Firefox is a web browser distributed by Mozilla. This article includes information on installing Firefox to an application layer.

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Instructions

Licensing Considerations    
There are no licensing considerations with Firefox.

Layering    Naming    and    Versioning    
Unidesk recommends including the OS Type and OS bit level in the name, for Example Firefox Win7x32. For versions remember that when choosing a layer you can see the version name but not the version description. Use naming that will allow you to differentiate versions appropriately. Firefox is updated frequently so it is recommended to use a format of Date and Time for versions. For example while still in development/testing "2/6/2013 9:57AM QA ONLY", but when ready for production "2/6/2013 9:57AM".

Installation    Steps    
Firefox can easily be downloaded from http://www.mozilla.org. You can also download the installer and install from a network share if desired. Some space will be saved if you extract the installer executable to a network share before running. Create an Application layer then install Firefox. Review the configuration options here in the sections entitled "Locking Preferences" and "Creating a Default Profile", then follow the appropriate directions from those sections.

Configuration    Options    
Firefox has several options for pre-configuring parts of the user interface. The sections that follow describe creating a Default Profile that is used to create the user profile and setting pre-defined default settings. It is likely that you will want to use a combination of these features to define the initial Firefox environment. If you are using Non-Persistent desktops both sets of settings will likely be required. 

Locking Preferences
Disable    Automatic    Updates    
Firefox, by default, will want to automatically update itself. If Firefox is allowed to do this, the updates will go into the personalization layer and thereby bloat the personalization with unnecessary updates. It is best to turn off automatic updates completely. Note these settings are not required if you also use the option to configure a Default Profile and disable updates there.

To disable automatic updates within Firefox, you must create and edit two files. The first file needs to be located under "c:\program files\mozilla firefox\defaults\pref". The file will be called ‘local-settings.js’.

 Enter the lines below into the file (The first line is only needed if you do not want to obscure the content
with ROT-13):
pref("general.config.obscure_value",    0);
pref("general.config.filename",    "mozilla.cfg");

The second file needs to be located under "c:\program files\mozilla firefox". The file name must be mozilla.cfg. Add the five lines in as specified below:
 //
lockPref("app.update.auto",    false);
lockPref("app.update.enabled",    false);
lockPref("startup.homepage_welcome_url",    "");
lockPref("startup.homepage_override_url",    "");

The first lockPref is to turn off the auto update mechanism. The second lockPref statement is to turn off all other update features. The third lockPref statement is to disable the welcome page. The fourth lockPref is to disable the redirect when a new version is installed. If you do not disable the welcome page and redirect, Firefox will automatically check for a new version using the welcome page and direct users to download the latest version. 

Disabling these features does not prevent a user from manually updating Firefox. It simply disables the auto update mechanism.

Import    Wizard    on    First    Run    
To disable the import wizard that is displayed on first run, you must create the file ‘override.ini’ and place it in the "c:\program files\mozilla firefox" (if version 20 and below) or "c:\program files\mozilla\firefox\browser" (version 21 and higher) directory. The contents of the file will be this:
[XRE]
EnableProfileMigrator=false

Disable    Default    Browser    Check    
To disable the prompt to ask if the user wants to make firefox the default browser. Open or create the mozilla.cfg as specified above (see Disable Automatic Updates). Enter the following line in the mozilla.cfg file:
lockPref("browser.shell.checkDefaultBrowser",    false);

Disable    Know    Your    Rights    Prompt    
To disable the Know Your Rights prompt, open or create the mozilla.cfg as specified above (see Disable Automatic    Updates). Enter the following line in the mozilla.cfg file:
lockPref("browser.rights.override",    true);

Creating    a    Default    profile    (This    capability    was    removed    with    Firefox    version    46.0)    
After installing firefox you can create a profile under the administrators account then copy it to the Mozilla Program File directory to act as the Firefox default profile. The profile can include most Firefox settings including:
• Update    Settings
• Bookmarks
• Bookmarks    Toolbar
• Home    page
• Application    Options
• Add-Ons

Edit    Options from    the    Firefox    menu
After installing Firefox, open the browser and make desired changes to the profile settings.
1. Changed    Home    Page
2. Configure tabs
3. Configure Content
4. Configure applications
5. Privacy 6. Advanced Then create the C:\Program    Files\Mozilla    Firefox\browser\defaults\profile  directories.
Copy the contents of the profile from the directory below to the newly created directory above
C:\users\<youruser>\appdata\roaming\mozilla\Firefox\profiles\xxxx.default  

 Then Configure as described in the section above 
• Import    Wizard    on    First    Run
• Disable    Default    Browser    Check
Finally clean up the Administrator profile.
• Remove    the    Mozilla    Folders    from    c:\users\<profile>\appdata\romaing
• Remove    the    Mozilla    Folders    from    c:\users\<profile>\appdata\local
Thanks to Geoff Wild from St. Norberts College for providing the basic process for the Default Profile feature.

Layering    Add-Ons/Extensions
In Firefox you may have Add-ons or extensions to add. If everyone will get all of these it makes sense to add them all in the Firefox Layer. If not everyone will get them all, then create the Firefox layer, then create separate app layers to hold the extensions. The idea would be to create layers of the extensions you will deploy together. The extensions will modify and install into the administrator profile which you can then copy to the default profile. You do not want to have more than one Extension Layer per desktop because the extensions write to a shared ini file and one layer will mask another. Therefore you may need to deploy some extensions in more than one layer to get the mix right. 

Considerations    for    Non-Persistent    Desktops    
The setting of the default profile works well in NP environments where it would be hard to configure Firefox in any other way. The processing of the default profile to create the user profile is very quick and unnoticeable to the user.