1254979 - Add a TEXT-BOX to Firefox's Customize: Additional Tools and Features section

Status: RESOLVED WONTFIX

(Firefox :: Toolbars and Customization, defect)

Description

[Greg]

User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Ubuntu; Linux x86_64; rv:44.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/44.0
Build ID: 20160209234642

Steps to reproduce:

I often used the old Search-Bar as a static text holder for viewing text across tabs and parts of a page. Since implementation of the new Search-Bar, typing in the new Search-Bar causes automatic opening of a dropdown-window filled with search engine icons. This dropdown often covers text I'm transcribing and generally is a distraction and cumbersome to deal with.


Actual results:

I reported Bug 1251264 to resolve the issue I'm having with the new Search-Bar, but it was marked WONTFIX. Would it be a simple task for Mozilla to add a TEXT-BOX (that looks something like the Search-Bar) to the Customize: Additional Tools and Features section of Firefox? 


Expected results:

Can Mozilla be persuaded to create a TEXT-BOX that users can put on their icon-bar/url-bar? The TEXT-BOX would be located under the Customize: Additional Tools and Features section. Users could drag it onto the url-bar.

The TEXT-BOX function would be simply an empty field (much like the old search-bar) where nothing "happens" when text is entered into the field. The TEXT-BOX would serve as a static holder of text that can be used to take notes with, display text from one part of a page when viewing another, or copying text from one tab and wanting to view that text when on a different tab. I would like to be able to access it with a keyboard shortcut and have the text automatically get highlighted, like happens with CTRL+J or CTRL+K with the Search-Bar.

This would be a very useful feature to have. I would remove the Search-Bar and replace it with this "inactive" TEXT-BOX.

Thank you kindly for any consideration you can give this.

Comment 1

[Jared Wein [:jaws] (please needinfo? me)]

Thanks for filing this feature request Greg, and I'm sorry that our change in the search box has affected the way that you use Firefox.

If you wanted, you could use the Bookmarks sidebar (Ctrl+B) to get a textbox, but that will take up valuable screen space for the rest of the sidebar. Alternatively, you could use the Find-in-page textbox (Ctrl+F) as a text box, and then hit F3 on other tabs to reopen it with the previously entered text.

With that being said, I don't see us adding a textbox as a customizable control to Firefox. If you would like, you could probably make a simple add-on that provides this ability, and it may also allow for additional features that would enhance your usage of a small "scratch pad" in the browser.

Comment 2

[Greg]

Jared, as you said, the Bookmarks sidebar takes much of my screen space. Find-in-page keyboard shortcut often doesn't work in the context I would need it for use as a scratch pad (e.g. in Google Docs, CTRL+F doesn't open the box. I am forced to use the mouse to open via the application window--which greatly slows my work flow).

a small scratch-pad box would be a useful feature many would appreciate. Much more useful than the other stuff Mozilla has been putting its energies into.