433532 - Add an item to open about:config to debugQA

Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 1684566

(SeaMonkey :: Preferences, defect)

Description

[Robert Kaiser]

We're trying ahrd to not need people to look into about:config, but I think it'd be a good idea to have a button or link in the advanced prefs dialog for opening it so people can find it when needed (we still have the warning page in front of it).

Comment 1

[Justin Wood (:Callek)]

In my opinion, this should be a wontfix, Thunderbird includes it simply because they have no other (relatively easy) way to launch it (no browser UI/urlbar).

For those users who might need about:config they can surely load it via the urlbar easily.  The general rule of thumb is, "if you open about:config you better *already* know what you are doing and why" because if you don't you're likely to break things badly.

Comment 2

[Robert Kaiser]

Actually, I've just run across another app that makes a full list of options similar to about:config available directly in an advanced pane of their pref window (JOSM, probably only targeted at geeks who want to do mapping stuff), and our about:config page still has that scary full-page warning before you actually get in. I agree that we shouldn't point people there usually, but given what kind of stuff we have floating around elsewhere, I'm not sure if about:config is actually that scary in comparison ;-)
That said, this feature never ought to be an excuse for not exposing things in UI that we expect that our users need to tweak.

Comment 3

[Philip Chee]

Attachment: Patch v1.0

This patch is mostly cut and paste from Thunderbird, especially the entities. This patch is fully functional as far as calling the config editor however it causes a peculiar problem.

After calling the window from this button, typing "about:config" in the location bar doesn't work. And this non-working persists across restarts unless I delete the XUL.mfl file in the profile. The error I get is:

XML Parsing Error: no element found
Location: about:config
Line Number 1, Column 1:

Comment 4

[Philip Chee]

Hmm. Happens in Minefield as well. Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.2a1pre) Gecko/20090129 Minefield/3.2a1pre

Comment 5

[Philip Chee]

Attachment: Patch v1.1 workaround sucky XUL cache channel in 1.9.1

This gecko problem was just fixed in 1.9.2 but isn't in 1.9.1. This patch works around that by using "about:config" instead as the url.

Comment 6

[[e-mail]]

The other alternative is to simply open about:config in a new window/tab.

Comment 7

[Philip Chee]

Attachment: Patch v 1.2 Open about:config in tab/window

> The other alternative is to simply open about:config in a new window/tab.

Alternative version to open about:config in a new tab/window using openUILinkIn()

Comment 8

[Philip Chee]

Only problem is that you can click on the button multiple times and multiple about:config tabs will open. This is getting complicated. Can't we apply the K.I.S.S. principle here?

Comment 9

[Ian Neal]

(In reply to comment #7)
> Created an attachment (id=361151) [details]
> Patch v 1.2 Open about:config in tab/window
> 
> > The other alternative is to simply open about:config in a new window/tab.
> 
> Alternative version to open about:config in a new tab/window using
> openUILinkIn()

I don't like the fact that it opens in the background...

Comment 10

[Frank Wein [:mcsmurf]]

May I argue against this feature? I really think we should not expose this. Anyone who needs about:config should/does need to read about the pref he wants to change anyway somewhere on the web. Then we'll also find out he needs to open that URL...

Comment 11

[Frank Wein [:mcsmurf]]

> Then we'll also
make that: "Then he'll also"

Comment 12

[Philip Chee]

> I don't like the fact that it opens in the background...

+                oncommand="openUILinkIn('about:config', 'tabshifted');"/>
It doesn't. Unless you have flipped your "browser.tabs.loadInBackground" from the default.

Comment 13

[Karsten Düsterloh]

Huh, I somehow missed this bug, else I'd cried out earlier.

I don't think it's a good idea to make access to about:config "easy".
I'm strongly against this button.

It's horribly dangerous for everybody who has set up some mail configuration - there's no button to about:config for a reason! It's the last resort for those who know what to do, but, actually, everything you _need_ to touch should be in a config/pref dialog.

(OTOH, it's silly enough to have that warning screen - you're not supposed to use it even if you voluntarily entered that "hidden" URL?)

Comment 14

[Robert Kaiser]

(In reply to comment #13)
> (OTOH, it's silly enough to have that warning screen - you're not supposed to
> use it even if you voluntarily entered that "hidden" URL?)

It's a part of so many "documentations" and "tips" for Firefox, SeaMonkey and even Thunderbird out there that some people tend to forget that we have the things they're describing in real UI prefs.

In any case, even though I filed this bug, I'm not too sure it's the right thing to do in the end. In debugQA, it would be OK for sure, but if we decide to do this in the normal UI, we probably want a scary warning there and not just the simple UI seen in this patch so far that makes it look like it's an interesting thing to hack around in the "config" (apart from the word "config" not being a good choice for UI strings).

Comment 15

[Karsten Düsterloh]

> > (OTOH, it's silly enough to have that warning screen - you're not supposed
> > to use it even if you voluntarily entered that "hidden" URL?)
> 
> It's a part of so many "documentations" and "tips" for Firefox, SeaMonkey and
> even Thunderbird out there that some people tend to forget that we have the
> things they're describing in real UI prefs.

May be. Not part of this bug anyway. ;-)

> In any case, even though I filed this bug, I'm not too sure it's the right
> thing to do in the end. In debugQA, it would be OK for sure,

DebugQA seems like a viable place for this, agreed.

Comment 16

[Ian Neal]

(In reply to comment #12)
> > I don't like the fact that it opens in the background...
> 
> +                oncommand="openUILinkIn('about:config', 'tabshifted');"/>
> It doesn't. Unless you have flipped your "browser.tabs.loadInBackground" from
> the default.

I'm sorry but it does, what else do you think "tabshifted" means?

Comment 17

[Philip Chee]

> I'm sorry but it does, what else do you think "tabshifted" means?

You're right. I'll fix it in the next patch - assuming that the powers that be decide on going this route.

Comment 18

[[e-mail]]

(In reply to comment #8)
> Only problem is that you can click on the button multiple times and multiple
> about:config tabs will open.
Well, you could always disable the button after it is clicked...

Comment 19

[[e-mail]]

Comment on attachment 361055 [details] [diff] [review]
Patch v1.1 workaround sucky XUL cache channel in 1.9.1

Eww I really don't like about:config in its own window :-(

Comment 20

[Ian Neal]

Comment on attachment 361055 [details] [diff] [review]
Patch v1.1 workaround sucky XUL cache channel in 1.9.1

Agree with Mnyromyr, probably best going in DebugQA menu, if anywhere.

Comment 21

[Tony Mechelynck [:tonymec]]

(In reply to comment #20)
> (From update of attachment 361055 [details] [diff] [review])
> Agree with Mnyromyr, probably best going in DebugQA menu, if anywhere.

I suppose so. The "MR-Tech Toolkit" extension already has "Help => About... => about:config" but having it also somewhere else (under QA maybe, or Tools => Web Development =>) as part of DebugQA wouldn't be pointless duplication -- not every debugger / QA tester wants to install a bulky 3rd-party extension after all.

Comment 22

[Frank Wein [:mcsmurf]]

Can/Should the review requests here get canceled? I think there's somewhat an agreement here that this patch is not the way to go.

Comment 23

[Robert Kaiser]

We really only want this in debugQA somewhere.