MHT files with Topicscape and Firefox

Topicscape has a capability that makes web research particularly easy: It lets you capture web pages and file them in Topicscape with a single drag.  And because it queues up the MHT-making process, you can carry on browsing while the MHT (Internet Archive) file is made.

This means that as you search and browse you can drop interesting items into Topicscape and just keep going without breaking stride.  Later you can go back and review your findings in detail.  This works out of the box for Internet Explorer.

We had a user ask recently when we were going to make FireFox interact with Topicscape in the same way, for dragging favicons to make an MHT (Internet Archive) file with a single operation. 

This reminded me that we haven’t emphasised the solution to this recently, other than adding an FAQ about it, but FireFox is getting ever more popular so more an more users must be encountering this, and maybe not all have visited our FAQs.  This is a FireFox issue rather than a Topicscape one and thanks to Topicscape user Michael Shroder, we were able to provide a solution.  Yesterday, I retested this with the latest version of FireFox (3.0.7) and was pleased to find that it’s just as good as ever.  Here it is:

Open Firefox.  Go to http://www.unmht.org/unmht/en_index.htmland click on the .xpi link to install the .mht add-on for Firefox. (Click on it, Firefox gives a warning. Click on the options button to add www.unmht.org to the add-ins list. Close that, and click on the .xpi link again and it installs.)

Change the file association so that .mht launches Firefox instead of IE. Directions can be found here:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2052279_change-file-type-associations-windows.html?ref=fuel

Previewing the file in TopicScape works (except in Vista because MS removed the function), and double-clicking the file opens it in Firefox.
 
Roy