PERMANENTLY DISABLE 1 FIREFOX EXTENSION FROM UPDATE CHECKING

	   HOW TO PERMANENTLY DISABLE ONLY 1 FIREFOX EXTENSION'S UPDATE CHECKING
	       (for Add-On Constantly Offered a Problematic or Buggy Update)

  PROCEDURE TO REMOVE EXTENSION FROM "ADD-ONS MANAGER" AND INSTALL IT AS A "SYSTEM ADD-ON"
		  (WORKAROUND FOR FIREFOX EXTENSION UPDATE-CHECKING SNAFU)

1) Before removing the add-on (for which update checking is to be permanently disabled) from
Add-Ons Manager, make all desired Preferences settings by clicking the "Options" button in
its listing in Firefox's Add-Ons Manager (Ctrl+Shift+A).

2) Before removing the add-on (for which update checking is to be permanently disabled) from
Add-Ons Manager, ALSO find and copy its INSTALLED .XPI file, located in the folder:
 "C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<random>.default\extensions\"

NOTE: In the Profiles extensions folder, about half my extensions have .XPI filenames that
are identifiable in human-readable form, and about half use a UUID / GUID format:

      The UnMHT add-on's INSTALLED .XPI has no human-readable name callout - it is
		     {f759ca51-3a91-4dd1-ae78-9db5eee9ebf0}.xpi
 [The { ... } string is a GUID (Globally Unique ID) / UUID (Universally Unigue IDentifier)]:
	     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universally_unique_identifier

 A) Use File Size to find the .XPI that is the same size as the downloaded .XPI on the
    add-on's Mozilla Add-Ons Version History page; OR

 B) Use the search box on website "http://www.systemlookup.com/" to do a Filename search
    (WITH or WITHOUT the .XPI extension - both work; OR

 C) .XPI files are actually .ZIP files - the extension is simply changed to .XPI. Their
    contents can be viewed in the 7-Zip file archive freeware utility by simply right-
    clicking the .XPI and then click "Open Archive" in 7-Zip's context menu. (Other
    ZIP archive utilities may work the same - but if not, change the .XPI extension to
    .ZIP). Once the compressed archive is opened with the archive utility, open the
    "install.rdf" file (in Notepad - it's in XML format), and search for the "<em:name>"
    tagged entry, which will give the extension/add-on's name. (Incidently, the GUID name
    of the .XPI file may also be listed in a tagged entry, "<em:id>".)

3) COPY (Ctrl+C) the proper INSTALLED .XPI, then navigate to the "Systems Add-Ons" folder,
   and PASTE (Ctrl+V) it there:
	C:\Program Files\Firefox\browser\features\		[64-bit Windows & Firefox]
    OR  C:\Program Files (x86)\Firefox\browser\features\	[32-bit Firefox]

  NOTE !!!  >>>  Paste into "...\browser\FEATURES\"  ("NOT"  "...\browser\EXTENSIONS\" !!!)

   FURTHER NOTE: The .XPI file I downloaded from UnMHT's Version History page DID NOT WORK
   when PASTED into the "\browser\features\" folder, BUT THE INSTALLED .XPI FROM RUNNING
   THAT .XPI INSTALLER (from the "...\Profiles\<random>.default\extensions\" folder [see
   Step (2) above] "DID" WORK, as described in the forum page (linked below).
   [The author that offered the solution on that forum assumed INCORRECTLY that the offered
    .XPI (click to install from webpage, or download and then click to install) would also
    work.]

   As a side Note, the UnMHT FILENAME CHANGES once the add-on's .XPI is installed:

	Offered    UnMHT 8.3.0 .XPI filename = unmht-8.3.0-an+fx+sm+tb.xpi
	Installed  UnMHT 8.3.0 .XPI filename = {f759ca51-3a91-4dd1-ae78-9db5eee9ebf0}.xpi

   The filename change MAY explain why Firefox recognizes only the INSTALLED .XPI as a
   candidate for moving to the "System Add-Ons" folder - even though the pre-install and
   post-install files both have the same file extension (.xpi), and essentially the same
   filesize. An internal change may occur during the extension's installation via Add-Ons
   Manager. And whatever that change is, it is recognized by Firefox in such a way that
   transferring the Add-Ons Manager INSTALLED .XPI works to make the resulting .XPI
   functional once it has been moved to the "System Add-Ons" folder, which makes this
   workaround succeed.

4) Return to Firefox's Add-Ons Manager (Ctrl+Shift+A), and click the "REMOVE" button for the
   proper add-on, AND also REMOVE any in-waiting update version when clicking the Add-Ons
   Manager "Gear" icon, then clicking any "View Available Updates" link, if present. [Or,
   there would also be a "View Available Updates" listed in the left-panel navigation pane
   of Add-Ons Manager's "Extensions" page, if an update is "available").

5) RESTART FIREFOX ("File" in the Menu bar -> "Restart").

   If your results are the same as mine (and the user who was helped by the procedure as
   described by Developer "Toady" on "https://8pecxstudios.com/Forums/viewtopic.php?t=1460",
   you should be good-to-go - you will have successfully created your own "System Add-On".

   YOU CAN VERIFY WHETHER YOUR ADD-ON HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY RECOGNIZED AND INSTALLED AS
   A "SYSTEM ADD-ONS" EXTENSION AS FOLLOWS:

  A) Type into a Firefox "Address Bar"/"Location Bar": "about:support" (without quotes) and
     press ENTER on the keyboard.	[Opens "Troubleshooting Information" page]

     NOTE: Other "about: ... " pages are listed in the top section, 'Application Basics",
     with the exception of "about:config", which is omitted.

  B) Scroll down to the "Extensions" grouping.

  C) Look for your add-on in the alphabetically sorted list.

  D) Make certain the "Enabled" column for YOUR System Add-On lists "true".

     This list is for "Extension" Add-Ons only - no Themes, User Scripts, User Styles, or
     Plugins are listed in that section...

     HOWEVER, every "EXTENSION" - whether installed in Add-Ons Manager or as "System
     Add-On" (in the "...\browser\features\" folder) are co-mingled and listed here.

     That's why this listing DOES INCLUDE the Mozilla-installed System Add-Ons
     (if these were installed by Mozilla in your version of Firefox):

	* "Application Update Service Helper"	(aushelper@mozilla.org)
	* "Deployment Checker"			(deployment-checker@mozilla.org)
		[Deployment Checker was removed by FF update v53.0]
	* "Multi-Process Staged Rollout"	(e10srollout@mozilla.org)
	* "Pocket"				(firefox@getpocket.com)
	* "Web Compat"	(Web Compatibility)	(webcompat@mozilla.org)
	* <AND of course, any extension you add via the instructions above>

     "ADD-ONS MANAGER", HOWEVER, DOES "NOT" LIST ANY OF THE "SYSTEM ADD-ONS". THEREFORE,
     YOU PROBABLY "DO" HAVE MOZILLA "SYSTEM ADD-ONS" THAT YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT. Read the
     info on "http://www.ghacks.net/2016/03/29/mozilla-system-add-ons-controls/" if you
     want to know more about Mozilla's System Add-Ons. More info about any of these
     System Add-ons can be obtained from Google search results.

     YOU WILL FIND ALL THE INSTALLED "SYSTEM ADD-ONS" .XPI files (including yours) in:
	"C:\Program Files\Firefox\browser\features\"		[64-bit Windows & Firefox]
   OR	"C:\Program Files (x86)\Firefox\browser\features\"	[32-bit Windows]
	      (unless you changed the Firefox installation folder's name).

WARNING: Any update to a new version of Firefox WILL "DEFINITELY" reinstall any Mozilla-
added System Add-On(s) the user has deleted !!! [Unless Mozilla discontinues it.]
  [NOTE: My added UnMHT as a System Add-On (transfering its installed .xpi to the
"...\browser\features\" subfolder) DID INDEED SURVIVE the update from FF 52.0.2 to FF 53.0!]

Still, keep a copy of your preferred add-on's old-version INSTALLED .XPI in a safe location,
so you can reinstall it if necessary. And, if you need to reinstall your old version after a
Firefox browser update, realize putting its downloaded .XPI into "...\browser\features\"
will probably NOT work - it MAY have to be installed first in Firefox's Add-Ons Manager,
then have its "Profile\ ... \extensions\" post-install .XPI COPIED, and then THAT .XPI
PASTED into the "...\browser\features\" folder, as described in steps (1) to (5) above. That
WAS the case for me [a CAVEAT NOT MENTIONED on the forum webpage I cited above in (5),
"https://8pecxstudios.com/Forums/viewtopic.php?t=1460"]

READ THE INFORMATION ABOVE THIS SECTION regarding "System Add-Ons" for background info
regarding the sneaky "System Add-Ons"; why their silent installation method (that doesn't
show up in Add-Ons Manager), results in Mozilla-pushed add-ons without user consent or
knowledge (and doesn't give the user an easy way to disable them - unless you know about
their folder location so you can delete them if you wish); and why this method for the
user to install their own chosen "System Add-Ons" is a workaround for add-ons a user
wants, but is outside the clutches of Add-On Manager's update checking snafu.

  R. Schneider
  rschneider@engineer.com

********************************************************************************************

       EXTENSION MOVED FROM "ADD-ONS MANAGER" INSTALLATION to "SYSTEM ADD-ONS" FOLDER
		 TO ELIMINATE FIREFOX ADD-ONS MANAGER UPDATE CHECKING CRAP

		   THE PROBLEM THAT INSTIGATED A SEARCH FOR A WORKAROUND

UnMHT WAS DE-INSTALLED ("Remove" button in Add-Ons Manager), THEN RE-INSTALLED INTO THE
"System Add-Ons" FOLDER, to eliminate the shameful way Firefox's Add-Ons Manager handles
disabling Update Checking/Offering for Add-Ons that the user does NOT want to update with
the new version. UnMHT v8.3.1 introduced a bug - inserting 2 copies of the "Saved by" block
(which includes the date and time the webpage was saved, and the URL link to the original
webpage). The add-on author's website was offline (for weeks), including his Support Forum
(both are on the same domain). For several years, I've used his excellent add-on - and at
least 3 other times his website was offline for extended periods of time. He's located in
Japan. So, with no way to report the bug to the author and hope for a fix, I reverted his
add-on to the previous version (v8.3.0) - which worked fine - by downloading v8.3.0 from the
Version History page linked from UnMHT's Mozilla Add-Ons page. I also saved the old version
.XPI installation file (right-click & "Save Link As") from UnMHT's Version History page, so
it can be used in the future, if an update to a newer version also turns out to be buggy.
After following the procedure in the preceding section, UnMHT no longer appears in Firefox's
Add-Ons Manager, and is therefore no longer checked for updates, or announces an unwanted
"Available Update". The extension IS however, still installed in Firefox - but as a
"System Add-On" (NOT an Add-Ons Manager extension) due to its presence in the appropriate
Firefox subfolder, and fully functional. It had been liberated from Add-Ons Manager's
incessant update checking/offering.

This procedure can be tried for other add-ons (and possibly themes), if reverting to an
older add-on version is done, and further update checking for that add-on is NOT wanted.

Other websites and user forums include users having the same problem I had - a Firefox
update version with a bug could NOT be properly disabled from Add-Ons Manager constantly
offering the new, buggy version as an available update. Even if the user disables Add-Ons
Manager update checking for the offending add-on (click the Add-On's "More" link, then set
"Automatic Updates" to OFF), Add-Ons Manager always offers the offending buggy update
version as an "Available Update" - following Firefox's automatic update check at browser
restart, or at the once-daily update check, or when a user manually checks for updates.
The new, unwanted version is then shown on the "Available Updates" page, WITH THE BOX
"Include in Updates" PRE-CHECKED. If the user UNCHECKS that box, Firefox ALWAYS "RECHECKS"
it (even if "Automatic Updates" is set to OFF on the "More" link pages for both the old,
installed version, and the new, unwanted, offered "Available Updates" version. The ONLY
thing turning OFF "Automatic Updates" being set to OFF does, is prevent the update from
being completed silently at the next Firefox restart, or during the once-daily automatic
update check. It does NOT turn off Update Checking; constantly offering a new version as
an "Available Update"; OR keep its "Include in Updates" box from being automatically
CHECKED, and then RE-ENABLED after a user UNCHECKS it. Many Firefox users have complained
about this Firefox crap for years (even on Firefox's Add-Ons Blog) - about Firefox
constantly trying to goad users into installing an unwanted, known-buggy update - and
without any action taken by Mozilla to fix the problem.

THEREFORE, the procedure I found in a Google search of a method to DISABLE UPDATE CHECKING
FOR ONE PARTICULAR FIREFOX ADD-ON is noteworthy. Firefox does NOT present the user with any
means to do so, not even with an "about:config" preference setting. Removing the add-on from
Add-Ons Manager, AFTER COPYING its INSTALLED .XPI file from the proper user's Profile
subfolder, then PASTING that .XPI into the "System Add-Ons" subfolder, will cause the Add-On
to be installed, but outside the Add-Ons Manager's clutches regarding update checking.
Indeed, the Add-On Manager no longer shows the add-on. Luckily, my add-on doesn't require
access to the "Options" button in the Add-Ons Manager listing - it is listed in the Firefox
"Tools" Menu, with a context menu link to its "Preferences" settings dialog. (For an Add-On
without a Tools Menu inclusion, or taskbar icon, setting any Preferences/Options before it
is REMOVED from Add-Ons Manager is recommended). The Google search result source for the
procedure I found and modified in the section above is:

		https://8pecxstudios.com/Forums/viewtopic.php?t=1460

  R. Schneider
  rschneider@engineer.com