Where Is Opera Plug-ins Database?

[oprahwebbrowser]

oprahwebbrowser last edited by

In Opera 12 for the PC, you can see the plug-in used for .SWF files by clicking Tools/Preferences/Downloads/{find .SWF}/Edit...

The path & file ("npswf32.dll") pointed to by Opera exists on my hard drive, but I cannot change that filename or path within Opera. Does anyone know whether I could manually edit a file where Opera stores this information? I'd like to be able to change Flash plug-ins with a quick restart of Opera versus an entire re-install of Flash.

[leocg]

leocg Moderator Volunteer last edited by

Afaik Opera check the info from the registry but you can take a look at the file handlers.ini

You can also put the plugin in Opera's plugin folder.

[sgunhouse]

sgunhouse Moderator Volunteer last edited by

If Opera 34 can see both plugins, you should be able to disable one or the other in opera://plugins/ (found from Settings > Browser, where it says "Manage individual plug-ins"), that's all I could suggest.

[oprahwebbrowser]

oprahwebbrowser last edited by

Thank you for your help.

I scanned my hard drive for "handlers.ini", there was no such file.

I tried putting the npswf32.dll in Opera's plugins folder, but Opera does not show it when looking at its settings after restarting Opera.

I put "opera:plugins" in my version (12) which only shows the plugins, but does not allow editing other than enable/disable.

I appreciate your attempts though.

[oprahwebbrowser]

oprahwebbrowser last edited by

Update:
I was confused: The pertinent data is in a file named "handlers.ini" - I might be able to edit things there. This file (and for that matter the entire Opera folder) is missing from "C:\Documents and Settings" for some reason on the troubled/target machine, whereas it is present on my machine. I will try reinstalling Opera and go from there.

[A Former User]

A Former User last edited by

There will only be an Opera folder in C:\Documents and Settings (on Windows XP) if Opera has been installed for multiple users AFAIK.
If it's installed for a single user, all the Opera files will be in the C:\Program Files\Opera folder and its subfolders.

[oprahwebbrowser]

oprahwebbrowser last edited by

Well then, the question remains: Where is this information kept (if not in "handlers.ini" in "C:\Documents and Settings")? A reinstall changed nothing. Thanks to all.

[leocg]

leocg Moderator Volunteer last edited by

It's on handlers.ini:

[application/x-shockwave-flash]
Type=Viewer
Action=0
Application=
Application Description
Web handler
Plugin Path
Plugin Name
Plugin Description
Save To Folder=
Extension=swf,swt
Flags=128`

It's empty because i don't have npapi Flash installed here.

It should look like the Silverlight section:

[application/x-silverlight]
Type=Viewer
Action=6
Application
Application Description
Web handler
Plugin Path=C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Silverlight\5.1.41212.0\npctrl.dll
Plugin Name=Silverlight Plug-In
Plugin Description=5.1.41212.0
Save To Folder
Extension=scr
Flags=0

[oprahwebbrowser]

oprahwebbrowser last edited by

So if there is no handlers.ini anywhere on the machine, is the hard drive/Opera installation corrupt? I mean, MUST there be a handlers.ini somewhere? (An Agent Ransack search comes up empty.)

[A Former User]

A Former User last edited by

Hmm, I have no handlers.ini file associated with Opera 3x either, only with Opera 12.17.

[leocg]

leocg Moderator Volunteer last edited by

So if there is no handlers.ini anywhere on the machine, is the hard drive/Opera installation corrupt?

Are you looking at Opera (Presto)'s profile folder? You can check its path in Menu > Help > About Opera.

You should noye that this folder may be hidden by default so you may need to enable showing of hidden folders and filkes on Windows Explorer.

[leocg]

leocg Moderator Volunteer last edited by

Hmm, I have no handlers.ini file associated with Opera 3x either, only with Opera 12.17.

Yep, this is an Opera Presto's file.

[oprahwebbrowser]

oprahwebbrowser last edited by

Okay... My personal machine has a handlers.ini. The target machine does not - I scanned the entire hard drive and no files/folders are hidden on the machine.

I also scanned its Windows XP registry and found no instance of the Flash .DLL file that Opera claims it's using (under "opera:plugins").

If a machine does not have a handlers.ini, where is the path for the Flash driver kept so that Opera can read it when executed?

[leocg]

leocg Moderator Volunteer last edited by

My personal machine has a handlers.ini. The target machine does not

The same version of Opera is installed on both?

If a machine does not have a handlers.ini, where is the path for the Flash driver kept so that Opera can read it when executed?

Opera probably gets it from the register. Usually flash can be found under Windows dir and/or %appdata%.

[sgunhouse]

sgunhouse Moderator Volunteer last edited by

Where does About Opera say your profile folder is?

Are both computers using version 12? In 12, you can go to Preferences > Advanced > Downloads and edit things there.

[oprahwebbrowser]

oprahwebbrowser last edited by

The same version of Opera is installed on both?

Yes; 12 is on both machines.

Opera probably gets it from the register.

I searched the Windows registry: there is no instance of the Flash plug-in .DLL filename.

Usually flash can be found under Windows dir and/or %appdata%.

I can find the Flash DLLs in various places on the hard drive, but I can't find where/how to edit which plug-in Opera uses.

Where does About Opera say your profile folder is?

"Opera:about" in the URL bar returns: "Opera Directory: C:\Program Files\Opera\profile".

Are both computers using version 12?

Yes; 12 is on both machines.

In 12, you can go to Preferences > Advanced > Downloads and edit things there.

It won't let me edit there; it only shows the path/filename of the plug-in.

The whole issue is quite odd. But thank you all again for your help. I will fiddle with it some more and post here if I find a solution. However, I am also going to install the Vivaldi browser and see whether that gets me what I want.

[burnout426]

burnout426 Volunteer last edited by

For Opera 12, it should find flash under:

64-bit plug-in

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MozillaPlugins\@adobe.com/FlashPlayer
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Macromedia\FlashPlayerPlugin

32-bit plug-in

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Macromedia\FlashPlayerPlugin
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\MozillaPlugins\@adobe.com/FlashPlayer

and the "plugins" folder in the Opera program files folder (as long as the Plugin Path setting isn't messed up).

Also, in opera:config user "User Prefs" -> Plugin Path, you can edit the semi-colon-separated list of paths for Opera to search for plug-ins. You can do this manually in operaprefs.ini while Opera is closed too if you want.

[User Prefs]
Plugin Path=path 1; path 2; path 3; etc.

To make Opera use the default paths in the plugin path setting, just remove the Plugin Path line from operaprefs.ini.

As for handlers.ini, it might not be there if you haven't changed anything in "alt + p -> advanced -> downloads". And, as a side note, you can close down Opera and delete handlers.ini to reset the download settings.

Also, Opera didn't always use handlers.ini. That info used to be in operaprefs.ini. To fix this, you should be able to delete operaprefs.ini (and handlers.ini too for good measure if it's there) while Opera's closed. Then, if you make any changes to download preferences, handlers.ini should be used and generated.

Also, in "defaults/plugin_ignore.ini" in the Opera program files folder, you can block plug-ins by filename.

Also, in "Alt + P -> advanced -> downloads", if you edit the type for swf, you can change the plug-in used in the "use plug-in" drop-down. The drop-down should populate with all detected ones IIRC.

[oprahwebbrowser]

oprahwebbrowser last edited by

Holy cow! I bow in honor of your extensive Opera knowledge. Thank you for your time and your detailed post.

Cutting to the chase, my registry has those branches but they are:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Macromedia\FlashPlayerPlugin
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MozillaPlugins@adobe.com/FlashPlayer

There is a

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\

too; but it has no such plugin info., etc. I don't know whether that matters.

For starters, the Windows' registry search function failed me; "NPSWF32_14_0_0_125.dll" DOES exist in the above registry branches, but a search does not find them.

I guess my next point is summed up like this: I want FireFox to always use Flash plugin NPSWF32_14... I want Opera to always use an older Flash version. Is this possible then, if both browsers point to the same spot in the registry? Further, if the registry points to the Flash DLLs, then is Opera's opera:config plugin path irrelevant for Flash?

Thank you very much.

[A Former User]

A Former User last edited by

I didn't think it was possible to have two different versions of Flash installed at the same time, unless one is NPAPI and the other PPAPI.

[burnout426]

burnout426 Volunteer last edited by

Add the filename for the DLL you don't want to Opera's plugin-ignore.ini (while Opera is closed). Then, add the path to the version you do want in Opera's plug-in path. If plugin-ignore.ini still works (not sure if it does since the opera:plugin changes a while back), that should work.

Before you add the one you don't want to plugin-ignore.ini, goto "Alt + p -> advanced -> downloads" and edit the swf application/x-shockwave-flash type and see how many options are in the "use plug-in" drop-down. That should tell you how many Opera is detecting and making available to you. If there are multiple (which I don't remember if there will be for flash), they all might have the same exact name, but they should each be a different one, enumerated in detection order. You could then use a flash version detection page to see which one is active and switch the drop-down to the one you want.

Obviously, if flash keeps upgrading at the normal path, you'd have to add a new filename to block in plugin-ignore.ini each time flash upgrades.