Using CommonSpot to Maintain
Ohio University Web Sites

Configuring Firefox

Table of Contents

• Download Firefox

• Firefox Security Settings

• Refresh Settings

• Patches

Download Firefox

To download the latest version of Firefox, please visit http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

Version 3.5 of FireFox is not known to work reliably with CommonSpot on any platform (Macintosh, Windows XP, or Windows Vista). For the time being, if you need to install FireFox (for example, if you get a new computer), start by going to the older-versions part of their site, at http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all-older.html, and scroll down to the "English (US)" line for Version 3.0.x, and click on the download appropriate to your computer.

Firefox Security Settings

These instructions apply as written to Firefox 3.0.11 on Windows and Macintosh. The options that differ between those two versions of Firefox can be left at their default settings, and are not listed here to be changed.

Choosing these settings will significantly reduce the number of interruptions in your work with CommonSpot while you reassure Firefox that it is OK to set a cookie, execute a script, or perform some other security-sensitive action.

1. Macintosh: click on the Firefox menu, and select Preferences.

   Windows: click on the Tools menu, and select Options.

2. Select the Content category.

3. Ensure that "Block pop-up windows" is checked, and then click on the "Exceptions" button for the "Block Popup Windows" category.

4. Type the following URL's in the field below "Address of web site:", and click Allow after each one is entered:
   • author.admsrv.ohio.edu

   • www.ohio.edu

   • authortest.oit.ohio.edu

   • csrotest.oit.ohio.edu

   The last two are needed for participation in future upgrade testing.

   Close the window when done.

5. Ensure that "Enable JavaScript' and "Enable Java" are both checked, and then click on the "Advanced" button for the "Javascript" category, and confirm that the check-boxes are checked for "Move or resize existing windows" and for "Raise or lower windows."

6. Click OK to accept the Javascript options.

7. Select the Privacy category.

8. In the "Cookies" section, either:
   • ensure that "Accept cookies from sites" is checked, or

   • click on the "Exceptions" button, and then type the following URL's in the field below "Address of web site:", and click Allow after each one is entered:
     • author.admsrv.ohio.edu

     • www.ohio.edu

     • authortest.oit.ohio.edu

     • csrotest.oit.ohio.edu

     The last two are needed for participation in future upgrade testing.

9. Also in the "Cookies" section, ensure that "Keep until" is specified as "I close Firefox."

10. Click "OK" or close the window, as appropriate.

Refresh Settings

If repeated attempts to access the login page keep being redirected to the index page, the following changes should fix the problem:

1. Click on the Tools menu, and select Clear Private Data....

2. Ensure that all categories are checked.

3. Click on "Clear Private Data Now."

Patches

Some updates to Firefox in the past have broken Authoring in CommonSpot. In particular, FireFox 3.5 is not known to work gracefully with CommonSpot. We expect that a future update to CommonSpot will resolve the remaining issues, so when FireFox offers to upgrade to Version 3.5, just click on "Later."

If you experience problems after installing an updated version of Firefox, please let us know by e-mail to webteam@ohio.edu, describing the problem you encountered, and identifying the version of Firefox you are using. See the instructions at the top of this page for the method of reverting to a prior version of FireFox.

Dick Piccard revised this file (http://www.ohio.edu/pagemasters/commonspot/pageint/firefoxsecurity.html) on July 15, 2009.

Please E-Mail comments or suggestions to"webteam@ohio.edu".