1969461 - shift-tab keyboard navigation through links unexpectedly triggers previews

Status: VERIFIED FIXED

(Core :: Machine Learning, defect)

Description

[Ed Lee :Mardak]

[Tracking Requested - why for this release]: pretty annoying for keyboard users moving through the page

this happens as to shift-tab, you'll need to have been holding shift already before pressing tab, and similarly releasing tab to press it again is then just shift key which is the preview trigger so if you're now focusing a link, it gets previewed

Comment 1

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

Set release status flags based on info from the regressing bug 1962297

Comment 2

[Ed Lee :Mardak]

Attachment: Bug 1969461 - shift-tab keyboard navigation through links unexpectedly triggers previews r=txia!

Treat tab as typing to ignore with rest of recent typing heuristics. Also catch other unexpected typing and clicks.

Comment 3

[Pulsebot]

Pushed by [e-mail]:
https://github.com/mozilla-firefox/firefox/commit/f9fcb4d03b77
https://hg.mozilla.org/integration/autoland/rev/fda014b5613f
shift-tab keyboard navigation through links unexpectedly triggers previews r=txia,firefox-ai-ml-reviewers

Comment 4

[Narcis Beleuzu [:NarcisB]]

https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/rev/fda014b5613f

Comment 5

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

The patch landed in nightly and beta is affected.
:Mardak, is this bug important enough to require an uplift?

• If yes, please nominate the patch for beta approval.
  • See https://wiki.mozilla.org/Release_Management/Requesting_an_Uplift for documentation on how to request an uplift.
• If no, please set status-firefox140 to wontfix.

For more information, please visit BugBot documentation.

Comment 6

[Ed Lee :Mardak]

Attachment: Bug 1969461 - shift-tab keyboard navigation through links unexpectedly triggers previews

Treat tab as typing to ignore with rest of recent typing heuristics. Also catch other unexpected typing and clicks.

Original Revision: https://phabricator.services.mozilla.com/D251891

Comment 7

[Phabricator Automation]

firefox-beta Uplift Approval Request

• User impact if declined: accidental preview when shift-tab through links
• Code covered by automated testing: yes
• Fix verified in Nightly: yes
• Needs manual QE test: yes
• Steps to reproduce for manual QE testing: enable browser.ml.linkPreview.enabled then move keyboard focus to a link with shift-tab
• Risk associated with taking this patch: low
• Explanation of risk level: reuse existing logic for ignoring typing by including "tab"
• String changes made/needed: none
• Is Android affected?: no

Comment 8

[Alexandru Trif, Desktop Test Engineering [:atrif]]

Reproduced the issue with Firefox 140.0b4 on Windows 10x64. Using Shift+Tab on a https://www.wikipedia.org/ page will trigger link previews with browser.ml.linkPreview.enabled:true.
The issue is verified fixed with Firefox 141.0a1 (2025-06-03) on Windows 10x64, macOS 12 and Ubuntu 24. The link preview is no longer triggered when using the Shift+Tab keys.

Comment 9

[Pulsebot]

https://github.com/mozilla-firefox/firefox/commit/298a97a4e91f
https://hg.mozilla.org/releases/mozilla-beta/rev/e8e461fb658e

Comment 10

[Alexandru Trif, Desktop Test Engineering [:atrif]]

Verified fixed with Firefox 140.0b6 from comment 9 on Windows 10x64, macOS 14 and Ubuntu 24. Using Shift+Tab on a https://www.wikipedia.org/ page no longer opens link preview with browser.ml.linkPreview.enabled:true.