Firefox 1.5 (rc) and extensions

So you've been using Firefox for a while and have even installed some extensions. Well, get ready for the biggest upgrade since Firefox's initial release. 1.5 will be out very soon, the curious can download the release candidate now. The release notes cover the major new features.

One major concern that's held me back is extension compatibility. I use many extensions in FF and some (but not all) of them have been upgraded to work with FF 1.5 yet. To save you the trouble of upgrading only to find that your favorite extensions don't yet work with FF 1.5, I'm posting my list here.

Extensions that work via automatic update:



Extensions that were intially disabled in FF 1.5:



After a bit of messing around, I got a few more updated:


Notes on the manually-updated extensions:
None of the ones that show as enabled in that last screenshot were able to update automatically... they all needed help of some kind.

Extension	Version	Notes
Flashblock	1.3.3	Tedious to update, see web site. Says that an automatic update will be available when FF 1.5 is released
Image Zoom	0.2	Update available on home page.
Auto Copy	0.6.0	0.6.0 is still in beta and works with 1.5 beta, but not 1.5 rc
SessionSaver .2	0.2.1.030	Update available on home page.
Greasemonkey	0.6.2	Update available on home page.

If there's an extension that you really want to work with FF 1.5, but the author hasn't yet updated it, you can force it to load. This isn't really the best way though (the extensions have version compatibility restrictions for a reason). But if you're willing to risk instability for some cool features, here's what you can do:

• Download the .XPI (right-click -> Save as... on the Install link).
• Rename the .XPI to .ZIP and open with your favorite zip tool.
• Extract install.rdf
• Open the install.rdf file in your favorite text editor and find where it says "em:maxVersion" and change the number after it to be the version of FF you're running.
• Put the modified install.rdf back in the .ZIP and rename it back to .XPI
  

The more complex an extension, the greater the chance that it won't work. Since you're not actually checking the code and making any updates, it may really be incompatible with FF 1.5. If that's the case, then you'll have to wait for the extension's author to update it.

Happy browsing and keep an eye out for FF 1.5's imminent release.