Cannot Edit and Save Files in Browser (Wiki In a Stick)
I've been using "Wiki In a Stick" (WOAS) for ages to store personal information and notes. It worked fine up to version 14.x, and I believe I was using 16.x when I last made changes on Saturday. Since then I upgraded to 17.x and it failed. I went to one of the beta and am now running 18.x and it still fails.
WOAS stores all data in one self-modifying XHTML file.
When I edit the Wiki now and try to save it, I get this pop-up message:
"Save to file <file location> failed! Maybe your browser is not supported"
Looks I need to find a copy of version of 16.x or earlier and reinstall that.
NOTE TO SELF: Never do an automatic update to a new Firefox module. If all is working well, leave things well enough alone and stick with what I have.
All Replies (10)
In order to enable local file access, script generally display a dialog asking you to provide elevated permissions. In order to turn on this permission system, you have generally needed to create the following preference and set it to true in about:config or user.js:
signed.applets.codebase_principal_support
We had a report that this method was failing in Fx 17.0.1 another old script: I can't paste text at the WYSIWIG editor in FireFox 17.01. This could be related but due to time constraints I haven't been able to research it.
Which WoaS code are you running? It's a little confusing, but there seems to be a last official release in February 2012 (Download page) and a partially fixed version under a new project a couple months later (WoaS "Legacy")...
Oh, based on further research, some or all of the enablePrivilege mechanism may have been removed or disabled in Firefox 17. I wasn't able to read through all the related "bugs" but a very general summary and workaround are in this page:
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Site_Compatibility_for_Firefox_17#Security
It's probably a bad idea to set the global preference "security.enablePrivilege.enable_for_tests" to true while browsing the wilds of the web, but you could set it to true while working with your WoaS file and see whether that works, then switch it to false for normal browsing.
Note: To emphasize that this is a dangerous setting, in Firefox 19, it will be renamed to "security.turn_off_all_security_so_that_viruses_can_take_over_this_computer".
Okulungisiwe ngu jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
My configuration is:
- Wiki on a Stick v0.9.6B
- Firefox 17.0.1
- Windows 7, 64 bit
Hi stefan222, are you the same person as the original poster (marrer)?
If not, did you try a more recent version of WoaS? (Keep backups, of course, in case the conversion does not go well.)
I am getting an error when using Wiki on a stick (WOAS) with Firefox 18.0 in Debian Linux. I can only get it to work with Firefox 14 in a virtual machine running Centos 6.2. Changing the parameter "signed.applets.codebase_principal_support" as suggested does not work (either in about:config or pref.js)
Changing: security.enablePrivilege.enable_for_tests does work - how risky is it to leave this set?
When is this likely to be fixed as I have all my contact details (over 300 pages) in WOAS - so this problem is a serious one!?
Error - when using with Firefox 18 is as follows:-
WoaS Unhandled error Save failure during integrity test /home/user1/WOAS/
Hi Bobo-the-cat, my understanding is that the preference is very dangerous because it applies to all sites. Scripts on those sites might be able to take any action in the file system that you or Firefox could take: open, upload, rename, delete...
If you can tolerate the overhead of your current VM workaround, that seems simplest. Alternately, you might be able to run your WoaS in a different browser, since that's a bit easier than running two instances of Firefox side-by-side without a VM.
On the WoaS forums there is a Java-based workaround, but given recent security challenges with the Java plugin, that might not be such a great option, either. Wiki on a Stick Official Forums / Heads up: Firefox 17 breaks WoaS load/save.
Okulungisiwe ngu jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
Thanks for your reply. I also asked about whether this bug in Firefox is going to be fixed and if so - when?
I would appreciate an answer here as running WOAS is essential to me; it makes a nonsense of Firefox if the only way to run it is to use a very old version or worse have to resort to Internet Explorer (which does work) instead!
Okulungisiwe ngu Bobo-the-Cat
I also asked about whether this bug in Firefox is going to be fixed and if so - when?
The decision to block pages from requesting elevated privileges is unlikely to be reversed. I wonder whether the developers of WoaS have developed a long-term plan to address this new reality?
From what I see on the WOAS pages, it really isn't a platform that has much of a future.
For me, having a stand-alone file is important because I don't want the hassle of installing all sorts of extra code and database support on my PCs - or anywhere else I choose to put the wiki.
After some research, I've found that TiddlyWiki fits my needs perfectly. And provides more function and capability. You're just going to need their 1.0alpha9 Firefox add-on and it works fine (I'm on Firefox 18). So I've already switched.
See ya, WOAS!
You are right - looks as if I shall have to migrate to Tiddlywiki in the medium term. Thanks for everyone's help.