110090 - provide edit field in about:config, to allow users to set prefs without UI, without restarting.

Status: VERIFIED FIXED

(SeaMonkey :: Preferences, defect)

Description

[(not reading, please use [e-mail] instead)]

provide edit field in about:config, to allow users to set prefs without UI, 
without restarting.

Comment 1

[(not reading, please use [e-mail] instead)]

cc mstoltz, as there might be some security concerns with doing this.

Comment 2

[Alec Flett]

Attachment: add a pref editor to about:config

well, inline editing seemed like a lot of work, but it was easy to add a little
editor at the top of the window. It adds a text field for string and integer
prefs, and a dropdown true/false for boolean prefs

Since you can now change prefs on the fly, I changed the outliner view to be
lazy - which means that instead of caching every pref value, we lazily get the
pref value whenever getCellText() is called..which should be whenever we paint.

The only thing we cache now is the pref name, and the pref type.
unfortunately, we paint way too much, so it slows things down a bit.

this also slows down sorting of the lock state and the pref value, because we
now have to go look up that information for each comparison.

However, I think it's worth it for the huge addition in usability. I also added
the capability to clear the user pref, essentially setting it back to the
original value set by the user.

Anyone care to review? sspitzer?

Comment 3

[Ian Pottinger]

adding self to cc list

Comment 4

[andreww]

This doesnt look like it's going in for mozilla 1.0 (dont see any 
nominations, etc.) So perhaps the owner might put a new more realistic 
target milestone, etc. on the bug?

Is this patch the one the owner wants  to go with and try to get in?

Comment 5

[Alec Flett]

no, I talked with seth ("the owner") a while back about this - I had made too
many other changes to this file for him to be happy with the patch - for
instance, making the outliner fields lazy... I don't remember the exact reasons,
but after talking with him, we both agreed we'd go back to making the outliner
be non-lazy

Comment 6

[Sam Steingold]

without editing capabilities, about:config is next to useless

Comment 7

[Daniel Veditz [:dveditz]]

That's a stupid assertion. Is the temperature gauge on my car "next to useless"
because I can't solve an overheating problem by adjusting it down?

The main reason about:config even exists in Mozilla is because people who used
the Communicator 4.x feature (also read only) complained so loudly about it
being missing in earlier versions.

Comment 8

[Sam Steingold]

let's not stoop into petty bickering.

what I meant was that, right now, if an option is not available in GUI, one has
to exit moz, edit prefs.js by hand, and start moz again.
this is quite ugly.

the reload button on about:config should re-read prefs.js.

Comment 9

[Mikko Virkkilä]

Is Bug 17199 a duplicate of this?

Comment 10

[Daniel Veditz [:dveditz]]

No, this is an alternate baby step that may accomplish some of the goals people
were trying to get with bug 17199, though less conveniently. They're mutually
contradictory solutions; this is a possible short-term improvement while lots of
folks still want the pie-in-the-sky bug 17199.

There are add-ons at mozdev.org that do this already, so there's may not be a
lot of incentive to work on this one.

Comment 11

[Brian 'netdragon' Bober]

Is there a bug about documenting what prefs are currently available for use?

Comment 12

[Hanspeter Niederstrasser]

Bug 121324 might be what you are looking for, but is very underused.

Comment 13

[[e-mail]]

Patch in bug 107418 should resolve this if it lands.

Comment 14

[Vaclav Dvorak]

about:config is now editable - I think it was done in bug 107418, although the
summary of the bug doesn't say so. Is there anything else left to do in this
bug? Shouldn't it be resolved dupe of bug 107418?

Comment 15

[Brian 'netdragon' Bober]

See also bug 195845 for a description for prefs.

Please don't mark this VERIFIED unless you actually tested to see if comment
#13's patch has in fact added a field for editing prefs to about:config.

Comment 16

[Vaclav Dvorak]

Yes, I have myself used that feature already. Just double-click on the pref name
in about:config, or right-click and choose Modify in the context menu. Verifying.