1897673 - Mobile Firefox does not have keyboard shortcuts (such as to focus search box, switch tabs, go backwards, forwards, refresh, do current-page searches,) from the ubiquitous keyboards (which introduced wireless at 2002)

Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 1794664

(Fenix :: Browser Engine, enhancement)

Description

[2002luvabbaluvu]

Steps to reproduce:

Hook up various lowcost wireless keyboards through bluetooth,
launch latest version of Google Store's Firefox Beta (plus test with vanilla Firefox,)
press F5, <ctrl> + l, <ctrl> + <tab>, <ctrl> + <-, <alt> + <-, <ctrl> + ->, <alt> + ->, <ctrl> + f

Actual results:

Firefox did not have responses

Expected results:

Respective: Should focus search box, switch tabs, go backwards, forwards, refresh, do current-page searches

Comment 1

[2002luvabbaluvu]

All browsers on all non-Google OS support this:
F5, <ctrl> + l, <ctrl> + <tab>, <ctrl> + <-, <alt> + <-, <ctrl> + ->, <alt> + ->, <ctrl> + f, <ctrl> + -, <ctrl> + +

refresh, focus search box, switch tabs, go backwards, forwards, do current-page searches, zoom
should not require more than an hour to add this, do you want a pull request?

Comment 2

[Thomas.Heinrich.Schmidt]

Is there any hope that keyboard shortcuts will be implemented for Android Firefox?
Currently (Firefox 126 Build #2016019903) only supports <Space>, <Shift+Space> and the <arrow> keys for navigating on one single page
Maybe someone with the required superpower can review Priority: Not set Severity: N/A.
Otherwise, this issue probably has the last place in the ranking.

Comment 3

[2002luvabbaluvu]

https://education.apple.com/discussion/250014187 "TIME: Using keyboard shortcuts save you 64 hours a year"
https://bps.cpa/save-yourself-64-hours-a-year-with-keyboard-shortcuts/ "Save Yourself 64 Hours a Year with Keyboard Shortcuts"

If 10,000 use Fenix Firefox, with average income of $10/hour, with browser = half of device uses, this is worth 32 * 10 * $10,000 to fix (should prioritize as worth $3,200,000 to fix this)

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/71062697/register-hardware-keyboard-shortcuts-in-androids-help-menu/71062698#71062698 has resources about howto add keyboard shortcuts to Android apps
Would do this at no cost if knew that Firefox's devops would merge this

Comment 4

[jackyzy823]

I think this is Fenix UI related issue (nothing to do with geckoview side)

Comment 5

[BugBot [:suhaib / :marco/ :calixte]]

The severity field is not set for this bug.
:amejia, could you have a look please?

For more information, please visit BugBot documentation.

Comment 6

[Thomas.Heinrich.Schmidt]

Is it possible to see the ranking of bug 1897673 in the (probably) very long list of current issues?

Comment 7

[BugBot [:suhaib / :marco/ :calixte]]

The Bugbug bot thinks this bug should belong to the 'Fenix::Browser Engine' component, and is moving the bug to that component. Please correct in case you think the bot is wrong.

Comment 8

[[:natema]]

Is there a way for users to show their support for this feature? I guess that comments expressing only support might violate the etiquette guidelines here.

Comment 9

[2002luvabbaluvu]

(In reply to [:natema] from comment #8)

Is there a way for users to show their support for this

You can vote (https://wiki.mozilla.org/BMO/UserGuide/BugFields#votes) to prioritize this.

If you are good with computers, you can look through https://hg.mozilla.org/ https://github.com/mozilla/gecko-dev and post lists of functions which have to do with this.
If you are even more good with computers you can produce patches to fix this.
Am too depressed to. Offered to produce patches for another bug and the response was close to "[Doubt Mozilla has anyone left with the powers to merge this]", implying that Firefox is dead. None of the updates in the last year did anything other than break more of what little was left of Firefox, so have come to assume that Firefox (which was the last browser which empowered users) is dead and that there is no hope for computers. I have become suicidal as a result of this.

Comment 10

[nick]

(In reply to [:natema] from comment #8)

Is there a way for users to show their support for this feature? I guess that comments expressing only support might violate the etiquette guidelines here.

I am unsure myself, but this is a full-stop on my Android Tablet from me using Firefox. It impacts desktop usage, too, because, without the sync, I use Chrome to keep my sessions intact.

Comment 11

[czlucius]

(In reply to 2002luvabbaluvu from comment #3)

https://education.apple.com/discussion/250014187 "TIME: Using keyboard shortcuts save you 64 hours a year"
https://bps.cpa/save-yourself-64-hours-a-year-with-keyboard-shortcuts/ "Save Yourself 64 Hours a Year with Keyboard Shortcuts"

If 10,000 use Fenix Firefox, with average income of $10/hour, with browser = half of device uses, this is worth 32 * 10 * $10,000 to fix (should prioritize as worth $3,200,000 to fix this)

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/71062697/register-hardware-keyboard-shortcuts-in-androids-help-menu/71062698#71062698 has resources about howto add keyboard shortcuts to Android apps
Would do this at no cost if knew that Firefox's devops would merge this

@2002luvabbaluvu just saw your comment.
That's my question/answer on Stack Overflow but that part is just for documentation in Android's help screen (how to surface and show which shortcuts are available). The actual keyboard shortcuts handling is done either in dispatchKeyEvent or onKeyDown, this will be more appropriate: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/12250563/custom-keyboard-shortcuts.

I think you should look here(https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1794664) as well, I posted some findings w.r.t. this issue. Seems like both Fenix and GeckoView is involved.

Thanks!

Comment 12

[2002luvabbaluvu]

@czlucius https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1794664 refers to https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/ , which is closed (says moved to https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/firefox-android , which is also closed). Guess it is now impossible to clone mobile Firefox 126+, plus impossible to submit pull requests. Should just accept the fact that computers are all dead?

Comment 13

[Thomas.Heinrich.Schmidt]

All has been moved to mozilla-central, at least one computer is not dead.

Comment 14

[czlucius]

(In reply to 2002luvabbaluvu from comment #12)

@czlucius https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1794664 refers to https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/ , which is closed (says moved to https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/firefox-android , which is also closed). Guess it is now impossible to clone mobile Firefox 126+, plus impossible to submit pull requests. Should just accept the fact that computers are all dead?

You can still clone from Mozilla Central. That is how the source is retrieved.

Comment 15

[2002luvabbaluvu]

All has been moved to mozilla-central, at least one computer is not dead

As to last sentence, discount that; thought mozilla-central did not allow to fork/submit pull requests as Firefox through Github used to.

(In reply to czlucius from comment #14)

(In reply to 2002luvabbaluvu from comment #12)

@czlucius https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1794664 refers to https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/ , which is closed (says moved to https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/firefox-android , which is also closed). Guess it is now impossible to clone mobile Firefox 126+, plus impossible to submit pull requests.

You can still clone from Mozilla Central. That is how the source is retrieved.

How to submit pull requests?
Is such low hung fruit that, although the effort for a new contributor (who much become familiar with specific sources/repository rules) is much more than the effort for Mozilla to do this, it should exist as a minimal effort task. But not worth it if can not submit pull requests for this.

Comment 16

[Makoto Kato [:m_kato]]

dup of old bug