How to make Neopets Toolbar work with Firefox 3

[Guest Sloth Von Karma]

HOW TO GET THE NEOPETS TOOLBAR WORKING IN FIREFOX 3 - WITH BONUS FEATURES! (WITH SCREENIES)

UPDATE: ALL PREVIOUS BETA 4 USERS ARE ADVISED TO UPGRADE TO BETA 5 FOR FASTER BROWSING, AND MEMORY ISSUES HAVE BEEN IMPROVED!

 

Some of you have already been beta-testing Firefox 3 (currently in its Beta 5 stage). However, for users of the Neopets Toolbar, Firefox 3 disables the toolbar because it considers it incompatible and due to it not providing secure updates.

 

To install Firefox 3 Beta 5 (the latest version), simply go here!

 

Well, I've found a way to enable the toolbar and get it working decently on the Beta. I'll even throw in a bonus feature! Let's start?

 

This guide has been tested and works on Windows XP and Vista.

 

This guide assumes you have the Neopets Toolbar deactivated but not uninstalled. If you don't, install it using Firefox 3 and ignore all the incompatible windows.

 

Step 1 - First of all, open up Windows Explorer and click Tools > Folder Options. (For Vista users, press ALT + T to show the menu bar). Go to View and select 'Show hidden files and folders' and uncheck the 'Hide file extensions for known file types', like shown below.

 

Step 2 - Go to (My) Computer, Local Disk (generally C:) > Documents and Settings (On Vista, Users) > your username here > AppData (you should be able to see it now) > Roaming > Neopets Toolbar and then you should see a file called vsiToolbar.xpi. Copy this to your desktop.

 

Step 3 - You will need WinRAR or a zip program of your choice for the next step. Download WinRAR here if you haven't a zip program.

 

Now, change the extension of the vsiToolbar.xpi file on your desktop to vsiToolbar.zip. Open it with WinRAR, and you should see 3 files. Extract all those to your desktop. Right click the install.rdf file and click Properties. Click Open with and select Notepad or any text editor of your choice. Scroll down until you see a line like this: "<em:maxVersion>2.0.0.x</em:maxVersion>" and change the 2.0.0.x to 3.0b4, like shown below. Save the file.

 

Step 4 - You can now delete the old vsiToolbar.zip file on the desktop, we no longer need it. Now select the 3 files and right click them. Select 'Add to archive...'. Select zip as the extension, NOT RAR. In the archive name, type in vsiToolbar.zip. Click OK.

 

Step 5 - Now delete the 3 files you just archived that are on your desktop, we don't need them anymore. With the new archived vsiToolbar.zip, rename it to vsiToolbar.xpi (basically, the opposite of what you did earlier) and say 'Yes' (obviously) to the warning dialogue.

 

Step 6 - Enough of Windows configurations, so let's now go to Firefox. Open Firefox 3 and type in about:config in the address bar. Click 'I'll be careful, I promise!'.

 

A whole load of funny strings should appear, don't touch them! Just right click and select New > Boolean. Enter this in the preference name: extensions.checkCompatibility and choose false for its value. Do the same thing, but this time enter extensions.checkUpdateSecurity and set it to false. You should have something like the below (I filtered).

 

RESTART YOUR BROWSER. THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.

Side note: Some extensions you might have that were incompatible may now start to work. Just don't enable the add-on security checking and you should be fine.

 

Step 7 - Moment of truth. Open up the Add-ons windows and drag the vsiToolbar.xpi into the window. A pop-up should show up asking if you want to install the extension. Select 'Install now' and it should install.

 

 

Restart the browser again and if everything goes well, you should see something like this:

 

Congrats! You now have succesfully installed and made the Neopets Toolbar compatible with Firefox 3! Enjoy much faster browsing with the company of Neopets. :)

 

BONUS FEATURE - ONLY INSTALL IF DESIRED!

Ok, for all you Tarla lovers, I have the perfect add-on for you. Ever get frustrated when you're doing something else and Tarla just gave out a rare prize when you were away­ or weren't able to see the Alert? Well, there is a much easier way now. Hear it! Yup, this extension will sound a bell when Tarla arrives so you don't miss her.

 

However, it won't get the item for you if you don't hear it, so don't go thinking it'll do everything for you! Otherwise, it wouldn't be allowed.

 

I'm not sure this works well on Firefox 3, but you can test it as it'll install perfectly if you've followed the above steps. It works wonders in Firefox 2, though.

 

In addition to Tarla alerts, it'll also sound off when you receive a Neomail, Snowager is sleeping or when it's Deadly Dice time. Pretty useful, eh?

 

Simply go here and click where it says 'Current Add-on version'. Install and restart FF. It should now work. For more options, go to Add-ons and select 'Options' for this extension.

 

Happy browsing!

 

P.S. Please comment if you've tried my guide! Thanks a lot. :)

[Maximum]

those bonus features seem really cool. i'll try this out now :)

[Ashley Rose]

Too cool! The bonus feature does work! Well for neomail at least, not sure about Tarla or anything yet since I haven't had Tarla come on since I installed it :) Thanks so much for the guide, I have a tendency to not notice Tarla up there blinking at me when I am doing something online haha!

[Guest Sloth Von Karma]

No problem, thanks a lot for the comments! Keep 'em coming. :P

[antiaircraft]

Well this is a handy thing to have around (personally I use an add-on that can disable compatibility checks for specific extensions, but don't mind my rambling). :yes:

 

Random technical correction (you don't have to change it, just being random :P ): Beta 4 is not the latest version of Firefox 3, the latest versions are the nightly builds used by developers. We hope to have Beta 5 out next week by the way. ;)

[Guest Sloth Von Karma]

Well this is a handy thing to have around (personally I use an add-on that can disable compatibility checks for specific extensions, but don't mind my rambling). :yes:

 

Random technical correction (you don't have to change it, just being random :P ): Beta 4 is not the latest version of Firefox 3, the latest versions are the nightly builds used by developers. We hope to have Beta 5 out next week by the way. ;)

 

True, but those are not signed with the official name "Firefox", only "Minefield", and are only appropriate for developer use. Plus, I will update this guide for Beta 5 unless nothing changes.

[antiaircraft]

Well as far as I can see there have been no changes in the beta 5 RCs that would affect this, so everything should be fine. :yes:

 

I really like the bonus feature by the way. :D

[Ledi]

I've done all of the above to install the toolbar, but I'm not receiving alerts. When I went into my about:config I noticed that the neopets.toolbar.AlertPeek.Interval was set to 300 seconds. I tried turning it to 10, but it just automatically reverts to 300 after I hit enter. Anyone know why this may be happening?

 

I'm using Firefox 3 release candidate 2 on Windows Vista.

[Guest Krawk Islander]

I've done all of the above to install the toolbar, but I'm not receiving alerts. When I went into my about:config I noticed that the neopets.toolbar.AlertPeek.Interval was set to 300 seconds. I tried turning it to 10, but it just automatically reverts to 300 after I hit enter. Anyone know why this may be happening?

 

I'm using Firefox 3 release candidate 2 on Windows Vista.

 

The alerts don't work on Firefox 3, at least until TNT fix the compatibility bug on FF3 (most likely when it's released). For now, just use your links. It's a shame, but it's the best I can do.

[TheUnknown]

There's actually a Tarla glitch occuring right now, regardless of the browser you use...

[Katia]

HOW TO GET THE NEOPETS TOOLBAR WORKING IN FIREFOX 3 - WITH BONUS FEATURES! (WITH SCREENIES)

UPDATE: ALL PREVIOUS BETA 4 USERS ARE ADVISED TO UPGRADE TO BETA 5 FOR FASTER BROWSING, AND MEMORY ISSUES HAVE BEEN IMPROVED!

 

Some of you have already been beta-testing Firefox 3 (currently in its Beta 5 stage). However, for users of the Neopets Toolbar, Firefox 3 disables the toolbar because it considers it incompatible and due to it not providing secure updates.

 

To install Firefox 3 Beta 5 (the latest version), simply go here!

 

Well, I've found a way to enable the toolbar and get it working decently on the Beta. I'll even throw in a bonus feature! Let's start?

 

This guide has been tested and works on Windows XP and Vista.

 

This guide assumes you have the Neopets Toolbar deactivated but not uninstalled. If you don't, install it using Firefox 3 and ignore all the incompatible windows.

 

Step 1 - First of all, open up Windows Explorer and click Tools > Folder Options. (For Vista users, press ALT + T to show the menu bar). Go to View and select 'Show hidden files and folders' and uncheck the 'Hide file extensions for known file types', like shown below.

 

Step 2 - Go to (My) Computer, Local Disk (generally C:) > Documents and Settings (On Vista, Users) > your username here > AppData (you should be able to see it now) > Roaming > Neopets Toolbar and then you should see a file called vsiToolbar.xpi. Copy this to your desktop.

 

Step 3 - You will need WinRAR or a zip program of your choice for the next step. Download WinRAR here if you haven't a zip program.

 

Now, change the extension of the vsiToolbar.xpi file on your desktop to vsiToolbar.zip. Open it with WinRAR, and you should see 3 files. Extract all those to your desktop. Right click the install.rdf file and click Properties. Click Open with and select Notepad or any text editor of your choice. Scroll down until you see a line like this: "<em:maxVersion>2.0.0.x</em:maxVersion>" and change the 2.0.0.x to 3.0b4, like shown below. Save the file.

 

Step 4 - You can now delete the old vsiToolbar.zip file on the desktop, we no longer need it. Now select the 3 files and right click them. Select 'Add to archive...'. Select zip as the extension, NOT RAR. In the archive name, type in vsiToolbar.zip. Click OK.

 

Step 5 - Now delete the 3 files you just archived that are on your desktop, we don't need them anymore. With the new archived vsiToolbar.zip, rename it to vsiToolbar.xpi (basically, the opposite of what you did earlier) and say 'Yes' (obviously) to the warning dialogue.

 

Step 6 - Enough of Windows configurations, so let's now go to Firefox. Open Firefox 3 and type in about:config in the address bar. Click 'I'll be careful, I promise!'.

 

A whole load of funny strings should appear, don't touch them! Just right click and select New > Boolean. Enter this in the preference name: extensions.checkCompatibility and choose false for its value. Do the same thing, but this time enter extensions.checkUpdateSecurity and set it to false. You should have something like the below (I filtered).

 

RESTART YOUR BROWSER. THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.

Side note: Some extensions you might have that were incompatible may now start to work. Just don't enable the add-on security checking and you should be fine.

 

Step 7 - Moment of truth. Open up the Add-ons windows and drag the vsiToolbar.xpi into the window. A pop-up should show up asking if you want to install the extension. Select 'Install now' and it should install.

 

 

Restart the browser again and if everything goes well, you should see something like this:

 

Congrats! You now have succesfully installed and made the Neopets Toolbar compatible with Firefox 3! Enjoy much faster browsing with the company of Neopets. :)

 

BONUS FEATURE - ONLY INSTALL IF DESIRED!

 

 

 

 

Hello to all, are a user Italian neopets. I downloaded firefox 3 and tried to follow your advice. I do not understand English very well so I do not understand what can I do to Step 3.

 

I copy the file vsiToolbar.xpi on the desktop and then what should I do? I have the program WinRar. You can explain step by step what I do?

 

I must change the file extension vsiToolbar.xpi in vsiToolbar.zip Extract the first 3 files? You can explain me what I should do?

 

I am very desperate and I am very confused and I do not understand what I do.

Ok, for all you Tarla lovers, I have the perfect add-on for you. Ever get frustrated when you're doing something else and Tarla just gave out a rare prize when you were away­ or weren't able to see the Alert? Well, there is a much easier way now. Hear it! Yup, this extension will sound a bell when Tarla arrives so you don't miss her.

 

However, it won't get the item for you if you don't hear it, so don't go thinking it'll do everything for you! Otherwise, it wouldn't be allowed.

 

I'm not sure this works well on Firefox 3, but you can test it as it'll install perfectly if you've followed the above steps. It works wonders in Firefox 2, though.

 

In addition to Tarla alerts, it'll also sound off when you receive a Neomail, Snowager is sleeping or when it's Deadly Dice time. Pretty useful, eh?

 

Simply go here and click where it says 'Current Add-on version'. Install and restart FF. It should now work. For more options, go to Add-ons and select 'Options' for this extension.

 

Happy browsing!

 

P.S. Please comment if you've tried my guide! Thanks a lot. :)

 

 

 

Hello to all, are a user Italian neopets. ^_^ I downloaded firefox 3 and tried to follow your advice. I do not understand English very well so I do not understand what can I do to Step 3.

 

I copy the file vsiToolbar.xpi on the desktop and then what should I do? I have the program WinRar. You can explain step by step what I do?

 

I must change the file extension vsiToolbar.xpi in vsiToolbar.zip Extract the first 3 files? You can explain me what I should do?

 

I am very desperate :crying: and I am very confused and I do not understand what I do. :S

[TheUnknown]

Ugh, I've switched back to IE for today. Apparently, Tarla's giving out Paint Brushes today... Wouldn't want to miss that...

[antiaircraft]

Well there is actually an alternative way to do this... the 'Nightly Tester Tools' add-on is capable of overriding the compatibility checks for all your extensions (you can get it here). Just install it, restart Firefox, and click 'Override all compatibility' in your add-ons window. :yes:

 

Just a quick warning though: there is no guarantee that the Neopets Toolbar is fully compatible with Firefox 3. Override the checks at your own risk. However, most extensions work fine after the update, it's just the extension developers forgetting to update the compatibility data. :laughingsmiley:

 

Edit: It seems that at the moment the toolbar does not cause any major problems. However, the alerts for the toolbar do not work. See the post directly below for details.

[Izzy ♥]

The toolbar doesn't work properly with FF3, even after overriding it lol Or more accurately, none of the alerts (Tarla, neomail, email) work. It is good to still have the links though ;)

[antiaircraft]

Thanks for the info Izzy! Well, we will just have to wait for TNT to update things... :(

[Tam]

Is there any way of getting the special sound alarm on IE?

[antiaircraft]

Unfortunately, the add-on developer doesn't seem to have written a plugin for IE, so no. :sad01_anim:

 

Writing plugins for IE is pretty tough actually...

[Wilford Brimley]

I did these steps the night before last. The next morning, my computer was dead. It won't connect to the internet, no matter what I do. I have never had a problem fixing viruses on my computer before now. It won't even let me do a system restore. Obviously, there really is a reason that Firefox 3.0 does not approve the toolbar. Don't make the same mistake I did.

[antiaircraft]

Hmm... if you disable the toolbar, does your internet work again? If it doesn't, then the toolbar might not be related to the problem.

[jobo12354]

For the part about where you open Windows Explorer and press folder options, I don't have any button that says that.

 

How do you disable the toolbar first? It says in the guide that the toolbar needs to be disabled, but it's working in IE but not in firefox.

[tempdisplay]

katia i had the same problem as you but i speak english it's my first language so i did what sky shadow :D said it works well :yes:

 

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<-------------------- I wish

[antiaircraft]

Does anybody know if the Neopets toolbar's alerts are working now? Or do we still need to wait for TNT to fix it?

[Tam]

The toolbar still is coming up with the "Tarla at the warehouse" message even when she's not

[luv2lindy77]

Thanks for the work you went through in figuring out and posting this! I love the new Firefox version, but lost my toolbar. This was exactly what I needed. Also, that other addon is a great idea! I work from home all day, but when I get really involved in work, I forget about things like the Snowager. I still need that darn Snowager avatar!

 

I wanted to also reiterate that, yes, it IS rather difficult to code in features for IE. *shudders at the thought of the last attempt* Microsoft just doesn't make it easy for us. Another reason I adore Firefox. :D

[gluxon]

You know that download day for FF3 has passed and FF3 is no longer in beta?

So does your guide need to be updated? :evil: