Closed Bug 191826 Opened 21 years ago Closed 21 years ago

tab context menu: "close tab" should be at top

Categories

(SeaMonkey :: Tabbed Browser, enhancement)

enhancement
Not set
normal

Tracking

(Not tracked)

VERIFIED FIXED
mozilla1.3final

People

(Reporter: jruderman, Assigned: jag+mozilla)

Details

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(1 file)

"Close tab" should be the first item on the context menu for browser tabs.

Reasons:

1. Efficiency: I'm pretty sure "Close tab" is the most commonly command selected
in this context menu.

2. Safety: Directly above and below "Close tab" are two dangerous commands:
"Reload all tabs" and "Close all tabs".  ("Close other tabs" was recently
removed in bug 103354 because so many people were selecting it accidentally
while trying to close a single tab.  Fixing this bug may make it possible to
re-introduce "Close other tabs" in its previous location safely.)

3. Consistency: When the Windows taskbar is at the bottom of the screen (most
common configuration), "Close" is the item that appears closest to where the
cursor is.
bug 191818 also has some ideas about what should be where.
I agree with your reasoning (I was thinking along the same lines, now I don't
have to file this bug :-). I'll try and get UE input on this.
Keywords: nsbeta1
"Pretty" ASCII art grabbed from bug 103354:

+------------------+
| Close Tab        |
| Close Other Tabs |
+------------------+
| New Tab          |
+------------------+
| Reload Tab       |
| Reload All Tabs  |
+------------------+
> "Close" is the item that appears closest to where the
> cursor is.

Actually, since you'll be right-clicking on the tab itself, the mouse cursor
will, by definition, have to be where the tab is.  That would make the proposed
solution have "Close" as close to the current cursor position at the time of
right-click as possible, not the reverse.  This will make it much easier to
issue a close command by mistake than it was before.  For all of those who
complained about accidentally clicking on "Close Other Tabs" because it was so
close to "Close Tab", they might complain just as much (if not more) about the
new location of both "Close" options directly beneath the mouse cursor.  Before
they were as far away as possible.  If I were one of those people complaining
about dataloss (I'm not, if I click on something I shouldn't have I accept it as
my fault) I wouldn't be happy about this new positioning.

> the most commonly command selected in this context menu

I should note that traditionally in menu design, "New" is almost always placed
at the top and "Exit/Close" at the bottom.)

Saying all of the above, I'm not arguing against this (and please let's keep
objective here), just pointing out some things for consideration.
how about a: 

are you sure you want to close this tab?

 [  ] Never ask me this again

[ yes ]  [ no ]
I wouls like to mark this a 'regression', but it isn't quite the correct term.
I'll take any fix that brings back 'Close other tabs'
I'm going to implement the context menu as shown in comment 3 for 1.3final.
Target Milestone: --- → mozilla1.3final
As an alternative, perhaps the following would be "safer" because if a user
right-klicks and then "spazzes" with the mouse (muskles tense up because of the
relisation of having done something accidentally), and then in panic releases
the mousebutton, it would be best if the least dangerous action were closest to
the curser. I did an imaginary dry run (pretending the current context menu
looks like I'm suggesting), and it seems to take a conscious mental decision to
pass over "New Tab" in order to select "Close Tab" or "Close Other Tabs". € 0.02

+------------------+
| New Tab          |
+------------------+
| Close Tab        |
| Close Other Tabs |
+------------------+
| Reload Tab       |
| Reload All Tabs  |
+------------------+
Again, I'll suggest a sub menu for it:
+------------------+
| New Tab          |
| Reload Tab       |
+------------------+
| All Tabs       > |+-------------------+      
+------------------+| Reload all        |
| Close Tab        || Bookmark as Group |
+------------------++-------------------+
                    | Close Other Tabs  |
                    +-------------------+
That way, the 'critical' operations require opening a sub menu.
I've always thought that the submenu idea was the best option available.  I
actually opened a bug on it then closed it again because "Close Other Tabs" at
that time had been taken out and any suggestion to put it back in again had
prompted WONTFIX warnings.  (And without it, the only thing I could see going
into a submenu was "Reload All" which was rather silly.)  However, I really like
the idea of having "Bookmark This Group Of Tabs" - I renamed it to be consistent
with the naming in the Bookmarks menu - in there as well.

But I can't help but wonder if discussion of a submenu is SPAMming this
particular bug.  (Nor can I see opening a new bug until Close Other Tabs really
*is* back in the context menus.)
Peter Lairo: our user experience experts support the mini-spec in comment 3.
This makes me doubt your "spasm" case is going to be a real issue.
See also bug 191818. The new "removeAllTabsBut" code is Neil's, sr=me.
Attachment #114409 - Flags: superreview+
Attachment #114409 - Flags: review?(shliang)
Attachment #114409 - Flags: review?(shliang) → review+
Attachment #114409 - Flags: approval1.3?
I have arthritis in my hands and I can state for certain that I often "spasm"
and accidently release the mouse on the first context menu item.  Thus I would
rather see the "Close tab" option somewhere other than the top slot.  Also, for
the record, I too would like to see the "Close Other Tabs" return to the context
menu.


Or "symply" ,give the possibility to re organize MANUALLY the order of item ? 
By right clic press down the action (from menu) + move to other place and drop
the right clic !

Comment on attachment 114409 [details] [diff] [review]
Restore "removeAllTabsBut" functionality, reorder context menu items

a=asa (on behalf of drivers) for checkin to 1.3.
Attachment #114409 - Flags: approval1.3? → approval1.3+
Maybe I am too late, but I would suggest against this. Mainly for consistency.
Close is always at the bottom of a (context) menu. It happens to be neer the
cursor for the task bar while at the buttom, nut that is only because there is
nor room for the menu to appear under the cursor.
So this would be less safe: Close in the place where people expect new to be,
and in the place that is most likely to be hit by accident.
Checked in, the context menu should look like the "spec" in comment 3. 
Status: NEW → RESOLVED
Closed: 21 years ago
Resolution: --- → FIXED
OS: Windows XP → All
QA Contact: pmac → sairuh
Hardware: PC → All
Does anyone actually use Reload all tabs? I can't imagine a use for such a thing.
re Reload all tabs.   Yes, I use it.  I have a seperate browser window
 that I frequently leave open during periods of rapidly evolving news.  
 The contents of this window are tabs to the front page of CNN, MSNBC 
 news, Fox news, news.google, and a couple local news sources.  It was
 exactly such a case that prompted me to request it in the first case
 (bug 104244).

I've lost count of how many times i've closed a tab today instead of opening a
new. Opening a new tab is the only thing i use that context menu for.
I can close a tab in several ways, the simplest way being a quick middle-button
click. Why is it so important that the CLOSE feature of tabs has the absolute
highest availability possible? This is becoming really annoying.
And I *never* open new tabs with the CM; I only close tab(s). ==> It's never
going to be perfect for everyone. BTW, my preference was/is comment #8.
well by the logic applied in this bug, the first menu-item in the "File" menu
should be "Close Window". I'm pretty sure that would be in sharp contrast to
various interface recommandations.
This bug is closed.  It makes little sense to argue against it (in this bug at
any rate) at this point.

For discussion of closing tabs by mistake due to the new context menu order see
bug 103354.
> I can close a tab in several ways

You can open tabs in just as many. There's one BIG difference though. A new tab
is a new tab. Doesn't matter how you create it. Close tab needs to be in the
context menu though, since you often want to close tabs other than the current one.

Close is the option under the cursor in the windows start bar, and people don't
have problems there. Cool out for a few days and just get used to the new menu.

> the simplest way being a quick middle-button

This is broken on Linux, and not available for most mac users.
vrfy'd fixed with 2003.02.24 comm trunk builds. the tab bar context menu is now
as jag described in comment 3.
Status: RESOLVED → VERIFIED
Jeremy, are you talking about the M$ start menu? "Shut Down" is the menu option
I see in W98. "Shut Down" is the bottom menu option. It is closest to the cursor
as the menu opens only if the taskbar is at the bottom of the screen. When at
the top of the screen, it is furthest from the cursor, still at the bottom of
the menu, right where any exit/close/stop menu item is expected to be.
Resolution of this bug is totally anti-expectations. Where is mpt when you need him?
I'm pretty sure, when you click on "File", the first thing you get is
"Exit Mozilla"? No? What, it's actually "New"?

So why then should when I click on a Tab the first thing to appear be
"close"? Guess how many times I closed a tab without wanting to? And
besides, Mozilla 1.1, 1.2, Phoenix and Opera do it the other way.
This is a very bad thing to do in respect of consistency and user-friendlyness. 
Product: Core → SeaMonkey
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