Save Web pages in MHT using Firefox at NSpeaks

Save Web pages in MHT using Firefox

Published

on October 3, 2007

. Tags: firefox, firefox-tips, ie, mht, save-webpages, tutorials.

Recently somebody asked me how to save web pages in MHT Format using Firefox. For those who don’t know MHT is a compressed format to save webpages into a single file and all images/css/text related to webpage is embedded into a single page(.mht). Firefox does not have support for MHT format maybe because MHT is a Microsoft created format.

But that does not mean Firefox users can’t use it. There was a extension for Firefox earlier known as Mozilla Archive Format. It was working good until Firefox 1.5. But then developer stopped working on it and it does not work on Firefox 2.0.

No Way! There has to be a way out. Why would otherwise I waste a long post telling you about it? Well there is a way out. We will forcibly make it compatible with Firefox 2.0. :twisted: Here are the easy steps:

Download the extension from here. Download but don’t install. To override Firefox default installer either paste the link in your download manager or open this link in any browser other than Firefox. Since it won’t install on FF saying compatibility problems.
Rename the downloaded file maf-0.6.3.xpi to maf-0.6.3.zip
Open the zip file using Winzip or any zip utility.
Extract install.rdf file
Open install.rdf file and find this code:

<!– Firefox –>
<em:targetApplication>
<Description>
<em:id>{ec8030f7-c20a-464f-9b0e-13a3a9e97384}</em:id>
<em:minVersion>1.5</em:minVersion>
<em:maxVersion>1.5</em:maxVersion>
</Description>
</em:targetApplication>

In this change

<em:maxVersion>1.5</em:maxVersion>

to

<em:maxVersion>3.0</em:maxVersion>
Save install.rdf and put the new install.rdf back in maf-0.6.3.zip replacing the old one.
Rename maf-0.6.3.zip to maf-0.6.3.xpi
And now open the xpi file with firefox if xpi is not set to open with Firefox. Install the extension and it will work for you.

That’s all. It will work now with your latest Firefox 2.0.0.7 Not Tested on 3.0 alpha release. If anyone can test with 3.0 alpha and post here, I will update the status here.

Wanna Find a easier method?

Download modified version of MAF from me.

UPDATE: I should have updated this post long before. Firefox has now a extension to save pages as MHT - UnMHT. Get it from http://www.unmht.org/

I have tested it on Firefox 3 Final Version. It works really.

Share and Enjoy:

42 Responses to “Save Web pages in MHT using Firefox”

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1 Quiz_Master (37 comments)
October 5, 2007 at 1:54 am

Wow..awesom

[Reply]
2 Quiz_Master (37 comments)
October 5, 2007 at 1:55 am

I am trying to make other old extensions to work too by same trick… Amazing trick.

[Reply]
3 NSpeaks (164 comments)
October 5, 2007 at 2:03 am

Yeah forgot to mention…you can use this trick to work on any unsupported extension provided code does work on latest firefox too.

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4 Lurking_Biohazard (1 comments)
October 10, 2007 at 8:12 pm

Use “Mr.Tech Local Install” extension. One of the many great things it does is allow you to ignore maxversion number.Then you don’t have to mess with it! :mrgreen:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/421

Thanks for the heads up on the MHT extension! Glad I’m not the only one that uses MHT!

[Reply]
5 NSpeaks (164 comments)
October 10, 2007 at 8:22 pm

Thanks for reminding. I am using that extension. But hacking yourself gives satisfaction! :twisted:

[Reply]
6 lovelltiong (2 comments)
November 19, 2007 at 9:01 am

Works with FF 2.0.0.9. Thanks! But the mht files are about a third larger than those saved under IE and Opera. :???: :?:

[Reply]
7 NSpeaks (164 comments)
November 19, 2007 at 10:13 am

Are you saying that mht created in firefox is larger than html files created from IE and Opera? MHT files will always be larger since they have all images, stylesheet, javascripts code embedded in a single file, whereas html files have just the text and images and rest of things are in a folder.

[Reply]
8 lovelltiong (2 comments)
November 19, 2007 at 2:05 pm

Not html files, but same old mht files. I compared mht files saved via FF, IE and Opera from the same webpages, and the FF files are always larger than the latter two. Saving this discussion webpage for example http://nspeaks.com/106/save-we.....omment-934, gives me mht files of 787k, 355k, 390k, from FF, IE, Opera, respectively.

[Reply]
9 pepoluan (1 comments)
November 29, 2007 at 7:08 pm

I think MAF’s .mht is bigger because it’s not compressed. IE & Opera compresses the .mht file using Zip, IIRC.

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10 GP (1 comments)
December 18, 2007 at 12:39 pm

Doesn’t really seem to work with FF 3.0b1 (poratbleapps version). Installs OK. But maintains a stoic silence when I try to save pages in mht format or try to access the extension options in Tools menu. Anybody else?

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11 Dima (1 comments)
December 26, 2007 at 8:26 pm

lovelltiong:
May be MAF saves text in MHT in QuotedPrintable format?

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12 vaypay (1 comments)
January 10, 2008 at 6:42 pm

Does not install on v2.0.0.11. It says it will only work with FF 1.5.

[Reply]
13 Lawrence (1 comments)
January 15, 2008 at 11:04 pm

Thanks NSPEAKS, you rock.

(To vaypay,

you should change the xxxxx under “firefox”, not “mozilla”.

I did the same mistake, yet I solved this myself. I suggest you to think thru it next time, before you ask others for help.)

[Reply]
14 phil (1 comments)
January 26, 2008 at 1:09 am

:twisted:

GAAAAAAAAH

You posted the updated link at the end! Here I am opening up notebook to modify it.

shew.

:mrgreen:

[Reply]
15 miz_ai (2 comments)
February 5, 2008 at 6:40 pm

i can’t install it @_@ what happen?!

[Reply]
16 miz_ai (2 comments)
February 5, 2008 at 6:42 pm

i can’t install it on firefox 2.0.0.11
>_<;;
i want it badly!!

[Reply]
17 mozilla firefox slo (1 comments)
February 20, 2008 at 7:35 am

thanks for the info.. LOL, Nspeaks hacking yourself..yes, its much better. hehehehe

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18 Jim Dandy (1 comments)
March 1, 2008 at 9:54 pm

This seems to work in the 3.0 series Firefox beta:

http://www.unmht.org/en_index.html

[Reply]
19 setya5785 (1 comments)
March 8, 2008 at 5:41 am

i’ve tried the extension, but the mht result seem loss some css
btw, why not just use ie tab, if you change webpage rendering using ie tab, then you can save into mht (well basically ie tab wrap ie on firefox tab)

setya5785’s last blog post..Tales of Innocence Walkthrough

[Reply]
20 han (1 comments)
March 8, 2008 at 6:55 pm

I tried and it had been successful.

han’s last blog post..我為什麽不做幹事

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21 Clive (1 comments)
March 11, 2008 at 10:08 pm

It installed successfully in Firefox 3.0b3, but none of the functions work.

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22 Solvaig (1 comments)
March 14, 2008 at 12:09 pm

i installed it successfully in firefox 3.0 b4, but when i try to save page in any kind of MAF format (ZIP, MHT) - nothing creates, no files, nothing at all appears.

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23 Mike (1 comments)
March 16, 2008 at 8:41 am

Is there any good reason why firefox can’t save a page in a single file?

I know IE can do it, and some people keep using IE to do just this

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24 Chris (2 comments)
March 19, 2008 at 9:44 pm

This may help all of you out a LOT more than what the author’s trick does (no offense, I’m glad I came across this post) so..

UnMHT, a firefox save/view MHT extension… the development continues…

http://www.unmht.org/en_index.html

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25 Handphone (6 comments)
March 20, 2008 at 9:52 pm

Thanks for MHT tips & UnMHT info, I will give it try…

Handphone’s last blog post..UniDic

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26 shorty (1 comments)
March 21, 2008 at 4:48 am

awesome! thanks

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27 MObpac (1 comments)
March 23, 2008 at 3:07 am

I think this is the greatest add-on to firefox ever created…. Thanks for making it version compatible

[Reply]
28 Multimediedesigner (2 comments)
April 15, 2008 at 2:46 am

I like these plugins. Thank you for sharing.

[Reply]
29 ali (4 comments)
April 18, 2008 at 7:23 pm

:razz:
Thanks very much for this trick!
I like archive format and because Mozilla didn’t support it, I usually use MS IE, but I can use FIREFOX now because there is all I want in it.

[Reply]
30 alvintardy (1 comments)
April 19, 2008 at 3:28 pm

Thank you…
Now I can save wikipedia pages with correct layout, no problem.

[Reply]
31 nascent (1 comments)
May 26, 2008 at 7:09 am

Thank you Chris so much for the UNMHT recommendation, I’ve been screwed without MAF working on FF3, you have made FF3 usable for me, so I can now fully switch over. Thank you!

[Reply]
32 Kai (1 comments)
June 16, 2008 at 3:18 pm

Bravo! Works like a charm.

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33 Purushotham (1 comments)
June 20, 2008 at 5:10 pm

It doesn’t work for me on Firefox 3 just doesn’t save it even when we specfify the format to be saved as… helppppppppp

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34 NSpeaks (164 comments)
June 21, 2008 at 12:25 am

@Purushotham: UnMht released a Firefox 3.0 Compatible version recently. Use that.
http://www.unmht.org/

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35 laurent (5 comments)
June 22, 2008 at 4:07 am

Sorry, but though the installation worked fine, my version of FFox (3.0, French locale) ISN’T actually ABLE to produce any archive-file (nothing happens).

[Reply]
36 laurent (5 comments)
June 22, 2008 at 4:32 am

Besides, “UnMHT” only works for me in order to open .mht-archives in FFox. The option “save as… mht” simply doesn’t appear in the list box (I checked everything in the add-on’s option dialog-box and everything seemed ok).

I guess I’ll better use Opera instead…

[Reply]
NSpeaks (164 comments) reply on June 22nd, 2008 5:14 pm:
@laurent: Strange … it works for me…I am using UnMHT 4.5 and Firefox 3 Final Version. Reinstall the latest version from http://www.unmht.org/ and then retry.

[Reply]
37 laurent (5 comments)
June 22, 2008 at 7:02 pm

G’day!

— UnMHT 4.5 re-installed since yesterday.
— Also uninstalled some FFox 3 beta that lurked on my HD (potential conflict?).
— Current FFox version: 3.0 french final v.

Parameters in the UnMHT dialog-box:
— UnMHT activated.
— Add “save as MHT” in context menu checked.
— made up some shortcut in order to save as MHT.

–› only the shortcut-gimmick works : it calls a dialog-box “save as MHT”, declined in two variants (which subtlety I don’t fully get — BTW, there seems to be an misencoding in the french version as I get sort of html-entity in the name of the second type/variant).
I still get no mention of MHT or whatsoever in the “regular” list-box (”Save page as”)…

[Reply]
NSpeaks (164 comments) reply on June 22nd, 2008 7:12 pm:
It won’t show in regular save page as dialog box nor it has been designed to do so. It will either show in File menu as Save as MHT or in right click context menu.

You can even add the button on toolbar by right clicking Customise in toolbar area and dragging the Save as MHT toolbar button to the toolbar.

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38 laurent (5 comments)
June 22, 2008 at 7:31 pm

False alarm!!!
“save as MHT” DOES indeed appear, but only as a specific, alone-standing option in the pull-down menu (file › save as MHT)!!!
I didn’t see it, ’cos I’m used to the Ctl+S shortcut, as I basically select the whished format directly from the regular save-dialog-box (which I hope isn’t sooo far-fetched: your initial tweak seemed to function this way too…)! Maybe the guys at UnMHT should write sthg about that…

[Reply]
39 laurent (5 comments)
June 22, 2008 at 8:14 pm

Well… thanks!

[Reply]
40 Hillos (1 comments)
June 28, 2008 at 3:17 pm

It does not install with Firefox 3… any updates soon?

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