URGENT: Do FEBE updates overwrite FEBE backup settings?

[VLM]

Thank you! I did as you suggested and FEBE did produce both bookmark backup files. Interestingly, I checked today's scheduled backup, and it produced both bookmark backup files, as well. Why the last several did not is a mystery to me!

You were correct, there were a bazillion deprecation errors, then these:

Timestamp: 10/17/2018 3:39:06 PM
Warning: Error in parsing value for ‘border-width’. Declaration dropped.
Source File: file:///C:/Users/Taylor/AppData/Roaming/Moonchild%20Productions/Pale%20Moon/Profiles/8eez2ga0.default/FEBEresults.html
Line: 54, Column: 17
Source Code:
border-width: 100%;

Timestamp: 10/17/2018 3:39:06 PM
Warning: Error in parsing value for ‘border-width’. Declaration dropped.
Source File: file:///C:/Users/Taylor/AppData/Roaming/Moonchild%20Productions/Pale%20Moon/Profiles/8eez2ga0.default/FEBEresults.html
Line: 58, Column: 17
Source Code:
border-width: 100%;

Timestamp: 10/17/2018 3:39:06 PM
Warning: Found unclosed string ‘"’. Expected declaration but found ‘"’. Skipped to next declaration.
Source File: file:///C:/Users/Taylor/AppData/Roaming/Moonchild%20Productions/Pale%20Moon/Profiles/8eez2ga0.default/FEBEresults.html
Line: 76, Column: 31
Source Code:
position: relative; top:0px;"


Regarding the CLEO shortcut idea, right now I press alt-T (Tools) > F (FEBE) > C (CLEO) > C (Create CLEOpack). I was just thinking that it might be nice to have one shortcut that does all that, and that the shortcut would be registered, so that users could configure it in keyconfig, as is presently the case with the FEBE backup and options shortcuts. Nothing fancier than that.

ADDENDUM: I just restored my "usual" FEBE settings and ran a backup … no bookmark files were created, even though the report says they were created. Sigh …

[cbaker_admin]

Are you running FEBE asynchronously (FEBE Options > How to backup > Run asynchronously)? If so, are you by chance closing PM immediately after FEBE displays the results report? When running asynchronously, the results report actually is displayed before the backup is complete (the backup is assigned to run in the background). If PM is closed prior to the backup completing, there would be, of course, missing items despite what the results report says.

Try un-checking the Run asynchronously box. The backup may seem to take a little bit longer, but it is guaranteed to be complete when the results report is displayed.

[VLM]

Thank you, Chuck. You were correct, I was running asynchronously. I turned that setting off and tried again, both in x32 and x64 PM, Win 7. I got the same results as before. All my add-ons are set to "Ask to activate". Here is my list of active/enabled extensions:

- Add Bookmark Helper 1.0.4
- Add-ons Manager Context Menu 0.4.2.1-signed.1-signed
- Cleanest Addon Manager 7.1
- CLEO 10.0
- Config Comments 1.0
- Cookie Controller 6.1
- CookieMan Context 2.4.1-signed.1-signed
- CryptoData 2.09
- Dorando keyconfig 2018.1
- Download YouTube Videos as MP4 1.8.10
- Extension List Dumper 2 1.0.2
- Extension Preferences Menu 2.13.19
- FEBE 10.4
- Go Parent Folder 2.9.1.1-signed.1-signed
- Hide Caption Titlebar Plus 2.8.6.1-signed
- Menu Wizard 5.10
- NoSquint 2.2.2
- Omnibar 0.7.28.20141004.1-signed.1-signed
- Omnibar Plus 1.0.20.1-signed.1-let-fixed.1-signed
- OPIE 10.0
- Organize Status Bar (Revived) 0.1.0.1-signed.1-signed
- Print pages to PDF 0.5.0.2.1
- RoboForm Toolbar 7.9.15.5
- ScrapBook X 1.14.5
- Screengrab (fix version) 0.99.12
- Self-Destructing Cookies for Pale Moon 1.0.4.13
- Session Manager 0.8.1.7
- Show my Password 2.0.1
- Show Parent Folder 2.1.1-signed.1-signed
- Tab Mix Plus 0.5.5.0
- uBlock Origin 1.16.4.5
- uBlock Origin Updater 1.6.3
- Version in Add-on bar 1.0.1-signed.1-signed
- Youtube and more - Easy Video Downloader 1.97.43
- YouTube High Definition 52.0.7

[cbaker_admin]

When you say "I got the same results as before", I'm assuming that the bookmarks are not backing up, correct?

If FEBE is not backing up the bookmarks consistently, we should check for an extension conflict. This is done by disabling/enabling half of your installed extensions at a time and testing FEBE between sessions. This can be a complicated and error-prone procedure when done manually, but fortunately I have written an extension for that. It is called or (FECT). Let's give it a try to see if there is a conflict.

Set up FEBE to perform a bookmarks only backup and run it between FECT sessions. If you have any questions about running FECT, please ask.

[VLM]

Hi Chuck,

I began the process of using FECT to find the problem/potential conflict. FECT works, but the process is incredibly laborious and slow. After days of this, I have decided that a much easier and more direct approach would be to create a clean PM installation and add extensions one or two at a time. Toward this end, I am creating backups of various things. I discovered that it is not only FEBE that cannot back up bookmarks, but Pale Moon itself (from the Library). Neither the .json nor the .html backup produces an output file. So something is very wrong.

Along the way, I did discover a set of bookmark backup files in the location

. …\AppData\Roaming\Moonchild Productions\Pale Moon\Profiles\<profile name>\bookmarkbackups

The most recent file there is bookmarks-2018-10-24_42703_cUQv+tSUsP-y-7IytsKc-w==.jsonlz4. I do not recognize the extension .jsonlz4. Do you? And do you have any idea what may have produced this group of backup files? (None has been produced since 10/24, when I began this FECT expedition.

I do have a bookmark backup file from the same date, which I can use to restore my bookmarks after I do the reinstall. But I thought to ask about this file, as well. I will set a copy aside.

Thank you.

EDIT: Is there a way to save the FECT database before I zorch PM, in case I decide to resume the process later?

[cbaker_admin]

[VLM]

Thank you, Chuck. I, too, found little on those PM-generated bookmark backup files.

I just posted on this topic , in the PM forum. I no longer consider this a FEBE issue, and it does not seem to involve an extension conflict. Would you be willing to read this post?

Thank you kindly!

[cbaker_admin]

I've subscribed to your thread and will follow it closely.

[VLM]

Thank you.

[cbaker_admin]

I have an idea. Perhaps your places.sqlite file needs cleaning. Try this extension:

VacuumPlacesImproved{1.2.1-signed.1-signed}.xpi

(29.37 KiB) Downloaded 598 times

[VLM]

Great idea, thank you. It didn't work, but still, thank you. And it does sound like something worth running from time to time, at least as long as it works in PM.

I hope to receive one or more constructive responses to the PM post. But today is Sunday, so it may take a while.

[VLM]

Chuck and all interested others,

I have spent the past 2–3 days testing, and I have just published my conclusions in the Pale Moon forum at . Long and short of it: FEBE is definitely not "the problem", though report pages do appear entirely too quickly, LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG before backups are actually completed. Had this not been the case, I might never have perceived the existence of a problem. I urge you, Chuck, to modify the code so that report pages do not appear until the backup process has been completed.

Best to all,

EDIT: Chuck, if you want a copy of my bookmarks for testing, just ask. I'm guessing that I have one of the largest bookmark setups in town!

[cbaker_admin]

I've just reviewed the FEBE code to see how the bookmarks are backed up.

FEBE will display the results report before the backup is complete because some of the items are backed up using library routines that always execute asynchronously (i.e., BookmarkJSONUtils.jsm). This is just how they were written and cannot be changed (at least by an extension developer, like me).

All of the items that FEBE generates that are .fbu or .xpi files (like extensions, permissions, full profile backups) can be created synchronously by un-checking the 'Run asynchronously' box in FEBE Options > How to backup. Anytime a backup is performed that includes bookmarks (and possibly other items), there are portions of code that run in the background (asynchronously) for which FEBE is not informed of when completed. If those portions of code could be run synchronously, FEBE would only display the results report after they actually completed.

I will research to see if there is a way FEBE can be notified when asynchronous routines finish.

If you would like to provide your bookmarks for testing, please upload a zipped version of one of your .jsonlz4 files from your profile/bookmarkbackups folder.

[VLM]

Thanks for explaining, Chuck, I had no idea. As I wrote in the PM forum, I suspect that most of the Library-related code hasn't been touched much in a LOOOOOOOOONG time. I've uploaded my bookmarks file via a PM to you.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!

Best,
Elchanan

[cbaker_admin]