Classilla 9.2: Installation and Release Notes

This version of Classilla is now obsolete and is no longer supported. A more current version of Classilla is now available.

This document discusses basic usage and installation instructions for this version of Classilla. For more tips, suggestions and help, you might also want to read the official Classilla FAQ.

• Download Classilla 9.2 from Google Code (19.1MB, StuffIt archive).

Classilla is provided to you under the Mozilla Public License.

System Requirements

Classilla is compatible with Apple Virtual Memory and Connectix RAM Doubler 9, but this may cause unpredictable performance problems and is recommended only for those systems with low physical RAM ceilings (such as the PowerBook 1400). You will observe better performance with adequate physical memory and Virtual Memory off, and better still if you use a RAM disk for your cache. You should also make sure you have adequate disk cache in the Memory control panel, as poor disk caching can also slow Classilla down.

If you are using a system with 128MB of RAM or less, or want to run Classilla on a system with less than 64MB of physical RAM, please see the section on Running Classilla With Low Memory below.

Upgrading From a Previous Version of Classilla

If you have any special plugins installed, be sure to copy them to a separate folder, and copy them back to the Plug-ins folder after installation, as this process may overwrite them.

Classilla is provided as a StuffIt archive, compatible with version 5 and later of StuffIt Expander. You can unpack it by dropping the archive on your StuffIt Expander icon, or opening it with StuffIt Expander.

To replace your old Classilla, make sure you have quit Classilla, then drag the Classilla folder inside the unpacked StuffIt archive to your Macintosh's Applications directory to replace the old version. Assuming they have the same name, the Finder will replace the old folder with the new one. You may then delete the archive folder. To start Classilla, open the Classilla folder in your Applications folder and double click the Classilla application. Do not delete or move files in the Classilla folder, as they are essential for its operation.

You can keep multiple versions of Classilla on your computer if you prefer the features of earlier versions, although you should make sure that the desired version opens your saved pages and URLs as they will all have the same creator code.

If you experience problems with installation, report it with the Classilla Report-A-Bug system. Please do not file issues on Google Code; a triage reviewer will do that for you if needed.

Upgrading From WaMCom, Mozilla or Netscape 7

If you wish to keep your old bookmarks, you can save the HTML bookmarks file from your profile and replace it after Classilla starts for the first time. You may also decide to keep your mailbox files, although you will need to re-enter your login and server information. Do not keep or alter any other files. Replace these files only when Classilla is not running.

Classilla is provided as a StuffIt archive, compatible with version 5 and later of StuffIt Expander. You can unpack it by dropping the archive on your StuffIt Expander icon, or opening it with StuffIt Expander. Drag the Classilla folder inside the unpacked archive to your Macintosh's Applications directory to copy it, then delete the archive folder. To start Classilla, open the Classilla folder in your Applications folder and double click the Classilla application. Do not delete or move files in the Classilla folder, as they are essential for its operation.

If you have no profiles (which will be the case if you followed the instructions above), a new default one will be created for you with default settings and bookmarks, and Classilla will try to connect to the default Classilla Start Page. If this occurs successfully, your installation is complete.

Otherwise, if you have an existing WaMCom or Mozilla profile and have decided to preserve it anyway, Classilla will attempt to use it. You should make sure that it acts correctly and that your settings were preserved, and read Known Problems below to determine what settings, if any, need to be changed.

If you are attempting to remove a profile (or your old profile), or add a new one for another user, you can access profiles when Classilla has started up by going to Tools > Manage Profiles.

If you wish to keep your old browser, you should still make a separate profile in Classilla so that you still get the benefit of the updated settings. You can still transfer your bookmarks and mailbox files to this new profile once Classilla has started for the first time. Replace these files only when Classilla is not running. To start Classilla in the profile manager, double click Mozilla Profile Wizard, not Classilla. Make sure that the expected application starts, as Classilla uses the same creator code.

If you experience problems with installation, report it with the Classilla Report-A-Bug system. Please do not file issues on Google Code; a triage reviewer will do that for you if needed.

Running Classilla With Low Memory

For optimum utilization of your Mac's RAM, Classilla uses two forms of memory: preferentially its fixed allocation, assigned in the Finder, for the majority of windows and tabs that are open, but also temporary memory, primarily for images, if it runs out of regular memory. You can access the application's memory settings from the Finder by finding and selecting the Classilla application in the Classilla folder, then pressing Command-I for its Get Info box.

Classilla requires approximately 40MB of RAM to start in a functional state using a single window. You should not set its memory allocation lower than this minimum, or you may make it impossible for Classilla to start up. This minimum is intended for systems that just barely reach the 64MB RAM mark. You should avoid opening multiple windows or large numbers of tabs on these systems, as this may cause the browser to run out of memory and quit unexpectedly.

Classilla prefers at least 60-80MB of RAM in order to keep multiple windows open. The preferred allocation is intended to grab this amount of memory for systems with 128MB of RAM or more, although on systems just at 128MB of RAM it may prevent other applications from getting sufficient memory. In that case, you may reduce it down towards the minimum, but be advised that opening large numbers of simultaneous windows and tabs may cause Classilla to become progressively more unstable as you reduce its fixed memory allocation.

If it is not possible to install more physical RAM in your computer, such as with systems like the PowerBook 1400 which are limited to 64MB, you can dramatically increase stability at the cost of performance by using a virtual memory manager. While this will make your Mac slower, you will be able to give Classilla more "memory" to use, and this will allow the application to be more stable. You can use Apple's Virtual Memory under the Memory control panel, or a third-party system such as Connectix RAM Doubler, both of which are compatible with Classilla. You should try to create as much virtual space as your hard drive is able to accommodate; it is recommended that you create a total of 128MB of memory or more (combined between your physical and virtual memory), and allow Classilla as close to its maximum preferred allocation as you can.

Known Problems (Major) "What To Do If Sites Don't Work"

The most important issues in this version of Classilla are listed below. If you experience problems, report it with the Classilla Report-A-Bug system. Please do not file issues on Google Code; a triage reviewer will do that for you if needed. For more tips, suggestions and help, you might also want to read the official Classilla FAQ.

• Certain sites make Classilla quit unexpectedly.

  There are several low-level system bugs in both JavaScript and layout, the most serious of which may cause sites to appear wrong, leak data, allow sites to escalate privilege, or cause the browser to hang, crash or quit unexpectedly. Although this version of Classilla repairs many more of these bugs, others remain.

  Classilla uses a simplified version of NoScript to help prevent these bugs from triggering with casual browsing, but just the same, you should only place sites in your white-list (described below) that you trust and appear to function correctly. If Classilla crashes, please note the URL for our bug report site, then save all documents, close all applications and restart your Macintosh. Report the bug when you resume your browsing session. Please note that some sites will not function fully with JavaScript disabled.

  NoScript, by default, disables JavaScript completely for all sites except those you white-list. You can access the white-list by clicking the S icon at the bottom right of the window, and enter hostnames for sites you trust. If you choose to disable NoScript and use JavaScript on all sites, you may check the global JavaScript option but because of the known security issues is at your own risk. You may need to reload the current page if you have just enabled JavaScript on it to make sure it can load all of its resources.

  Some sites may prevent you from clicking links or viewing content while JavaScript is enabled due to these bugs. If the page you are browsing does not seem to respond to your activities or clicks, or does not show content that you expect, make sure that JavaScript is disabled and reload the page.

• Certain sites make Classilla very slow to render or appear to freeze.

  There are several low-level system bugs in both JavaScript and layout, the most serious of which may cause sites to appear wrong, leak data, allow sites to escalate privilege, or cause the browser to hang, crash or quit unexpectedly. Although this version of Classilla repairs many more of these bugs, others remain.

  If a page takes a long time to display, it is possible that it is using advanced or complex JavaScript that is not fully supported by Classilla (or may require more CPU power than your Macintosh is capable of). You can stop any executing script by holding down the Command key and pressing the period "." key until you regain control of the browser. This will cancel any layout or script task that is currently executing. Note that some pages may not work correctly when you do this, and you should close the window or tab and reload the page after making sure that JavaScript is off, and/or that the site is not in your NoScript white list (see the instructions above). However, Classilla will normally detect a script that is taking an excessive amount of time to execute and, after a timeout period, give you a chance to safely abort the script or continue running it.

  Certain complex layouts may also cause Classilla to take an excessive length of time to display them, even if JavaScript is off. If Classilla is still taking a long time to render a page or seems to have stopped responding, you can also cancel layout in the same manner by holding down the Command key and pressing "." (the period key). Cmd-Period will then cause any layout or script task the browser is working on to stop. Hold these keys down until you have regained control of the browser. Note that this may cause portions of the page to be displayed incorrectly, as layout was interrupted before it could complete. If you consistently need to abort layout on a particular site, please report it to Report-A-Bug so that the problem can be further investigated.

  Using Cmd-Period as an "all-stop" is safe to do and does not require you to restart your computer, but cancelling a script task during its execution may leave the current document in an indeterminate state. After you cancel a JavaScript task, you should close the current window or tab then reload the page with JavaScript off. However, if you are completely unable to cancel and must Force-Quit Classilla from the OS to regain control, it is recommended that you save all documents, close all applications and restart your Macintosh.

• When I scroll certain sites, my browser window gets garbled.

  Some sites use layout techniques that are not compatible with Classilla's usual fast scrolling code, even though Classilla can display them otherwise. If scrolling the page causes the display to become fragmented or garbled, hold down the Command key as you scroll to update using a different scrolling method. The alternative method is slower, but more compatible. When you release the Command key, Classilla uses its selected default.

  If you are on a site that requires you to Command-scroll frequently, you can toggle slow scroll on by default by going to View > Use Slow Scroll, which uses a slower but more complete scrolling method. You can also toggle this setting by pressing Command-Shift-S. This will reload the page. This setting is sticky and persists until you change it, even if you navigate to a different site or quit the browser.

• Certain sites say my browser is not supported.

  Some sites such as banks and certain ASP-based systems do not properly handle browsers they don't recognize. If a site does not work on Classilla but does work on WaMCom, or the site complains it does not recognize your browser, this may be the problem. You can change the user agent that Classilla sends to servers by going to Preferences and changing the setting in the User Agent panel. However, this may enable features Classilla may not fully support yet. This setting is sticky and persists until you change it, even if you navigate to a different site or quit the browser. If you start the browser with a custom user agent still selected, you will receive a warning.

• I don't see everything on certain sites that I expect to see.

  If JavaScript is disabled, you may need to enable it for some sites to work at all. Remember that the default state for NoScript is to block all sites unless you state otherwise. Most sites that absolutely require JavaScript will detect this problem, and will direct you to enable it.

  Otherwise, although Classilla's layout continues to improve, some pages still cannot be viewed properly by the browser. For those few very intractable sites, Classilla includes a de-styling option which may allow the site to be sufficiently navigable even though its design will be significantly altered. To de-style a troublesome page, go to View > Use Style and select None, and the page will reload with CSS styles disabled. Use Style > None will persist until you re-enable style sheets, even if you navigate to a different site, or until you restart the browser.

• Other known issues include the following:
  • When initially logging into Paypal, the browser may take an extremely long time to render the initial page after entering your username and password. This bug is known and is still being investigated. If the browser seems to have stopped responding while using Paypal.com, abort layout by holding down the Command and period "." keys until you regain control of the browser.

  • The helper applications list is not always populated in Preferences. This is not a frequently used option, but if you need to modify it, see issue 111 for a possible workaround.

  • Installing extensions is not supported in this version of Classilla. This is by design due to multiple compatibility issues.

  • Type-ahead-find does not respond on all pages. The Find dialogue (Command-F) works more reliably.

  • If you close all other windows while a download is in progress, you will not be able to open any other windows until the download dialogue box is closed, even if your download is finished. To avoid this, keep at least one other window open at all times.

  • HTTP/1.1 Keep-Alive offers higher network performance but does not work on all sites and some will respond with Bad Request errors. This is a point of ongoing investigation. For this reason, Keep-Alive is set to off by default in this version of Classilla. If you wish to use the higher performance setting, which works on the majority of servers, you may enable it under Preferences > Advanced > HTTP Networking. If you experience inexplicable server errors, make sure that Keep-Alive is turned off. Some proxies may also require it to be disabled.

  • Support for mice with scroll wheels is incomplete.

  • Java-based applications may not behave correctly or start properly on classic Mac OS systems due to the obsolete Java Runtime Environments available for these operating systems. There is no known alternative. It is strongly advised that you not run Java applets or applications on the classic Mac OS due to multiple known security and stability problems. Classilla now defaults Java to off, and provides a warning in the preferences dialogue.

New Features

• Completely rewritten JavaScript interpreter (C2), based on SpiderMonkey (the same interpreter used for Mozilla Firefox 3.0.x, with patches for Classilla). Although fully utilizing this interpreter requires better support for DOM than this version of Classilla supports currently, this enables most JavaScript to correctly parse, expands the number and quality of sites that function in some manner, greatly reduces browser crashes, and cuts benchmark execution time in half. Still, many sites will only partially operate due to the current implementation of the Document Object Model. A comprehensive upgrade to DOM and layout is scheduled for 9.3.
• Theming is now specifically supported (C110). However, Classilla is only compatible with themes for Mozilla 1.3 and earlier, or Netscape 7 and earlier. You must enable software installation to install a new theme (if you do not, the browser will now display an alert).
• Both layout reflow and the currently executing script can now be cancelled by holding down Cmd-Period (C123). Note that cancelling a script during its execution could leave event handlers in an indeterminate state, and you should close the current window or tab to completely regain control. This all-stop escape does not cancel chrome scripts, so the browser interface will still operate normally.
• Command-scrolling is now implemented (C28) to help gloss over problems with scrolling on some sites instead of having to check and uncheck Use Slow Scroll. To use Command-scrolling, hold down the Command key as you use the scroll bar or mouse wheel.
• Additional minor improvements to layout (C96 C122). These help eliminate ghosted or doubled images on many sites, although this can cause some pages to scroll slower. You can hold down the Command key and scroll if you believe Classilla is using the wrong scrolling method. A comprehensive upgrade to DOM and layout is scheduled for 9.3.
• New easter egg.

Issues Repaired (Major)

• Plugins are now enumerated from scratch on startup (C113). This slightly slows application startup, but may help with some problematic plugins that can cause Classilla to freeze.
• An error condition in certain printer drivers should no longer crash Classilla (C121).
• Clicking around in offline or non-fetching mail folders should no longer crash Classilla (C124).

Complete Change List

• system and stability: C110, C111, C113, C121, C123

• layout: C28, C96, C122

• mail-news: C124 (M218725)

• JavaScript-DOM: C2 (SpiderMonkey plus custom changes for Classilla), C118, C119 (M211634/m plus custom code), C120 (M67873 M192170 M211634/m M216237 M217562 M226462/m M233142/p)

Previous Versions

Prior to this version, you can still download:

• Classilla 9.1
• Classilla 9.0.4
• Classilla 9.0