Open Bug 949299 Opened 10 years ago Updated 1 month ago

Incorporate Download Statusbar functionality into main program.

Categories

(Firefox :: Downloads Panel, enhancement)

enhancement

Tracking

()

UNCONFIRMED

People

(Reporter: aeidein, Unassigned)

Details

User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:28.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/28.0 (Beta/Release)
Build ID: 20131210040201

Steps to reproduce:

Downloaded a few files.


Actual results:

A button distractingly flashed green and displayed a time, without showing information about a single download.  None of the downloads are accessible unless you click the button first (and there's no keyboard shortcut).  The button/panel isn't configurable in the slightest, sticks around when there're no current downloads, and is terribly limited, among other annoyances.


Expected results:

The current download button/panel should be replaced by a downloads tray (a la insanely-popular-for-a-reason add-on Download Statusbar) at the bottom of the browser.  A downloads tray:
• Makes much more sense than having your downloads hide themselves into a button; moreover, one that requires a click in order to do/see anything.
• Is much more intuitive; it's similar to Chrome's approach, and it's in the same location as IE's.  Not even the least tech-savvy of users could be confused.
• Allows you to see >0 downloads at a time, along with much more information than merely the total ETA for all downloads.
• Is configurable!  Panel customization options - colors, what information is displayed, how many downloads are displayed, whether the panel appears when no downloads are active, specify when animations/notifications are shown, etc.
• Has the ability to ignore/clear specified filetypes after a specified time.
• Has the ability to set a sound for download completions.
• Is more convenient and efficient - actions (open, clear, right-click menu → open folder, etc) can be accessed without opening a panel and digging through lists of downloads; extensive mouseover tooltip information is instantly accessible.
• If downloads are cleared via preference, doesn't require a persistent toolbar icon that takes up room and is aesthetically displeasing.
• Makes more sense to be incorporated into the core program and officially supported/maintained than existing as a third-party alternative that is constantly being broken.
• etc

In summary, a download statusbar would be superior to the current implementation in practically every way possible.
Or at least help get the Download Status Bar addon working again.
Good idea, and in addition to the posted list I would also like an option similar to the reffered addon that allows manually specifying a program to scan downloads with.
Severity: normal → enhancement
Component: Untriaged → Downloads Panel
OS: Windows 7 → All
Hardware: x86_64 → All
Version: 29 Branch → Trunk
Someone has started a replacement for the Download Statusbar that uses the new downloads API:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/download-status-bar/
It's early days yet but looks promising.

I still think that this sort of functionality should stay as an addon.
Why shouldn't superior (more intuitive/visible/powerful/customizable/utilitarian/aesthetic/flexible/etc) functionality replace inferior implementations?  Having it as an add-on makes it susceptible to breakage, abandonment, and delayed updates.  It would also be better to have an entire team working on it and maintaining it, rather than one person.
Severity: normal → S3

These are the same problems I'm having and I need some help. Someone might also be able to help me. https://marykayintouch.cloud/

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