Support Volunteers can't make changes to Firefox, nor do we have to reply to your post.

But since I am not feeling abusive: They are there.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/update-firefox-latest-version

Please : https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/export-firefox-bookmarks-to-backup-or-transfer and https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/back-and-restore-information-firefox-profiles then https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/refresh-firefox-reset-add-ons-and-settings TEST....... If no issues then Extensions which need to be added back in 1 at a time and tested ..... Or it is your Profile : Make a new one and test ...: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profile-manager-create-and-remove-firefox-profiles

Please let us know if this solved your issue or if need further assistance.

The X buttons go away once the tabs are greater than some limit. I'm sure someone thinks this is really clever. But it's just really stupid.

I'm trying to get information on WHY THE HELL THIS IS and of course pass a message to engineers to do something.

P.S. "But since I am not feeling abusive: " I hope you refrain from posting when you ARE feeling abusive Pkshadow :|

mick-p said

The X buttons go away once the tabs are greater than some limit. I'm sure someone thinks this is really clever. But it's just really stupid. I'm trying to get information on WHY THE HELL THIS IS and of course pass a message to engineers to do something.

So who many tabs are you opening? So what limit did you go to then-if you ran out of tabs? I have up to 12 tabs opened and none of my "x" marks go away. If your opening 100 tabs or more maybe opening a browser that would make the tab less in each Browser. There is no single engineering as they already said this is Open Source not like a company.

Hi mick-p, there is no built-in setting to force the X buttons to stick around, but as with many aspects of the user interface, you can use a custom style rule to override the built-in styling. If you have never heard of or set up a userChrome.css file before, please allow 5-10 minutes.

You can prevent Firefox from hiding the "X" buttons ever with this style rule:

/* Always Show Tab Close buttons */
#tabbrowser-tabs > .tabbrowser-tab:not([pinned="true"]) > .tab-stack > .tab-content > .tab-close-button {
  display: -moz-box !important;
}

But you also could hide the "X" buttons on background/inactive tabs until you hover your mouse pointer over the tab (since that's when you'll most likely be looking for the button). More space to see the title; this is the rule I use.

/* Show Tab Close buttons on inactive tabs only when hovered */
#tabbrowser-tabs > .tabbrowser-tab:not([pinned="true"]) > .tab-stack > .tab-content > .tab-close-button:not([selected="true"]) {
  display: none;
}
#tabbrowser-tabs > .tabbrowser-tab:not([pinned="true"]):hover > .tab-stack > .tab-content > .tab-close-button:not([selected="true"]) {
  display: -moz-box !important;
}

I have a website that describes how to create and work with a userChrome.css file: https://www.userchrome.org/how-create-userchrome-css.html

Hope this helps.

And yes, I know, you want it built in. Support volunteers work with the Firefox we have today, while we can hope for (don't hold our breath for) more built-in features in the future.

I think this is probably the most pressing UI issue and should be fast-tracked.

Can add-ons manage userchrome.css? Why are add-ons putting X buttons in a toolbar and not on the tabs (since Quantum appeared/add-ons became legacy) but this is a true usability issue that Mozilla corporation should be very concerned about unless there is some jackass that is adamant about X buttons disappearing off tabs.

See also these prefs on the about:config page.

• browser.tabs.tabClipWidth (140)
• browser.tabs.tabMinWidth (76)

The former affect whether to show the close button all a tab when its width decreases too much.

You can open the about:config page via the location/address bar. You can accept the warning and click "I accept the risk!" to continue.

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/about:config

WestEnd said

There is no single engineering as they already said this is Open Source not like a company.

It's exactly like a company. Opensource just means the source is freely available. If it wasn't like a company there would be add-ons that could address these issues (even though built-in Options are much better.)

Hi Mick, Did you start seeing this in the latest version? The tab width limit has been around for many years. I think it was introduced in Firefox 2. lol

Chris Ilias said

Hi Mick, Did you start seeing this in the latest version? The tab width limit has been around for many years. I think it was introduced in Firefox 2. lol

Yes, but until recently there was a plethora of add-ons and add-ons had the ability to effect change in these areas. By nixing add-ons (or tying their hands) Mozilla has created a situation where it has to step in and pick up the slack.

I expected a lot of difficulties, but I'm glad that mostly Firefox is still highly usable. (I can still have a normal Windows title bar, and the tabs are nice and square, and Sessions actually work now, and many key add-on stuff has been brought into the limited Options menu, except for this crucial problem.)

There is a Tabs section in the Options. If add-ons and about:config can't fix this, then there must be a checkbox to enable X buttons. (On hover is fine, but it shouldn't be necessary to load a tab to close it, or to navigate a context-menu, and clicking a mouse-wheel is A) not described anywhere, not in the context-menu, and B) is clumsy and builds up ire with every click.)

What add-on did you have, and what change did it make?

We'll need some more info about your Firefox setup. Go to Help > Troubleshooting Information then click Copy text to Clipboard. Open a reply to this post, and go to Edit > Paste to paste the info from your Troubleshooting Information page.

mick-p said

...it shouldn't be necessary to load a tab to close it, or to navigate a context-menu, and clicking a mouse-wheel is A) not described anywhere, not in the context-menu, and B) is clumsy and builds up ire with every click.

Close Tab is on a tab's right-click context menu. That's probably the most discoverable way to close a background tab, but yes, it is an extra click.

mick-p said

I think this is probably the most pressing UI issue and should be fast-tracked.

The most pressing UI issue for You as the tabs have been this way for eleven years if not longer.

Having every tab have a X is not good if you have so many tabs in Firefox windows to point where all you see are barely a tab only X showing.

Also been around forever is Middle-click on tab, right-click on Tab and Close tab and withkeyboard Ctrl+W will closed the open tab.

I personally do not like the close button on tabs because you always have to be cautious not to click the X accidentally when you want to select a small tab. Without the close X I do not need to worry when I click the tab to select it and the minimum tab width can be smaller to show more tabs. Middle-clicking a tab with the mouse to close the tab is easy, but if you use a touch pad then this is obviously more difficult.

cor-el said

I personally do not like the close button on tabs because you always have to be cautious not to click the X accidentally when you want to select a small tab. Without the close X I do not need to worry when I click the tab to select it and the minimum tab width can be smaller to show more tabs. Middle-clicking a tab with the mouse to close the tab is easy, but if you use a touch pad then this is obviously more difficult.

The tabs should be much wider so the titles can be read. (The title bar should be available so the title can be read also.) And this is not a valid argument because there are already X buttons on tabs when there are a few number of tabs.

The about:config option is available for widening tabs, but the X option is discontinued.

Mozilla should not be innovating in this space. It's the only application in the world that doesn't have X buttons on tabs, regardless of their size. Scrolling through tabs is not difficult. Why should they be reduced to tiny widths to begin with? Really, Mozilla should do a survey of applications, and at least off a compatibility Option...

I'm confident they will find that 100% of applications have tabs with X buttons. A list of applications that do not would be interesting. PROVIDE AN OPTION.

EDITED: Sorry, cor-el. I replied to the accidental click concern in a separate quote/posting just now.

Chris Ilias said

What add-on did you have, and what change did it make? We'll need some more info about your Firefox setup. Go to Help > Troubleshooting Information then click Copy text to Clipboard. Open a reply to this post, and go to Edit > Paste to paste the info from your Troubleshooting Information page.

Classic Theme Restorer facilitated most UI needs. Mozilla shot it dead. Mozilla should clean up its mess. (And should apologize for relying on CTR so heavily over these years.)

jscher2000 said

mick-p said

...it shouldn't be necessary to load a tab to close it, or to navigate a context-menu, and clicking a mouse-wheel is A) not described anywhere, not in the context-menu, and B) is clumsy and builds up ire with every click.

Close Tab is on a tab's right-click context menu. That's probably the most discoverable way to close a background tab, but yes, it is an extra click.

It's not two clicks. It's dragging a mouse way down to the bottom of a long list, that shouldn't be necessary in the first place, and then dragging way back up to the top, to close the next tab.

Does anyone at Mozilla use a browser? When researching a subject, 20 tabs may be opened, and when done they need to be closed. The easy way to do that is an X button. No need to do something fancy, like Context Menu->Close all Tabs to the right (including ones you may not want closed since tabs are opened in the middle of other tabs (for convenience).) It's just common sense. Close with X button. THIS IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE.

cor-el said

I personally do not like the close button on tabs because you always have to be cautious not to click the X accidentally when you want to select a small tab. Without the close X I do not need to worry when I click the tab to select it and the minimum tab width can be smaller to show more tabs. Middle-clicking a tab with the mouse to close the tab is easy, but if you use a touch pad then this is obviously more difficult.

The built-in New Tab page might not have a tab restore option, but if a New Tab page does, it's a very easy way to handle this rare edge case. Hover for X generally does look better. Google Chrome doesn't do hover for X (and it doesn't remove the X either) however having a fallback for the rare accidents defeats arguing against something for reasons that are rare. Click the icon side to avoid clicking the X. You learn it eventually.

Hi mick-p, this behavior was set years ago. The difference is that in Firefox  57 instead of using an extension to override it you need to use a custom style rule.

The purpose of this support forum is to assist users with the Firefox we have today. For that reason, debating how Firefox should have been working all these years or should work in the future would be better taken to another venue, such as:

• Input page: https://qsurvey.mozilla.com/s3/FirefoxInput/
• Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/firefox
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Firefox
• Add-ons discussion site: https://discourse.mozilla-community.org/c/add-ons

mick-p said

Click the icon side to avoid clicking the X. You learn it eventually.

Hmm.

jscher2000 said

Hi mick-p, this behavior was set years ago. The difference is that in Firefox  57 instead of using an extension to override it you need to use a custom style rule. The purpose of this support forum is to assist users with the Firefox we have today. For that reason, debating how Firefox should have been working all these years or should work in the future would be better taken to another venue, such as:

• Input page: https://qsurvey.mozilla.com/s3/FirefoxInput/
• Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/firefox
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Firefox
• Add-ons discussion site: https://discourse.mozilla-community.org/c/add-ons

mick-p said

Click the icon side to avoid clicking the X. You learn it eventually.

Hmm.

If I can't convince you that asking customers to set up a custom style rule (styles are for webpages, not UI elements, especially not tabs) makes less sense than putting a checkbox in the Options page STAT, well you're just contributing to worldwide insanity. Sorry.

(The problem definitely is Mozilla's decision to tie add-on developers hands of late. But really Mozilla should accept responsibility for core usability issues instead of relying on add-on developers to solve its userbase's problems.)

cor-el said

See also these prefs on the about:config page.

• browser.tabs.tabClipWidth (140)
• browser.tabs.tabMinWidth (76)

The former affect whether to show the close button all a tab when its width decreases too much. You can open the about:config page via the location/address bar. You can accept the warning and click "I accept the risk!" to continue.

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/about:config

I do use these, but they are disconnected from the X buttons now. Some GENIUS at Mozilla really wants to control the X buttons. I think there must be some political rationale in order for something to be as dysfunctional as this.