Fixing tab thumbnails limitations
With "browser.ctrlTab.recentlyUsedOrder" enabled (ie set to True) I see only 6 thumbnails and they are pretty huge, filling the width of my 1920 x 945 screen. Being able to preview just six thumbnails is really unhelpful. Is this expected Fx behaviour?
If this is "expected" does anyone know a way the user might controI this? Via userChrome (css) perhaps? Ideally this would entail a way to reduce the size of each image, show more than one row and Ctrl+Tab through *all* open tabs (or a user-defined number) instead of only six. Obviously (in the current one-row regime) when tab #7 is previewed, tab #1 would disappear.
Fx Quantum v64.0 (Developer edition) Windows 7
TIA
Modified by concentricbrainwaves
Chosen solution
How important is the snapshot image of the tab?
If a plain list will do, I created an add-on that might help:
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/switch-to-previous-active-tab/
Here's an example of a list of tabs in a window in "most recently used" order, and you can click one to switch to it:
Normally the toolbar button flips to the previously active tab, but you can change that to show the list. The list can be global across all windows or within the same window:
Now... the length of the current window list is limited to 30. Hopefully that's close enough because it's, ahem, hardcoded.
Note that when you restore a session, the active tab in each window will show the restored time instead of its earlier time; and when you first install the extension, a similar thing will occur.
If you give it a try, let me know if you think of things to change or new features to add.
I know I should add a keyboard shortcut at some point, but I'm sensitive to the problem of not conflicting with other keyboard shortcuts. Currently, there's no way to avoid that problem or override built-in ones.
Also, there are other extensions along these lines if you search around a bit. Here are some I'm aware of, but their "in-page" overlays require higher permissions so you might not be comfortable with that:
- https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/saka/
- https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/fast-tab-switcher/
All Replies (7)
Where are you seeing this at?
This is fixed in the Firefox source code: maxTabPreviews: 6
- chrome://browser/content/browser-ctrlTab.js
Thanks Cor-el. Would I be right in taking your meaning of "fixed" to be "set in stone" (unless)?
Modified by concentricbrainwaves
Chosen Solution
How important is the snapshot image of the tab?
If a plain list will do, I created an add-on that might help:
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/switch-to-previous-active-tab/
Here's an example of a list of tabs in a window in "most recently used" order, and you can click one to switch to it:
Normally the toolbar button flips to the previously active tab, but you can change that to show the list. The list can be global across all windows or within the same window:
Now... the length of the current window list is limited to 30. Hopefully that's close enough because it's, ahem, hardcoded.
Note that when you restore a session, the active tab in each window will show the restored time instead of its earlier time; and when you first install the extension, a similar thing will occur.
If you give it a try, let me know if you think of things to change or new features to add.
I know I should add a keyboard shortcut at some point, but I'm sensitive to the problem of not conflicting with other keyboard shortcuts. Currently, there's no way to avoid that problem or override built-in ones.
Also, there are other extensions along these lines if you search around a bit. Here are some I'm aware of, but their "in-page" overlays require higher permissions so you might not be comfortable with that:
@jscher2000 Snapshots are sometimes helpful but by no means essential. Therefore I'll give https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/switch-to-previous-active-tab/ a go - and the other extensions you very politely mention :-)
About keyboard shortcuts. Some time ago I found a thing that allowed the user to define keys everywhere. Sadly it got lost in a crash but it's out there somewhere.
About permissions. Having been around since Fx 1.2 I don't care about permissions and, to be honest, when I read permission requests, the words are meaningless. It is stupendously obvious that an extension that does *this* will do (need permission for?) *that*.
Anyway - Case on the way to being Solved :-) Thank you.
Modified by concentricbrainwaves
Safety definitely is in the eye of the beholder. Now we get a scary warning about some extensions being able to read/touch data on every page. With legacy extensions, that was always true, but there was no warning so we didn't think about it. We still have to make our own choices about which developers to trust, just as we did before (whether we realized it or not).
@jscher2000 One tends to agree. I dumped a couple of Web-extensions and (with others) reported them for phoning home - or somewhere. It took months for Mz to catch up and block the evil. As always security is in our own hands (or eyes). Yes way back when we knew extension developers by age old repute there was trust but the new breed of web-ext devs is a different ball game. Suspicion is the watch word.
I think we might just be getting a bit off (original) topic about now and I fear the wrath of the Mighty Cor-El.
- -P