How to Update Firefox ESR (BookwormPup64 10.0.6)

[JusGellin]

How do I update Firefox ESR?

Using BookwormPup64 10.0.6

I downloaded the tar file but don't know what to do next from here.

Thanks

[rockedge]

Did you try to auto-update Firefox using the Menu?

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[JusGellin]

BookwormPup64_10.0.6 uses Firefox ESR which isn't set to do automatic updates.

Firefox kept bringing up a box that says it can't do updates but I could download them. So I did
The download was a tar file. I didn't see anything to tell me what to do. So I extracted it.
This time I saw a file called Updater which I clicked but didn't see anything happen.
So I decided to close my opened Firefox and restart it.
This time it shows that it updated to the downloaded version of 115.8 which is for the ESR version.

This wasn't very clear and not the same as the regular version of Firefox that @rockedge shows.

I think I like this ESR version of Firefox because it doesn't update so often and
I also like that it require me to manually update it - as long as I can figure out what to do.

[rockedge]

Okay here is the way to do it!

I am using firefox-52.0esr.tar.bz2 for this example.

1. With UExtract or something similar extract the the tarball.

2. Rename the existing /opt/firefox directory to something different. Like for example: /opt/no-firefox

3. From the extracted directory move the entire firefox directory to /opt

Should be able to run the new version using the existing menu entries if not, go ahead and click on the binary directly -> /opt/firefox/firefox to test it.

This should now use the Firefox profile you already have established with the older version

[bigpup]

The Firefox ESR version that comes already in BookwormPup64.

You do need to have the menu bar showing, so you can click on help, in the menu bar.

Help ->About Firefox, should show it looking for update.

If it finds one.
The check for update, will change into a update button to click on, that will download, and install the update.

Then you have to restart Firefox, so the update can be done.

This is how I updated Firefox to version 115.11 Oesr.
.

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.
.
If in the Firefox settings, you have it set to auto update.
It will just update automatically and not tell you it is doing it.
.

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[JusGellin]

@rockedge and @bigpup
Thanks.

This is good so I have two different ways to try doing it plus how when I was able to also make it work in a haphazard way.

[JusGellin]

Here's what my FF gives for updating. It has me go to the download page to get the update:
Then the download is a tar folder.

[mikewalsh]

@JusGellin :-

Hm. Okay; slightly unusual.....and not quite what I would have expected.

Normally, there's two methods for updating. Either as @rockedge has stated above - via Help -> About Firefox - OR via the Settings menu, under General. In both cases, if an update is available, you'll see the wee whirly thingy spinning, indicating it's downloading.....then a few moments later, it'll come up with "Restart Firefox to update".

My guess is that @radky has built Bookworm Pup to use the "official" build from the Debian repos. These don't offer the option to update manually, since updates for these - at least, in Debian itself! - tend to come through via the regular system updates as upgraded via the repo maintainers (buried somewhere in the multitude of settings within "about:config" is the ability to disable the "Update' controls). Of course, this being Puppy, we don't GET the "official" Debian system updates, hence no control over the update process at all.

My advice would be to go through the pain of the "tarball' update process from the Mozilla site ONCE, replacing the built-in version with this one. This will then give you the 'proper' Mozilla build that has the update options available.

It's just one of those things that only experience teaches you!

As to WHY Debian don't use the 'standard' package from Mozilla's site.....that's simple. Debian, ultimately, is - and always will be - about rock-solid stability. The repo maintainers prefer to compile their own browser from source; only this way can they absolutely 100% guarantee that it will always work with the bog-standard Debian releases.......the downside being that you have to wait for THEM to build the next new version!

(Yes, I know there's 'unstable' Sid.....but at the end of the day, 'unstable' Sid is all about building the next rock-solid stable release.....whatever its name ends up being.)

Mike.

[radky]

@JusGellin & @mikewalsh

The default adrv of BW64 is created from the FireFox ESR tarball downloaded directly from the mozilla.org repository. The tarball is extracted (with no editing or modifications by me) and the files are added to the adrv in the portable format made popular by none other than @mikewalsh .

In BW64, the FireFox ESR auto-update has always worked correctly for me.

[JusGellin]

Ok part of the mystery is solved for what I'm seeing for what Firefox wants for updating.
I'm running as spot which gives the noted request for the download as I attached abovel

When I ran Firefox as root, it gives the update from Help About telling me "Restart to Update Firefox" instead of what the run as spot showed in my reply above.
When I select this, it does just as @bigpup and others experienced. It updates properly.

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So now, how can I do this when I use run as spot for Firefox.

Thanks to all of you again. It sure is hard to help someone when you don't know exactly what they are doing. I should have stated that I was using run as spot to begin with.
But I thought that Firefox would run the same for either one and never thought this could be a problem.

I wanted to also mention that when I thought that just clicking on a file in the Firefox update download called updater, it did stop the nag display from coming up only until the next reboot. Also when I did this it didn't do an update at all. So I still don't have the update for my run as spot Firefox.

[fredx181]

So now, how can I do this when I use run as spot for Firefox.

You can make the firefox folder (and contents) owned by spot, e.g. chown -R spot:spot <path/to/firefoxfolder> (the folder that contains firefox, firefox-bin etc...)
Experimental, but I briefly tested and updating from Help > About works when running as spot.
To make it owned by root again: chown -R root:root <path/to/firefoxfolder> (undo the above if problems)

[JusGellin]

This is how I updated run as spot Firefox ESR:
I brought up Firefox ESR as root and Clicked the update for the <About> Display.
It did the update.
I closed this and then brought up run as spot Firefox ESR - Now it is updated.