VideoHelper - Work with FireFox Portable

[pcwSlide]

Your question

FireFox "PORTABLE" - NOWHERE does anyone discuss getting the helper app working with Firefox PORTABLE.

I'm sorry I don't have the exact Firefox version - it is in the last 3 months. Helper is latest - windows - running on external drive.

So I have the portable Firefox and the helper install folder on a portable drive. When you install the Helper app it installs on the PC!!!!!

I need to know how to tell my Firefox install how to find the Helper app - folder nextdoor.

Independent of platforms really - I could attach it to any machine - Win-Unix-mac ..See the issue?

Addon & CoApp version and details

This is not so germane - it is an external disk that I use with various pcs. "I'm sorry I don't have the exact Firefox version - it is in the last 3 months. Helper is latest - windows - running on external drive."

[GrampaWildWilly]

I do not work for VDH. I'm just another user.

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Now you have no excuses. Every problem report needs to include that information.

The easy way to report your environment is described in the Wiki. I like to use this format:

Windows 11 Pro 64-bit version 24H2 build 26100.3915, Firefox 138.0.1 64-bit, licensed VDH 9.5.0.0 beta, CoApp 2.0.20

Either way is perfectly acceptable.

In the general case, you should also provide URLs of web pages that host videos that are giving you problems. That's not particularly relevant in your case, but you need to keep this in mind for future reference. If the web pages in question require a login, then those URLs won't be useful. It is corporate policy for the VDH folks to refuse to accept user credentials for any web site. I think they are worried about liability, which I completely understand & agree with. Since that's their coporate policy, I personally follow the same approach. However, there are alternative ways to deal with content that requires authentication. Those alternative ways can be dealt with on a case by case basis.

Since you now know how to provide all the bits of a proper problem report, you should go back & fix your initial post. Here's how:

The control with the 3 dots appears on every post in every discussion. Only the poster can update his own posts. The initial post is like any other, except for being able to change the title of the discussion.

The fact that you have a drive that you attach to different systems is not any particular problem. What might present a problem is if you use a different drive letter for the drive on each system. If I were doing what you're doing, I would try my best to use the same drive letter on each system. That way, you've got some hope of actually using whatever software you have installed on that drive. Any application, not just our VDH & CoApp, saves configuration information. If you are using portable applications, their configuration information will include drive letters in the file specifications of their various configuration files. If you're attaching the drive to F: one day & Q: the next, you're doing your best to confuse those portable applications.

In a situation like yours, I would always use the VDH Download As function, never the Download function. The Download As function offers you a file selection dialog before it launches the download. If you're running VDH on different machines, I expect you will be using a whole range of target directories on various partitions with different drive letters & different directory names. So I expect Download As would be your friend.

For a deeper explanation of the target folder issue, read these discussions: #665 #744 #814

[Mattmjs]

I don't think you've thought about this enough, if you have Firefox portable for Windows it is designed to work only on Windows systems. It will not work for Mac or Linux. Is there a portable Firefox for Mac ? I don't think there is one. There is a Firefox appimage for Linux which is portable.

The second issue is the same as the browsers, the companion app is designed for Windows, Mac and Linux systems.
Can a companion app for Windows run on Mac or Linux ? I don't think it can.

Try getting it working on Windows, did you install companion app on the external drive ?

[pcwSlide]

Ok Ok - Windows only. Do you see the issue? because the Browser is portable I need to MANUALLY configure the extension to see the helper app on the portable device. How is this done - please..

[Mattmjs]

If you already have the companion app installed on the computer, then downloadhelper will detect that rather the companion app on the removable drive. I wrecked my own install on windows to get this working on the usb and had to reinstall the app on windows afterwards. You might have to uninstall on computer first before proceeding.

Open the installer and follow the usual process until you get to where it asks where to install. Browse to the removable drive and
it will ask to make a folder to put app in. I made it coapp and selected that then installed it. It should see the app.
Remove the drive then reinstall on the computer. See the image

[pcwSlide]

Ok - so I was just using the Firefox install method. I found the external installer and of course it does allow controlled install. It seems to work on my machine at home - will check at work but seems good.
Thanks Norman - appreciate your help..

[pcwSlide]

Ahh - I went to work and it can't see the helper program.. Square one..
So at home I:

1. installed on the portable version and pointed to the helper files on the portable drive. - worked
2. Closed that portable Firefox and reinstalled on the Firefox on the PC - worked
3. Come to work - run portable Firefox - can't see the helper files
4. put the exe in the local path - checking - did not work

Once again, where is the path saved that tells VD where to find the helper files using Firefox PORTABLE?

[Mattmjs]

You should try installing companion app on the removable drive from your work computer not the home computer.
Hopefully this helps or maybe not.

[Mattmjs]

Look on your computer in regedit. I'll be surprised if you're able to make it work, my thinking is I don't think it's possible.

[pcwSlide]

Just a few records there.. videodownload - not exist - Of course single words - too many.
Surely someone here can ask the programmers - what is the key?

[Mattmjs]

@pcwSlide , check this out https://github.com/aclap-dev/video-downloadhelper/wiki/CoApp-not-recognized#windows

That might point you in the right direction.

[pcwSlide]

So I tried today at work - of course I can't change regedit. So it looks impossible - thanks for your assistance..