1224921 - Add-on options button is incorrectly present when the preference(s) are set to hidden

Status: RESOLVED INVALID

(Toolkit :: Add-ons Manager, defect)

Description

[u529383]

In the Add-on manager interface, any add-on containing only one preference set to hidden (or all set to hidden) still shows up the options button incorrectly.

As a result of this, clicking on the button leads the user to a page showing nothing else but the option to configure the add-on update.

If no option is visible then the options button should also be hidden.

Steps to replicate:

Build a simple jetpack add-on (used JPM), in the package.json add a single preference of any type and set it's "hidden" value to true. Install the add-on and open or refresh the add-on manager, the add-on "options" button will be present, click on it and nothing shows up since it was set to not show up.

The options button should not show up if the only setting is (or all settings are) hidden. This should be the expected behavior and the goal of the fix.

Comment 1

[YF (Yang)]

Attachment: test_myextension.zip

Comment 2

[YF (Yang)]

What is the "but the option to configure the add-on update.".

Comment 3

[u529383]

Attachment: options page screenshot

Comment 4

[u529383]

Attachment: test_myextension2.zip

I have updated your extension example with the code I am using leading the option button to become visible incorrectly.

The only changes made were to the bootstrap.js file, type was changed to string and added value: {}

Comment 5

[u529383]

Correction, changes were made to the pacjage.json file, not bootstrap.js.

Comment 6

[YF (Yang)]

I still don't understand what is not correct, everything looks good, except for a useless option button.

Comment 7

[u529383]

(In reply to YF (Yang) from comment #6)
> I still don't understand what is not correct, everything looks good, except
> for a useless option button.

The fact that there is a useless option button is the problem, it is making the users think that they can configure the add-on through that button which they can't, resulting in incorrect negative feedback over something that is the browser's fault, not the add-on. For example, this review which was lower only as a direct result of this problem: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-plus/reviews/768036/

If there are no visible options then the button should not show up.

Comment 8

[u529383]

Also I just tested without a value set, only the type set to "string", and the option button still shows up so this isn't as simple as just not adding a value in the package.json file.

This is not working as it should, it needs to be fixed, it is causing problems for the users and resulting in unfair negative feedback.

Comment 9

[u529383]

Another user giving a negative feedback as a direct result of the misleading option button showing up when it shouldn't: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-plus/reviews/768387/

Comment 10

[u529383]

In the current Nightly 46.0a1 (2015-12-24) even YF's test example is no longer hiding the options button. Currently even if there are absolutely no preferences present in the package.json file the add-on still shows an options button in the about:addons (add-on manager) page.

This kind of behavior is misleading and counter-productive, it will lead users into thinking that they can configure add-ons via the options button when there are no options present.

This also goes completely against the documentation related to setting preferences to "hidden" located in the following page: 

"Getting and setting preferences

Unless you've marked them as hidden, the user will be able to see and change the preferences in the Add-on Manager."

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/Add-ons/SDK/High-Level_APIs/simple-prefs

This is a conflicting feature, either the options button doesn't show up when the preference(s) is(are) set as hidden or the "hidden" option should be completely removed and the related documentation updated accordingly.

Comment 11

[u529383]

As a result of this issue I am being forced to include an empty warning option with a title instructing users that they cannot configure the add-on via the options button.

Comment 12

[Tony Mechelynck [:tonymec]]

I've seen this happen as a side-effect when an add-on was displaying its preferences dialog by means of function(s) recently removed from the API. In that case, the [Options] button is still present on the add-on list page of about:addons, but it leads to an add-on details page where the only selectable widgets are "Automatic Updates: (*) Default ( ) On ( ) Off    Check for updates" and, lower down, the [Disable] and [Remove] buttons. This particular case, which is due to the add-on code not following the latest developments of the browser code, might be unavoidable; but an addon all of whose preferences are intentionally hidden from the user (though I'm not sure what the use of that might be) should IMHO not have an [Options] button.

Comment 13

[u529383]

(In reply to Tony Mechelynck [:tonymec] from comment #12)

> (though I'm notsure what the use of that might be)

There are add-ons that do not offer the settings configuration through the options menu or don't offer any settings at all, userscript ports (for example, as is my case) most of the times only have their settings available through the pages in which it runs, like they do with userscripts. Nevertheless the problem is not the reason behind hiding or not the preferences, it is related to having a feature(s) that is(are) not working correctly causing complications for both the users and developers.

Thanks for weighing in on this, it has been a bit frustrating seeing the add-on receiving negative reviews as a direct result of this problem.

Also this problem is present in current Stable v43 as well, I have confirmed it above through the test example the other participant provided.

Comment 14

[CosminB]

Using the provided add-ons I am unable to reproduce this issue on Firefox 53.0a1 (2017-01-09) under Wind 7 64-bit because this technique (JPM) seems to be deprecated (see https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/Add-ons/SDK/Tools/jpm ), looking at this add-on https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-plus/ the [Options] button is not displayed in “Add-ons Manager”  here is a screenshot: http://screencast.com/t/CcUGGred.

Is this issue still reproducible on your end?  If yes, can you please retest this using latest FF release and latest Nightly build (https://nightly.mozilla.org/) and report back the results ?

Comment 15

[u529383]

(In reply to CosminB from comment #14)
> Using the provided add-ons I am unable to reproduce this issue on Firefox
> 53.0a1 (2017-01-09) under Wind 7 64-bit because this technique (JPM) seems
> to be deprecated (see
> https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/Add-ons/SDK/Tools/jpm ), looking at this
> add-on https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-plus/ the
> [Options] button is not displayed in “Add-ons Manager”  here is a
> screenshot: http://screencast.com/t/CcUGGred.
> 
> Is this issue still reproducible on your end?  If yes, can you please retest
> this using latest FF release and latest Nightly build
> (https://nightly.mozilla.org/) and report back the results ?

After 2 years... caring for this took so long that webextensions came and this problem became irrelevant. I don't even understand why I even try if these problems reported here are left ignored when evidently social buzz media panic attention towards bugs does the job far better.

Comment 16

[Andrew Swan [:aswan]]

This is related to inline options which were removed quite some time ago.