I discus why I need to use Kiosk mode on the Internet Explorer 7’s Kiosk Mode How-to. This is a How-to on achieving the same functionality in Firefox 2. I will only cover one method, as each of these plugins have pretty detailed instructions. It’s a lot easier to get kiosk mode running of Firefox then Internet Explorer because of plugins!

I chose Real Kiosk because it has the simplest install and usability!

Please read the entire article before attempting this because you will not be able to uninstall it without knowing how before hand!

Installation

  1. Open Firefox and goto the Real Kiosk plugin page.
  2. Click the install link
  3. Restart Firefox

You are now in full kiosk mode and you can still use tabs!

Options

There are some options you can invoke by editing the user.js file. You can open it by typing Windows Key+R and the following, quotes and all:

"C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\"
There will be a folder with a random name ending in .default

Open that folder and look for a file named: user.js (if it doesn’t exist, open notepad, save it with the name “user.js” and set the “Save file type as” to “All files”)
Notepad, Save File As

Enable The Navigation Toolbar

If you want to have the enable Navigation toolbar, add the following:
user_pref("rkiosk.navbar", true);

Remove The Print Dialog

If you want to remove the print dialog, add following:
user_pref("print.always_print_silent",true);
user_pref("print.show_print_progress",false);

Additional Information

Now the users can still close Firefox using Alt+F4 – just as with IE7’s Kiosk mode. Again, to prevent this, you’ll need to use a lockdown application like Fortres.

Uninstallation

  1. You will need to run Firefox in Safe Mode. To enter Safe Mode you must first make sure Firefox is not running in the background. This includes all windows like the Download Manager and Extensions that open in a separate window.This should not be confused with restarting the computer in Windows Safe Mode!Use the “Mozilla Firefox (Safe Mode)” shortcut in the Mozilla Firefox program folder in the Windows Start Menu. If you have accidentally deleted this shortcut, you can start Firefox or Thunderbird in Safe Mode by Windows Key+R and entering the following, quotes and all:"C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" -safe-mode
  2. This will open the following window, click “Disable all add-ons”, then “Continue in Safe Mode”.Firefox Safe Mode Options
  3. When Firefox opens, click the “Tools” menu then “Add-ons”.
    Firefox's Tools Menu, Add-ons
  4. In the Extensions Manager, click “Uninstall” for R-kiosk.
    Firefox's Uninstall Add-ons Diolog
  5. Now restart Firefox and you should be good!