Firefox from command line?

Forum: Other Help Topics
Topic: Firefox from command line?
started by: django

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Posted by django on April 03 2005,10:42

In the latest version of DSL I can't start Firefox from the Aterm command line
copy it to the bin didn't work. I'm stucked here.. Help me please. (new user)

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Posted by tronik on April 03 2005,13:36

type 'locate firefox' then find where it is, ls the dir it tells you, make sure its there, then type the full path to it, ie. /usr/local/bin/firefox-bin

or

/usr/local/bin/firefox

if you want it to background, use & after it, ie.

/usr/local/bin/firefox &
this will give you your terminal back.

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Posted by WoofyDugfock on April 03 2005,15:10

Just an aside - I think you need gnu-utils installed and then run updatedb to use locate.
Does typing "which firefox" return the path to it (not on dsl at the moment)?

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Posted by roberts on April 03 2005,15:44

If the command is in your path, the command to use it whereis

whereis firefox

If not in your path then I would use the find command.

find / -name firefox

There are many options for find. It is definately worth learning them.

locate does need gnu-utils and updatedb which create a searchable database.
Not something you should do in a live or OCI environment, as it would use up ram space.

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Posted by tronik on April 03 2005,15:45

Ah yes...You are correct, you will need those. And yes, 'which' or 'whereis' will return the full path (if its in your path). ;)

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Posted by mikshaw on April 03 2005,16:14

But then if it's in your path then this discussion would not have occured

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Posted by cbagger01 on April 04 2005,03:29

How about opening up the Fluxbox menu file and take a peek at the Firefox exec command?

It is located at /home/dsl/.fluxbox/menu

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Posted by django on April 04 2005,08:46

Thanks for the tip. The & after is even better!
But wy do I have to type /usr/local/bin/bla/bla/bla ?
Wy not just firefox? Seems like thy put the firefox in the wrong directories.
Is there a way to fix this? I tried it but nada. I only get errormessages.

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Posted by django on April 04 2005,09:10

Is there a way to create a link in the /usr/local/bin to firefox?
And can you do this with MC ?

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Posted by mikshaw on April 04 2005,14:36

why: because firefox is not in your path.  PATH is an environment variable which contains a list of directories searched whenever you issue a command. If a directory is not in your path, any executables in that directory will need to be started with a full or relative path.

how: if you are using a harddrive install, or if you have /ramdisk/usr/local/bin, you can make a symlink:
sudo ln -s /usr/local/bin/firefox/firefox /usr/local/bin/
Or if you don't have a writeable bin directory, you could link it somewhere within your $HOME directory add that directory to your path:
export PATH=/home/dsl/somedir:$PATH

In mc, press <Ctrl>x, then s.  Link will be made in the opposite directory to the selected file.  only works as root in system directories.

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Posted by django on April 05 2005,10:42

Thanks verry much. I'm a fast learner and I realy like Linux a lot.
Use to work on the Pc, then switched to Mac and now into Linux.
It's a wonderfull world.  And I feel welcome in Linux. Thanks again!

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