The unified extensions menu is not what i want from Firefox

[H_Josie]

Created a Mozilla account just to post this. I've been using Firefox for many years on a few different devices, and i've always appreciated the overflow menu for its ability to store extensions. It shows me only what i want, in a compact, nice looking menu, and its icon looks nice next to the menu button. The unified extensions menu is everything the overflow menu isn't.

The unified extensions menu shows all of my extensions in an order i cannot change, including the ones which are passive or which i otherwise don't want to see unless i'm going out of my way to see them. It is large, clunky, and visually unappealing. The problem of it showing every extension i use is GREATLY exacerbated by this design choice- every extension is a large block, showing more information than i want to see, rather than a simple name and icon. I understand why this feature was implemented- it's compliant with manifest v3, simple, easy to use. But it's not well optimized. You can't even remove it from the toolbar.

Up until the 111 update, the option to restore overflow menu functionality was available through config, which i greatly appreciated. After the new update, this has been disabled, which is a shame. I would very much appreciate the ability to continue using the overflow menu for extensions in 111 and future versions.

[leegregory4367]

THANK YOU!  I just created a chat window for this same subject. I am sick of having to adjust 20-30 settings in the settings tab and in about:config!  I can't type my two step verification codes into some pages because of the accessibility settings! Whenever I have to reset Firefox, which is at least once a week lately, I have to go through 20-30 settings just to get it up and running.
At least HALF of them are to countertact anything that Mozilla has added lately.
Are they bored?
Trying to justify their existence like politicians do?
 Like most things, people just cannot leave well enough alone. Gotta keep tweaking it until it's completely useless.

[TLHighbaugh]

Then all you need to do is create a user.js file with your pre-configured settings in it, then when you reset Firefox you can drop it into your about:profiles profile directory/folder and restart the browser to save yourself a lot of time and heartache resetting Firefox so often.

Some Resources
This is the MozillaZine Wiki article about user.js files for more information.
This is a user.js file backed up to GitHub that is intended to harden the browser's privacy settings... 


I am not an employee of Mozilla or part of any of their official teams (or whatever they call as much in this community)

[leegregory4367]

Oh, and now they have it hidden, too, I think. I couldn't find it until I put it into the search bar.

[jscher2000]

---

@H_Josie wrote:

The unified extensions menu shows all of my extensions in an order i cannot change, including the ones which are passive or which i otherwise don't want to see unless i'm going out of my way to see them. It is large, clunky, and visually unappealing. The problem of it showing every extension i use is GREATLY exacerbated by this design choice- every extension is a large block, showing more information than i want to see, rather than a simple name and icon. I understand why this feature was implemented- it's compliant with manifest v3, simple, easy to use. But it's not well optimized. You can't even remove it from the toolbar.

---

There is a bug on file about moving the Extensions button, possibly even into the overflow menu. I think there also is a bug on file about making it much easier to change the order of items on the drop-down. Unfortunately, these changes didn't make it into Firefox 111, and I really can't predict when they will come.

Meanwhile, you can add feedback on changes to the drop-down over on the Ideas side of the site:

https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/unified-add-ons-ui-improvements/idi-p/20964

[m4a4]

Yup. I'm reverting to FF 110 over this. Complete BS that they rammed this change into the live build and completely ignore "extensions.unifiedExtensions.enabled" now.

At least the other stupid changes had configs to turn them off.

[loyalFFuser]

Please make the puzzle extension icon easily hidable again. Best in browser - hide this icon, or even by the about config tweakery. The CSS way is way too complicated for regular users. Pretty please? Make it hidable? Even thought I was thinking about switching from Firefox as my main browser to other browser (even thought obviously for different uses different browsers is good too, but my main browser has been and still is Firefox and I advise friends and people to Firefox too because I think is just the best avaiable for what people need and want from browser - customizable, good on memory, security checked variety of extensions and on and on) in the last few months the relative stability and options to change back unwanted feautures - the way Firefox works, looks, that it improved memory management - all reasons to stick with Firefox which has the longest tradition of being user friendly, customizable internet browser. Just keep the unwanted changes in the UI - the way it looks and behaves changeble back. Thanks!

[PaerGaben]

No seriously please make this thing hide-able it's ruining my workflow. I love theming Firefox and this icon is making it way uglier. please let me customize this thing it's precisely why i love Firefox, customization. What happened to "make it your own" philosophy that made this browser so great ? please please please fix this

[Knecker]

It seems, the developers have gone overboard (intellectually). The whole design philosophy of Firefox got lost in the last series of updates. It gets less and less customizable, more and more cluttered and bloated. Who needs pocket, unified extensions, sponsored tabs and woke colour schemes, they asked? Here, here the IT-community cheered in excitement! Who needs a slim an customizable browser, that is fast, lightweight and emphasizes solely on safety and standards? Silence, bitter silence. So, the developers knew for sure, what they had to do!

[TLHighbaugh]

You can easily disable Pocket in about:config (search for pocket), I certainly do since pocket is hardly useful to me.

[wiseguy]

I agree with you 100% They need to be told a lot, so they can change that extension in the overflow menu instead of toolbar. It just does not make any sense to put in toolbar.. What kind of Firefox web designers, they really have to screw things up for many.. We used to be able to hide it, and now they got it there, unmovable..

[jscher2000]

[March 24, 2023] Firefox Nightly -- the pre-release test version of Firefox 113 -- now lets you move the Extensions button along the main toolbar, similarly to how you can move the Back button along the bar. This should alleviate the problem of wanting to get it out of the spot where you expect to find a different button, but doesn't allowing *removing* the button.

I don't know whether this change will be moved up to next month's release of Firefox 112. There is still time, so it's more a question of whether the code changes are simple enough to drop in this late in beta testing.

(I also do not know what other changes might be coming.)

[Lugtor]

apparently you can now pin to toolbar again, so nvm for what was here earlier

[Agentvirtuel]

Hello

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1453766 in addition