863042 - Remove the add-ons toolbar

Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 869939

(Firefox :: Toolbars and Customization, defect)

Description

[Mike Conley (:mconley) (:⚙️)]

As per bug 860814, for the Australis changes, the add-ons bar is being removed.

Any items that were in the add-ons bar will be moved into the nav-bar customization target.

I think this is going to need to be a multi-pronged effort:

1) During migration, we'll need to read in the currentset from the add-on bar, and insert those items into the nav-bar customization target
2) Add-ons will need to stop attempting to insert items directly into the add-on bar. We have to expose an alternative API for them to use with Firefox 24+.
3) Document the API exposed in (2), and deprecate any articles using the add-on bar on MDN.
4) We will (eventually) need to scan for add-ons on AMO making use of the add-ons bar, and help them migrate their code.

Comment 1

[Kris Maglione [:kmag]]

Can we add a customizable #addon-bar element to the right of the nav bar, with a warning on insertion, as a mitigation step?

Comment 2

[Paul [pwd]]

(In reply to Kris Maglione [:kmag] from comment #1)
> Can we add a customizable #addon-bar element to the right of the nav bar,
> with a warning on insertion, as a mitigation step?

Isn't that the same as the status bar shim we currently have in the Addon's Bar? Developers have had more than enough time to update their add-ons and migrate to buttons.

Comment 3

[Kris Maglione [:kmag]]

Similar, but developers have never been actively encouraged to migrate their buttons to the navigation bar. I'd be happy to see the status bar shim go in the process.

Comment 4

[John Doe]

So i would just like to know, why exactly are you doing this and what's the reasoning behind it?

Is it not being used? Is it too much work to keep it working with the new design?
Is it a resource hog or takes too much space?
Is it really getting in your way so much that it MUST be removed?

Would it be too much to ask to leave it be?

Comment 5

[msth67]

Attachment: Current (crowded) addon bar

how could all of this stuff be placed and be easily accessible from the url bar ?

Comment 6

[msth67]

Sorry,but I cant'see how my current addon bar is ever going to fit in the limited (and scarcely customizable) space of the URL bar,please have a look at the attached screenshot.

Comment 7

[A, T]

How will this silly decision impact Pentadactyl/Vimpernator, they both require the addon-bar to function. These are greatly productive addons I can hardly see myself not using.
Also I'm fairly interested in how you will handle the issue of users with a high number of addons like in Comment #5.
Because with all the talk about the new customization being 'beautiful', it sure is hell anything but beautiful when you start putting a mish-mash of randomly colored buttons in the very limited space there.

What happened to letting the URL bar hold a few icons? 
What happened to overflow mode you promised? 
This idea is ample suicide against your power-users until these issues are fixed. 

Please consider again.

Comment 8

[Kris Maglione [:kmag]]

(In reply to A, T from comment #7)
> How will this silly decision impact Pentadactyl/Vimpernator, they both
> require the addon-bar to function.

It won't effect us. We'll just add a new toolbar where the add-on
bar used to be.

> Also I'm fairly interested in how you will handle the issue of users with a
> high number of addons like in Comment #5.

As far as I know, the plan is to still provide an overflow area for
icons that don't fit, and there will be nothing to stop an add-on
from creating a new customizable toolbar for users who still want one.

> What happened to letting the URL bar hold a few icons? 

What makes you think that's going away?