[Ext] Tab Utilities 1.5 - light but featureful

[neromadrid]

I've done a screencast. You can tell when I'm using the keyboard since the mouse isn't moving. I know that it might appear that the lag is due to the time that the mouse is being moved and you can't tell when I'm clicking but I can tell you the behavior a lag in response time.

You can see the keyboard is switching basically as fast as I can type.

http://screencast.com/t/MWQ5OTI4YjM

[ithinc]

@neromadrid:
Thank you for your information. I'll look into this problem later. It's a bit thorny.

[neromadrid]

@neromadrid:
Thank you for your information. I'll look into this problem later. It's a bit thorny.

I'm sorry I didn't come back and post. I found the issue and it's actually not related to either FF or your wonderful extension.

It has to do with MemoryFox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/53880

Basically, it has a setting that clears unused memory after a certain number of tab clicks and there's the key, the clicks. Apparently it uses some mouse hooks but not keyboard hooks. I disabled the extension and since then the mouse is just as response as the keyboard.

Thankfully the new and improved Tracemonkey is causing less instances of runaway CPU and memory. Ditto having switched from TMP to TU.

Overall, a leaner, lighter, faster browser

Let me know if I can be of any more help.

[neromadrid]

Actually...if I could make just one feature request. There's only one thing I miss about TMP now and that's the CTRL-F12 key to open the last closed window. (Hitting it multiple times would open up all recently closed windows in the order they were closed).

Having a keyboard binding for this would be really great

[ithinc]

@neromadrid:
Thank you for your information. I'll look into this problem later. It's a bit thorny.

I'm sorry I didn't come back and post. I found the issue and it's actually not related to either FF or your wonderful extension.

It has to do with MemoryFox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/53880

Really a good news for me. Thank you for your clarification.

[ithinc]

Actually...if I could make just one feature request. There's only one thing I miss about TMP now and that's the CTRL-F12 key to open the last closed window. (Hitting it multiple times would open up all recently closed windows in the order they were closed).

Having a keyboard binding for this would be really great

Oh, I don't know TMP has this Ctrl-F12 feature and have never used it. I don't like windows. Firefox provide Ctrl-Shift-N for this feature, and you may have a try. Everyone like his own key binding. If you used to keyboard, I suggest the keyconfig extension.
Btw, version 0.7 of Tab Utilities has been released.

[neromadrid]

And I had no idea about CTRL-Shift-N

[city_zen]

Hi,

Thanks for letting me know about this thread.
Tab Utilities is a great add-on. Thanks a lot for developing, publishing and supporting it as you do.

I'm always in the lookout for the best tab management add-on, and Tab Utilities is on the way of becoming so. So many features, so few KBs!
I started long ago with Tab Mix Plus but learned soon enough that it created more problems than it solved. Then I tried Tab Kit by John Mellor and used it for some time. Then, a few months ago, I discovered Tabberwocky (the continuation of the defunct Super T, by the same developer). Tabberwocky is great, feature-packed and small, just like Tab Utilities . Unfortunately, I found a serious bug in Tabberwocky that forced me to go back to Tab Kit. I informed Tabberwocky's developer about it (see here), but he hasn't been able to fix it. In fact, Tabberwocky hasn't been updated in the last two months son I'm starting to fear for its future
So I was back with Tab Kit, also a great extension but not so lean.
My favorite feature of both Tab Kit and Tabberwocky is the multi-row tabs feature. In short, it allows tabs to be displayed in two, three or even more rows when the tab bar becomes "full". Both add-ons also allow you to set the tab's minimum width (in pixels) so that value, together with the width of your current Firefox window determine the point when tabs start to be displayed in a second/third/etc. row. In addition, both Tabberwock and Tab Kit allow you to set how many of those rows are visible. It sounds more difficult than it actually is. Please take a look at this image to see it in action with Tab Kit.
The implementation of the multi-row tabs in both add-ons is similar. In fact. Tabberwocky's developer borrowed much of the multi-row tabs code from Tab Kit (with proper credits, of course). Unfortunately, as you could read in my bug report to Tabberwocky's developer, it is precisely the multi-row tabs feature in Tabberwocky the culprit of the buggy behaviour. That's the reason I went back to Tab Kit, whose multi-row tabs code is similar but doesn't have that bug.
So, if you think you could include the multi-row tabs feature in Tab Utilities, please take a look at how Tab Kit's developer has implemented it.
It'd be great if you could at least take a look at it to see if it's feasible.

Thanks!

[ithinc]

Hi city_zen,

Thank you for your detailed information. I'm now developing the app tabs feature for Tab Utilities. After finishing this, I'll have a break. Multi-row tabs feature will not be added in a short time and I also cannot promise I'll add it.

[Tony-E]

A couple of queries about Faviconize Tab in version 0.8

I have chosen the setting to "Mouse hover to select a tab", this does not work with a tab that has been Faviconized.
Once a tab has been Faviconized, I can see no way to revert it to an ordinary tab. I use right-click on a tab to bring up the context menu, but if I right-click on a tab that has been Faviconized, there is no context menu.

Thanks for this add-on, it is very useful and has replaced other tab browsing add-ons for me.

[ithinc]

@Tony-E:

Thank you for your trying new version. There isn't a clear definition for how an app tab should behave. In fact what you see at the left side is not a tab, but a toolbarbutton, so no tab context menu or tab clicking actions. You can tell us how do you think an app tab should behave.

[Tony-E]

You can tell us how do you think an app tab should behave.

I use app tabs for sites that I have open all of the time and do not need to navigate away from, such as gmail. It would be useful if it was easy to switch to them using the "switch to on mouse hover" feature that you add-on uses.
I think having the ability to change an app tab back to a normal tab would be useful.

I have discovered that by double right-clicking on an app tab toolbarbutton does bring up the context menu, though I don't think that is the intended behaviour.

[NJKR]

Thanks for TU 0.8!

problem?
TU 0.8 Options->Appearance->Tab Bar->Tab Bar:
Tab Bar Position->Always show the tab bar: Bottom
Close tab button: On active tab

With above options/preferences selected &
then if "All tabs button" is unchecked, Tab bar (with multiple tabs) becomes blank/gray bar. Tab bar (with multiple tabs) reappears if "All tabs button" is checked.

[ithinc]

You can tell us how do you think an app tab should behave.

I use app tabs for sites that I have open all of the time and do not need to navigate away from, such as gmail. It would be useful if it was easy to switch to them using the "switch to on mouse hover" feature that you add-on uses.
I think having the ability to change an app tab back to a normal tab would be useful.

I have discovered that by double right-clicking on an app tab toolbarbutton does bring up the context menu, though I don't think that is the intended behaviour.

OK, these will all come back, including context menu/tab clicking/hovering actions. I mean an app tab will behave exactly as a normal tab, except that it stays on left side as an icon. Double right-click will be disabled.

[ithinc]

Thanks for TU 0.8!

problem?
TU 0.8 Options->Appearance->Tab Bar->Tab Bar:
Tab Bar Position->Always show the tab bar: Bottom
Close tab button: On active tab

With above options/preferences selected &
then if "All tabs button" is unchecked, Tab bar (with multiple tabs) becomes blank/gray bar. Tab bar (with multiple tabs) reappears if "All tabs button" is checked.

Sorry, but I cannot reproduce this problem. Can anyone else confirm it?