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Firefox Extension Development Tutorial :: Configuration Files Firefox Extension DevelopmentTutorial :: Configuration Files
Table of contents
1 Overview…………………………….2
2 Install Manifest……………………2
3 Chrome……………………………..4
4 Chrome Manifest………………….4
5 Further Reading……………………5
Copyright 2005 LCC 3401 Firefox Group All rights reserved. 1. Overview A Firefox Extension is a collection of files and folders that have been compressed into a filewith a .xpi extension. The .xpi file (pronounced zippy) is nothing more than a .zip file thathas been renamed. Create a folder (wherever you feel most comfortable, such as the Desktop) named ‘MyExt’.Truthfully, the name of this folder is up to you, but I will refer to it as ‘MyExt’ throughoutthis tutorial. Within this folder you will need to create the following directories: MyExt/ chrome/chrome/chromeFiles/chrome/chromeFiles/content/defaults/defaults/preferences/ These directories will remain empty for now. There are two text files that you will need tocreate at the root of the MyExt folder. These files are configuration files that provideinformation to the Firefox extension framework. Each of these are described below. Alternatively, you may download a MyExt.zip file that already contains the empty directories. 2. Install Manifest An Install Manifest is the file used to provide information about a Firefox addon (extension,plugin, component, ..) while it is being installed. The file contains metadata identifying theaddon, providing information about who created it, where more information can be foundabout it, which applications and versions it is compatible with, and more. To create your Install Manifest, create a text file called ‘install.rdf’ and place it in the root ofyour MyExt directory (i.e. MyExt/install.rdf). Paste the following information into this file: xmlns:em=”http://www.mozilla.org/2004/em-rdf#”> sample@sample.com1.02 My ExtensionA sample extension.Your Name Herehttp://www.mypage.com/ At this time you should modify this generic information to match your needs. Here is abreakdown of the first section: 1. id: This is this value which uniquely identifies your extension. This ID should simply beyour email address. This ensures that the ID will be different than those of otherextensions. It is possible to use a GUID as well, but this is no longer necessary orrecommended. 2. version: This string identifies the version of the extension being installed. The versionnumber is completely up to you, however it is recommended that you use versions lessthan 1.0 when in development stages. When you feel confident your extension workswell, you may make the version be 1.0. Future improvements should increase the versionnumber as appropriate. For Firefox 1.5, a version string consists of one or more versionsections, separated with dots. Each version section is a sequence of four parts :, where each of the parts is optional.Numbers are integers base 10, and strings are ASCII. Example: 1b2a. 3. type: This integer value represents the type of addon being installed. For an extension,this number should always be 2. The targetApplication section defines which application is targeted by this extension. The field defines which application your addon is created for, and is currently set toFirefox in the sample file. This tutorial only provides Firefox details, so this GUID shouldremain constant.The and fields simply tell Firefox which versions ofFirefox the extension is designed for. These values will be compared to the value of theapp.extensions.version preference and can be different from the act