Closed Bug 1434560 Opened 8 years ago Closed 8 years ago

tabs on bottom

Categories

(Firefox :: Tabbed Browser, enhancement)

Product:
Firefox
Component:
Tabbed Browser
Version:
57 Branch
Platform:
All
Unspecified
Type:
enhancement
Priority:
Not set
Severity:
normal

Tracking

()

Status:
RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 763294

People

(Reporter: andrixnet, Unassigned)

Details

Firefox UI had a nice feature: configurable placement of tabbar. I mean the tabbar could be set to be above or below the location bar and bookmarks toolbar. This UI feature is very important because of ease of use. Think about it: is it likely to edit the location, navigate to a bookmarked link from the toolbar, or __switch to another tab__? Having tabbar fixed above the location bar and the (optional but useful) bookmarks toolbar requires the user to perform **extra mouse travel** any time he/she desires to change tab while the mouse is within the document area (as most often is). And the alternative of switching tabs with keyboard shortcuts, while useful at times, is by no means a better alternative. As a paralel, switching "Excel sheets" is very easy because sheet tabs are placed immediately outside the document area, not beyond other bars. At some point, apparently it has been decided to remove this feature from FF, sometime during Australis UI, but fortunately it was easily available through "Classic Theme Restorer" addon (CTR). Unfortunately, since FF-57 and the major changes in the addons API, this alternative is no longer, as the CTR addon became dead due to most of it's features no longer being supported by the new API. This is another one of the little but outstanding features FF had that other browsers didn't. Please return this ability to FF.
I've read a lot of flamewars about FF copying Chrome UI from disgruntled users. This bug report is about functionality that can be of significant importance to some (especially power) users, functionality that can be an optional alternative to a different default, and while bugs like #763294 got WONTFIX resolution at a time when an extension could give the user this functionality, even if the browser didn't support it natively (see Classic Theme Restorer), with the new addon API it is no longer possible. So it's like work more with the mouse or bust! Get another browser? ...
It's unfortunate that add-ons can't change this anymore, but re-implementing this in Firefox is still not a realistic option -- it comes with too much complexity and would be too much of a maintenance burden.
Status: UNCONFIRMED → RESOLVED
Closed: 8 years ago
Resolution: --- → DUPLICATE
Firefox seems to be evolving not by empowering users, but by stripping power away (this is only one example) from users. This is the same as saying to users: "Yes, FF used to do that, but now it doesn't because [no comment]. You still want/prefer/need that? Go find yourself another browser..." I am deeply saddened by Mozilla's stance. I would have expected such from corporation X or Y, but not Mozilla.
(In reply to Andrei Boros from comment #4) > I am deeply saddened by Mozilla's stance. > I would have expected such from corporation X or Y, but not Mozilla. Ironically, big corporations have almost unlimited resources and could easily support this if they wanted to. Our resources are much more limited so we have to make tradeoffs.
I am sorry to learn that "power users" are traded off.
It's not like all power users are asking for a tabs on bottom option.
Can you say "it's like all power users are asking for tabs on top"? I did not generalize.
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