720351 - Tab groups are stored unreliably

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(Firefox :: Untriaged, defect)

Description

[dziastinux]

User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:9.0.1) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/9.0.1
Build ID: 20111220165912

Steps to reproduce:

I personally prefer tab groups to bookmarks as it is way more faster and easier way of managing bookmarks. But there is a major problem: If sessionstore.js gets damaged - its permanently lost.

As a user I am expecting that tab group content is exceptionally safe and in worse case is backed up as a plain bookmark list (session, cookies, form data is nice to have but are incomparable to the URLs and group names).

I see two possible solutions:
 1. Implement reliable sessionstore.js backup method;
 2. Separate Tab groups from session store and implement reliable backup, similar to bookmarks.
 3. Store copy of tab groups as bookmarks just like 'Bookmarks toolbar'. Tab as bookmark, group as folder. Folder (or group) could save layout info

Note: I have quite sad personal experience with tab groups:
 * I lost my tag groups twice (FF4 and FF9.01).
 * I suggested tag groups to my boss and he liked this feature very much until he lost all tab groups and refused to use it anymore.
 * My wife also enjoyed this feature but choose to wait until it is reliable. 
 


Actual results:

All tab groups are permanently lost.


Expected results:

I expect tab groups as reliable as bookmarks (I have never heard that someone lost all bookmarks while installing plugin or session failure).

Comment 1

[[e-mail]]

I'm no employee, but I am very sure that Tab Groups were never meant to be a better form of Bookmarks. They were by design made part of the session. Bookmarks are for long-term saving. Sessions are not.

That said, I have just started making suggestions for an improved implementation of the Session, so your wish may come true (or partly true). The session does not synchronize with the sessions on other copies of Fx that you have set up sync on. I think it can keep a copy of the session on the Mozilla server, but you are required to manually open the session information in order to use it.

Tab Groups are part of the Session
Session and Bookmarks are for different things. Just use the software as it was designed. Your wishes may come true in the future.

Comment 2

[dziastinux]

So if it is non long-term then it is OK to occasionally corrupt it? Does anyone like that session tabs disappear? No, users expect that browser is reliable.

Comment 3

[Eugen Paraschiv]

This is a real issue which keeps occurring - a crash simply looses all tabs in tab groups - any news on a fix. 
Thanks. 
Eugen.

Comment 4

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

 dziastinux, Do you still see this problem when using newer version?

bug 759137 is same issue?

Comment 5

[Phoenix]

Resolved per whiteboard