1822089 - [Fx View] Switch recently closed items back from role="link" to role="button"

Status: VERIFIED FIXED

(Firefox :: Firefox View, defect)

Description

[Kelly Cochrane [:kcochrane]]

With the addition of the Dismiss button for Recently closed tabs in Firefox View (bug 1787945), we switched from using role="button" to role="link" for the actionable area of the list item. In a recent update to make recently closed tabs be template driven (bug 1801204), we switched from a span with role="link" to an actual anchor tag.

There was a lot of previous discussion on why we should be using a role of button here rather than link that can be found here, but essentially this is because they don’t quite behave like links (if you click on a closed tab in the list, it will open into a new tab and will be removed from the list). We also didn’t want to have to introduce other link-based behavior.

Expected behavior:
Recently closed tabs in Fx View should have a role of "button" and should not have typical link options when right clicked.

Actual behavior:
Recently closed tabs in Fx View are currently treated as links in Nightly and have alternate link opening options when right clicked. When selecting those alternate link opening options from the context menu, the item is not removed from the list.

Comment 1

[Kelly Cochrane [:kcochrane]]

Attachment: Bug 1822089 - [Fx View] Switch recently closed items back from role='link' to role='button' r=sclements

Comment 2

[Kelly Cochrane [:kcochrane]]

Comment on attachment 9322755 [details]
Bug 1822089 - [Fx View] Switch recently closed items back from role='link' to role='button' r=sclements

Beta/Release Uplift Approval Request

• User impact if declined: Actionable area of Recently Closed tab items in Fx View will have the incorrect a11y role ("link" as opposed to "button") allowing the user to right click and open the tab from the context menu which would not remove the item from the list.
• Is this code covered by automated tests?: Yes
• Has the fix been verified in Nightly?: No
• Needs manual test from QE?: Yes
• If yes, steps to reproduce: Open and then close a few tabs to populate the "Recently closed" list in Fx View. Notice with role="button" that you are no longer able to open the tab another way than what is intended which is by clicking it with a mouse or using the Space or Enter key when using a keyboard. Once reopened, the item should then be removed from the "Recently closed" list in Fx View.
• List of other uplifts needed: None
• Risk to taking this patch: Low
• Why is the change risky/not risky? (and alternatives if risky): It's a relatively small change to the element's role attribute as well as some css changes. A test has been added to ensure this role doesn't change again.
• String changes made/needed: N/A
• Is Android affected?: No

Comment 3

[Pulsebot]

Pushed by [e-mail]:
https://hg.mozilla.org/integration/autoland/rev/2b1389b0c80c
[Fx View] Switch recently closed items back from role='link' to role='button' r=sclements,fxview-reviewers

Comment 4

[Norisz Fay [:noriszfay]]

https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/rev/2b1389b0c80c

Comment 5

[Dianna Smith [:diannaS]]

Comment on attachment 9322755 [details]
Bug 1822089 - [Fx View] Switch recently closed items back from role='link' to role='button' r=sclements

Approved for 112.0b2

Comment 6

[Dianna Smith [:diannaS]]

https://hg.mozilla.org/releases/mozilla-beta/rev/d447b577eb7c

Comment 7

[Catalin Sasca, Desktop Test Engineering [:csasca]]

Reproduced the issue on Firefox 112.0a1 (2023-03-13) on macOS 13.2.1 by following the info provided in Comment 0 and Comment 2, where links could be opened by right clicking on them and they will duplicate in the list after.

The issue is fixed on Firefox 112.0b2 and Firefox 113.0a1 (2023-03-14). Tests were performed on macOS 13.2.1, Windows 11 and Ubuntu 22.04.