59118 - At end of Web page, offer to go to next page when Space is pressed

Status: NEW

(Core :: DOM: UI Events & Focus Handling, enhancement, P5)

Description

[Matthew T (active 1999-2002)]

The REL and REV attributes of HTML's LINK and A elements allow an HTML document 
to specify a document which comes next in succession after that document.

Pressing the space bar when you are at the end of the last read message in a 
folder/group pops up a dialog asking you if you would like to go to the next 
unread message in the next folder/group (bug 17801). Following this pattern, I 
suggest that if an HTML document has specified a next document, pressing the 
space bar at the end of the document should pop up a dialog asking you if you 
want to go to that next document.

Comment 1

[scottputterman]

I think you might also be referring to 16916, which would do it automatically.
Basically, we need a hook after space has been pressed at the end of a document
to do something else.

Comment 2

[(not reading, please use [e-mail] instead)]

adding me and shaver to the cc list.

a while back, shaver was talking about this feature.

not sure how related this will be to 17801, though.

Comment 3

[Matthew T (active 1999-2002)]

No, going to the next document automatically would be Bad, since no browser has 
done it before, and the user won't necessarily be expecting it -- users who often 
use Space to scroll through pages may currently be relying on a non-responding 
space bar to tell them that they are at the end of the page. *Offering* to take 
them to the next document would be a pleasant surprise; taking them to it without 
asking would be more unpleasant.

This should use the same hook and dialog as bug 17801 -- `Advance to next &x;?', 
where &x; is {page in this series, message in <FolderOrGroupName>, buddy with 
unread messages}, depending on the component.

Comment 4

[Blake Ross]

This is a neat idea.  We should probably have a checkbox to let the user turn 
off the dialog each time (or to never do the behavior), once he knows he [dis?]
likes it.

In framesets, I suppose that it should only load the new page in the frame in 
which spacebar was clicked?

Comment 5

[Matthew T (active 1999-2002)]

4.x doesn't have a checkbox for the `Advance to next message in folder/group 
foo?' dialog, and nor should Mozilla -- since it's just another press of the 
space bar (since `Ok' has focus) if you do want to go ahead, or a press of the 
Escape key if you don't. The same applies to this dialog, IMO.

> In framesets, I suppose that it should only load the new page in the frame in
> which spacebar was clicked?

Each frame can have its own set of rel/rev links (which is why each frame with 
rel/rev links should have its own Links Bar, as I said in bug 2800). So pressing 
the space bar in a particular frame would navigate to the next document in that 
frame, opening it in that frame -- unless that was overrided by the TARGET of the 
relevant LINK or A HREF element, or failing that the TARGET attribute of the BASE 
element for that frame. In short, it would be just as if you had opened the link 
in the usual way.

Comment 6

[Blake Ross]

not a priority.

Comment 7

[Jesse Ruderman]

*** Bug 103485 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

Comment 8

[Zack Weinberg (:zwol)]

I doubt there will be that much surprise.  Documents with link rev=next tags
usually have a logical order in which they are to be read, and "keep going"
is a natural thing to expect space at the bottom to do.  Consider the behavior
of most text-mode newsreaders when you hit space at the end of a message, or
of GNU's "info" browser (either standalone or in Emacs).

If you insist on popping up a dialog to say "really?", then please make one
of the choices be "yes, always, and never show this dialog box again."

Comment 9

[Boris Zbarsky [:bzbarsky]]

*** Bug 134473 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

Comment 10

[Ben Bucksch (:BenB)]

Some users (incl. myself) hate (for a good reason) that space crosses documents,
and they find the dialog box annoying. (mpt proposing popups???) A checkbox to
turn it off is IMO a must.

Comment 11

[Zack Weinberg (:zwol)]

Which version of Mozilla are you using that has this feature?  The bug is
about its not being implemented in any way.

By all means make it configurable, after the feature exists.

Comment 12

[Ben Goodger (use ben at mozilla dot org for email)]

Mass reassign of my non-Firefox bugs to [e-mail]

Comment 13

[Matěj Cepl]

(In reply to Matthew Paul Thomas from comment #3)
> No, going to the next document automatically would be Bad, since no browser
> has done it before, and the user won't necessarily be expecting it

Generally agree ... a dialog box with "Don't ask me again" is The Right Thing™ IMHO. However, https://twitter.com/karlpro/status/489702992103223296 clamis it was in Opera.