The Neopets Toolbar doesn't work in Firefox 3!
Currently, the Neopets Toolbar was programmed not to install in Firefox 3.

The same trick which we use to make Neopets Toolbar worked for Firefox 2 more than a year ago does not work this time. Even though the Neopets Toolbar appears, something within it broke unfortunately, preventing the Neopets Toolbar from checking the Neopets server for alert updates.

Currently there are only two solutions available (easier than the last time we make Neopets Toolbar compatible with Firefox 2 :P):

- One, downgrade the Firefox back to Firefox 2. There is a link to download Firefox 2 within the "Status: Versions" section on the right. You may have to re-download your existing extensions if their new versions are not compatible with Firefox 2.

- Two, install the Neopets Toolbar Add-on 3 without the Neopets Toolbar enabled. If you have already modified Neopets Toolbar and/or Firefox 3, and already enabled Neopets Toolbar - Please disable it. If you keep the Neopets Toolbar enabled, the Add-on will "piggyback" itself on Neopets Toolbar. Since Neopets Toolbar is already broken, both extensions will fail to work.

Advisory:
It is not recommended to disable secure checking in Firefox 3. Even though this will prevent non-secure extensions from working, this is a problem which the developers must solve THEMSELVES, not you.

If you also disable version checking, please re-enable it back also. None of the developers want cases where the incompatible extensions crashes the Firefox. Unless you know what you're doing (eg. tester, developer, risk taker :P), DO NOT modify the Firefox internal preferences! The warning is there for a reason...

Posted on 30 August 2008 2245 NST.Back to top

Does Neopets Toolbar work in Linux/Mac?
The Neopets Toolbar does work in Linux (and most likely in Mac also). The only problem is some of the functionalities of Neopets Toolbar will not work properly on these platform.

These are the functionalities which are not working:
- Neopets Toolbar Option dialog (You'll not be able to remove any Neopets Toolbar button)
- Dailies (It doesn't retrieve the dailies list from Neopets server)
- Favourites (Unable to find/open the favourites file)

Other than the above-mentioned bugs, the rest of the Neopets Toolbar are working properly, including checking for new Tarla alert, emails and neomails. This is tested on Linux, using Firefox 2.

As for current, Neopets Toolbar is not working for Firefox 3, thus this document does not apply for Firefox 3.

To install Neopets Toolbar in Linux/Mac for Firefox 2, just use the Neopet Toolbar xpi.

Posted on 30 August 2008 2301 NST.Back to top

Neopets Toolbar stops loading with a message "Neopets Toolbar Loading..."!
If your Neopets Toolbar is unable to display the buttons, it is most likely the VSI server (or the network route to VSI server) is down.

How do you find out whether your computer is able to access the VSI server? You can try to directly access "http://vsiupdate.neopets.com/nShared/tbconfig-firefox/toolbarConfig_en.xml" (The two characters after _ depends on the browser locale you're using - Chinese will be "ch", Japanese will be "ja", Korean will be "ko", etc.). You should be able to retrieve a long list of settings and links use by Neopets Toolbar.

If you're able to access the link, try clearing the browser cache and restart the browser.

Unconfirmed:
I'm unable to recreate the following scenario sent in by a user, but I'll still place it here for reference. If this really fixes the loading problem, drop me an email.

By default, Firefox uses both memory and disk cache. The amount of memory cache depends on your RAM, while the disk cache is 50 MB by default. You can check the cache status by typing "about:cache" into the address bar.

According to the user, if you reduce the amount of disk cache Firefox can use, Neopets Toolbar will not be able to load. It's only when he reset the disk cache to default, the Neopets Toolbar loads upon browser restart.

If you did mess around with your cache settings, try it - It might help. For me, I just can't make the toolbar stop loading by decreasing the disk cache, even with the memory cache disabled...

Posted on 30 August 2008 2318 NST.Back to top

The favourites lists disappear after I updated my Neopets Toolbar!
If you read this after you update the Neopets Toolbar - Sorry, you'll have to re-add all the links again.

The two favourites lists use by Neopets Toolbar are stored within the Neopets Toolbar extension folder. Although it looks logical to place the files there, due to the way TNT packaged their Neopets Toolbar, Firefox will overwrite those files with clean lists every time you update. Bummer...

If you want to keep the favourites lists intact, you'll need to copy two files before updating.

- If you have "Extension Manager Extended" installed:
Right click on Neopets Toolbar extension within the Firefox extensions dialog, and choose "Open Containing Folder". Then go within these folders: chrome >> data. You should be able to find these two files: "userFavorites.dat" and "plcFavorites.dat". Copy them to somewhere safe and update Neopets Toolbar. After updating, just copy back those files. REMEMBER to click on the favourites button on the Neopets Toolbar so it'll recognise the changes.

- If you do not have an easy way to get into the extension folder:
Initiate a search for "{2cb97724-d789-4f43-8888-a763cbb8df6f}" (exactly, without quotes). Remember to let the search look into "hidden files and folders". Once it found the folder, double click and follow the instructions above, starting from chrome >> data.

Posted on 30 August 2008 2332 NST.Back to top

How do I change the order of the dailies?
The dailies in the Neopets Toolbar is directly connected to the dailies on the Neopets premium portal page. Take note that currently only premium users are able to change the dailies order.

Access your premium portal page and go into "Portal Preferences". Next, choose "Dailies". Make your changes and save. The Neopets Toolbar should update itself after a few minutes (I need confirmation). If not, restart browser.

Technical Note:
The Neopets Toolbar updates itself by downloading a user specific xml from Neopets server. The Neopets server first read the neopets.com cookies sent by your browser and identify the user. It'll then generate the xml according to the user settings.

Even when a user log out of his/her account, your browser still keeps the username of the last logged in account (while removing the cookie which maintains the log in status). Thus, the Neopets Toolbar will still retrieve the settings of the logged out account without problem.

If a user removes all the neopets.com cookies, the Neopets Toolbar will instead retrieve the default settings for all non-premium users (all dailies visible in their default order).

Need Confirmation:
It is unknown whether it'll affect an ex-premium user permanently if he/she changes the dailies order before quitting premium.

Posted on 30 August 2008 2338 NST.Back to top

Is it possible to change the audio alert?
Yes you can. Unfortunately, it's currently limited to wave files only.

Initiate a search for "ntaddon@swordfire.net". Within that directory, you should be able to find a wave file called "alert.wav". Just overwrite that file with another wave file (renamed to the same filename) and restart browser.

Posted on 30 August 2008 2341 NST.Back to top

Why is my alert button in red instead of grey?
There are a lot of reasons why the alert button display a warning red instead of an inactive grey. It's normal for the button to turn red for 1-2 minutes before turning back to grey, but if it stays red for a prolong period of time, try going through this list:

- Access the add-on's option dialog and check if you accidentally prevent the add-on from checking for new neomail/email/Tarla alert.
- Now check if all the three alert buttons are displayed in red. If it is, either TNT DNS server is down, or VSI server is down.
- To check which server is down, try pinging "vsiupdate.neopets.vsi.net". Open the command prompt, then type in "ping vsiupdate.neopets.vsi.net". If it returns "Request timed out", the VSI server is down and it's not Neopets fault.
- If you wish to check Neopets DNS server too, it's "vsiupdate.neopets.com". It should resolved to "vsiupdate.neopets.vsi.net".
- If the alert buttons display red randomly, it could be caused by poor network condition or poor server respond time. In such cases, you may want to try increasing the add-on check interval at the add-on's option dialog. Usually I'll ignore it in this case.

Note:
Just pinging the server is not a good indicator that the server is working properly. It is possible that the server is up, but the script spitting out errors (permanently or randomly).

Posted on 30 August 2008 2351 NST.Back to top

Can I reset the Neopets Toolbar GUID?
If you (for whatever reason) want to reset your current Neopets Toolbar GUID, you can do it easily.

Just type "about:config" into the address bar, then look for "neopets.toolbar.InstallationGUID". Double click on it, clear everything and click OK. Restart browser.

Also, if the GUID was corrupted for any reason (missing a digit, extra digit or invalid character), the Add-on will regenerate a new GUID automatically.

For those curious:
The GUID is randomly generated every time the Neopets Toolbar find an empty GUID. It's in HEX code, with a total of 32 digits - Enough for everybody in Neopets to have a unique GUID on several systems on several browsers. How many exactly? Read this: 340282366920938463463374607431768211456!

Initially I mentioned that the main purpose is to check if TNT had alert the user when Tarla is around. Now I suspect that is not the case - I'll need to re-test it again.

Since the GUID is used whenever the Neopets Toolbar checks the Neopets server for alerts status, it is more likely a method for TNT to keep track how many copies of the Neopets Toolbar are running (if they do keep track).

Posted on 31 August 2008 0140 NST.Back to top

Is there any known compatibility issues with other Firefox addons?
All the known compatibility issues are listed below. If you managed to find another Firefox extensions which clash with either Neopets Toolbar or Neopets Toolbar Add-on, please sent me a message.





Posted on 16 September 2007.Back to top