Closed Bug 342655 (stuff-in-thing) Opened 18 years ago Closed 17 years ago

Add-ons manager needs a "Get Add-ons" button

Categories

(Toolkit :: Add-ons Manager, defect)

Product:
Toolkit
Component:
Add-ons Manager
Type:
defect
Priority:
Not set
Severity:
normal

Tracking

()

Status:
VERIFIED FIXED

People

(Reporter: beltzner, Unassigned)

Details

Attachments

(3 files)

screenshot - not feelin' it
41.26 KB, image/png
Details
idea
65.29 KB, image/png
Details
invisible link
23.38 KB, image/png
Details 
The Add-ons manager currently has an "Install" button and a link to "Get Extensions" or "Get Themes" which takes the user to AMO. These functions should be consolidated into a single "I want to put more stuff in my thing" button which allows the user to either:

  - install an add-on from their local disk
  - go to AMO and get an add-on

I suggest that we replace both of these with a "Get Add-ons" button that takes users to AMO (ideally to a page most relevant to the product and add-on manager tab that it was called from) and that AMO have a "Install from your hard drive" page that explains how users can do that.

Other potential solutions in order of increasing ickiness:
  - a menubutton with "From disk ..." in the drop-down
  - clicking the button pops a dialog that asks users where to get the XPI from
For the EM the button can be replaced as you request per bsmedberg's comment in Bug 342656 comment #2. As for the AMO work that needs to be done could you file a bug against AMO for that? Thanks
How about "hold shift when clicking the button to install from disk", which we document in a link from the "Get In Mah Firefox" page?

Otherwise I'm not sure quite what we'd tell them to do to get a file browser open.  Making them go through file:// is fugly, and drag-and-drop seems like it would hurt pretty badly for the people who roll with their browser maximized.
Alias: stuff-in-thing
This page would need to be app specific since other toolkit apps won't be able to take advantage of open local file from a browser window. As far as the EM ui goes this is essentially just changing this to a button though I think we still want to open different urls for extensions and themes. Perhaps having "Get Extensions..." and "Get Themes..." buttons?
beltzner, I've been letting this sink in a bit and I don't see why this should be a button to open a web page instead of a pseudo link as it is now. Is the rationale that the web page would have an install local file button? If so it makes just as much if not more sense for it to be the pseudo link since it opens a web page. Also, the search engine manager has a pseudo link to Get more search engines... last you and I talked about pseudo links you didn't want the ellipsis in it since the behavior of links is to always open a web page.

I'd like to get rid of or move that pseudo link as much as anyone but I don't think the right answer is to replace it with a button.
Shows the "Get Extensions..." button along with a restart button per bug 336050. I really think we should stick with using label class="text-link" for this type of ui in the same way that the search engine manager is using it.
Chiming in here since Thunderbird is a fellow consumer of the Add-Ons dialog. I don't really like the screen shot with that button. But it is helpful to see it in the screen shot, thanks for doing that Robert. I think part of it is, I'm not used to buttons opening up URLs, I expect a URL to be a link.  

Robert also brings up a good point about being consistent with the search plugin manager in Firefox which also uses a text-link for the URL. We should be consistent in our decision. 
(In reply to comment #2)
> How about "hold shift when clicking the button to install from disk", which we
> document in a link from the "Get In Mah Firefox" page?

AIUI, File -> Open works. Point it at an XPI or .JAR and we do the right thing.

(In reply to comment #4)
> search engines... last you and I talked about pseudo links you didn't want the
> ellipsis in it since the behavior of links is to always open a web page.

Yeah, I'll talk to gavin about that. The rationale for the button was that it might become a menubutton with "from-file" as an item in the drop-down.

> I'd like to get rid of or move that pseudo link as much as anyone but I don't
> think the right answer is to replace it with a button.

Yeah, maybe not. Will think on't more.
For the improved get case I am more inclined to go with something along the lines of bug 268172. This would most likely be a button that replaces the url that would allow people to search for add-ons by category, type, etc. I also believe there is no problem with keeping the Install case separate from the get case and that combining the two is a bit confusing. I have hope that we will be able to improve the experience once everything is on XULRunner but even then it won't completely remove the need to at times install from the local file system.
hey beltzner, did you file a bug to get the add-ons page that is shown when clicking the link to include an install from filesystem feature which is one of the options you state in comment #0 but is not contingent on there being a button instead of a link?
(In reply to comment #8)
> I also believe there is no problem with keeping the Install case separate from > the get case and that combining the two is a bit confusing.

Yes! This is the main problem. When I "get" more extensions, I certainly expect that FF will be going out to the web to "get" them. But when I've already got an extension/theme file sitting on my hard drive, I want to "install" it.

Different source, AND a different action. Should *NOT* be done using the same button.

BTW, the basic concept that ALL GOOD EXTENSIONS are found at AMO is bonkers. Opening in the browser (File -> Open) isn't horrid, but we CAN'T select multiple files in that dialog. So it takes a lot of clicks to install more than one extension, as I often do in a new FF install. And it is very inconsistent to link directly to AMO's web pages from inside "Add-ons" (that's definitely web browsing), while forcing people to do "pseudo-web browsing" of their local file system from the main browsing menu, requiring Konqueror-like "file manager" behavior.

Add-ons should be manageable from WITHIN add-ons, I think.
Attached image idea — 
How about something like this? Doesn't clutter the bottom and makes use of wasted space in the top.
Inconsistent with the rest of the UI - see comment #4 thru comment #7
(In reply to comment #11)

I agree with Robert, though maybe for a different reason: it's not good to have the 'Update' and 'get Extensions' on completely different portions of the UI, because they're doing nearly the same thing. I'd keep 'em together.
Ok just throwing out ideas. How about same as what I posted but the "Get Extension.../Themes..." actually be a link instead of just text. But make the whole area a link so the user can still click the icon and be taken to the page?
Just another idea.

I guess what first needs to be figured out is if a button or link is wanted. Then figure out where to fit it in to look best and not out of place. My thinking is a button is about the only thing that wouldn't look out of place and inconsistent with the rest of the UI. But then again buttons don't usually load a page and that would also be inconsistent to do. But then there is the 'Home' button which loads a page. Just some thoughts.
I think something along the lines of bug 268172 which would open with a button would be more appropriate.

The original request appears to me to be along the lines of giving Firefox users a way to install local add-ons since the install button is not displayed in Firefox - controlled via a pref - per Bug 342656. If the intent is to provide this ability all that needs to be done is for the page on AMO to add this capability.
(In reply to comment #15)
> I think something along the lines of bug 268172 which would open with a button
> would be more appropriate.

The screenshot in that bug would be really nice to have with some enhancements (another column for screenshot with a little icon of a picture as a link that would widen the window and display the screenshot like the theme's do in Add-ons). 

My opinion (not that it matters much), would be to make this bug depend on 268172 and then start working on that bug.


It seems that this bug is more about providing the ability for Firefox users to install add-ons locally so don't bother making the dependency... also, it isn't a requirement for bug 268172 to use a button though it is consistent with the ui for a button to be used to open the chrome window that would need to be implemented in that bug just as having an psuedo link open a web page as the ui does now.
Link to "GetExtensions" or "Get Themes" has a unusability problem.
When changing "Button Background Color" of "Windows System Color" to blue,
"Get Extensions" and "Get Themes" is INVISIBLE.

I suspect the same would be true of the link in the Search Engine Manager... true?
(In reply to comment #19)
> I suspect the same would be true of the link in the Search Engine Manager...
> true?
> 
Yes.
Attached image invisible link — 
To reproduce this,
1.Change Windows Style to High-Constrast Black
2.Change 3D Object Color to Blue
3.Open Add-on Manager.
If you'd like to file a general widget bug in regards to this issue with the link in the Add-ons mgr. and the Search Engine mgr. please do so since that is a different issue than what is trying to be solved in this bug.
(In reply to comment #22)
> If you'd like to file a general widget bug in regards to this issue with the
> link in the Add-ons mgr. and the Search Engine mgr. please do so since that is
> a different issue than what is trying to be solved in this bug.
> 
Ok. I filed Bug 371870.

Is this bug fixed by Bug 404024 ?
(In reply to comment #24)
> Is this bug fixed by Bug 404024 ?
> 

I would agree.
Status: NEW → RESOLVED
Closed: 17 years ago
Resolution: --- → FIXED
Verified fix on Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; Intel Mac OS X 10.4; en-US; rv:1.9b3pre) Gecko/2008013004 Minefield/3.0b3pre.  Get addons button is now available, along with links to browse addons and get recommended addons list.
Status: RESOLVED → VERIFIED
Product: Firefox → Toolkit
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