Mozilla 98 removal of functionality

[marcmathieu]

Mozilla has been REMOVING "features" or better described as "functionality"  an the startup time for the application is UNACCEPTABLE.  With the last few (?) releases including 98.0   A)  You can no longer use the old menu structure which is the Microsoft standard.  Why would we not want to have the top menu?  B)  You can no longer use the old, conventional, INDUSTRY-STANDARD printing dialog.  You CANNOT set the printer's defaults and have those defaults carried over to the next print job.  WHY?  This is a clear loss of functionality.

From the USER  POINT OF VIEW, the goal of the user interface is STABILITY, REPEATABILITY, etc.  Performance can be increased, but NOT the user interface.  If I want something different there's always Edge, Chrome, whatever.

Change for change sake is an example of CHILDREN AT PLAY!  Who in the user community would ask that the top menus be removed?  Who would ask for a new, less-functional printer dialog?  What can he the advantage of 75 second load times?  And don't tell me I can tweak it!  I don't want to configure load time, I simply want it to work!  Hello, is there ANYBODY among the developers who believes he or she can tell the user what they want in a web browser?  Talk about possible arrogance!   I demand that I the user have the right to freeze my version, security be damned!  Mozilla has no liability concerning my personal computers security.  'Nuff said.  For now.

[jscher2000]

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@marcmathieu wrote:

Mozilla has been REMOVING "features" or better described as "functionality"  an the startup time for the application is UNACCEPTABLE.  With the last few (?) releases including 98.0   A)  You can no longer use the old menu structure which is the Microsoft standard.  Why would we not want to have the top menu? 

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It is a Microsoft Windows platform convention to hide the top menu bar, perhaps since as far back as Windows XP. If you want to display Firefox's menu bar temporarily, you can tap the F10 function key or the Alt key. If you want to display it persistently, this article has the steps: https://support.mozilla.org/kb/restore-menu-bar-firefox 

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B)  You can no longer use the old, conventional, INDUSTRY-STANDARD printing dialog. 

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There is a link on the lower right of the combined Print Preview / Settings overlay. It say "Print using the system dialog..." If you expanded the "More settings" you probably need to scroll down for that.

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You CANNOT set the printer's defaults and have those defaults carried over to the next print job.  WHY?  This is a clear loss of functionality.

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Which settings do not carry over? I think the most common ones do, but I'm sure there are many I don't bother changing.

[kdurand]

responding to B) and the last part.

Having wait for program to the load the preview, which I DO NOT NEED and then to scrolling down after clicking the Print using the system dialog, Every Single Time I Print, (which is quite numerous) is time consuming and frustrating.  I have to change printer paper trays back and forth so I NEED the system dialog to be able to do that.
Adding extra time and steps to what is already a lot of steps to print what I need, makes it more likely that mistakes are made.  This creates a waste of paper and my time.

I have been choosing to use a different browser for many of my printing jobs.  Looks like Firefox will be loosing some business over this simple fix.

[jscher2000]

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@kdurand wrote:

responding to B) and the last part.

Having wait for program to the load the preview, which I DO NOT NEED and then to scrolling down after clicking the Print using the system dialog, Every Single Time I Print, (which is quite numerous) is time consuming and frustrating. 

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There are bugs on file with the developers to create a preference (true/false toggle) for whether to skip laying out the preview and go directly to the system dialog to collect your settings. There also is a plan to add an alternate keyboard shortcut for this. However, work on those has been moving slowly so I don't know when we'll get them.

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I have been choosing to use a different browser for many of my printing jobs.  Looks like Firefox will be loosing some business over this simple fix.

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On Mac, I've heard Safari is better integrated with the system dialog. Which browser's printing workflow is working best for you?

[kdurand]

Thanks for your reply, sorry for the delay.
Hopefully Firefox will make those changes soon.  My main programs work best on Firefox, except for the printing now.  None of the browsers work wonderfully, and I have used Microsoft Edge for many jobs, seems to be the least offensive.  The old MS IE worked better.  I don't have access to Safari here at work so can't explore that one.
It is really frustrating and time consuming to work with browsers and programs trying to help me when I don't need help.  Windows 11 is a great example.  I can't move a window without it trying to 'help' move it/expand it/minimize it ect. when I just want to move it where I want it.  

[jscher2000]

A new preference -- print.prefer_system_dialog -- went into testing in Firefox Nightly (a pre-release test version of Firefox) overnight. Unless there are major problems, it will be an option in Firefox 102, scheduled to release at the end of June.

For people who print a set of pages that don't need any preview/setup because the best settings are already locked in, this option to skip the preview/setup screen would be handy. Since I often print random sites and it didn't give me good results on the first try (scaling needed adjustment), I probably won't use it myself.

[kdurand]

Will you post here when the preference is released? 

Grateful!

[kdurand]

I just saw it on another post.  Thanks!

[JamesBond007]

PLEASE  (<says "please" like Ace Ventura says "PLEASE" in this scene when he says "PLEASE!  *Don't* get up.." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LALVqehgA1I >),  DON'T get rid of the "If you want to display Firefox's menu bar temporarily, you can tap the F10 function key or the Alt key. If you want to display it persistently, this article has the steps: https://support.mozilla.org/kb/restore-menu-bar-firefox".

I would like to make it known to EVERYONE at Mozilla (INCLUDING EVERYONE at the Mozilla Firefox section) that I ALWAYS-USE the "show the menu-bar by pressing the alt button on the keyboard" thing. My current computer has a 1766x768 resolution 16:9 aspect-ratio LED-backlit LCD screen, and so if I have the "menu" bar it takes up vertical scrolling-space, so I left it at the "not visible unless i press Alt" setting (even though I wanted-it like how i had it in my Windows-XP Toshiba Satellite A40-SP151 with the 1024x768 resolution 4:3 aspect-ratio CCFL-backlit LCD screen,  with the menu-bar always visible and the address-bar always-visible underneath the menu bar).

If I ever get a computer-screen that has a 16:10 aspect-ratio or anything with "bigger" vertical-screenspace or even a computer-screen that has a 1920x1080 resolution or a 1900x1200 resolution   I will put the setting for the menu-bar as "always show menu bar".

PLEASE DO NOT take this setting off (this setting of  "show the menu bar pressing alt or f10" and "click here to always-show menu bar" <etc>). it's VITALLY IMPORTANT to all of us Firefox users.