Unexpected duplicate instance of TB, at least window, (by clicking)
Hello.
Need: Unless explicitly wanted, TB should run as a singleton and a single all-in-one window with tabs.
Context: I use TB on Linux Mint with Lightning and with the option "minimize to tray icon on close". Frequently, by clicking on the icon to wake it up, or by clicking on the tab Calendar, I end with a duplicate window with all the tree of emails.
I suspect several causes:
1) Lightning attempts to synchronize with the CalDAV server and this may take a few seconds, which delays the display of the whole TB window. It may lead to click again the icon, but this should act as a toggle, not open a new window everytime !
2) Apparently in TB like in Firefox, there is a feature "detach tab" which operates on a very little move of the mouse (a few pixels suffice). Since it is not easy to keep the mouse perfectly fix before clicking, clicking on a tab often results in detaching it to a new window, and apparently when itis the calendar tam, the email tab is recreated too.
This feature "detach tab" is horribly annoying for many people and should be optional, both for TB and Firefox, I guess that many users would salute it ! Or at least it should operate only on an explicit tab vertical dragging (at least twice the height of a tab).
Then for the click on the icon, if the window is already about to show but not visible yet, it should do nothing more. Actually the window should not wait for the calendar's update to show, it is always a pain to have network delays in a GUI, and this concerns the content of the calendar tab, not the emails.
Your positions ? Thanks, best regards.
All Replies (4)
Is this an addon that you are using to minimize on close? If so, I suggest retesting with the addon disabled to verify exactly what is not working properly. Then, if there is a flaw (bug), you can report it at bugzilla.mozilla.org. If this is a feature request, it should be posted at connect.mozilla.org. Thank you.
Hello, thank you for your answer. I try to get other advices before submitting a bug from my point of view.
Actually, yes I had to use an addon to get the feature "minimize to tray on close". It is named FireTray. I tried to disable it then of course I can no longer state on any behavior related to the icon, there is no more icon. OK, lets say it is not due to TB, despite the best would be that it has natively this feature. :-)
In the other hand, I'm afraid I will have to live with this problem because I need that feature, to save room in my taskbar, and I cannot close & reopen everytime, considering the starting time (a dozen seconds to wake the server and update) due to Lightning. :-(
But with the addon disabled, I could reproduce the behavior of getting a duplicate window by clicking on the calendar tab on the fly, with the mouse not static. This detaches the tab to a new window then the email tree is rebuilt in it. Same thing when doing that with the tab Addons or any other additional tab.
This feature "Detach tab" is really a pain for people having a non-sequential metabolism. It should be possible to disable it.
Other user advices ? Thanks, best regards.
With current editions of Windows, I have found no need to minimize; I just click to other apps and, when I need Thunderbird, I click the tray icon. You mention saving space on taskbar, but I don't see the savings (?) My suggestion is that you may not need to minimize. I know that's not the solution you want, but I have no other suggestions. I looked for addons that might help, but couldn't find anything.
Yes it is partially a matter of comfort, so a personal choice. For "resident" applications, when dismissed, I prefer not to have them in the main taskbar and in the background of the screen. Then minimizing to a small icon in the tray on the right is interesting. They "disappear" with only that icon remaining. It displays the count of unread messages.
More interesting is that the program does not really close if you have the standard reflex of hitting the close icon, what would imply the long starting time (up to a dozen seconds) when you need it again, which is frequent with emails and calendar. In order to really close it, you need to use the menu Quit.
But the major interest is that the alerts from the calendar work when it is running, not if it is closed ! So for me it must run permanently, and hidden when I do something else.
I use Thunderbird on Linux Mint, but it must behave the same on Windows. Just try this addon "FireTray" to see...