Unified add-ons UI improvements

[kremlinbot]

The current menu, although being Mv3-compatible, is very basic and simply shows all active add-ons without any option to anyhow customize it. Furthermore, this update removed an option to pin add-ons in the overflow menu, effectively making it useless, which obviously will not be welcomed by the users.

So, what can be done?

• Re-add an option to pin add-ons in the list; all the add-ons that were pinned in the overflow list before will be re-pinned in the add-ons list after the update. It'd be also nice to have an option to change their order, although I'm not sure how this can be implemented (perhaps strip the overflow menu completely and replace it with the new one in the "Customize..." page?)
• The "Add-ons" button will only show the pinned add-ons list first, and require an additional click to expand it to see the full list. If none of the add-ons are pinned, the button will only show the full list (like it does right now)
• If some add-on needs new permissions, or requires permission to run on website, it will be shown on the top of the list in both of the lists, except if it was pinned by user before. It will also feature additional outline to draw the user's attention.

So, what do you think?

[Genebris]

My suggestion is you just remove this "exciting" new feature and let us customize out toolbar and overflow menu again, thank you.

[trinaldi]

I agree with @Genebris 

[Eelectric]

Good mock-up design! Now that we can manage and remove extensions right from the menu instead of needing the add-on manager, I think they should also allow enabling and disabling extensions directly from the menu. Being able to pin specific extensions would be very handy for this. If this was implemented, a further default-collapsed section at the bottom would make sense, so in your design it would go needs permissions > pinned > other addons (collapsed) > disabled addons (collapsed, possibly separately).

[armadillo-dream]

While I don't like all of your ideas, they are FAR FAR FAR better than the unremovable, unmovable Extensions button and how I cannot easily use/interact with my extensions. My Firefox update with this pushed out today, causing me to be unprepared for a meeting because my extensions do NOT work even AS simply as they did when I shoved them all into my Overflow Menu.

[armadillo-dream]

I wish I was in the headspace to fully appreciate all the thought you've put into your ideas.

Unfortunately, I'm here from a redirect in a 7+ tab chain all regarding how Firefox updated for me today, implementing a horrible Extensions button I cannot move whatsoever. All I needed was for my password extension to work so I could access something for school. However, it got trapped into the Extensions button which the Mozilla blog claims "makes things easier." Having to spend half an hour troubleshooting to prepare for a meeting is NOT easier. Having to click several additional buttons is NOT easier.

All I want is the ability to shove my extensions back into the Overflow Menu and for them to just work.

If I cannot do that, I want to shove that ugly little Extensions button in there, be able to access all my extensions in the Overflow Menu, and within TWO CLICKS MAXIMUM use my extensions.

Anyway nice work, not complaining to you, hoping to just boost your post so Mozilla sees there's options that aren't throttling all functionality of a web browser. If I didn't need my computer or the web for school, I would honestly trash it over this. Firefox has been the best web browser for my needs and specs across laptops since 2016. If it can't work, nothing can.

[DavidBE]

Well I've used about:config to revert to the previous overflow menu, but I'm afraid that it won't be long before that option is removed. This happened with Edge (following Chrome): a really good customisable toolbar overflow area replaced by an extensions button with a drop-down panel with a non-customisable list of every extension in alphabetical order. That completely killed any thought I had of maybe moving to Edge. I had thought that at least with Firefox not being tied to Chromium, and catering to people like me with 30+ extensions (clearly ignored by Google and Micrposoft), Mozilla would never do something so egregiously damaging to the UI for using 30+ extensions - then today I find this has happened. I get this feeling that program devs keep thinking they have to change things just so the program is seen as active and "up-to-date", while completely forgetting the very good reasons why some things were designed the way they were and oblivious to how they are wrecking the UI for many users.

For em there are two acceptable options:

(1) PERMANENTLY keep the option for users to keep the overflow drop-down with pinnable extensions as was, with or without an option to have whatever new Extensions button and drop-down as well/instead. For me this would be the best option. (I'd opt for keeping the overflow and disabling the extensions button.)

(2) If user chosen extensions absolutely can't be pinned to the overflow menu any more (though I really can't see why that would HAVE to be the case), then I have an absolute need to be able to change the order of extensions in the extensions drop-down as I wish (the ones that I do need to click on sometimes at the top in the order I want so I can find them quickly), preferably with extensions that have buttons in the toolbar not being shown at all.

I have - reluctantly - accepted other changes I don't like in Firefox over the years, but this one is a make-or-break. I'm going to start reviewing other browsers, and if I get a Firefox update that won't let me have the extensions I use that I don't have room for in the toolbar at the top of a menu in the order I want them, Firefox will be uninstalled on both my laptop and phone. For me this awful (and completely unnecessary) issue is that serious. I honestly cannot understand how the devs could have  come up with such a **bleep**-eyed and damaging change.

[DavidBE]

Well I've used about:config to revert to the previous overflow menu, but I'm afraid that it won't be long before that option is removed. This happened with Edge (following Chrome): a really good customisable toolbar overflow area replaced by an extensions button with a drop-down panel with a non-customisable list of every extension in alphabetical order. That completely killed any thought I had of maybe moving to Edge. I had thought that at least with Firefox not being tied to Chromium, and catering to people like me with 30+ extensions (clearly ignored by Google and Microsoft), Mozilla would never do something so egregiously damaging to the UI for using 30+ extensions - then today I find this has happened. I get this feeling that program devs keep thinking they have to change things just so the program is seen as active and "up-to-date", while completely forgetting the very good reasons why some things were designed the way they were and oblivious to how they are wrecking the UI for many users.

For me there are two acceptable options:

(1) PERMANENTLY keep the option for users to keep the overflow drop-down with pinnable extensions as was, with or without an option to have whatever new Extensions button and drop-down as well/instead. For me this would be the best option. (I'd opt for keeping the overflow and disabling the extensions button.)

(2) If user chosen extensions absolutely can't be pinned to the overflow menu any more (though I really can't see why that would HAVE to be the case), then I have an absolute need to be able to change the order of extensions in the extensions drop-down as I wish (the ones that I do need to click on sometimes at the top in the order I want so I can find them quickly), preferably with extensions that have buttons in the toolbar not being shown in the drop-down at all.

I have - reluctantly - accepted other changes I don't like in Firefox over the years, but this one is a make-or-break. I'm going to start reviewing other browsers, and if I get a Firefox update that won't let me have the extensions I use that I don't have room for in the toolbar at the top of a menu in the order I want them, Firefox will be uninstalled on both my laptop and phone. For me this awful (and completely unnecessary) issue is that serious. I honestly cannot understand how the devs could have  come up with such a **bleep**-eyed and damaging change.

[Jenee]

All I can say is they did it again. What's the purpose of the overflow menu now? Those functions that can be put into the overflow menu now are all available in the burger menu. And the hamburger menu has been fixed on the toolbar for a long while. What's after this? The next step is to remove the overflow menu?

I didn't want to mention Waterfox in this forum, but the customizability of Waterfox looks incredibly attractive now. Isn't that hilarious?

[Jenee]

All I can say is they did it again. What's the purpose of the overflow menu now? Those functions that can be put into the overflow menu now are all available in the burger menu. And the hamburger menu has been fixed on the toolbar for a long while. What's after this? The next step is to remove the overflow menu?

I didn't want to mention Waterfox in this forum, but the customizability of Waterfox looks incredibly attractive right now. Isn't that hilarious?

[Husenberg]

Great design by OP! I was really annoyed with the new UI, so wanted to do something like this myself, but decided to look through the forums first. And I am happy to say - this is pretty much as good as this manifestV3 menu can get. The post is rather old, so I really hope that the Mozilla team actually implements this, now that it's on the main branch.

This keeps the functionality of the new button, but allows users who used to rely on the overflow menu to keep their organization too. For now I will have to resort to toggling the new feature off in advanced config though.

Reordering of pinned add-ons is also a must have, but I think there needs to be a clear indication if there is a permission that needs to be granted, that is obscured by the current pinned extensions. Maybe an arrow or something point you to scroll down.