@Rene_Poschl recently posted a FAQ on this at How can i assign a footprint to a symbol?
It doesn’t seem possible to comment on a FAQ so I hope this is an acceptable protocol for doing so.
I would like to suggest that Option 2: “Via the footprint browser” be changed to “Via the component properties editor”, since that is in fact where the footprint assignment is being done.
Thanks for the FAQ, I’m sure it will be helpful for many.