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I want to save existing passwords for a reinstall of Firefox

tronayne
tronayne
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Firefox 14.2.0, Slackware 64-bit 14.1.

My user account contains Firefox data from the initial release of Firefox (some years ago). I want to completely remove the Firefox directory tree and start fresh (there's a lot of stuff in there that I don't give a hoot about and it's getting out of hand). But, I do want to save log in and passwords from the existing installation so I don't have to manually reenter them in a clean install. I don't care about browsing history or download history, just the log in and password data for external sites.

How can I do that?

Also, is there any way to separate browsing history and download history? They are combined in this versions (annoying -- I don't give a hoot about download history). Used to be they were separate, now they're combined.

I don't have any problem manually editing prefs.js if that's what it takes but I'd appreciate a hint or two in the right direction.

Thanks.

Firefox 14.2.0, Slackware 64-bit 14.1. My user account contains Firefox data from the initial release of Firefox (some years ago). I want to completely remove the Firefox directory tree and start fresh (there's a lot of stuff in there that I don't give a hoot about and it's getting out of hand). But, I do want to save log in and passwords from the existing installation so I don't have to manually reenter them in a clean install. I don't care about browsing history or download history, just the log in and password data for external sites. How can I do that? Also, is there any way to separate browsing history and download history? They are combined in this versions (annoying -- I don't give a hoot about download history). Used to be they were separate, now they're combined. I don't have any problem manually editing prefs.js if that's what it takes but I'd appreciate a hint or two in the right direction. Thanks.

Chosen solution

tronayne wrote: 

That download-cleaner add-on sounds like a Real Good Idea but it's not available for firefox-24.3.0esr-x86_64-1 (yet, maybe never but I'll check periodically.

Oh, the latest version requires Firefox 26 or later. The previous version works with Firefox 19 and later:

tronayne wrote: 

That was almost too easy, thank you.

You're welcome.

Read this answer in context 👍 0

All Replies (3)

Gingerbread Man
Gingerbread Man
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See the following article:

signons.sqlite and key3.db are needed to backup your passwords.

places.sqlite keeps your bookmarks and browser history.

To get rid of download history,

  1. Press Ctrl+Shift+B to open the Library.
  2. Click the Downloads category on the left.
  3. Click the Clear Downloads button on the top toolbar.

To automatically clear download history, try the Download Cleaner add-on.

tronayne
tronayne Question owner
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That was almost too easy, thank you.

That download-cleaner add-on sounds like a Real Good Idea but it's not available for firefox-24.3.0esr-x86_64-1 (yet, maybe never but I'll check periodically.

Appreciate your help.

Gingerbread Man
Gingerbread Man
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Chosen Solution

tronayne wrote: 

That download-cleaner add-on sounds like a Real Good Idea but it's not available for firefox-24.3.0esr-x86_64-1 (yet, maybe never but I'll check periodically.

Oh, the latest version requires Firefox 26 or later. The previous version works with Firefox 19 and later:

tronayne wrote: 

That was almost too easy, thank you.

You're welcome.