PM plugin compatibility

Add-ons for Pale Moon and other applications
General discussion, compatibility, contributed extensions, themes, plugins, and more.

Moderators: FranklinDM, Lootyhoof

chumley

PM plugin compatibility

Unread post by chumley » 2012-07-12, 03:38

Since PM is no longer following the same version numbering as FF, how do we determine plugin compatibility with PM? If a plugin says it requires a certain version of FF, does PM also have to have the same version to be compatible?

As an example, I currently have PM version 12.2.1. FF is currently at version 13.0.1. This plugin is one that I use all the time:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefo ... ry-button/

I can't install the latest version of that plugin in PM because the plugin page says "not available for Firefox 12.2.1".

Is it truly incompatible with PM 12.2.1, or is the addon page just confused because there never was a version 12.2.1 of FF?

Thanks

User avatar
satrow
Forum staff
Forum staff
Posts: 1884
Joined: 2011-09-08, 11:27

Re: PM plugin compatibility

Unread post by satrow » 2012-07-12, 05:00

You can install it, click the greyed out button and you'll see a popup allowing you to install anyway. After a few days of testing, you should be able to report to the author, and back here, of your results.

megaman

Re: PM plugin compatibility

Unread post by megaman » 2012-07-12, 05:08

Also, if you go to the developer's site, you can get the .xpi and manually install it.

http://forum.palemoon.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=987

We might not have the same numbering scheme but we will continue going up in numbers.

chumley

Re: PM plugin compatibility

Unread post by chumley » 2012-07-13, 01:05

Thanks for the tips. Neither seems applicable to the plugin I mentioned. The "install anyway" option returns an error, and I don't see the .xpi on the developer's site.

It's not a big deal for this addon, since the previous version 1.7 still works great with PM 12.2.1. I was more curious in general how to determine addon compatibility with PM.

I think the general answer is that if an addon requires a particular version of FF, then it would also require PM to have that same version number (or newer). In the case of the addon I mentioned above, since it requires FF 13, then it should be compatible with PM version 14 or 15, whatever the next major release is. This makes sense because the version number of PM reflects the major version of FF that PM was derived from.

If I'm wrong about this, someone correct me please.

Thanks

User avatar
Moonchild
Pale Moon guru
Pale Moon guru
Posts: 35474
Joined: 2011-08-28, 17:27
Location: Motala, SE
Contact:

Re: PM plugin compatibility

Unread post by Moonchild » 2012-07-13, 07:08

Add-ons are by default set "compatible" unless there is a specific reason that it will only work on a certain application version.
If you add-on *required* Firefox 13, then it will not run on Pale Moon 12.x versions because that is based on the toolkit/Gecko engine v12.

Pale Moon application versions will no longer reflect the major number version of Firefox (since v12.0). Internally, the "toolkit version" and gecko revisions will be kept in line with Firefox to retain compatibility with add-on versions. In other words: if an add-on site checks for compatibility and says it's not compatible, there are large chances that it is, indeed, not compatible. You may have to use an older version of the add-on in that case.
"Sometimes, the best way to get what you want is to be a good person." -- Louis Rossmann
"Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past; wisdom is of the future." -- Native American proverb
"Linux makes everything difficult." -- Lyceus Anubite

billnotben

Re: PM plugin compatibility

Unread post by billnotben » 2012-07-13, 10:21

I always use flashgot to download addons before installing them.

With flashgot you just right click on the button and select "flashgot link".

It downloads fine on that "History Button" addon.

megaman

Re: PM plugin compatibility

Unread post by megaman » 2012-07-13, 14:26

billnotben offers a great alternative, but keep in mind that this is only until Pale Moon gets its update. If the add-on still functions well, while using the older version, then you are good-to-go for a temporary time.

billnotben

Re: PM plugin compatibility

Unread post by billnotben » 2012-07-13, 14:32

I also find that way of doing things means I can easily put the same addons on another machine. Or when my brother pops around and likes the addons I'm using I can just put them on a memory stick for him.

I expect some updates are irrelevant and don't really change the addons workings as they are probably only made to accommodate some change in FF13.

chumley

Re: PM plugin compatibility

Unread post by chumley » 2012-07-13, 17:32

Thanks for all the responses. I think I understand now.

Moonchild,
IMHO, think it would be helpful if the version number of PM did continue to reflect the toolkit/Gecko engine version. For example, if the next major version of PM is based on toolkit/Gecko version 15, then the PM version could jump from 12.x to 15.x. The .x part of the version would still be specific to PM, but the major version number would line up with FF. This would make it easier to determine addon compatibility just by looking at the PM version. In general, I think it would be helpful because it would make the relationship between FF and PM versions more obvious.

Thanks

User avatar
Moonchild
Pale Moon guru
Pale Moon guru
Posts: 35474
Joined: 2011-08-28, 17:27
Location: Motala, SE
Contact:

Re: PM plugin compatibility

Unread post by Moonchild » 2012-07-13, 18:47

chumley wrote:Thanks for all the responses. I think I understand now.

Moonchild,
IMHO, think it would be helpful if the version number of PM did continue to reflect the toolkit/Gecko engine version. For example, if the next major version of PM is based on toolkit/Gecko version 15, then the PM version could jump from 12.x to 15.x. The .x part of the version would still be specific to PM, but the major version number would line up with FF. This would make it easier to determine addon compatibility just by looking at the PM version. In general, I think it would be helpful because it would make the relationship between FF and PM versions more obvious.

Thanks
You actually make a really good point.
Since the application ID of Pale Moon is the same as Firefox (for compatibility reasons, add-ons for Firefox include the Firefox ID for the target application), the app version has to be in line with the Firefox toolkit version or add-ons will get confused about being compatible or not if their minimum required version is very recent (max version is not necessarily a problem). Most add-ons check app version, not toolkit version, because they are not written to be used cross-application (e.g. on different xulrunner apps).
"Sometimes, the best way to get what you want is to be a good person." -- Louis Rossmann
"Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past; wisdom is of the future." -- Native American proverb
"Linux makes everything difficult." -- Lyceus Anubite

megaman

Re: PM plugin compatibility

Unread post by megaman » 2012-07-13, 19:19

Moonchild wrote:You actually make a really good point.
Since the application ID of Pale Moon is the same as Firefox (for compatibility reasons, add-ons for Firefox include the Firefox ID for the target application), the app version has to be in line with the Firefox toolkit version or add-ons will get confused about being compatible or not if their minimum required version is very recent (max version is not necessarily a problem). Most add-ons check app version, not toolkit version, because they are not written to be used cross-application (e.g. on different xulrunner apps).
It would resemble the actual ESR that Mozilla is doing, which is great.

dark_moon

Re: PM plugin compatibility

Unread post by dark_moon » 2012-07-13, 20:09

Or simple change the useragent, which works.

in about:config create a string with the name general.useragent.override
And paste this value:
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:12.2.1) Gecko/20120616 Firefox/13.0.1 PaleMoon/12.2.1

If you dont use windows7 then change the number after NT. 6.0 is vista, 5.1 is xp

WOW64 stand for a 64bit windows. if you have a 32bit remove this.

User avatar
Moonchild
Pale Moon guru
Pale Moon guru
Posts: 35474
Joined: 2011-08-28, 17:27
Location: Motala, SE
Contact:

Re: PM plugin compatibility

Unread post by Moonchild » 2012-07-13, 21:52

dark_moon wrote:Or simple change the useragent, which works.
Do not do this. What you are doing is fooling addons.mozilla.org into thinking that you are running Firefox 13, and it will offer add-ons that work on Firefox 13 and above for download, which will not work in pale Moon 12.x - from what I gather the add-on was changed to adjust for the UI changes in Firefox 13 so it'll break on 12, anyway.
Also, downloading it will still not allow it to be installed. The add-on will still be for toolkit/app version 13 which spoofing your user agent doesn't magically "fix".

Instead, at the bottom of the add-on page, open the "version information" panel, then click "see complete version history" which will take you to the list of add-on versions for the particular add-on (in this case https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefo ... /versions/ ) allowing you to install any older version you want, as easy as the latest. Mouse hover to check which is the latest version with a green button, and install that.
Last edited by Moonchild on 2012-08-04, 09:41, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Highlighted the important bit
"Sometimes, the best way to get what you want is to be a good person." -- Louis Rossmann
"Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past; wisdom is of the future." -- Native American proverb
"Linux makes everything difficult." -- Lyceus Anubite

Ryrynz

Re: PM plugin compatibility

Unread post by Ryrynz » 2012-07-14, 06:01

While I didn't make the point about the addon compatibility, it's nice to see that the common sense approach to versions that I suggested has been adopted here.
The difference between versions could have made things confusing to some and the version differences would have been completely skewed.
I would have called it 15 just based on that alone.

Locked