Tech Line
OneNote — Firefox Friendly?
Here’s how to get OneNote .mht format exports to display in Firefox.
Chris: We’ve recently begun using OneNote as a collaboration tool and really like its ability to export OneNote sections to the Web. The problem we have is that the exported file format (.mht) will not display in a Firefox browser. Any solutions here?
— David
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David, Firefox is also my preferred browser, so I understand your frustration. Lack of compatibility with some Microsoft apps is definitely one of the most frustrating elements of using Firefox. However, for many dedicated users any trade-offs are well worth the benefits that Firefox offers.
While Firefox does not natively support .mht files, support is available with a Firefox extension that can be quickly downloaded and installed.
Before getting to the solution, I want to take a minute and describe David’s actual problem. OneNote is a terrific tool for sharing notes and information in real time. One of my favorite aspects of this tool is its ability to import a PowerPoint presentation, hand write or type additional notes on top of the presentation, and then export the completed presentation to the Web. So if a few team members missed a brainstorming meeting, all notes created during the session can be uploaded to an internal company Web site. When you select the Publish Pages option from the File menu in OneNote, by default OneNote will publish any selected notes as a single .mht file.
The .mht extension is assigned to Web pages that are saved or created using the Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension HTML (MHTML) format. Basically, this format allows you to archive an entire Web page as a single file. So it’s a natural fit for exporting a collection of notes and graphics without having the complexity of the export creating a collection of files. However, the drawback to this is that it creates one extremely large file, which can easily encompass several megabytes.
By default, when Firefox links to or attempts to open a .mht page, it will prompt you to open the file using Internet Explorer. To add the capability for Firefox to read .mht files, you’ll need to download the Mozilla Archive Format (MAF) Firefox 0.6.3 extension. If you haven’t upgraded to Firefox 1.5, first upgrade the Firefox browser. Then click here to download and install the MAF extension.
The extension will download and install inside the browser. Once the installation completes, close Firefox and then open it up again. Now to configure MAF, follow these steps:
- In Firefox, click on the Tools menu, select Mozilla Archive Format, and then click Preferences.
- Click the Windows Options tab and then check the “Associate MAF with .mht extensions” checkbox.
- Click Save.
- Click Close to exit the Preferences dialog box.
After you close Firefox and then restart it, you’re ready to read the exported OneNote .mht files in the browser. When Firefox attempts to load a .mht file, you will be prompted with the “Open with” dialog box. To have the file associated with and be able to open with Firefox, follow these steps:
- Select the “Other” option in the Open With drop-down menu.
- Now browse to and select the firefox.exe file and click Open.
- Check the “Do this automatically for files like this from now on” checkbox and click OK.
Now any time Firefox encounters a .mht file, it will simply open it. Most likely, it will take a few minutes to load the .mht file, so if it looks like Firefox is blowing you off, just have a little patience and keep the faith. After a short wait, the .mht file will open in a new tab within Firefox.