Current Firefox versions only show the "Tabs on Top" menu entry in the "View > Toolbars" and "Firefox > Options" menu and in toolbar context menus if the tabs aren't in the default position on top.

If the tabs are on top and the menu entry isn't available and you want to move the tabs below the navigation toolbar then you need to toggle the browser.tabs.onTop pref to false on the about:config page. A Firefox restart is necessary to update the menu entry to either show or remove it.

Note that this pref will no longer have effect when the Australis code lands on the release channel (the Australis code will probably land in Firefox 29 at the end of April).

Hello,

In Firefox 23 and up, as part of an effort to simplify the Firefox options set and facilitate future improvements to Firefox, the option to hide the tab bar was removed.

Fortunately, this can easily be resolved if you desire the keep tabs hidden. You can install "Hide tab bar with one tab", an extension hosted on Mozilla's add-ons site, which will restore the ability to hide the tab bar.

Thank you and I hope this helps!

waka wrote: "In Firefox 23 and up, as part of an effort to simplify the Firefox options set and facilitate future improvements to Firefox, the option to hide the tab bar was removed. Fortunately, this can easily be resolved if you desire the keep tabs hidden. You can install "Hide tab bar with one tab", an extension hosted on Mozilla's add-ons site".

That definitely "helps" insofar as you addressed my question dispositively.

However, I do not agree with the decision. How does removing one option substantially "simplify" things? How does forcing me to install an add-on "simplify" things for me, the customer?

FYI, I few add-ons as potential risks and a definite maintenance headache. A GUI add-on is probably more susceptible to compatibility issues.

If you want to "simplify" the GUI by removing one option from a menu (that isn't very "busy" in the first place; klunk!), at least provide an about:config option to control this behavior.

As for "facilitating future improvements", that is not my concern, a customer. Everything is SMOP.

I was in product development and maintenance for 35 years, and we always put the customer first. One of our cardinal rules was: do not remove a feature unless it is a security risk; and even then, we might leave an option to re-enable the feature "at your own risk".

Oh well, I'm probably p.i.s.s.ing into the wind. But thanks again for an accurate response.

I don't agree either, but would agree with the fact that with recent changes coming to Firefox in late April, this function would not work (user experience first).

Also note most contributors do not work for mozilla and don't really decide on things like this.

waka wrote: "I don't agree either, but would agree with the fact that with recent changes coming to Firefox in late April, this function would not work".

I'm curious: what upcoming changes would not work with eliminating tabs from the toolbar when there is only one tab?

This is a simple real estate issue: minimizing the toolbar space in order to maximize space for the window (real content).

waka wrote: "Also note most contributors do not work for mozilla and don't really decide on things like this".

I'm well aware of that. My comments are addressed to the decision makers, not to the open-source contributors.

Is there a more effective way of communicating my displeasure with the decision to someone who might actually be in a position to do something about it?

PS: I don't expect this forum to fulfill that purpose. My intent in my original posting was simply to learn if my "beloved" feature could be enabled another way. The answer is "no". But that does not "solve the problem".

The new austraius interface, that adds and removes some features, you can call it a full browser redesign.

Removed: Addon bar,ability to have tabs on bottom and to hide with 1 tab (some type of code incompatability), addons will have to switch some apis, panaorma (tab groups)

Added: Firefox accounts (improved sync), a newer way to customize, a tour of the interface

Changed: the tabs look more "chromish", a new menu similar to chrome, some buttons cant be moved, the plugin based flash is out and shumway is in (faster/less crashes, may be implemented after interface change), options are in a tab instead of a new window

And a lot more, if you are an advanced user, you will have to adjust and it may make you mad. For simple users who just want to browse the web, its a lot easier to use overall.

Info: http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/02/firefoxs-new-australis-interface-on-track-for-april-or-june-release/ and http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/11/hands-on-with-firefoxs-new-australis-interface/

waka wrote: "The new austraius interface, that adds and removes some features, you can call it a full browser redesign".

And thanks for the links. Good to know.

But with that redesign, it appears there is no "cost" to always displaying tabs. They appear to be part of the window frame. So there is no loss in "real estate" (space for window content).

Nevertheless, that does not justify always displaying tabs in the current GUI, IMHO. No need to change before the change is necessary.

Oh well, water under the bridge. Call it creative differences.

Thanks again for the informative responses. I'm afraid they do not "solve" my problem. But I guess nothing will at this point.