktop in a similar way. Right Click on the desktop or panel and select New Launcher - again the executable is simply firefox

I hope this helps
--Ian

ive recently installed firefox so heres what i did, there is an i586 rpm available for it now but heres what i would do with a tar file:
in a console goto the directory u downloaded firefox to and type this:
gunzip firefox.tar.gz (only if it has gz after it)
This will then create a file called:
firefox.tar
U then use this command to extract the files to a folder
tar -xf firefox.tar
Most likely, it will create a directory called firefox, open it up then type this:
./configure
That command will configure firefox for ur system, once it has been completed then type;
make
Note: all this must be done if the firefox directory or will not work
Once make has finished type:
make install
This will complete the install process, i would reccommend ending any sessions and restarting them (just log out then log back in) then hopefully u will c firefox in the menu under Internet>Web Browsers
hope it works for u cya

I am new to Linux too. Got through all the dual booting installation mess and now I have SuSE 9.1 running together with XP. I thought I could learn it without help but now I need some.

I downloaded firefox-1.0.installer.tar.gz and untarred the file. I installed Firefox (and deleted it) several times, either using the ./firefox-installer command or by double-clicking on the script file included in the installation routine. The installer runs as I guess it should and I manage to install Firefox in the folder I want. But...

1) I cannot seem to know how to run Firefox unless I move to the folder where it was installed and click on the Firefox scrip file. If I just make a copy of this file and move it to another folder, clicking on it does nothing. How can I create a "shortcut" in my desktop? Do shortcuts exist in Linux? Perhaps I am being too fool.

2) How can I add Firefox to my applications menu (the place where all the applications are put into by the SuSE installer)? I mean, in Windows the Start > Programs menu is nothing but a folder with shortcuts in it. Is it the same in Linux? If yes, where are they? I have been looking in vain for a while.

3) What is the best book I can read if I want to LEARN about linux commands and scripting?

Thanks for any advice you might have.


EDIT: Apologies!. Obviously I did not read till the end of this post. Some of my question have been answered by people like Ian. I will try them before opening my mouth further.

That depends what desktop you use. There are several desktop environments in Linux. I only know Gnome. In Gnome, right click on the desktop and choose create launcher. For command fill in the full path to the firefox script.
If you're using Gnome, open the menu you want to add it to, right click on an item on that menu and go down to "Entire Menu"> Add New Item To This Menu

Just a little feedback:

I basically followed the recommendations provided by IBall (Ian) and everything worked fine. Actually was so easy that I feel ashamed I could not figure it out myself.

Summarizing from what I learned:

1) Use the "/usr/ " path (for the installation) if the program should be accessed by other users.

2) Create the symbolic link in /usr/bin

3) Add the program to the K-Menu or any other place

Regards