Source
r/firefox•
DoingIsLearning

Firefox Android dynamictoolbar config nuissance

💻 Help

So I feel like this upgrade was a bit of a bait and switch!

One of the most annoying features in other browsers is dynamic toolbars and now I am stuck with it on Firefox:

  • I don't need the screen space

  • I don't want stuff popping in and out everytime I scroll

  • Paranoid me always wants to see the full url of the page I am lookin at.

Why would anybody want this feature?

I went through the support topics and this the only thing I could find:

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1300082

Why can't I just set dynamictoolbar to false? Is there really no other solution until this is brought back as a feature , if it's brought back at all?

Are there other android browser alternatives (other than Chrome) that support persistent url address bar?

Sorry for the rant tone but this really caught me off guard.

Posted Sep 6, 2020, 8:45 AM UTC

219
123filips123:nightly: on :windows:•

There is already PR on GitHub to disable gestures (including dynamic toolbar). Once it is merged (which will probably happen soon), it will be added to Nightly and later to stable.

11
DoingIsLearningOP•

Thanks for linking the PR.

I was reading the associated issue #10240 and I found this comment from UX:

https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/10240#issuecomment-641715313

@Mugurell I don’t see this as a big issue for two reasons:

  1. Chrome has both pull-to-refresh and dynamic toolbar

  2. These gestures are fully consistent with Material Design guidelines:

    https://material.io/components/app-bars-bottom#behavior
https://material.io/design/platform-guidance/android-swipe-to-refresh.html#behavior-placement

In the interest of customisability – but being aware of feature creep > – if there’s sufficient interest and problem to address, I’d consider adding those options under Settings

This pretty much captures the change in philosophy that I think will make a lot of users and donours walk away. Firefox used to be about freedom and customization. Now it just feels like they are trying to copy the Google/Apple "we know better than you what you should want" philosophical approach.

If I want to go into about:config and break my browser then I should be able to, if I want to install an add-on and break my browser then I should be able to. If you want to pad the room around users and clone every Chrome "feature", then we might as well just accept that Google won and use Chrome instead.

5
nextbern:nightly: on :linux: :android:•

Now it just feels like they are trying to copy the Google/Apple "we know better than you what you should want" philosophical approach.

I don't think it is about copying the approach of Apple or Google, but rather respecting the platform that they are on.

If people expect these features as part of the platform that they are on, does it make sense for an app on that platform to subvert those conventions?

2
Divine_Mackerel•

Why would anyone want this feature?

OK, take a step back for a second and consider that not everyone is you. Your opinion is not the be all and end all.

I like the disappearing toolbar. It frees up some otherwise wasted space and it's easy to get to show up when I need it. That being said, I recognize that other people think differently, so I agree there should be an option to turn it off, which they are adding I think.

9
DoingIsLearningOP•

so I agree there should be an option to turn it off,

I politely disagree disappearing toolbars as a UI element completely violates UI discoverability. Not to mention the acessibility issues for example with older slower users.

I appreciate some ppl like it, but it should never be a default behaviour it should always be an opt-in.

-1†
WhyIsNothingNothing•

I don't mind it not showing. I don't need to see the url all the time. But I also have a pixel 4 which is a bit on the smaller side, so the extra space helps.

6
KrisNM:firefox:•

Why would anybody want this feature?

Nobody. I blame those who used Firefox Fenix preview since last year, but didn't voice (any of) their concerns.

-4
[deleted]•

[deleted]

5
KrisNM:firefox:•

Or, you know, make it opt-outable

2
nextbern:nightly: on :linux: :android:•

Nobody. I blame those who used Firefox Fenix preview since last year, but didn't voice (any of) their concerns.

I have been using it for a year, and yeah -- I never noticed a lot of the limitations people are noting. It is unfortunate that more people didn't give it a whirl earlier on.

2