Extension Manager UI

Current Issues

There are multiple informational messages all sharing the same UI space (e.g. description, update check, update available, addon dependencies, addon blocklisting, incompatiblility, etc.).
The update now button doesn't scroll the related item into view when tabbing.
Often used commands for managing a selected item are not easily discoverable.
The UI is type specific (e.g. Extensions and Themes) which prevents us from checking and installing updates for items of different types in one window.
The UI is not task driven in that we show commands for performing actions that have no relation to the current operation at hand.
Due to limited UI space in the command bar there is a mix of commands for a selected item and for all items (e.g. options, uninstall, and find updates) and this space would be better utilized for commands that apply to all items.
There is no UI for managing the two new nsIUpdateItem types of locale and plugin. These were created for Firefox 1.5 but the existing UI was never modified to support them.
Most if not all of the bugs that block bug 329045 can be fixed with the approach or while implementing the approach I propose below.
more to follow

Possible Solution

Expand a selected item and place buttons for the often used actions in the expanded space
Use a badge below and on top of the addon's icon to signify that there is additional information regarding the item. Use of a different badge for each type of information will assist those that would like at a glance status and the significance of the badge will be apparent upon selecting the item.
Add new elements to be used for update available, addon dependencies, addon blocklisting, incompatibility, etc. status messages.
Only allow actions that apply to all addons in the command bar at the bottom.
Display a checking for updates view that will check for all installed addons.
Display an install / upgrade view that will provide installation status for all addons being installed / upgraded. This view will not allow any actions that have nothing to do with installing / upgrading addons until after the current operation is finished at which time a new view can be selected.
more to follow

The following two screenshots are both very rough and works in progress. They should provide a general idea of the proposed solution and provide a basis for discussion.

Screenshot of an extension that has an update.

Screenshot of an extension that has an update and is also blocklisted.

TBD / Questions

Should the managers only have one menu item in the Tools menu and if so what should it be named (e.g. Addons and Addon Manager for the Window Title)? Would it be acceptable to just name it Extensions with a Window Title of Extension Manager especially since we would need a Show: [ Extensions ] selection as shown in the screenshots?
Is there a better place to put the notification icons? I've tried down the right side as well as other places and so far this looks the best to me.
Is there a way to make it apparent that there are additional commands available in the context menu (e.g. About Extension and Visit Home Page)?
The move commands are no longer necessary and have been removed since this automatically sorts. Will there be an uprising with people yelling, "off with his head"?