SeaMonkey 2.38

These release notes describe system requirements, installation instructions, and known issues for SeaMonkey 2.38 up to/including SeaMonkey 2.38. These notes are updated when we receive feedback, so please check back for new information. Please note that the 2.38 release notes will be updated as soon as possible.

Downloading

The SeaMonkey project provides official versions of SeaMonkey 2.38 for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X in US English and experimental language packs for a small variety of other languages. Community volunteers are also contributing builds for other platforms. You can download SeaMonkey 2.38 here

System Requirements, Installation and Uninstallation



You can find more details about installation, profile data and uninstallation in our Before installing, make sure your computer meets the system requirements . SeaMonkey 2.38 will no longer offer to migrate your data from SeaMonkey 1.x or Mozilla 1.x at the first start after installation ( bug 689437 ). In order to upgrade from such an old version, install the last SeaMonkey 2.0 release first, do the one-time profile upgrade, uninstall SeaMonkey 2.0 and then install your target release (e.g. this one).You can find more details about installation, profile data and uninstallation in our install and uninstall document.

Extensions (Add-ons) and Themes

Extensions installed under SeaMonkey 1.x are not migrated to SeaMonkey 2, and may not be compatible for reinstalling in this version due to major changes in our architecture. Please report any issues to the maintainer of the extension. Extensions and Themes for SeaMonkey 2.38 can be installed from the SeaMonkey Add-Ons website or the "Get Add-Ons" section in the Add-ons Manager. Extensions with binary components such as Lightning, Enigmail and HTML Validator only work on certain platforms (e.g. Windows). Furthermore they need to be adjusted for each new SeaMonkey release, which also means that an old version of such an add-on can break SeaMonkey if you disabled compatibility checking (which e.g. happens when you install the Add-on Compatibility Reporter add-on). For Lightning , please check the Stable Releases section on the Calendar Versions page. Alternatively check the Lightning add-on page (Development Channel at the bottom of the page).

, please check the Stable Releases section on the Calendar Versions page. Alternatively check the Lightning add-on page (Development Channel at the bottom of the page). For Enigmail , please refer to the Enigmail Nightly Builds page.

, please refer to the Enigmail Nightly Builds page. For HTML Validator you need to check whether the Firefox version that appears on SeaMonkey's about: page is listed on the 0.9x download page. Note that only Windows is supported at this time. SeaMonkey 2.29 dropped support for the legacy JavaScript Debugger interface (JSD1). Hence add-ons that relied on it, like the JavaScript Debugger (Venkman) that came bundled with SeaMonkey, or Firebug 1.x, have stopped working. While Venkman has been discontinued, Firebug can simply be upgraded to a more recent version (2.x) which supports the new JSD2 interface. If you are searching for a Venkman replacement (especially for debugging SeaMonkey itself or add-ons), have a look at the Tiny JavaScript Debugger add-on.

Known Issues

The SSL 3.0 encryption protocol is no longer supported due to security concerns (bug 1106470). Legacy websites may still rely on it and will not work with the newer TLS 1.x protocols. Contact the website administrator to update their server to resolve the issue at the source.

Lightning does not work with SeaMonkey when icaljs is enabled, which it is by default (bug 1081534). As a workaround, disable icaljs by setting the calendar.icaljs pref to false in about:config.

The Remember Passwords add-on breaks password handling. Please disable or uninstall this add-on using the Add-ons Manager.

You cannot set up a new Sync account or pair a device anymore (bug 998807). Workaround: Use an older version of SeaMonkey for such tasks for now.

Data loss warning: If you use a profile with this or any later version and then try to go back to SeaMonkey 2.0, SeaMonkey will rename your history file to places.sqlite.corrupt and create a new places.sqlite file, effectively resetting your browsing history. This is because the internal format changed and the upgrade process only works in one direction. Additionally, running MailNews with local folders and POP3 mail filters may produce summary files that are not correctly read by previous versions of SeaMonkey. If you decide to go back to a previous version of SeaMonkey, you should delete the .msf files for your local folders and POP3 accounts or repair the folders using the folder properties dialog in order to avoid potential data loss.

If you use a profile with this or any later version and then try to go back to SeaMonkey 2.0, SeaMonkey will rename your history file to places.sqlite.corrupt and create a new places.sqlite file, effectively resetting your browsing history. This is because the internal format changed and the upgrade process only works in one direction. Additionally, running MailNews with local folders and POP3 mail filters may produce summary files that are not correctly read by previous versions of SeaMonkey. If you decide to go back to a previous version of SeaMonkey, you should delete the .msf files for your local folders and POP3 accounts or repair the folders using the folder properties dialog in order to avoid potential data loss. After creating a news account through clicking a news URL, the MailNews account wizard may be broken (the account type will always be News). To work around the problem, set the mail.server.serverX.valid pref (where X is the internal number of the corresponding news account) to true in about:config, or delete the invalid news account (bug 521861).

Web pages may appear differently in the MailNews feed reader than in the browser (bug 662907). Workaround: Add a "noscript {display:none}" rule to your userContent.css (note that the Stylish add-on cannot be used here since it does not integrate with the MailNews feed reader).

Select Element by Click doesn't flash the element in DOM Inspector on Windows if hardware acceleration is enabled (bug 594299).

The option "When opening a bookmark group" / "Replace existing tabs" under Preferences / Tabbed Browsing does not have an effect anymore (bug 664101).

Lightning keyboard shortcuts for accessing the calendar tab from within the MailNews window or from the main menu (Ctrl+Shift+C/D) do not work. (bug 514512).

If you try to start SeaMonkey using a locked profile, it will crash (see bug 573369).

Some synaptic touch pads are unable to vertical scroll (see bug 622410).

Under certain conditions, scrolling and text input may be jerky (see bug 711900).

Mac OS X and Windows: Citrix Receiver no longer works. As a workaround, mark the plugin as Always Enable in the Add-ons Manager (see bug 1025627).

Windows: Norton/Symantec anti-virus scanners may report that some parts of SeaMonkey (e.g. the file freebl3.dll) are suspicious. If you downloaded SeaMonkey from one of the official download sites, this is a false alarm. You might experience problems with secure websites when this happens. To fix the issue, instruct your anti-virus software to ignore these files (and move them out of quarantine) and/or switch to another anti-virus software and reinstall SeaMonkey.

Linux: The cursor may change to "drag & drop" mode in the mail window, causing a hang (bug 736811).

Mac: When hardware acceleration is off, background colors in the UI (toolbar, status bar etc.) might not update correctly when you switch focus from/to a window. Users running Macs with certain older hardware (e.g. Intel GMA 950) will experience this even if they haven't turned off hardware acceleration in Preferences (Appearance/Content) (bug 626096).

This list covers some of the known problems with SeaMonkey 2.38. Please read this before reporting any new bugs.

Troubleshooting

Some questions are asked more frequently than others. Have a look at the SeaMonkey FAQ. Maybe your particular problem has already been solved.

Some anti-virus software keeps detecting our installers as containing a "Trojan" or "Downloader". This is a false positive and is some wrong detection mechanism in the anti-virus software. The code in question is actually from 7-Zip and decompresses the installer so that its contents can run and install SeaMonkey. That technology is widely used and probably can be used to compress bad as well as good software, but the 7-Zip code itself is perfectly safe. Mozilla scans all our files routinely when putting them on the FTP server and we assure you that our installers are as clean as the official Firefox downloads that are scanned by the same mechanisms.

Poorly designed or incompatible extensions can cause problems with SeaMonkey, including make it crash, slow down page display, etc. If you encounter strange problems relating to parts of SeaMonkey no longer working, the browser not starting, windows with strange or distorted appearance, degraded performance, etc, you may be suffering from Extension or Theme trouble. Restart SeaMonkey in Safe Mode. On Windows, start using the "Safe Mode" shortcut created in your Start menu or by running seamonkey.exe -safe-mode . On Linux, start with ./seamonkey -safe-mode and on Mac OS X, run: cd /Applications/SeaMonkey.app/Contents/MacOS/

./seamonkey-bin -safe-mode When started in Safe Mode all extensions are disabled and the Default theme is used. Disable the Extension/Theme that is causing trouble and then start normally.

. On Linux, start with and on Mac OS X, run: When started in Safe Mode all extensions are disabled and the Default theme is used. Disable the Extension/Theme that is causing trouble and then start normally. If you uninstall an extension that is installed with your user profile (i.e. you installed it from a Web page) and then wish to install it for all user profiles using the -install-global-extension command line flag, you must restart SeaMonkey once to cleanse the profile extensions datasource of traces of that extension before installing with the switch. If you do not do this you may end up with a jammed entry in the Extensions list and will be unable to install the extension globally.

If you encounter strange problems relating to bookmarks, downloads, window placement, toolbars, history, or other settings, it is recommended that you try creating a new profile and attempting to reproduce the problem before filing bugs. Create a new profile by running SeaMonkey with the -P command line argument, choose the "Manage Profiles" button and then choose "Create Profile...". Migrate your settings files (Bookmarks, Saved Passwords, etc) over one by one, checking each time to see if the problems resurface. If you do find a particular profile data file is causing a problem, file a bug and attach the file.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I do to help? We need help from developers and the testing community to provide as much feedback as possible to make SeaMonkey even better. Please read these notes and the bug filing instructions before reporting any bugs to Bugzilla. Why haven't you responded to the mail I sent you? Use the newsgroup. The SeaMonkey team reads it regularly, and your email may have gotten lost. Where can I get extensions and themes (add-ons)? Extensions and Themes can be downloaded from SeaMonkey Add-ons. Who makes SeaMonkey? Lots of people. See Help->About SeaMonkey, contributors for a list of some of the people who have contributed to Mozilla and SeaMonkey. Where's the SeaMonkey 2.38 source code? A tarball of the SeaMonkey 2.38 source code is available at the download page. The latest development code can be obtained from the source repository. SeaMonkey-specific source is in the "suite" directory. Please follow the build instructions.

Other Resources and Links