624262 - Add preferences UI for disabling Tabs in the Titlebar when maximized

Status: VERIFIED WONTFIX

(Firefox :: Settings UI, defect)

Description

[Tan Wei Lin Jason [:Ryuji]]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:2.0b9pre) Gecko/20110109 Firefox/4.0b9pre
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:2.0b9pre) Gecko/20110109 Firefox/4.0b9pre

Adding an option for users to choose whether they want tabs in the titlebar is important. Previously the Tab bar was below the Firefox button and the titlebar, the tab bar is the titlebar and tabs are beside the firefox button now. Users with computer that have smaller screen would like to have their tabs below the Firefox button. Hence it is important to let them choose and change their option easily without forcing them to change it in about:config. 

Reproducible: Always

Comment 1

[Josh Tumath]

So basically, you're suggesting that a checkbox for this is placed in the Options window?

Comment 2

[Tan Wei Lin Jason [:Ryuji]]

Yes, to make things easier for the average users. or in the right click menu the one that say Menu bar, Navigation toolbar, Tabs on top .

Comment 3

[Tan Wei Lin Jason [:Ryuji]]

sorry... Disregard my second sentence....

what my second sentence meant was either put a checkbox for this in the Options windows or the right click menu (the one that say Menu bar, Navigation toolbar, Tabs on top.).

i believe that putting it in the option window, is easier to implement but less obvious to users, while putting it in the right click menu is more obvious but more difficult to implement. 

when I say more difficult to implement, I am talking about UI.

Comment 4

[Josh Tumath]

Apparently, the options window and the toolbar context menu are going to be redesigned anyway in 4.next into an in-content UI, so if it gets put in the Options window, it would probably just be a temporary solution. :)

Comment 5

[Tan Wei Lin Jason [:Ryuji]]

At least, something is done for Firefox 4. If we wait until 4.next Users might think Firefox forces them to have tabs in the titlebar. I think Firefox 4 will make attract more user to use Firefox =).

Comment 6

[Henrik Skupin [:whimboo][⌚️UTC+2]]

We only want to allow that when the window is maximized. All work happens on bug 572160.

Comment 7

[Josh Tumath]

I think you may have misunderstood. This is a bug to add an element in the UI to disable tabs-in-the-titlebar. This is not to add an option for putting tabs-in-the-titlebar when the window is restored.

Comment 8

[Luke Iliffe (Harlequin99)]

This is not a dupe, but the title needs modification to indicate this is about adding UI to control the tabs in the titlebar pref (browser.tabs.drawInTitlebar)

Comment 9

[Henrik Skupin [:whimboo][⌚️UTC+2]]

You are right. Sorry. Reopening for decision by UX team. Not sure if it is that important to have an option in the preferences, or if the hidden preference 'browser.tabs.drawInTitlebar' is enough.

Comment 10

[bgzllbs]

Attachment: Tabs location option in right-click menu

How would we add an option to the right-click menu? With a 'tabs location' submenu or something? Adding all three options to the menu itself would look quite cluttered, I think.

Comment 11

[Tan Wei Lin Jason [:Ryuji]]

Sorry that my bug summary causes confusion. Hope this new summary is better.

Comment 12

[Majken Connor [:Kensie]]

I have seen many bugs that would support the decision to add this to UI:

- bug 624129 and its dupes, tabs in titlebar break a windows 7 feature that people would like to use

- Tabs in titlebar shortens the tabstrip, fewer tabs are visible

- Tabs in tittlebar severely reduces the amount of space to display a persona, I think many persona users would choose some "whitespace" so that they could see the art without anything over it

Using the window unmaximized is IMO not a suitable workaround to these problems.

Comment 13

[Alex Faaborg [:faaborg] (Firefox UX)]

>I have seen many bugs that would support the decision to add this to UI

Extensions and about:config should cover these users.  We're trying to reduce having too many out of the box options to reduce code complexity, testing, and having options panels that mainstream users find overwhelming.

Comment 14

[Benjamin Xiao]

(In reply to comment #13)
> >I have seen many bugs that would support the decision to add this to UI
> 
> Extensions and about:config should cover these users.  We're trying to reduce
> having too many out of the box options to reduce code complexity, testing, and
> having options panels that mainstream users find overwhelming.

I feel like this would irritate a significant amount of users and would warrant a visible option. After all, tab previews has a visible option, why not this one?

Comment 15

[Majken Connor [:Kensie]]

I would say the fact that this breaks an OS feature justifies putting it in a visible option. So does the fact that it affects a heavily marketed feature - personas.  I'm also not sure how much this affects testing as it's the behavior when the window isn't maximized.

As for not wanting to put in too many options, that has to be looked at as a whole. If there are already too many, maybe the right answer is something else gets taken out for this. Perhaps this (and tabs on top if that'll still be an option?) should be in the customize menu.

Comment 16

[Tan Wei Lin Jason [:Ryuji]]

(In reply to comment #13)
> >I have seen many bugs that would support the decision to add this to UI
> 
> Extensions and about:config should cover these users.  We're trying to reduce
> having too many out of the box options to reduce code complexity, testing, and
> having options panels that mainstream users find overwhelming.

I doubt adding this option will make mainstream users feel overwhelmed. (personal opinion,don't mind)

Not everyone know how to use about:config. and then again not everyone will go and find out about a add-on that add this option. 

but personally i don't think anyone will create a add-on, just to add a option in the option window.

Comment 17

[Dão Gottwald [:dao]]

(In reply to comment #16)
> Not everyone know how to use about:config. and then again not everyone will go
> and find out about a add-on that add this option.

While this is true, we don't expect average Joe to have a problem with tabs in the title bar.

Comment 18

[Benjamin Xiao]

(In reply to comment #17)
> (In reply to comment #16)
> > Not everyone know how to use about:config. and then again not everyone will go
> > and find out about a add-on that add this option.
> 
> While this is true, we don't expect average Joe to have a problem with tabs in
> the title bar.

I believe this should be in the Customize menu right next to Tabs on Top because the "average Joe" might be confused when they start tearing off tabs instead of Aero dragging. Aero drag is a major feature of Windows 7 and with its market share growing we can't afford to make an option like this not easily discoverable.

Comment 19

[Tan Wei Lin Jason [:Ryuji]]

But Dao... while it is true that most of the average users will not have a problem with tabs in the title bar, but they will blame us for being sloppy if we do not have this option anywhere in Firefox which forces them to find help in Firefox Help(let's assume that most average user do not know how to use about:config, but this is somewhat true, since not everyone is a Firefox expert).

Comment 20

[Majken Connor [:Kensie]]

(In reply to comment #19)
> But Dao... while it is true that most of the average users will not have a
> problem with tabs in the title bar, but they will blame us for being sloppy if
> we do not have this option anywhere in Firefox which forces them to find help
> in Firefox Help(let's assume that most average user do not know how to use
> about:config, but this is somewhat true, since not everyone is a Firefox
> expert).

Support makes it a policy not to recommend about:config changes since they're not officially supported and there's no warning when they're going to be used, or cause issues or need to be flipped. If this isn't an option in the UI support would need an add-on.  It would be nice if people could remember that when saying "well there's an about:config option" - about:config is *not* supported nor intended to be used by basic users. Extensions which can be disabled and blacklisted and which give user warning before they're disabled are preferred.

Comment 21

[Tan Wei Lin Jason [:Ryuji]]

You could just put an new checkbox option under Tabs of the Option window... 

Example:

o Open new windows in a new tab instead 
...
o Show tab previews in Windows Taskbar
o Put Tabs in titlebar

Comment 22

[Benjamin Xiao]

(In reply to comment #21)
> You could just put an new checkbox option under Tabs of the Option window... 
> 
> Example:
> 
> o Open new windows in a new tab instead 
> ...
> o Show tab previews in Windows Taskbar
> o Put Tabs in titlebar

Or a new checkmark in the context menu after Tabs On Top. It's still visible but doesn't add as much clutter as putting it in Options -> Tabs. It only makes sense that since we're allowing users to choose between tabs on top or on bottom, we should also allow them to choose tabs in title bar or not.

IMHO this bug is much better than the spacer approach that the devs are threatening to implement in bug 624129.

Comment 23

[Tan Wei Lin Jason [:Ryuji]]

(In reply to comment #4)
> Apparently, the options window and the toolbar context menu are going to be
> redesigned anyway in 4.next into an in-content UI, so if it gets put in the
> Options window, it would probably just be a temporary solution. :)

Josh where did you heard that the toolbar context menu are going to be redesigned into a in-content UI?

Comment 24

[Josh Tumath]

(In reply to comment #23)
> Josh where did you heard that the toolbar context menu are going to be
> redesigned into a in-content UI?

I can't remember, since it was a few months ago, but I think I read it in one of the UX team's blogs.

Comment 25

[Tan Wei Lin Jason [:Ryuji]]

If in-content UI is implemented in Firefox 5, then this should solve all problems, give users more choices and make this bug invalid. 

Do you have the link to the UX team's blog?

Comment 26

[Asa Dotzler [:asa]]

In comment #9, whimboo re-opened this bug for a decision by the UX team. In comment #13, Alex Faaborg, of the UX team, made that decision. This bug is resolved. Do not re-open it unless you have compelling new information that would warrant a re-evaluation by the UX team. Thanks.