Why does scripting not work in Firefox?

In this excerpt from
Answercast #51, I look at some common causes of JavaScript failing in the
Firefox browser.

Foxfire?

One thing I want to be very clear about here and I actually see this mistake
being made often. The browser is not Foxfire. The browser is “Firefox.”

It’s very important that we call tools and things by their proper name so
that when you are searching for solutions on the internet, you actually find
the proper solutions for the tools that you’re using.

So, remember that. It’s important. The browser is called Firefox, not
Foxfire.

Check JavaScript settings

Now, there are two things that I’m going to have you do.

I believe you already did this, but in Tools in
Options, there are ways to turn JavaScript off.

Clearly, that’s one thing that you apparently have done. I’ll have you
double check it – to make sure that in “Options” in Firefox – JavaScripting,
in general, is enabled.

NoScript extension

The other thing and this actually surprises me sometimes when it
happens, but there is an extension, a highly regarded extension, that
sometimes people install without realizing what it does. It’s the “NoScript
extension.”

What that does is it actually turns off JavaScript on a site-by-site
basis.

Now, the interesting thing is – when you go to a site like Gmail.com, you
may have NoScript set to allow scripting on “Gmail.com.” But what you don’t
realize is that, after you login (or at some point in the process), the actual
URL changes to be something like “mail.google.com.”

NoScript sees that as a separate site that requires a separate exception for
scripting.

So, if you have NoScript installed, then make sure that it is set to allow
scripting on the domains on which you are currently having a problem. That
means looking at the URL

Look in the address bar

NoScript is so easy to use… it actually means:

• When you’re on the page that is causing you a problem;

• Go ahead and right-click on the NoScript icon;

• And tell it to allow exceptions on this particular URL (which is usually
  going to be either mail.google.com or google.com, but it may be something else,
  so definitely pay attention to what NoScript is telling you.)

But those are the two things that come to mind. By and large, Firefox should
run JavaScript just fine.

Clean installation

The final piece of advice I have is that if none of the above applies to you
at all, one of the things that I would certainly do is uninstall Firefox and
reinstall.

Actually, download and reinstall the latest copy of Firefox, simply to make
sure that everything is reset to its proper initial state.

Another browser

And I suppose a last ditch effort is to say, you know what? If you can’t get
Firefox to work, download Google Chrome.

I can guarantee you Google Chrome works great with Gmail and is a perfectly
fine browser that in recent years, I’ve taken to using in lieu of
Firefox.