Extension Remove - Remnants left in about:config

[MRCS4]

When I use the Remove button in the Add-ons tab and then restart, are remnants expected to remain in about:config?

If so, is there an easy way to clean it without resetting everything, or is it as tedious to clean as the Windows registry?

[JustOff]

is it as tedious to clean as the Windows registry?

This is a fairly accurate analogy.

[billmcct]

You can use this add-on to cleanup leftovers in preferences you have now:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefo ... /ecleaner/
Careful what you delete.

You can use this add-on to cleanup leftovers as the extensions are removed for future removals:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefo ... uninstall/
You will have to right click the "Add to Firefox" button and chose "save link as".

Bill

[riiis]

If so, is there an easy way to clean it without resetting everything, or is it as tedious to clean as the Windows registry?

Cleaning out your preferences file (via the ui "about:config" or directly in "prefs.js"), of remnants of uninstalled add-ons, is fairly simple, but generally not necessary. Remnants are harmless, unless and until they bloat your profile to such an extent that browser performance is adversely affected.

To find remnants using "about:config", click the "Status" column title in "about:config" until "user set" preferences are at the top. Then, enter "extensions." in the "Search:" textbox. Then, if necessary, scroll back to the top of "about:config". Scroll down the "user set" preferences. Right-click any preferences for uninstalled add-ons, and click "reset". Preferences for uninstalled add-ons will change to string preferences with a blank value. These preferences will be deleted when Pale Moon is restarted.

Extensions generally prefix their preferences with "extensions.", but are not required to do so. Accordingly, after going through the "extensions." preferences above, remove "extensions." from the "Search:" textbox. Scan the remaining "user set" preferences for uninstalled extensions. Then reset these preferences as well.

Directly editing "prefs.js" can be done, but is not recommended. Very bad things can happen, if done incorrectly. Accordingly, I've only done so, reluctantly, for uninstalled add-ons such as "Speed Dial", that set enormous numbers of "user set" preferences.

I do not recommend using "eCleaner", careful or not careful.

[MRCS4]

Thanks to the both of you for your suggestions, and to JustOff for his prescient comment. What a pain. Some of the extensions also had entries under the GUID and some had entries with the author's name. I'll know in the future not to be so blasé about installing extensions.

For most people, as you say, it is not a problem. In my case, however, I do a lot of customization (some being original work), which is how I discovered the problem in the first place. I had tried out 3 Zoom extensions, with two having the same name, and uninstalled 2 of them. Trying to figure out what was what was a real mess. Unfortunately I'm now going to have to treat extensions like any other software and try them out on my backup/testbed copy first.