How to configure and tune your browser

Note: versions, names, and functionality of browsers continuously evolve. The following description applies to the current standard installation:

[click Help/About to get the version]

1. Standard configuration

Here are just a few recommendations for enhanced browser usability with DFOS.

You may want to use the sans-serif font family since it displays better, especially for smaller font sizes.

Java and JavaScript should be enabled ('Edit/Preferences/Content'), in order to make some javascript functionalitities work for you.

Home page should be $DFO_MON_DIR/dfoMonitor.html ('Edit/Preferences/Main), to have the same standard for everyone logging in (QC shiftleader!).

2. Active buttons

The dfoMonitor and other dfos tools have active buttons to launch standard tasks. This is controlled with the mimetypes .esh and .ash (reserved for DFOS) and with the corresponding helper scripts $DFO_GUI_DIR/wrapper.esh and wrapper.ash:

• .esh scripts use an xterm popping up so that the user can follow the execution of the task
• .ash scripts do the same but without xterm (for automatic execution in the background) (there are just a few of them).

Older browser versions had the nice feature that MIME types (related to the extensions .esh and .ash) and the corresponding actions could be managed directly by the user. For security reasons, this has been disabled for newer browser generations, including the firefox installed on the muc blades. Still there are ways to control the browser interactivity.

2.1 Heritage accounts and profiles

These are older profiles herited from firefox installations when the mimetypes could still be directly managed.

If you have at least one, you are fine. Just confirm by clicking on an active .esh button: the browser should launch an xterm. Also, you can confirm by clicking 'Edit/Preferences/Applications', you should find the following entries:

Key to this feature is the file mimeTypes.rdf. Under $HOME/.mozilla/firefox, you will see the profile folders, each belonging to one profile. Note that some of these profiles may not be in use any more, others may have been created under a certain name but have been renamed later (while the name of the folder is still the original one). In each of those profile folders, there is a file mimeTypes.rdf. It is a text file, so you can read it. Editing is generally unsafe. Search for the string 'wrapper': all profiles with a mimeTypes.rdf file containing 'wrapper' are heritage profiles, and you can use them for your browser. We will call them 'interactive' files in the following.

2.2 New accounts, or new profiles

A new profile will not contain those mimetypes. You cannot add these new mimetypes interactively. Others you can: e.g. point your browser on a directory with fits files, click on such a file. The browser will ask you what to do. Configure the browser to open it with '$PATHNAME/rtd'. And the next time you click on a fits file from your browser, an rtd session will open.

This works because the browser has a built-in mechanism to recognize fits files via their mimetype. For the esh/ash files this doesn't work since their mimetype is 'text/plain', and for this mimetype the browser has already an application: open it.

In that case, you should copy an interactive mimeTypes.rdf into the profile folder of your new profile. Best is to try this with a new profile 'test' before you do it for other profiles. If none of your existing profile folders has an interactive mimeTypes.rdf, try this one:

interactive mimeTypes.rdf from ~/.mozilla/firefox/<some_profile>

[Do not forget to replace 'giraffe' by your account name, either by editing, or (safer) with the browser: 'Edit/Preferences/Applications': 'Use other' ]

Once you have a working interactive mimetype file, you can rename your profile.

3. Prevent firefox from unwanted behaviour

John, in an earlier migration document, has compiled a nice overview of advanced configuration that you may want to apply in case of unwanted browser behaviour.