failing to remove a globally installed addon
Hi:
I would like to remove this globally installed addon. I followsed Fx help, but when I go to the directory there is nothing there!
In troubleshooting information, this is the addon Adobe Acrobat - Create PDF 2.0 false web2pdfextension@web2pdf.adobedotcom
Then on this Support page
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/cannot-remove-add-on-extension-or-theme
Says to go to directory
Library/Application Support/Mozilla/
I went there: Library/Application Support/Mozilla/Extensions
nothing is there. I checked for invisible files. nothing.
Help please. Thankyou
Chosen solution
You do not need to edit the extensions.json file. Firefox will remove that extension from the file once you have removed the folder where the extension is located.
I think that {891f0410-aaa2-11e0-9f1c-0800200c9a66} is a different extension and is best left alone. You can check the install.rdf file in that folder to check what this extension is.
Did you check this folder?
- /Library/Application Support/Mozilla/Extensions/{ec8030f7-c20a-464f-9b0e-13a3a9e97384}
This is the global /Library folder and not the ~/Library folder in the home directory that is used for the Firefox profile folders. The "/Library/Application Support" might be a hidden folder.
The extension should be installed in a sub folder in this folder.
- /Library/Application Support/Mozilla/Extensions/{ec8030f7-c20a-464f-9b0e-13a3a9e97384}/web2pdfextension@web2pdf.adobedotcom
Note that {ec8030f7-c20a-464f-9b0e-13a3a9e97384} is the ID of the Firefox application, so leave alone any folders with this name.
Read this answer in context 👍 0All Replies (9)
Your Adobe Acrobat - Create PDF extension is disabled so it is at the end of your Extensions list. You should be able to enable/disable or remove it from there.
To get to the Extensions list, there are many ways, but type about:addons in your your Address(URL) bar.
Modified
The Create PDF extension is part of Acrobat and is maintained by the Acrobat installer and updater. They advertise the extension in the Windows registry where Firefox finds it. While you could delete it, I would expect it to come back at the next Acrobat update. But you could just keep getting rid of it if you like.
For Acrobat XI, the extension is located on the following path:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat 11.0\Acrobat\Browser\WCFirefoxExtn
If you have a different version of Acrobat, try locating a similar folder.
Hello alan_r, Thankyou for your attempt to help. This is a globally installed addon. From Fx Support it tells you need to go to the place I wrote in the request as there is NO remove button on the standard addon list. Sorry, but maybe you do not have experience with globally installed addons. Thankyou
Modified
Oops, sorry, that's all about Windows.
To discovery the location of an extension on your Mac, you may need to peek inside a settings file. Here's what I suggest:
Open your current Firefox settings (AKA Firefox profile) folder using either
- "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Troubleshooting Information
- (menu bar) Help > Troubleshooting Information
- type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter
In the first table on the page, click the "Show in Finder" button. This should launch a new window listing your settings files.
Scroll down and find extensions.json and make a copy somewhere convenient, then open the copy in a text editor.
In the file, search for create pdf and you should see information such as the following:
{"id":"web2pdfextension@web2pdf.adobedotcom","syncGUID":"7DB34GR-Zdf6","location":"winreg-app-global","version":"2.0","type":"extension","internalName":null,"updateURL":null,"updateKey":null,"optionsURL":null,"optionsType":null,"aboutURL":null,"icons":{},"iconURL":"chrome://web2pdfextension/skin/C_AdobeLogo_48x48.png","icon64URL":"chrome://web2pdfextension/skin/C_AdobeLogo_64x64.png","defaultLocale":{"name":"Adobe Acrobat - Create PDF","description":"Converts a web page to PDF","creator":"Adobe Systems Incorporated","homepageURL":"http://www.adobe.com/"},"visible":true,"active":true,"userDisabled":false,"appDisabled":false,"descriptor":"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Adobe\\Acrobat 11.0\\Acrobat\\Browser\\WCFirefoxExtn","installDate":1448257077226,"updateDate":1453998002148,"applyBackgroundUpdates":1,"bootstrap":false,"skinnable":false,"size":335734,"sourceURI":null,"releaseNotesURI":null,"softDisabled":false,"foreignInstall":false,"hasBinaryComponents":false,"strictCompatibility":false,"locales":[],"targetApplications":[{"id":"{ec8030f7-c20a-464f-9b0e-13a3a9e97384}","minVersion":"4.0","maxVersion":"46.0"}],"targetPlatforms":[],"multiprocessCompatible":false,"signedState":2,"seen":true}
If you skim through the parameters, you will find "descriptor" which has the path on disk to the extension file.
my troubleshooting information says:
Adobe Acrobat - Create PDF 2.0 false web2pdfextension@web2pdf.adobedotcom I just re-read your post. my bad.
I am to VIEW and search WITHIN the extensios.json. Got it now.
here is what i found, searching on Create PDF:
{"name":"Adobe Acrobat - Create PDF","description":"Converts a web page to PDF","creator":"Adobe Systems Incorporated","homepageURL":"http://www.adobe.com/"},"visible":true,"active":false,"userDisabled":true,"appDisabled":true,"descriptor":"/Library/Application Support/Mozilla/Extensions/{ec8030f7-c20a-464f-9b0e-13a3a9e97384}/web2pdfextension@web2pdf.adobedotcom","installDate":1442788791000,"updateDate":1442788791000,"applyBackgroundUpdates":1,"bootstrap":false,"skinnable":false,"size":135272,"sourceURI":null,"releaseNotesURI":null,"softDisabled":false,"foreignInstall":true,"hasBinaryComponents":false,"strictCompatibility":false,"locales":[],"targetApplications":[{"id":"{ec8030f7-c20a-464f-9b0e-13a3a9e97384}","minVersion":"4.0","maxVersion":"*.*"}],"targetPlatforms":[],"multiprocessCompatible":false,"signedState":0,"seen":true},{"id":"{891f0410-aaa2-11e0-9f1c-0800200c9a66}","syncGUID":"lDIXIpbdku-y","location":"app-profile","version":"2.15","type":"extension","internalName":null,"updateURL":null,"updateKey":null,"optionsURL":"chrome://updateaddon/content/settings.xul","optionsType":null,"aboutURL":null,"iconURL":null,"icon64URL":null,"defaultLocale":{"name":"Add-on Update Checker
I searched in extensions folder under my profile: ec8030f7-c20a-464f-9b0e-13a3a9e97384, nothing 891f0410-aaa2-11e0-9f1c-0800200c9a66, is there
Do I delete and what part do I need to edit in .json file?
Modified
In your plug-ins you have - "A plugin to detect whether the Adobe Application Manager is installed on this machine." Do you know why? I would suggest you remove it. Your Adobe Acrobat - Create PDF is an extension, not a plug-in, that I very much doubt would be globally installed on its own.
Chosen Solution
You do not need to edit the extensions.json file. Firefox will remove that extension from the file once you have removed the folder where the extension is located.
I think that {891f0410-aaa2-11e0-9f1c-0800200c9a66} is a different extension and is best left alone. You can check the install.rdf file in that folder to check what this extension is.
Did you check this folder?
- /Library/Application Support/Mozilla/Extensions/{ec8030f7-c20a-464f-9b0e-13a3a9e97384}
This is the global /Library folder and not the ~/Library folder in the home directory that is used for the Firefox profile folders. The "/Library/Application Support" might be a hidden folder.
The extension should be installed in a sub folder in this folder.
- /Library/Application Support/Mozilla/Extensions/{ec8030f7-c20a-464f-9b0e-13a3a9e97384}/web2pdfextension@web2pdf.adobedotcom
Note that {ec8030f7-c20a-464f-9b0e-13a3a9e97384} is the ID of the Firefox application, so leave alone any folders with this name.
Your absolutely brilliant cor-el Found it!
Deleted it!
As you guessed, I was looking at the user /Library folder rather than the system /folder and had to turn show invisible.
Thankyou
You're welcome.