Manually Install Flash
 

For some reason my browser (Firefox 1.5) detects that I am missing a flash plugin for sites and asks me if it wants to install it. I say yes, it then reads me the FLASH EULA and I accept. It then fails to install and tells me to manually install it on my machine which I am not sure how to do? I used APT to install Firefox so I am not even sure where Firefox is installed under let alone how to install the flash plugin with it.

Any help would be great!

Screenshot

You can d/l the flash plugin from here
Then extract it and copy the 2 files: libflashplayer.so, flashplayer.xpt into your firefox/plugins directory

Their download link is broken (When I select "Download Now") but I will try again later. Thanks for the help on where to place the extracted files.

There's no need to copy anything. :)

After the flash installer is downloaded, it should be extracted (tar zxf installer-blah.gz) and simply running "flash-installer" in the installer directory that got created will allow you to install the plugin in whatever browsers you have installed. You don't even have to run it as root and it will installed the plugin in your home directory.

I did this over the weekend. :)

Peace...

All download sites seem to be down...

I'm downloading a LInux player right now.

Go to the main Macromedia site:

http://www.macromedia.com/

and follow the links to download the player for Linux.

Peace...

By the way the official site for Linux Flash packages is here. And if you're using Debian, you should make sure "contrib" is in your sources and just do "apt-get install flashplugin-nonfree".

OK - The link has been resolved but now I am confused. I have downloaded the flash plugin to my "Desktop" & then I extracted the file which is here...My confusion is do I run the installer from that current directory or what? I don't want to have a BS random "flash" dir in my /home directory...please advise.

At this point, type:

$ ./flashplayer-installer

Then walk through the installation process. It will install the player in the plugin directories in your home directory. Be sure to CLOSE all browsers before running this. Then start your browser and it should start wurken. :)

EDIT: Also, you do not have to be root to run this. If you switched to root just for this, no need to do so. If you always run as root....

Peace...

This is what I don't want...:tisk:

Why do I have to have a cluttered home directory with flash plugins and what when there is a specific location this should go in. Is there not a way to run the installer and have the installer put the needed plugins where they should go? I would assume somewhere in the firefox directory, no?

Thanks for any more input.

There are two specific places where browser plugins can go, either in the application directory tree or in the user's home directory.

If you run the installer as root, it will ask you (I believe) if you want to install in the browser application directory. If you run it as a user, it will install in your home directory. As for "clutter", your browser cache, cookies, and other data is stored in a hidden directory in your home directory so the plugin would be one file in that same general location. There isn't any "clutter" unique to the Flash plugin at all.

Peace...

SO, did you run the installer as root and get the plugin installed in the Firefox app directory?

Peace...

I tried running the installer as "root" because I don't want a "flash" directory in my /home directory. I know that there are hidden directories in my /home directory specified by "." however I don't see it so it does not bother me...

When I ran the installer as root it asks me...

"Please enter the installation path of the Mozilla, Netscape,
or Opera browser (i.e., /usr/lib/mozilla):"

I have no idea where the installation path for Firefox is...?

I don't know where Debian puts Firefox by default, but this command will locate it for you:

# which firefox

--or--

# find / -name firefox-bin

Peace...

I found this...

When I use that during the Flash installer, it bitches about that not being a directory...