Make FireFox default browser for all users

[rxd]

Does anyone know of a way to make FireFox the default browser for all users that log in to a Windows 7 pc?

It's a pain to have to set it every time a different user uses one of our pc's.

Thanks

 

[richc46]

Welcome
If you make FF the default for each user, it should remain the default regardless of how many times it is used
How to make web links open in Firefox by default | Firefox Help

 

[rxd]

That's the problem though. I don't want to make FireFox the default browser every time somebody sits a a new pc. Our business is not really standard in that people move from pc to pc all the time. So I keep having to set up FireFox as the default browser which is just a huge waste of time.

 

[richc46]

There may be a communication error. If you want a browser to be the default you set it up once. If you want to have different browsers for different users, you must set it up each time.

 

[rxd]

I don't see how what I'm asking is unclear. If I have 250 pc's and 250 users and anyone can sit anywhere I have to set up FireFox as the default browser 250 times for each pc. With 250 pc's that 62,500 times.

So does anyone know how to make FireFox the default browser for every user on a given pc?

 

[richc46]

There was a misunderstanding, but now I do understand. With these new facts I would have to let another give you help. I do not know of a way to accomplish what you need.

 

[Not Myself]

From the mozillaZine knowledge base, this would seem to me to accomplish your task:

Using Set Program Access and Defaults

You can set the default browser using the feature, "Set Program Access and Defaults" on Windows 2000 and XP. On Windows Vista and above, this feature is renamed "Set Program Access and Computer Defaults" and can be used to change the default for all users of the computer, if you are logged into Windows as an administrator. [5]

• Windows 2000 (SP3+): "Start -> Control Panel -> Add or Remove Programs -> Set Program Access and Defaults"
• Windows XP (SP1+): "Start -> Control Panel -> Add or Remove Programs -> Set Program Access and Defaults -> Custom". Click the icon to the right of "Custom", to expand the category.
• Windows Vista and Windows 7: "Start -> Default Programs -> Set Program Access and Computer Defaults -> Custom" [6] [7]

(On Windows XP and above, click the icon to the right of "Custom", to expand the category.)
You will see Internet Explorer and other installed browsers listed under "Choose a default Web browser" . Select "Mozilla" (Suite), "SeaMonkey" or "Mozilla Firefox" (in some cases, "Mozilla Firefox" may not be listed; to add it back, reinstall Firefox

 

[Kari]

I don't see how what I'm asking is unclear. If I have 250 pc's and 250 users and anyone can sit anywhere I have to set up FireFox as the default browser 250 times for each pc. With 250 pc's that 62,500 times.

So does anyone know how to make FireFox the default browser for every user on a given pc?

One way I know this is possible is to sysprep the Windows with <CopyProfile>True</CopyProfile> parameter in settings pass 4 in the answer file (see this tutorial, part 9), with Firefox as default browser.

As this copies all settings (except pinned Taskbar shortcuts) made to built-in administrator account in Audit Mode to default user profile which will then be used as base profile for each future user profile, setting Firefox as default browser will also be copied to default user profile.

Please notice that you cannot use <CopyProfile> parameter if any user profiles exist, in other words copying the default user profile can only be made when A) Windows is syspreppd while installing / creating an image for deployment, or B) when existing Windows setup is first booted to Audit Mode and then all existing user profiles are deleted before sysprepping.

Kari

 

[Southerner]

If you want to make Firefox the default browser for all users, install Firefox with/as an administrator.
See Creating a new default profile - MozillaZine Knowledge Base for information on setting up a default profile
and
Profile folder - Firefox - MozillaZine Knowledge Base
and especially this one:
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/901549 .

Once Firefox is installed, open a Windows 7 Run box and go to %APPDATA% then Mozilla, then Firefox and finally to Profiles directory. There will be another directory with a name like: 19gx53wq.default This is your current profile as the current user that installed Firefox. Copy that folder to
C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\defaults\profile\
Be careful that the profile you are copying does not have passwords stored for web sites. Doing this will copy the bookmarks that are stored for the user that you are using for the master default.

The Mozilla support page at https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/901549 says:
" Did you create a defaults\profile in the Firefox program folder (C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\)?
All files in that folder will be moved to each newly created profile folder.
For giving prefs a default value it is better to do that via a mozilla.cfg file.
Use a mozilla.cfg file in the Firefox program folder to lock prefs or specify default values.
Place a file local-settings.js in the defaults\pref folder where you also find the file channel-prefs.js to specify using mozilla.cfg.
pref("general.config.filename", "mozilla.cfg"); pref("general.config.obscure_value", 0); // use this to disable the byte-shift See:

• Locking preferences - MozillaZine Knowledge Base

You can use these functions in mozilla.cfg:
defaultPref(); // set new default value pref(); // set pref, but allow changes in current session lockPref(); // lock pref, disallow changes