Preferred Application is not save when set to custom

You may try some options:
firefox-3.5
or
firefox-3.5 %u

#check if setting is the same in the output of:
gconftool --get /desktop/gnome/url-handlers/http/command

#check if
firefox-3.5-gnome-support
is installed.

Firefox should be closed and after changes restarted.

@Sam

Thanks for the help.

I think that major problem for me here is that I can't understand how the "preferred" application is saved. So, I did set something in the panel. I clicked "close" button, as it is the only one there is. This didn't save the firefox-3.5 as the default browser.

What am I doing wrong? Why the settings panel is not that intuitive - I mean why there's a "close" button but no "save" button?

Already filed as a bug : https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-control-center/+bug/410848

From what I've read, others had no issue with
firefox-3.5 %s
in preferred apps -> custom after reboot.

Which command is in applications -> internet -> Shiretoko Web Browser?

Do you save sessions? You may take a look in system preferences -> sessions
which firefox is actually running or in case additionally running in autostart.

Was it an installation via regular sources?

http://www.asoftsite.org/s9y/archives/161-guid.html

Why not simply use:

sudo apt-get --purge remove firefox; sudo apt-get --purge autoremove; sudo mv /usr/bin/firefox /usr/bin/firefox-3.0; sudo ln -s /usr/bin/firefox-3.5 /usr/bin/firefox

You can then keep the default as 'firefox' but it is simply a symlink to 3.5

@Sam:

Yes, just sudo apt-get install firefox-3.5.

But the problem is not really in firefox - it is in the system preferences. No matter what I do, the custom command cannot be entered as the program to run as default browser.

@actionparsnip:

That would be a nice, but nevertheless dirty trick. I want it to work the simplest way possible.

I'd say 2 commands was fairly simple.

Simple for you, and maybe me, but not general user. Do you really expect a user to go for this as a general solution?

And what if I want to run my own alexFox browser? Again should I relink a "firefox" to it? And what if it is Chromium? Or whatever?

What is the *generic* and *simple* procedure for setting the default browser?

Thanks Sam. I will do this, but I also filed a bug that custom command doesn't get saved.

I just tested it in 8.04.03 I have, and there it works fine. The problem is in Karmic.