Bug 25542 – Allow user or plugin specification of load order of plug-ins

• Component: Plug-ins
• Status: RESOLVED WONTFIX

[Simone Manganelli]

Summary: When there are two plug-ins that register for the same mime type, WebKit should ideally allow the user (or, optionally, the plug-ins) to choose which plug-in gets to load that mime type.


Steps to Reproduce:

1.  Install two plug-ins that register for the same mime type.  (For example,
Flash and ClickToFlash.)

2.  Note that when loading content of that mime type, there is no way to specify which plug-in gets to load it.  WebKit chooses for you automatically.


Expected Results:  I expect WebKit to allow the user to specify which plug-in gets to load which mime type if more than one plug-in registers for the same mime type.  (Optionally, plug-ins could potentially register themselves as being "important", causing them to be chosen preferentially by WebKit when it decides which of a number of plug-ins to load a given mime type.)


Actual Results: There is no way to specify load order of plug-ins for a given mime type.


Regression: WebKit has never allowed user- or plugin-specified load order of plugins.


Notes: This bug is related to bug 25541: https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=25541

[Mark Rowe (bdash)]

I'm not sure how WebKit would allow the user to modify the order given the minimal UI that it has.  Allowing the plug-in to specify it may be a good idea.

[Mark Rowe (bdash)]

<rdar://problem/6852591>

[Alexey Proskuryakov]

We could at least guarantee alphabetical order (there may be an existing bug about this).

[Anders Carlsson]

We're unlikely to do this, so I don't think it makes sense to keep the bug open.