Firefox:Tabbed Browsing:Scratch Pad

What's missing in 1.0? by AlliXSenoS

This is my first ever Wiki page so excuse my lack of skill ;)

I'm here to say what I need from tabbed browsing in firefox and don't get from the vanilla version. I use TBE (I know most of you frown upon hearing it's name) for that extra oomph. So what DOES TBE actually bring into the picture that's actually worth talking about?

Here it is:

• the ability to force single window mode
• customizable tabbar actions
• minor UI customizations

Single window mode

I've been waiting for this since forever. No more taskbar clutter. Yay!

Single window mode means: tabbar always visible, everything and anything that would open in a new window (be it a full interface window or just a popup) opens in a new tab

Single window mode should definitely be a built-in feature (but not something that can't be turned off... it doesn't even have to be on by default), it is a real time saver.

Options for single window mode should include a way to define which actions result in a new background tab, new foreground tab or new bg tab which grabs focus when it's fully loaded (I don't think anywone in their right mind would use this, but hey, who am I to judge?). the list includes:

• links
• opening another instance of Firefox
• links with target="_blank"
• bookmarks
• bookmarks toolbar
• history
• javascript popups

each of these (except, well, the last one ;) ) can be activated by a normal (left) click or a wheel (mid) click. these should be two different actions.

Customizable tabbar actions

I configure TBE as follows:

• tab dbl click = duplicate tab
• tab mid click = close tab
• tab bar dbl click = new blank tab
• tab bar mid click = undo close tab

these can, of course, be modified (and this is not the default setup)... there is a whole range of settings for these four actions: reload, move, close all to the left, close all to the right, close all other, close all...

Also, one VERY IMPORTANT thing. Switching tabs with the scroll wheel. Eternal blessings to the deity that invented that. It should most definitely be part of firefox.

minor UI customizations

The tabbar close button - awful... the per-tab close button some extensions create - even more awful. I've never clicked either one since the day I started using firefox. I can see how some people might find it useful so it's ok to leave it there by default. But there should be an option to remove it (them).

TBE also has a feature that shows a progress bar in the tabs while they're loading. This is great for opening up a ton of links in the background.

Ehh... that's all from me. I don't come here often, so please contact me for further discussion at allixsenos@gmail.com

Comments Bugmenot

• For 1.1, we should fix up the hidden popup-to-tab prefs and make those prefs available to the general public
• For 1.5, we should consider adding additional "open in new tab/window" prefs to allow the user to open bookmarks, history, external site link, internal program link (eg. the u.m.o link on the extension manager, the external links in the help file as well as the links in extensions), urlbar and search queries (both from the searchbar and the context menu) into new tabs/windows
• Drag and drop reordering of tabs is also an important feature and it doesn't add additional UI/pref clutter
• We could also consider adding highlighting for unread tabs
• Better progress indications would also be nice
• Things like per-tab close button, tab clicking options are better left for extension writers
• How about a 'New Tab' button on the tab bar like how every other tabbed browser has?

Comments Grauw

DOs:

• 'Single Window Mode' options are already present in current nightly builds and even Firefox 1.0 (although as a hidden pref, because there are some bugs).
• Tab dragging is another important feature which should be there, it gives the user the ability to organise their tabs better, useful when you have many.
• Make tabs not disappear when the tabbar is full. A collector was suggested, which sounds good.

DON’Ts:

• Per-tab close buttons are always a bad idea. Some reasons:
  • You can already close with middle-clicking which is much faster and easier
  • They are always small and difficult to click at
  • You always click on them when you didn't intend to
  • Closing multiple tabs requires the movement of your mouse
  • They take up unnecessary space
  • Believe me, I am using Eclipse, and from that experience I can say that on-tab-closebuttons are a bad idea, except for the ultra-good-hand-eye-coordination computer nerds :).
• Tab clicking options sound like bloat to me. The presence of those options were also much criticised in the ‘Netscape 8’ browser.
• Don’t switch tabs with the scrollwheel. I had this in another application and it was annoying as hell. You use the scroll wheel extensively for what it is for, scrolling pages, and you don't always keep an eye on the exact position of your mouse cursor. As a matter of fact, you usually keep it close to one of the edges of your document area, out of the way of the page content you are trying to read. Accidentally moving it over the tab bar is then easily done by accident.
  • Having it as a hidden preference would be nice. I can't think of a single instance when i scrolled the tab bar accidentally and I do find it useful, but I'm always looking for a way to reduce the length of my extension list. --Bugmenot 18:06, 14 Aug 2005 (PDT)

Comments Kroc Camen

Please view my comments at http://wiki.mozilla.org/Talk:Firefox:2.0_Tabbed_Browsing "Use the back button"

Comments Harrison

TBE is a very bulky and slow extension. It does slow Firefox down. Tab Mix Plus has the same functionality and does it more efficiently. Some of the features in Tab Mix Plus should be integrated into Firefox and some should be left as an extension (because it may not have widespread use).

• Undo Tab Close (with the "Trash Bucket" on the toolbar that lists previously closed tabs)
• Single Window Mode
• Permissions of tabs

Two things I'm not sure should be implemented are moving the tab bar and allowing tabs to be selected when hovering the mouse over it. I'm using TMP and I switch tabs by hovering the mouse over it. This got annoying because whenever I tried to hit the Back button, it would switch to some tab. So I put the tab bar at the bottom of the Firefox Window. It doesn't get in the way anymore, and it really makes me lazier because now I don't even have to click to change tabs (there goes half of my daily exercise). This may be an appealing option to users, but it's not something that's really apparent. Anyone have a second opinion on this?

== Convert New Windows Into Tabs == --Nikhil 21:00, 28 Dec 2005 (PST) In thinking about the single window mode in reverse, would it be possible to pull in a new window back to the "main" browser window as a new tab?

Comments DonGato

I think these minor things should be handled for 3.0 milestone.

• Tab closing: as with the new tab opening feature in 2.0 (double click over the tab bar), double clicking over a tab should close it. Additionally this same behavior can be added to middle click (opening/closing).

• Open in new tab: as with search bar (in Firefox 2.0) an option in about:config should be added to allow opening in new tabs any new URL from address bar, History or Bookmark.

• Load diverted in background: this option in about:config should be split to handle separately external links from the ones diverted internally (e.g. _blank links). Additionally, external links should (as an option?) open in the foreground but not bring focus to the minimized Firefox window, so you can switch to the browser at any time and see which was the last open tab.