858905 - Add function to open private browsing in same window

Status: RESOLVED INVALID

(Firefox :: Private Browsing, enhancement, P4)

Description

[bd]

User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:19.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/19.0
Build ID: 20130307023931

Steps to reproduce:

Started private browsing


Actual results:

An additional Window (in private mode) opened


Expected results:

No additional Window should open.

Comment 1

[tad]

This is intended function

Comment 2

[bd]

Then please add an option to disable the FF20 behavior and enable the FF19 one.

Comment 3

[tad]

Setting parameters accordingly and making the title more relevant to the new topic

Comment 4

[Mardeg]

Now it sounds like it's wanting private browsing to open in a new tab..?
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/private-tab/ does that.

Comment 5

[Josh Triplett]

This does seem like a regression from previous versions.  Before, if you opened a new empty Firefox window, and then started private browsing, you'd have one Firefox window in private browsing mode; now you also have an empty non-private window hanging around in the background.  I'd argue that when opening private browsing mode, if the current window is empty, it shouldn't stick around.

Comment 6

[bd]

(In reply to Josh Triplett from comment #5)
> I'd argue that when
> opening private browsing mode, if the current window is empty, it shouldn't
> stick around.

Please don't do this. Just add the option for all-or-nothing private mode as it was in 19.

Comment 7

[Josh Triplett]

(In reply to bd from comment #6)
> (In reply to Josh Triplett from comment #5)
> > I'd argue that when
> > opening private browsing mode, if the current window is empty, it shouldn't
> > stick around.
> 
> Please don't do this. Just add the option for all-or-nothing private mode as
> it was in 19.

Could you please explain the use case or steps that would work less conveniently for you in the new per-window model, assuming the cleanup I suggested to not leave empty windows behind when switching?

Comment 8

[bd]

(In reply to Josh Triplett from comment #7)
> > Please don't do this. Just add the option for all-or-nothing private mode as
> > it was in 19.
> 
> Could you please explain the use case or steps that would work less
> conveniently for you in the new per-window model, assuming the cleanup I
> suggested to not leave empty windows behind when switching?

After using v20 for a couple of days I think it burns down to this:

With v19 when pressing the private mode shortcut I could be sure that from now on all browsing happens in private mode and that by pressing the shortcut again all private windows/tabs will be closed.

Now with v20 pressing the new window shortcut opens a new non-private window, so I now need to press a different shortcut when I want a private window. And i need to remember to press it every time.

So for me this is about deciding _once_ to enter private mode versus the need to check every time I open a new tab/window if that is now private or not.

Again, this bug is not about cleaning up empty windows it is about the need to constantly check where you are (window wise) versus checking once and be done.

How about an option to switch between the v19 and v20 behavior?

Comment 9

[Josh Triplett]

(In reply to bd from comment #8)
> (In reply to Josh Triplett from comment #7)
> > > Please don't do this. Just add the option for all-or-nothing private mode as
> > > it was in 19.
> > 
> > Could you please explain the use case or steps that would work less
> > conveniently for you in the new per-window model, assuming the cleanup I
> > suggested to not leave empty windows behind when switching?
> 
> After using v20 for a couple of days I think it burns down to this:
> 
> With v19 when pressing the private mode shortcut I could be sure that from
> now on all browsing happens in private mode and that by pressing the
> shortcut again all private windows/tabs will be closed.
> 
> Now with v20 pressing the new window shortcut opens a new non-private
> window, so I now need to press a different shortcut when I want a private
> window. And i need to remember to press it every time.
> 
> So for me this is about deciding _once_ to enter private mode versus the
> need to check every time I open a new tab/window if that is now private or
> not.
> 
> Again, this bug is not about cleaning up empty windows it is about the need
> to constantly check where you are (window wise) versus checking once and be
> done.

OK, that makes perfect sense.  Arguably, from a private window, the default "open a new window" action should open another private window, and you should have to go well out of your way to intentionally open a new non-private window.

I also think private windows ought to have more clear identification (not just the icon in the corner, but more like the Firefox-for-Android whole-UI indication.

Comment 10

[Josh Matthews [:jdm]]

I can't quite tell what's actually being asked for, so I'm going to go with the overall description. We're not adding a per-tab UI to Firefox; there's an extension that does that if you want it.

Comment 11

[bd]

I'll try to make myself clearer then.

What I am asking for is a possibility to go back to the FF19 way private mode was handled, not a per Tab or per Window way.

Comment 12

[Josh Matthews [:jdm]]

We're also not going to make that available by default. You'll need to find or create an addon to enable the old behaviour again.

Comment 13

[Josh Triplett]

(In reply to Josh Matthews [:jdm] from comment #12)
> We're also not going to make that available by default. You'll need to find
> or create an addon to enable the old behaviour again.

As a fairly simple usability enhancement, could opening a new private browsing window from an empty window close or replace the empty window?

This workflow seems suboptimal:

Start browser
Open private browsing window
Switch back to original window
Close window
Switch back to private browsing window

Comment 14

[bd]

At no point did I ask for it being the default. I asked for an option. An about:config would already make me happy.

Comment 15

[Josh Matthews [:jdm]]

(In reply to Josh Triplett from comment #13)
> (In reply to Josh Matthews [:jdm] from comment #12)
> > We're also not going to make that available by default. You'll need to find
> > or create an addon to enable the old behaviour again.
> 
> As a fairly simple usability enhancement, could opening a new private
> browsing window from an empty window close or replace the empty window?
> 
> This workflow seems suboptimal:
> 
> Start browser
> Open private browsing window
> Switch back to original window
> Close window
> Switch back to private browsing window

What does an empty browser window mean? This doesn't sound like a common case to me, and it differs from the expectation created by the menu item - "New Private Window".

Comment 16

[Josh Triplett]

(In reply to Josh Matthews [:jdm] from comment #15)
> (In reply to Josh Triplett from comment #13)
> > (In reply to Josh Matthews [:jdm] from comment #12)
> > > We're also not going to make that available by default. You'll need to find
> > > or create an addon to enable the old behaviour again.
> > 
> > As a fairly simple usability enhancement, could opening a new private
> > browsing window from an empty window close or replace the empty window?
> > 
> > This workflow seems suboptimal:
> > 
> > Start browser
> > Open private browsing window
> > Switch back to original window
> > Close window
> > Switch back to private browsing window
> 
> What does an empty browser window mean? This doesn't sound like a common
> case to me, and it differs from the expectation created by the menu item -
> "New Private Window".

Think about opening a browser and going directly to private browsing.  You'll leave behind an empty non-private browser window underneath the private one, since it doesn't get closed.  With the old whole-browser private browsing behavior, that window would go away.  With per-window private browsing, it doesn't, making for an extra empty window to close.

Comment 17

[Josh Triplett]

(In reply to Josh Matthews [:jdm] from comment #15)
> This doesn't sound like a common case to me

Starting a private browsing session immediately after starting the browser seems like a reasonably common case, especially if you tend not to leave the browser running when not using it.