Firefox - new version, Drag and Drop temporary workaround

[rosera]

It looks like the new version of Firefox (v50) breaks Pencil again. Tried the common workaround of amending the application.ini, but this did not do the trick.

I use Pencil on Ubuntu, so I have rollback the Firefox version and placed a hold on any Firefox package upgrades while this issue is either resolved or I find an alternative wire framing tool to use. Not ideal, but I can at continue with my work.

Temporary fix for Ubuntu users

1. Remove the incompatible version of Firefox.

sudo apt purge firefox

2. Download a compatible version firefox builds e.g.

wget sourceforge.net/projects/ubuntuzilla/files/mozilla/apt/pool/main/f/firefox-mozilla-build/firefox-mozilla-build_49.0.2-0ubuntu1_amd64.deb

3. Install the Firefox version downloaded

sudo dpkg -i firefox-mozilla-build_49.0.2-0ubuntu1_amd64.deb

4. Check the installation version

firefox --version

To resolve issues, ensure the version displayed is less than the MaxVersion attribute held in the file /usr/share/pencil-prototyping/application.ini i.e.

[Gecko]
MaxVersion = 51.*

Optional steps

At this point you should be able to temporarily run Pencil once more

To stop upgrades affecting your firefox application, issue the following command:

sudo apt-mark hold firefox

When you are able to upgrade, remove the hold

sudo apt-mark unhold firefox

[prikhi]

Did v49 fix the drag-and-drop issue?

[rosera]

v49 works for me on Ubuntu 16.04 after the applying the application.ini/properties.sh amendment. FYI - I am using the code revision 2.0.18 downloaded from Github.

Still investigating what the actual issue with drag and drop relates to.

[alxlo]

thx for this hint. I would never (ever) have made the connection between the failing drag function and the firefox update ^^

[BranLiang]

Thanks rosera,
This method works for me. Linux 16.04

[prikhi]

Does 2.0.21 not work?

[ghost]

I am with the same problem. I'm using Firefox 50.0.2 and Pencil 2.0.5.

[prikhi]

@giancarloandroid First release of this repository was v2.0.6. You should checkout the standalone version on this repo's Releases page, or http://github.com/evolus/pencil for v3.

[ghost]

Hello

Sorry @prikhi, I tried but downloading pencil-prototyping-2.0.21-ubuntu-all.deb from the Releases Page does not seem to do any better.

I'd suggest another workaround than the original. This one leaves Firefox untouched so that you can keep up with improvements and security patches.

Download an old XUL runtime http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/xulrunner/releases/41.0.2/runtimes/
(eg xulrunner-41.0.2.en-US.linux-x86_64.tar.bz2 on my 64 bits OS)

With root privilege

$ sudo mkdir -p /opt
$ sudo  tar -jxvf xulrunner-41.0.2.en-US.linux-x86_64.tar.bz2  -C /opt
$ sudo ln -s /opt/xulrunner/xulrunner /usr/bin/

Without root privilege

Extract the tarball somewhere in your home folder.
Create a soft link from ~/bin/xulrunner to the file xulrunner in the extracted folder
Make sure you have ~/bin in your PATH.

Then...

Then simply restart Pencil. Et voilà

[bhushanjawle]

Thanks @rosera. Rolled back to firefox 49.0.2. Saved my day !