Author: Whit Blauvelt
Email: whit@transpect.com
Web Page: http://www.transpect.com
Date Submitted: Sat, Jan 10, 1998
Status: New Entry

Releases: 5.0
Platform: intel
Category:  Application Notes
Category Listing:  Stopping Netscape 4.04 from crashing on Java applets

Issue

Right after upgrading to Redhat 5.0 from 4.2, I upgraded from Netscape 4.03 
to 4.04, using Netscape's automatic installation script. The result was
Netscape's vanishing from the screen when it encountered a Java
applet. Netscape 4.03 had had no such problem.

Response

Netscape's "ns-install" script first looks to install Netscape into 
"MOZILLA_HOME" - if that environment variable is set. If not, it
defaults to /opt/netscape if an /opt directory exists, and then to
/usr/local/netscape. In my case, since I had an /opt directory (where
I'd previously installed 4.03 in /opt/netscape), that was its choice.

The end of Netscape's "README.install" file states:

"If you intend to move the 'netscape' binary into another directory
(like /usr/local/bin), then you must set MOZILLA_HOME in order for
Communicator to find all of its components. (MOZILLA_HOME would be set
to the installation directory in this case, NOT the directory in which
the binary resides.)"

Now, I didn't "move the 'netscape' binary into another directory,"
and 4.03 had been functioning without having MOZILLA_HOME set - but
it turns out with 4.04 it's necessary even if you don't move
the 'netscape' binary somewhere strange.

Since the shell I use is bash, putting:

MOZILLA_HOME=/opt/netscape
export MOZILLA_HOME

in /etc/bashrc fixes the problem.

References

(none)