Firefox/Feature Brainstorming:Tabs, Sidebar, Windows

« Firefox/Feature Brainstorming

Specific features	References
Tabs Allow sending of tabs to system tray (or platform equivalent). This would better facilitate web apps such as google calendar by providing a lifetime outside of typical browsing sessions and help blend the lines with traditional desktop applications. The opportunity for saveing tabs, like they do in the Maxthon browser, one function I really missing. Allow to move the tabbar to the right or left, with vertical orientation. this is the best useful when count of tabs exceeds 10 items. vertical tabbar allows to easy use up to 30-40 of tabs. for FF2 i was create the extention, that move tabbar to the right (http://forum.mozilla-russia.org/viewtopic.php?pid=138440) and some simplify tabbrowser. try and fun :) Allow "triggers" to be set 1) before FF attempts to start downloading a page, 2) when the page has been downloaded but not yet rendered, 3) after a page has finished loading. Ideally, the triggers would either be external applications, or maybe even a funky python plugin framework - if this feature is added, _please_ don't make me have o write nasty javascript for my triggers! Thx :-) Allow navigation toolbar to show URL's that are as-yet, not loaded: if you open a link in a new tab, and that web site is down, you end up with an empty tab with no URL shown. If you've got lots of tabs open, it is very useful to know what should be displayed on the empty tab. I suggest that when a URL is attempted to be opened in a new tab, FF displays the URL in the tab, but shows it "grayed out" (but still selectable!) Add Isolated Tabbed Windows: This is to ensure each tabbed windows does not leak over to another window eg: HTTPS sites. Simplest way to test, Goto your bank's website (make sure you got 2 different accounts usually your wife's account would be good to test if she is with the same bank) log into your account with one tab, log into your second account in another tab, navigate to your second account's summary view, then go back to 1 first tab and do the same. You will notice that both summaries are from the secondary account. Keyborad shortcut to toggle between tabs, similar to alt-tab'ing open application windows in MS windows. ctrl-tab'ing already gives you this functionality. If you have A, B, C tabs in order, and you open a new tab from B (this becomes D) and then close it (D), then the active tab will be C instead of B, the last viewed. It would be also useful if a newly opened tab would appear beside the one that opened it. The close [X] button should only be shown on the open tab to prevent people from accidentally closing tabs upon selecting them. Close buttons on out-of-focus tabs should only show after a 1 second mouse-over. Allow the tab-bar relocation, probably with a simple pull-down, that includes top, bottom, left and right. When left or right are selected (or perhaps all the time), provide the ability to specify a fixed width for tabs/tab-bar. When left or right are selected provide option which displays tabs in a tree based on ancestry relation ship of a tab like in Tabbrowser Extensions A right-click option to pop an existing tab out into a new window. Thunderbird Tab -- Opens Thunderbird within a tab rather than a separate Thunderbird window Sunbird Tab -- Opens Sunbird within a tab rather than a separate Sunbird window Ctrl-Z to undo last closed tab Tab Grouping by Domain and Tab Grouping by Originating Page (eg. if I open a Page from Tab A then it will be in the same group as Tab A). A group maybe as simple as having a coloured border around the tabs in the same group. Alternativly, an option to have tabs open next to the current tab. This solves the problem of having all your links from different tabs open in the same place, and helps with sorting tabs, because all the links from one website are next to each other. Tab collections used to organize tabs, think Linux virtual desktops Multiple initial pages with tabs Displaying tabs over multiple rows Give the option in the preferences menu to allocate a 'unique' close tab button in the right like 1 and 1.5 versions of firefox instead of 1 close button per tab like Firefox 2---so you can choose--- Option to open default page when creating a new tab Tab drag and detach Detach Tab to new Window (mustn't be in the context, draggin the tab to the windows title would be cool) Window drag and attach as tabs Possibility to order tabs into two rows when they are a lot Possibility to change tab using mouse wheel, when mouse is over tabs Possibility to add another sidebar on the right (useful expecially with widescreen monitors) Drag tabs between windows Make middle-clicking/open link in new tab work for javascript links (e.g. by duplicating current page in a new tab then executing the javascript on the new tab and forcing any 'pop-up' links to stay in that new tab) "Open this tab in a new window" added to context menu (when right clicking on existing tab). Preserve history so back button works in new window just as it would on existing tab. Select on close behavior Tab switching via Mouse Scroll Wheel (on all Platforms) while mouse is on/over the tab bar Add arrows to the right and left ends of the tab bar when it gets full to unhide/allow to see all tabs Grouping of tabs (possibly by multiple tab rows) Tab Tiling: Allow multiple tabs to open to vertically or horizontally on the same screen. Shading of Tabs denoting time since it started (On the scale of white to black, white is more recent than black) [1] Recursive tabs for better tab grouping ("Open in new tab under current tab") Tab exposé Option to view tabs in sidebar (with thumbnails) Multiple tabstrips Tab docking like window docking in Visual Studio .NET to be able to drag a tab and dock it with its content to one side of the window. This would allow displaying tabs side by side. Finding tabs select tab from command line mozilla -remote "selecttab(http://www.mozilla.org)" Improved UI for finding and reopening any one or more closed tabs (including shortcut key) UI for modifying tab width (f.e. splitter between tabs that can be dragged to change the width of all tabs) Tab opening + closing animation Allow "open in new tab/new window/same window" settings to be set per tab. Allows use of a home page like Google or Yahoo to open links in a new tab, but other tabs links can open in the same tab. Allow opening new tab when domain name is different from current page Allow opening in new tab for form submits. Allows user to type several consecutive searches into a search box while opening the results in new tabs in the background. Allow relative opening of Tabs, i.e. child tabs open next to parent tab in opening order (and not at the end of Tab bar) Display multiple tabs in tiled panes (both vertical and horizontal panes, preferably mixed. Cascade tabs Allow for windowblind treatment of tabs Faster tab mouseover feedback, i.e. show in status bar or set tooltip delay to 0 More detailed tab mouseover feedback, i.e. thumbnail image of page with some options on what you want to do with this page like bookmark it, reload tab, protect tab without right clicking it Multiple tab selection via Ctrl + left click on desired tabs. Feature would allow users to use the right click options on only the selected tabs. EXAMPLE: Right click on one of the selected tabs and select "Close Other Tabs" leaving only the selected tabs behind. To save a lot of space, make the favicon on each tab into the "X" on hover. Instead of the "..." in long tab titles, change to a fade to grey on the last three letters. A right click option for when highlighting plain text urls to open in new tab as opposed to having to copy then paste in a new tab address bar; available as an add-on https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/1864/ Allow tabs to not be full window. If a js opened window is redirected to a tab, and the size is smaller then the window, make the tab like a little window inside the window. When a tab ask for identification, it shouldn't get on top automatically Make the current tab not shrink with the others, so is more visible. Copy the (back button) history of the current tab when a link is opened in a new tab (so that the user can go back in the new tab). Allow the user to "lock open" a tab or window to prevent accidental closure. Implement an easy way of "undoing" the last window or tab closure. Like eclipse on mouse over a tab the close button will appear Ability to change tab titles and save tab titles so that when you enter the site again you will see your own tab titles (Different from page title) Sort tab according to time opened, title, time idle Options to have no title and Icon only with 32x32 icon with a close button located bottom right of the icon Panels of tabs - by grouping of tabs you can have groups of multiple tab in a panel, like linux panels Be able to display two tabs side-by-side, very useful on widescreen monitors Tabbed source viewer Nested tabs (eg. drag tabs into a tab) and multiple rows of tabs (see this mockup: media:Nested-tabs.png). A button on the right click menu (on web pages) to open all links on this page in new tabs A button on the right click menu for back/forward to open the back or forward in a new tab Opera remembers which tabs were open when the user last closed the browser and opens all these tabs again upon relaunch. Firefox should do the same and should also remember each tab's browsing history; allowing the user to reopen Firefox, have all the tabs that were open available again, and be able to click back and forward for each individual tab. Have a configurable option so that when a user does "Open All In Tabs", they do NOT replace all the current tabs, but open IN ADDITION to the current tabs already open. When middle-clicking / control-clicking to open in a new tab. Both RSS Feeds and bookmarks should open in a tab "behind" the rest, and not take focus like it currently does. avoid having twice the same tab by checking before opening a new bookmark or typing an adress in the bar that the website is not already open. Then click a second time when you really want to open it twice. The tab may also "blink" (or any kind of animation) to prevent the fact that the tab was already open dual screened tabs. two tabs showing in the same window pane, almost like frames. with ability to drag and resize viewing area between the two tabs. Create a way to rotate a window in four directions to allow viewing long web pages on a laptop by rotating the laptop sideways. This is one of my favorite commands in Preview in Mac OS X. Please make sure the command to do and undo this can be made a shortcut. Widescreen browsing : split long web pages into two windows side by side. Sync scroll bar in order that scrolling the first one (top of web page) will scroll the second one (rest of the same web page). Enabling of something similar to the Alt+Tab function as in windoez, only with tabs instead. Scroll Bar Re-position-- allow the right side scroll bar to be moved to the left side screen. Or even placed in the middle... having to move the cursor all around from menus to scroll bars etc... to the right side and then to top and botton is a PITA. (It could be placed on a column separator by user for convenience )... I keep panels at the top with menus, so the same could apply to the bottom scroll bar: allow it to be placed at the top just under the menu's or tabs. Scroll Bar Status: For very long pages, more info is needed rather than just the shaded scroll: place 1) an equivalent line number 2) an equivalent page number 3) a percentage number of the page: in order to help fine adjustment positioning or a reference point. Scroll/cursor position "bookmark". menu: File Open : please re-integrate like nautilus. I'd prefer to not have "file open" and "Web open", but rather be able to place a URL directly into a file textbox ( this has probably been discusssed before..) Move Files: There is already a file/URL open, and a file SAVE, why not go one step more and allow files to be moved in the browser file tree !! ( and the final step would be a dual window like midnite commander ). Ability to turn tabbed browsing off, or at least no functional way to open links into tabs unless specified (e.g. right clicking a link and selecting 'open in new tab'). It's a great feature, but some people prefer the previous method. Ability to clone a tab to an other new tab by right click for example View screenshot of all available tabs. (Similar to Ctrl-Q or respective keys in IE7). Be able to close tabs from here or switch to any of these tabs. Support tab duplication (using ctrl) on tab drag and drop Tab stacks (see On Tabs)	Tabbed Browsing -MZKB - Tabs Screenshots. - design thoughts for tabs instead of windows. - Ben Goodger blogs about tabs. - Whether Ctrl+W should not close the app. - Ge.diego made some comments on Ben Godger test build that includes new tab management and gave an alternative user interface mockup proposal - Tab Sidebar extension homepage - Show Safari form results in new tab Tab Related Ext - TEM Tab Mix Plus - UMO "Open in IE tab" extension Active Tab Flex at userstyles.org Two tabs side-by-side Tabbrowser Extensions has some really great ideas. Current problems with tabs and their probable solution by DJ Doena - On Tabs bug 55696 bug 281192 bug 156264 bug 102132 bug 104566 bug 298571
Show all open tags in a browser window organized by miniatures like the F12 function of Xgl or the same function of MacOsX Expose.	Xgl miniatures function
Sessions Support session savings. Enables the user to save a session where he/she has, say, 18 tabs open, to another time. Sessions/Tabs Isolation: Make sure sessions from other tabs do not leak between tabs. This is a major security hazard.	n/a
Tab Exposé Exposé allows a user to quickly locate an open tab without the need to click through many tabs to find a specific target.	Apple - Mac OS X - Exposé Exposé on Wikipedia Shiira Web Browser
'Load Link in New Window/Tab' option The current 'Open Link in New Window/Tab' option is fine if you are say clicking links to articles you want to read from that day's newpaper. Trouble is you are immediatly transfered to the slowly loading page, leaving you to try & work out which task-bar button takes you back to the front page. I'd like the option for a link to be loaded in the background while I'm left on my current page. I'd become 0.00000027% closer to nivarna with this option in my life
"New window" option When opening the "new window" option, the new window should remain with the present page as in Explorer, instead of going back to the home page. See Duplicate in New Window item in the tab context menu of Tab Mix Plus extension.	n/a
Browser Window Option to make a window / popup sticky and always-on-top (Would be nice for watching a video in a popup while surfing). this option MUST ONLY be available for the user not for scripts! Ability to split the browser window vertically or horizontally, similar to emacs windows, and load different urls into each. Common usage cases for this are when you want to see two different pages at once conveniently, monitoring multiple sites at once, etc. Simply allow to split the window vertically with the same page for working with long pages, as in Visual Studio .NET. UI-level Multicolumn mode, like Emacs Follow mode - split the browser window into two (or more) panes, showing the same page, the right pane leading on from the left pane. Excellent in these days of wide monitors and inexplicably narrow fixed-width web pages! Similar to above - many web pages consist of div/table elements of less than 800 px which are aligned to the left of the screen. With a large monitor of >1600 px the entire right-hand side of the screen is wasted whitespace. Add a button to automatically paginate the display into columns if a width of e.g. <800 px is detected. Pages could be progressed through one screen at a time with previous/next buttons on the scrollbar or in a similar way to Microsoft Word's double scroll arrows, or alternatively in a similar way to Adobe Reader/existing browser print preview functions. Text readability improvements: 1)button/keybind to automatically narrow text to a pre-configured width - text extending accross the whole width of the window is cumbersome to read - possibly configurable to multi-column mode; 2)"Visibility imprint" - on quick scroll operations (PgUP, PgDn, mousewheel...) the previously visible area should be delimited by a frame/line for a certain period of time, after which the frame disappears or fades out, so it's easier to find the last read line; and 3)Improved automatic scrolling: finer control for very slow scrolling and freeing up the mouse. Like current autoscrolling, only finer controls (the current slowest is still too fast) and the possibility to detach the mouse, for instance by re-clicking the middle button, upon which the mouse is free to move but the page continues autoscrolling. Allow 'drag & drop' of links anywhere on the browser window (not just the tab bar) to open the link in a new background tab (e.g. 'drag & drop' links from Google Search Results/Google News/Digg Front Page etc. to open several background tabs) Allow 'drag & drop' of selected text on a web page anywhere on the browser window to conduct search on the selected text using the default search engine and opening the search results in a new background tab Scroll document with middle mouse button click-drag-release. The reverse to the familiar glove that moves the document. This behaviour maps to how scrollwheels/scrollballs work, which often also occupy middle mouse button. Open link in new window with middle mouse button. GUI-configurable option. Open different windows each as a new browser instance so that a crash in one does not take down all other instances. "Application Mode" - allow web applications to act more like native applications. Give them the ability to have their own launcher from the Start Menu or Dock, and their own icon and process so that the OS can treat apps like gmail just like any other app. Currently such apps are labelled "Firefox" by the OS. Hide unnecessary GUI elements such as Bookmarks bar and Address bar in this mode, for more screen real estate. (Very nice idead - i think you can make something like this with 5 lines of VB but launching firefox.exe -appmode -url http... would be cool! When the Browser runs in appmode there JS should allowed to modify the window's behavior) Better awareness of Multi-head environments. Under traditional X Windows dual head (so the two screens are two different X displays) you can't run the same firefox profile on both screens. Under Xinerama, everything appears as one very wide screen, but now it would be nice to have a "two window mode" analagous to "single window mode" although maybe this is an extensions question. A tab temporaly not responding should not freeze all other firefox tabs.(aka while opening a pdf it freeze all tabs while loading adobe acrobat reader)	Super DragAndGo Extension allows you to drag links and words in order to surf and search User:DGolden:Follow User:Jeric
Session management Ability to save and restore sessions (tabs, etc.) Implement some method to deal with session sets Make session restore fast and precise (save and restore DOM, or use FastBack data) Sessions/Tabs Isolation: Make sure sessions from other tabs do not leak between tabs. This is a major security hazard. File > Save All Tabs / Save All Windows. Creates a double-clickable file that can be saved to the user's choice of location.	SessionSaver - MZKB SessionSaver - UMO SessionSaver (rewrite) - MZForum Session Manager Ext Tab Mix Plus with Session Managment
Sidebar Sidebar animation RSS animation Allow the windows from downloads,extensions,bookmarks and history to dock as sidebars. A bit like the extension All-In-One-Sidebar.\ Better handling of multiple searches in different windows (see Bug 45082)	- Screenshots of All-In-One-Sidebar extension.
Web Page easy handling Allow to put a tag on whatever place of a web page, like a gg map interface. The tag is remembered on the right side bar of the window, can be bookmarked. when the bokkmark is clicked, the window is open and focus down to the bookmark Allow to do a "spreadsheet like behaviour on a web page" : you can click on th tag to say "freeze up" , and when you move the cursor down the lower part of the page is scrolling down, the upper part stay unmoved, Allow to compact the web page between 2 vertical tags Allow for a specific web page to apply tag rules : place tags automatically between paragraphs, to allow easy compacting of un-interesting ones , propose a default "compacted" presentation" or "fully opened" behaviour on those pages. Multiple link selection Click and drag to select multiple links on a page Right click to open multiple link context menu Open multiple links in new tabs Open multiple links in new windows Allow screen to be split to show 2 tabs simeltaneously (for comparison for instance)	n/a
General tasks
Add Tab Isolation Mode to ensure each tab session does not leak from one instance to another (unless a new window/tab is opened within instance) Add "Login As" option under file menu for accessing FTP sites that do not allow anonymous logins. This was available in previous versions of Internet Explorer and was handled by an automatic opening of the FTP site in Windows Explorer. Add an FTP manager, similar to Windows Explorer tracking of previously accessed FTP sites. Enhance the FTP experience. Continuing downloads, uploading, binary/ascii choice, etc. Integrate Thunderbird with the next browser. I am an Opera fan today for the simple reason that I can get my POP mail, web mail, and browsing in one window (different tabs, of course).	n/a
In Firefox 1.x whe have only one X for close all tab one by one. in firefox 2.x we have a X for every tab, i think it isn't not at all the best way. I think the best idea is put a X in the end of the tab bar (like 1.x style) and a X for every tab (2.x style) because when i've to close more than one tab i've to spend time to find the X of the near tab and click it instead to press the X in the end.	Browser.tabs.closeButtons