Will the Navigation Bar Control Ever Be Returned?
This is not a question but rather a statement. I am still holding out with version 24.5.0 on my desktop computer though it is getting increasingly difficult to do so. The reason is that I am loathe to give up the convenience of control of the navigation bar. I am using version 52 on my laptops and know what a pain it is to try to turn the navigation bar on or off. Why in the world did they decide to make this difficult? For those of you who weren't using Firefox back when version 24.5 was new, here is what you are missing:
1) In the View menu, there is a “Toolbars” option which lists the “Navigation Toolbar” as one of the things that you can turn on or off the same as the menu bar or bookmarks toolbar. This is THE MOST USEFUL menu option.
2) Ctrl-L brings up a dialogue that says “Open Web Location”. It is essentially the navigation bar but it appears in the middle of the window without having to set the navigation bar on. You can enter the URL but if it is a site recently visited, a letter or two provides a match. I find this much easier than trying to get into the navigation bar with the mouse but I guess that I am keyboard guy. You can also access this dialogue from the File menu.
The convenience of these functions is so useful that I am willing to not be able to access some sites and carry greater risk. I am holding out hope that the control of the navbar will be returned eventually.
All Replies (12)
1) The Navigation Toolbar can't be hidden, it is meant to always appear. How is that wrong? Why have a menu item which has no useful purpose? IOW, to hide a toolbar which should always be there.
2) {Ctrl + L} focuses the cursor in the URL Bar / Location Bar which is on the Navigation Toolbar. How is that a wrong action?
Comparing the Firefox current version with a 5 year old version, which may have been modified from its default configuration. And it's a waste of time discussing the Firefox 52 version which is nearing the end the end of its life, especially when you're using an operating system which is no longer supported. "Hope" comes with a more recent operating system which Mozilla will support further than the next 6 weeks or so.
I keep the Navigation bar turned off 99% of the time. It wastes screen space and is annoying. Why would you want that always there? The current versions "mean" for it to always be there in the way. Why in the world would you consider that to be necessary or desirable?
I have found a way around this nuisance in ver 52 by using the addon Classic Theme Restorer but what a task it is to go through several menus to get to what I can accomplish now with a keystroke?
If you have no knowledge or appreciation of what a convenience it is to have control of the navigation bar, my hopes diminish of this problem ever being corrected and should probably look into other browsers. Many, many other people have said the same.
Hi, I would suggest looking around or getting a larger screen or hook it to your television for more space if needed. Your old version is not supported, version 52.9.0esr is supported. You are not using that. So again unsupported.
Fyi : It is also the last version that is Compatible with XP as Firefox no longer supports XP. So yes I would guess it is diminished.
Pkshadow, yes, ver 24.5 has not been supported in a long time. It is just that convenience of being able to control the navigation bar is great enough to forgo updates. I hope it will be brought back. In the meantime, I will try to get by with ver 24.5
You are using both an operating system which is no longer supported, and a browser that is no longer supported. Your computer is a living virus and hacker magnet.
I thought this sounded familiar. In the future, please refer to your earlier threads to minimize reinvention of the wheel. Here's a link:
When is the Navigation bar problem going to get fixed?
I already spent several hours on this and have nothing new to add.
By the way, the custom style rules from the earlier thread work similarly in Firefox 61. Someone motivated could tweak this out.
priopel said
Pkshadow, yes, ver 24.5 has not been supported in a long time. It is just that convenience of being able to control the navigation bar is great enough to forgo updates. I hope it will be brought back. In the meantime, I will try to get by with ver 24.5
Never gonna happen! The Navigation Bar is more important in Firefox now than it was before. With Firefox 29 Australis and the new Firefox 57 Quantum versions the Navigation Bar has gotten closer to the only place where add-on toolbar buttons can be placed (without doing outlandish customizations). Classic Theme Restorer is dead and add-ons such as that are blocked from Quantum "for cause", as discovered in Australis.
Hide the Menu Bar, with is the current default as provided 'out of the box' ; or hide the Bookmarks Toolbar - if one toolbar messes with your viewing of webpages.
IMO, people who continue to use defunct OS's and real old web browsers are a hazard on the internet, via propagating viruses and malware to others that they may interact with.
It is really sounding like Firefox has become a program for programmers only. User convenience seems to be not a consideration. I really appreciate all of the thoughtful replies but this just doesn't work for me. I have used Firefox for a very long time but need to look around to see if there isn't something more user-friendly.
You've been told how to implement the solution you want in Firefox 61. You're trying to do something Firefox doesn't support natively, and are surprised you have to do a little work to make it happen?
Please use Firefox 61, or another browser that you'll keep up to date
This is good advice. My desktop run on Win XP so I don't think I can use ver 61. I am willing to make an effort to achieve the web surfing environment I seek so I guess I need to start studying CSS.
I am going to give Vivaldi a try. It has a clean, plain interface (after changing several settings) and allows me to turn the navigation bar on or off. Problem solved.