New in Firefox Labs (Nightly and Beta to start!): Productivity Widgets - Lists & Timer

[AmberMeryman]

Neu in den Firefox Labs: Produktivitäts-Widgets – Listen &

Fokus-Timer & Novidade no Firefox Labs: Widgets de Produtividade – Listas & Temporizador de Foco

 

Note: As of August 20, the features are only available in Labs in Nightly & Beta. They will be available in Release with 144.

 

Hi! I’m Amber from the Firefox team. We’re testing a new idea: simple, built-in productivity widgets on your New Tab page. They’ll be there on every new tab to keep you on-task, or on a break. This early experiment includes:

•  Lists - jot down your reminders, errands, or a packing list
•  Timer - track your study session, deep work research, or quiet break time
  And everything stays local, is never shared with Mozilla, and it’s easy to turn on and off. 

  Here's a short demo

  

[AmberMeryman]

Oi! Eu sou a Amber, da equipe do Firefox. Estamos testando uma nova ideia: widgets de produtividade simples e integrados na sua página de nova aba. Eles vão aparecer em toda nova aba para te ajudar a manter o foco — ou aproveitar uma pausa. Este experimento inicial inclui:

 Listas – anote lembretes, tarefas ou uma lista de viagem

  Temporizador de Foco – acompanhe sessões de estudo, trabalho focado ou momentos de descanso

E tudo fica local, nunca é compartilhado com a Mozilla, e é fácil de ativar e desativar. 

Seu feedback é muito bem-vindo para ajudar a definir nossos próximos passos!
 Você gostaria de ver mais widgets? Quais? Sincronização como opção de backup? Deixe suas ideias aqui embaixo.
– Amber & a equipe do Firefox

[myspace]

Yes to more widgets (calendar, notes, clock). It would also be cool to be able to move them around on the page via drag and drop, so users can set it up the way they want. 

[AmberMeryman]

Thank you for the feedback, and for the examples of widgets. We do hope to allow repositioning around the page next year, once we have even more widgets in place. 🙂 

[Kvin]

Hi, this is a good direction!
Will there be widgets such as RSS, clock, calendar, quotes, and others?
Also, will it be possible to move widgets and change their size, blur widgets, and have a separate page in a new tab for widgets? Similar to Vivaldi
Thank you

[AmberMeryman]

Thank you for the feedback, and for the examples of widgets listed!

We do hope to allow repositioning around and different size options next year. I'm not sure what you mean by "blur widgets" -- can you explain?

Thanks again!

- Amber

[Kvin]

Hi, thank you for improving the widgets.
By blurring, I mean that widgets could be blurred, for example, like in Vivaldi. It looks nice and is not so distracting. It would be good to have an option to blur widgets.
Also, are there any plans to add widgets to the mobile version?
And to synchronize widgets.

[Heathen1]

Yes please, and as always....thank you

[Pseudoryx]

Yes to both more widgets and more customizations. I am especially interested to see theming or transparency options for them. 

[singhh9596]

It's great to see how Firefox is slowly but steadily evolving into a more modern browser. I'd love to see more customizable widgets related to the stock market maybe, do whatever just make sure they can sync across devices. I don't want to have to set everything up again on my other device

[AmberMeryman]

Thanks for the feedback @singhh9596!  The financial markets are one of the areas we are investigating currently - would you want to select or input specific symbols, or follow the general trends? Your input is appreciated! 

Thanks,

Amber

[SkatingScarletM]

Hey Amber. I think in response to the question, there should be the option to do both. Maybe a widget for specific symbols and another for the stock(s) that have gone the most up that day. (or down).

[Vincent]

Neat! It would be helpful if the timer widget notified me when it hits 0:00 (ideally both visual and with sound, though being able to toggle either off, and notifying me regardless of whether I have a new tab open).

As for widgets, I'd really love a quick scratch pad, a regular text box is fine, that remembers what I wrote there, and possibly even syncs it. Would be helpful if e.g. I receive a phone call, and just quickly want to press Ctrl+T as I answer it so I can take some notes.

[AmberMeryman]

The Timer widget will use your OS notifications to notify you with a sound and notification popup! Be sure to update to the latest, and ensure your OS notifications are enabled for the channel of Firefox you're using (I didn't have this enabled initially myself).

And thank you for the Notes suggestion - this is also in our list to investigate!

[Vincent]

Oh neat, the current version said "Notifications are off" underneath the timer, and I could turn it on in the menu that appears on hover (I imagine I hadn't seen that menu before). Didn't play a sound, but the notification did appear!

[bokuno]

Would be helpful if the Timer widget could use a distinct notification sound. When the time elapses, the OS notification sound is too easily lost along with all the other OS notifications that use the same sound. Thank you.

[Heath]

For me, clock, weather and an inspiring quote would be nice.

[myspace]

Agreed, quotes would be nice! 

[Anonymous]

Hi, I don't have one. is it only selectively available by a specific location?

[AmberMeryman]

It should be available in all locations via Labs, I believe.

Are you on Nightly or Beta, and have you updated to the latest and/or restarted the browser? Sometimes that is needed to get the latest Firefox Labs info. 

Let us know!

[OM]

Just discovered this new lab experiment, thanks!

Task list is quite useful. Notes would be welcome as well (similarly to Firefox notes?)

However, I would not store anything crucial there without proper sync with Firefox account. 
The lack of sync makes widgets used to store data (lists, notes,...) useless to me.

On the contrary to display only widgets, like meteo, or quotes.

[AmberMeryman]

Thank you for the feedback, and for the suggestions (Notes, quotes).

We are hoping to include Sync of new tab information in a later release - we agree it would make Lists and notes much more useful! In the meantime, we have a "Copy list to clipboard" feature for those that want a back-up. 

Thanks again!

[Tawn]

I'm on Nightly 145a1 and the widgets appear much larger on my new tab page whereas in the demo they appear to be shorter (at least until interacted with). Is there any way to shrink them down like that? I wouldn't use them frequently, but it would be nice to leave them on the page if they could be smaller/less visually distracting from my frequently used pinned items. Glad to see the coloring was toned down a bit in the recent Fx update.

[Tawn]

Just realized the items in task list don't survive a browser restart, making them useless to me.

[henriqueffc83]

I liked the widgets, although the task list doesn't persist after closing the browser, which would be very useful. I'd also like widgets for notes and RSS feeds. RSS feeds would be nice to be able to choose the source, either by adding one directly or using a service like FreshRSS. Another interesting widget would be a news panel about Firefox, showcasing upcoming features, or the ability to link to Mozilla services like the one we're using (Connect). I miss being able to view news or learn about the browser more easily.

[Jon]

Exciting update: this feature is now available in Firefox Labs in Release. The team working on the feature has kicked off a new discussion thread: Feedback welcome for New Tab widgets, now available via Firefox Labs 

Please continue sharing your feedback as it will help inform our next steps 💪

[probablywrong]

I really liked the task list feature until I closed the browser, reopened it, and all my tasks and lists were gone. So there's that.

[emmaharris]

Can you provide an option THAT IS VISIBLE to turn AI off? And make it OPT IN? 

I am sick and tired of AI being foisted on me. I do not want it. I do not want to go in to about:config to even attempt to disable the complete and utter **** that is AI. 

I did not ask for it, I  do not WANT IT. 

[JohnyGalt]

For Tasks Widget:

1. would be great to add due time/date
2. maybe couple of tags: important(red), medium(orange), later(green)

[intasha]

Hi Amber 

I’ve been testing the new Productivity Widgets (Lists & Timer) in Firefox Nightly, and they’re great for focus and task management. The built-in timer really helps with deep work sessions, and I like that everything stays local.

I also use structured social media productivity strategies alongside tools like this — shared here:
https://topfollowapkk.com/

Looking forward to the full Release 144 rollout!

[cm500]

that is nice 👍 

[nirmaladvani]

I believe it would be better to have Task list in the sidebar. Previously, there was Notes extension by firefox, which would open notes in the sidebar. It was great extension, but has not been updated since 5 years.

Timer as a widget seems like a good idea. It would be great if timer could be indicated by color on the tab or some other direct indicator of it in the bar. Again, I believe it would be better to have this a default default extension that is accessible from a button.  

[theunholycow]

Ability to connect Caldav server for tasks would be the ultimate productivity boost. This would also tie in well with Thunderbird too.

[ashleymadison]

Timer Feedback: I have notifications turned on but don't seem to hear anything when the timer goes off. Not sure if I'm missing something but if not then it would be nice to have a sound go off when the timer runs out (and the ability to customize the sound ideally). I also like nirmala's idea of changing the tab color to indicate the timer -- this would be an additional que but also more accessible for people with hearing loss. Thank you!

[guillemv]

Love the timer widget! One UX issue though: the reset button only appears when the timer is actively running, not when it's paused. I spent a while searching for it before realizing I had to hit play and leave it running just to get the reset button to show up. It would make much more sense to have it accessible in the paused state too.

[azurecloud]

Hi, anyone!
May be this text should be in ideas, but i think my idea make this feature more usefull.

I have an idea of improve this feature:

Feature Request: Integration of New Tab Widgets into the Sidebar (Vertical Tabs)

Summary: Enable the use of New Tab Page widgets (Todo lists, Timers, etc.) as "Firefox Tools" within the new Sidebar/Vertical Tabs interface.

Description: With the introduction of the new Sidebar and Vertical Tabs, Firefox has greatly improved workspace management. Currently, users can enable "Firefox Tools" like History, Bookmarks, and Passwords in the sidebar. At the same time, Firefox is introducing helpful widgets for the New Tab (Home) screen, such as "Tasks" and "Timers."

The Proposal: I suggest making these same widgets available as toggleable tools within the "Customize sidebar" menu.

Key Benefits:

• Persistent Access: Users can track their timers or check off tasks while browsing any website, without switching to the Home screen.

• Consistency: Leverages existing widget logic and design, creating a unified experience between the Home screen and the Sidebar.

• Productivity: Transforms the sidebar from a navigation tool into a functional productivity hub.

User Workflow:

1. Open the "Customize sidebar" menu.

2. Under the "Firefox tools" section, see a list of available widgets (e.g., Todo List, Timer, Weather).

3. Check the box for "Todo List."

4. The Todo icon appears at the bottom of the sidebar (or in the vertical tab list), allowing for quick interaction in a narrow panel.

Visual Reference: The user would like to see the widgets supported on the Firefox Home screen appear in the list indicated by the red arrow in the current "Customize sidebar" UI.

[bkh]

Hi to Anyone,

a small wish.

It would be great when the Notes, To Do, Timers be synchronized like the other things (bookmarks, ...)

bkh

[IAM_DA_3RD]

Love the tab notes and the To Do list widget! Being able to have formatted lists for tabs that behaved like the tab notes would be amazing. For sites where I only visit to buy things for instance it would be super helpful. I've been using sticky notes or sometimes just a disposable text file to make sure I don't forget to buy some things. 

[Robodoggo]

It would be great if the order items are added to the todo list could be changed (so adding something to the bottom, rather than the top). If this was accessible, like through the ... menu, I'd like that. This would be great for when I list my tasks from highest priority to lowest, rather than having to drag them back and forth. I like this feature, it reminds me to spend my time well any time I use my browser.

[ZUO]

It would be nice if task lists used the screen space better. Allow me to have multiple lists side by side - there's plenty of space. Allow me to change the width of lists. Move the "+ Add an item" entry next to the drop-down at the top. Thanks!