462413 - Bookmarks, Library: only 1 level of files to see on the right side, not the complete file substructure

Status: RESOLVED WONTFIX

(Firefox :: Bookmarks & History, defect)

Description

[Ekkehard]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; PPC Mac OS X 10.4; de; rv:1.9.0.3) Gecko/2008092414 Firefox/3.0.3
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; PPC Mac OS X 10.4; de; rv:1.9.0.3) Gecko/2008092414 Firefox/3.0.3

Pretty hard to explain in English, but I´ll try. 
I am using Mac OS 10.4.11 on a G4 PowerBook, and Firefox 3.0.3.  
The library is showing in the left column or side the whole structure of the bookmarks, but the files only.  The right column or side („name“) should show files AND bookmarks in their complete structure resp. hierarchy. But it is not so,  with FF 2 it has been so. 
The right column/side is showing ONLY one level of the hierarchy, and this is true for some Macs I have checked –so it can not be a single problem of my G4. 
I was discussing this in the German FF forum and a PC user was posting a sceen-shot of his library structure: http://firefox.tech-support.de/pic080806001.jpg I did the same: http://www.ekkehard-brunn.de/9test/FF3%20Biblio%20OrdHierarchie%20Sp2.jpg and it is to see, that on the right side only one level of files is to see. My pictured files have up to 5 file levels, and then the bookmarks are to see. No hierarchical structure with the complete sub-structures can be seen as a total –like it has been with FF 2.


Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1.open library shift cmd B
2.no further steps: rightaway to see
3.Going down to the next level needs opening a file: again only 1 level to see, no hierarchy.
Actual Results:  
only 1 file level to see under "name" (right side in the window).


Should show the complete level structure down to the bookmarks or as far down as You wish. Like: http://firefox.tech-support.de/pic080806001.jpg for the PC library, or like FF 2 did.

Comment 1

[Marco Bonardo [:mak]]

this is by design.
Right pane is a flatlist, so it will not show hierarchy, as the vast majority of file managers do these days.

Comment 2

[Ekkehard]

Reply to Marco....
I wonder why a hierarchy is to see, when using a PC (view the link above), and why FF2 was able to show a hierarchy.... As we have discussed this in detail in the German FF forum: If You use the bookmarks like labels for a .... I give up, it is too difficult for me to explain this in English. My profession is organisation of administration and I am tired to explain, how to work with bookmarks when using net-servers instead of Your own computer for storing Your data. You need for every picture, every document an URL and therefore You need an overview of ALL URLs You have, what means over ALL bookmarks You have. On ALL levels. The library is not only used for searching Your mass of bookmarks, but must be usable for working with a high-organized hierarchical structure of URLs for Your documents: which are ONLY to access via the net. You shift the URLs through the levels of a working process, what has meant for the traditional bureau organisation: You shift any document through the steps of a working process, from room to room, from shelf to shelf in the office. Therefore the documents labelled with their URL to be seen as bookmarks in the library MUST be to see on all levels in the hierarchy. If not, the library is not to use for a paperless (as we say in German) bureau organisation.

Comment 4

[Rich Morin]

There are certain tasks, such as reorganizing a hierarchy, where having two (or more) hierarchical views of the same tree is almost imperative.  Trying to do this with only a hierarchy and a single-folder representation is VERY tedious.

Please think about how to improve this use case!

Comment 5

[Ekkehard]

Hard to explain in English...  There is a little help:

To see the bookmarks in an hierarchical structure I use the folder not as folder but as headlines, and place the bookmarks below them. So You see the folders with their "content" not as filled folders but as blocks of bookmarks with the folder only as name above. I place a line between these faked folders to get a more clear overview. 

With this You get ONE more level.............. By the way: this is a Firefox/Mac-user problem. The Firefox/PC-user can see the hierarchies with all the levels of their substructure. And more: using Safari/Mac is solving this problem -but I do not want to leave FF.

Comment 6

[Ekkehard]

Juast seen, that my pictures with scren-shots of the library, opened with a PC and opened with a Mac do not load. I add the links oncemore:

PC: http://firefox.tech-support.de/pic080806001.jpg
MAC: http://www.ekkehard-brunn.homepage.t-online.de/8eb/FF3%20Biblio%20OrdHierarchie%20Sp2.jpg

Comment 7

[Marco Bonardo [:mak]]

you can just use this add-on, at your own risk. Even if we can improve the experience for reordering (for example by allow left panel folders to automatically navigate on a timed hover), there are no plans to restore the old hierarchy in the right pane.
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/9784

Comment 8

[Ekkehard]

Hi Marco, this information about the add-on was a great help! I´ll try it inspite of its experimental state. Hope it will work with Mac OS.

As to see: I am not alone with my wishes for the "old" structure of the right panel of the bibliography. 

There is coming up a big change in using boomarks, in using the bibliography:

There is a huge difference, if You use the bibliography for browsing Your bookmarks -that has been definitely improved- or as structure for Your working process. As more and more documents , pictures and files are stored OUTSIDE Your computer in the net, think of cloud-computing or mobileme of Apple, You need an overview of this structure, and more: You must be able to work with this structure!

FF should think about the new way of working with outside stored documents. etc. The bookmarks are becoming a system, they are no more just a mass.

Unfortunately I can not help, as I am "only" a user -besides describing how I am using the bookmarks, as author and scientist.

Comment 9

[Ekkehard]

Hello!

Just want to tell my experience with add-on Old Manage Bookmarks 0.0.3 by imikoa, which was suggested by Marco:

I have used the add-on, and it was working fine -but as You can not use the arrow-keys for opening and closing the bookmark-files, You´ll be not faster than using my courious system to place the bookmarks below the file (as head-line), not into the file. Then You can move up and down with the keys, and open with return (MAC OS).

So I´ve to wait for future ap-dates.

Regards
Ekkehard

Comment 10

[Ekkehard]

Sorry, my English!!!!!!! The word "file" in my posting above is wrong! It must be "folder". (I did not know, if I could have edit my posting again to correct this, so it´s coming here).

ekkehard