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Used about:config command to get Print Preview back, but it's got a problem that wasn't there before

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  • Paskiausią atsakymą parašė Rick216

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Hi. I have Firefox ESR, which recently updated to version 91. I used an about:config command to get Print Preview back. (Namely, change print.tab_modal.enabled pref value from true to false.)

The problem is that -- unlike my old Print Preview -- its current behavior is to always fit a whole page to the screen at one time, which makes the font smaller and harder to read. I used to get, say half to two-thirds of the first page on the screen when scaling is left at the default of 100%. Sure that required more scrolling, but it was much easier on my eyes.

Is there a way to get back the old Print Preview behavior where Firefox was NOT shrinking to fit only full pages on each screen?

Hi. I have Firefox ESR, which recently updated to version 91. I used an about:config command to get Print Preview back. (Namely, change print.tab_modal.enabled pref value from true to false.) The problem is that -- unlike my old Print Preview -- its current behavior is to always fit a whole page to the screen at one time, which makes the font smaller and harder to read. I used to get, say half to two-thirds of the first page on the screen when scaling is left at the default of 100%. Sure that required more scrolling, but it was much easier on my eyes. Is there a way to get back the old Print Preview behavior where Firefox was NOT shrinking to fit only full pages on each screen?

Modified by Rick216

All Replies (7)

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No ideas on how to do this? I was hoping the about:config (supposed) reversion to the old Print Preview format would restore the old width and length of each preview page, thus increasing preview font size and readability back to what it had been, but that didn't happen. The font is just about as small as with the new default that mimics Chrome. Again, would appreciate any ideas!!

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Hi Rick, Whoever pointed you to about:config gave you bad advice and most likely didn't explain what it is.

Hidden settings edited using the about:config tool are explicitly not supported, which means that Mozilla makes no guarantees they will be supported in the future, or that Mozilla will fix them if they break. Mozilla does not test these preference settings. That includes security and performance testing which these preferences may affect.

When creating a new interface for a feature, a preference setting would be created as a toggle for developers when building the new design. After the new interface has shipped, the preference setting is usually removed shortly after.

If you have any issues with the new print preview design, please let us know what it is you don't like, and we can try provide more permanent solutions depending on the issue.

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Chris Ilias. thank you for your response, but I have to say it surprises me. I've been using about:config tweaks for many years, largely pointed to them by top contributors here like @jscher2000 and @cor-el. I'm certainly aware that they're not officially supported. In fact, I (and no doubt many others) originally learned of the print preview about:config tweak on this same support forum:

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1327092?page=1

And regarding, "whoever pointed you to about:config gave you bad advice": To the contrary, the link provided *good* advice that got me more than half the way back to where I want to be with regard to print preview. Of course I'm aware that there are no guarantees, and that things could change at any time without any advance warning. (In fact, Firefox has become very good that.) That's why I use esr. Once I've remedied any (IMO) negative changes that accompany the positive ones to the degree possible, with extensions, about:config modifications and css code, I don't have to worry about unwanted appearance and interface changes again for nearly a year, but continue to receive security updates.

Modified by Rick216

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Hi Rick, the new preview integrated into the Print command resizes based on the height/width of your current window. It works best when the window is maximized on a Full HD display, and the text can be a bit small to read when you have a smaller window or lower resolution display.

But the old preview, hmm, I didn't realize it had changed. The attached screenshot was from Firefox 82 and it had the full page displayed in preview back then. Maybe it was different a while further back? Or was there a way to toggle the view by clicking something?

With the new preview -- Chris, please cover your ears/eyes -- I could only suggest an unsupported style rule hack to enlarge the display. If that sounds like an experiment you would like to try, it was posted back in May in this thread: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1320798#answer-1415936 -- see the second attached screenshot to get a sense of how that compares.

By the way, I did file a bug report suggesting some upsizing to the default preview, but no movement on that yet so for the time being, we are left to our own workarounds.

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Hi Rick, I'm glad to hear it. We've just had a rising issue in recent years in which websites and volunteers would point users to about:config without explaining what it is. When a preference stops working in a future release, the users would complain that the "feature" no longer works. As a result, I'm trying to prevent that misunderstanding.

Also note that "Top Contributors" is calculated based on quantity of answers, not quality. The only reason why I'm in the top 25 is because I've been adding warnings to other people's answers. ☺️

I still recommend that you let us know what it is you don't like, and we can try provide more permanent solutions depending on the issue.

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jscher2000 -

Thanks for your reply. First, a little background: My primary pc is a 1600x900 laptop which I intend to replace this year with a FHD or higher. I also have two infrequently used 1366x768 laptops. The 1600x900 and one of the 1366x768's have recently been updated from Firefox 78esr to 91esr. The other 1366x768 is still on 78esr (although I will update it soon).

On the 78esr 1366x768, I get roughly half of the first page's length showing when I do a portrait print preview, using up roughly 60% of the screen's width (in the center). On the 1600x900 I used to get maybe 50% to 75% of the page length, using roughly 35-40% of the screen's width. With 91esr, regardless of resolution, and using the about:config print preview hack, I get precisely 1 page-length on at both 1600x900 and 1366x768 (as you say you did with Firefox 82).

Unfortunately, the code you provided didn't seem to change anything for me in 91esr. But as I was toggling the about:config hack on and off, I noticed something which I had been overlooking. Namely that -- even though I am restricted to exactly one full page-length at a time (no less, no more) -- I have a good deal more vertical real estate with the hack turned on. This is because I then have nothing but the print preview options bar and the skinny title bar on top of the preview; and the preview stretches all the way to the Windows task bar on the bottom. This is as opposed to using to current default print setup, where I have additional vertical screen real estate taken up by the bookmarks toolbar, the navigation bar, the tabs/tab-bar, and the menu bar. Furthermore, the current default print setup leaves about 3/4 inch empty gray space between the bottom of the preview and the top of the taskbar instead of stretching down "all the way."

So, even if it's not exactly like my previous experience, I realize now that the preview font is still larger and somewhat easier to read using the about:config hack than not using it. So I'll just stick with that. (Still not sure why my print preview experience with 78esr -- and previous versions, I believe -- was different than what you had with 82, but I guess that's not worth dwelling on.)

Modified by Rick216

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Chris Ilias -

That all makes sense! Thanks for explaining.