706225 - create function for "go to previously selected tab"

Status: RESOLVED WORKSFORME

(Firefox :: Tabbed Browser, defect)

Description

[Mike Beltzner [:beltzner, not reading bugmail]]

Back in bug 345684 comment 0, I asked for the ability to flip back to the previously selected tab:

> An advanced keyboard shortcut to quickly flip back to the tab that was 
> previously selected would be useful for the power browsers in our audience. 
> Need to ensure we don't step on the toes of any other shortcuts.
>
> I'm proposing we use:
> 
> w32:   ctrl `
> linux: ctrl `
> osx:   alt `   (accel ` is taken by OSX's switch between windows shortcut)
>
> If switching between ctrl and alt is strange for mac, we could also do 
> accel+shift+`, but I think that's wierder.

This eventually got scope-creeped into the ctrl-tab extension which was then implemented in bug 395980 and eventually turned off by default since we could never agree on the appropriate behaviour.

I still believe that in a world of many web apps and users copying and pasting between Facebook, Twitter, Gizmodo and Gmail, this shortcut would be useful. But in order to not get caught up in discussions about what the right shortcut should be, maybe let's start by just creating the function and allowing users to bind it on their own via add-ons or about:config?

Comment 1

[Mike Beltzner [:beltzner, not reading bugmail]]

In fact, I guess this function already exists in the unused code in the tree that was implemented as part of bug 395980? Maybe this is already fixed and I just need to know what the magic words are in about:config to bind it?

Comment 2

[Eugene Savitsky]

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ctrl-tab/

Comment 3

[Steffen Wilberg]

Set browser.ctrlTab.previews to true, and press Ctrl+Tab.

Comment 4

[Dão Gottwald [:dao]]

Afaik we never decided that ctrl-tab shouldn't be that shortcut and I'm still going to try enabling that at some point.

Comment 5

[Mike Beltzner [:beltzner, not reading bugmail]]

I wasn't clear enough in comment 0 - I do not want to revisit the entire bevvy of (potentially useful, but mired in UX debate) behaviour of the Ctrl+Tab add-on or broswer.ctrlTab.previews. Just the ability to jump to the previously selected tab.

Comment 6

[Mike Beltzner [:beltzner, not reading bugmail]]

(Though yes, it's a nice workaround that if I hit it quickly enough, the previews don't show up!)

Comment 7

[Dão Gottwald [:dao]]

(In reply to Mike Beltzner [:beltzner] from comment #6)
> (Though yes, it's a nice workaround that if I hit it quickly enough, the
> previews don't show up!)

That's no coincidence, it's part of the design you specced ;)

Comment 8

[Mike Beltzner [:beltzner, not reading bugmail]]

Apparently the me from several years ago was really awesome. OK, I think this bug as it stands is WORKSFORME since there obviously already is the functionality I describe, and we're back to just determining how to expose it properly - apologies for the churn.