537004 - user.js ui prefs assimilated into prefs.js even after user.js deleted

Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 50038

(Firefox :: Settings UI, defect)

Description

[hedges]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.9.1.5) Gecko/20091123 Iceweasel/3.5.6 (like Firefox/3.5.6; Debian-3.5.6-1)
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.9.1.5) Gecko/20091123 Iceweasel/3.5.6 (like Firefox/3.5.6; Debian-3.5.6-1)

While debugging http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=549371 it was suggested I add some ui prefs to user.js which are listed at http://www.mozilla.org/unix/customizing.html#ui . 

I tried adding the following blocks of settings to user.js but they had no effect on the problem in that bug.  Instead, they messed up the colors of the application menus and buttons, but had no effect on HTML input element buttons.

/*
user_pref("ui.widgetBackground",            "white"     );
user_pref("ui.widgetForeground",            "black"     );
user_pref("ui.widgetSelectBackground",      "orange"    );
user_pref("ui.widgetSelectForeground",      "cyan"      );
user_pref("ui.widget3DHighlight",           "purple"    );
user_pref("ui.widget3DShadow",              "darkgray"  );
*/

/*
user_pref("ui.menu", "white");
user_pref("ui.menutext", "black");
user_pref("ui.buttonface", "yellow");
user_pref("ui.buttontext", "red");
*/


So I deleted user.js.  But the application menus and buttons are still messed up.  So I looked in prefs.js - the new settings that I had previously put into user.js had been added, presumably because they were not listed with defaults in prefs.js before.

hedges@maggie:~/.mozilla/firefox/2pofhsv8.default$ grep 'user_pref("ui.' prefs.js
user_pref("ui.buttonface", "yellow");
user_pref("ui.buttontext", "red");
user_pref("ui.menu", "white");
user_pref("ui.menutext", "black");
user_pref("ui.widget3DHighlight", "purple");
user_pref("ui.widget3DShadow", "darkgray");
user_pref("ui.widgetBackground", "white");
user_pref("ui.widgetForeground", "black");
user_pref("ui.widgetSelectBackground", "orange");
user_pref("ui.widgetSelectForeground", "cyan");



Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. add settings to user.js which have no defaults in prefs.js, verify effects
2. remove user.js
3. try looking at the effects
Actual Results:  
Settings input in user.js still apply even after user.js is deleted.

Expected Results:  
Settings input in user.js should not continue to apply after user.js is deleted.

http://www.mozilla.org/unix/customizing.html#ui is unreadable with a 1024x768 screen and has no horizontal scrollbar.

Comment 1

[hedges]

Removing the new settings from prefs.js restored the colors of the app menus etc.

Comment 2

[Dave Garrett]

This seems to be the intended behavior.

http://kb.mozillazine.org/User.js_file
https://developer.mozilla.org/En/A_Brief_Guide_to_Mozilla_Preferences#Preferences_Saving

Quote from MDC:
"On application exit, all user-set preferences are saved to prefs.js. This also means that preferences initially set by user.js will also be saved to prefs.js."

-> INVALID

Comment 3

[hedges]

OK, but doesn't that beg the question, why wouldn't I just edit prefs.js instead?

Comment 4

[Dave Garrett]

It's recommended you use about:config instead, though you can of course just edit prefs.js if you want. I've done so plenty of times. Just use caution.

Better than INVALID -> DUPE to a decade old bug. :)

Comment 5

[Dave Garrett]

(In reply to comment #3)
> OK, but doesn't that beg the question, why wouldn't I just edit prefs.js
> instead?

If what you're asking is "why does user.js exist at all?", then read the docs I linked to above. It's for overrides of prefs.js.

Comment 6

[hedges]

(In reply to comment #5)
> If what you're asking is "why does user.js exist at all?", then read the docs I
> linked to above. It's for overrides of prefs.js.

Yes, I thought it was for "overrides of prefs.js" when I used it.  I assumed that all available options were already set with defaults in prefs.js.