Cusser wrote:Removing UI for preferences where it makes sense to do so is a usability improvement for the majority rather than the minority. Firefox is about removing annoyances from the web (giving the user control in that respect), but if you compare it's interface to SeaMonkey or Opera, you'll quickly note the usability increase by relegating many less-useful preferences to about:config.
Yes, I do appreciate Firefox's additional preferences that are in about:config and not the GUI. If they were all in the GUI I can imagine it being overwhelming for a new or casual user. I've become very familiar with the about:config documentation in the knowledge base and I'm grateful for the work that was done to put that documentation together.
Alan Baxter wrote:Cusser wrote:Remove: "Hide context menu when the focussed element can't be spell checked"
Justification: This should be hard-coded on. There's no need for a disabled menu item when it can be hidden instead - this is how the majority of context menu items function.
Since I've never had a desire to spell check non-focused elements, I might not miss that option if it were missing and hard-coded on instead. But what if a user wants to use the context menu to initiate a global spell check without having to first transfer focus to a checkable element? I don't know. Why do you think Robert put that option in there in the first place?
Well, that pref disables the menu item, but leaves it on the menu itself. This seems inconsistent with the way the context menu functions (i.e. a disabled item has no added value over a hidden item, it's just another thing to read when you're trying to use the menu). I think that the menu item should either be visible (and thus active) or hidden (and thus disabled).
I agree that a disabled context menu item shouldn't be visible but that isn't what that pref does. It says "Hide context menu when the focussed element can't be spell checked". That's quite different from your interpretation. Perhaps its description could be clearer.
Alan Baxter wrote:By the way, Spellbound's en-US dictionary flags focussed as a misspelling. Answers.com lists focussed as an acceptable variant.
Unfortunately I think that's outside the scope of this thread. The dictionaries are provided by a MozDev project - I don't know if Rob is a contributor.
Remind me to never play poker with you.
Alan Baxter wrote:That fact is that I sometimes do get confused about which elements are spell checkable and which ones aren't.
How so? If this is a problem, there might be a better overall solution that we can discuss, perhaps some way of making spell-checkable items more visible, or at least clarifying which are which.
I'll rethink this issue. Perhaps I'm not that confused. That fact is I always initiate a spell check with the context menu and "Check Spelling..." has always been available unless I try to spell check something in the search bar. In that case it's obviously not supported as soon as I see the context menu. I'll remove the toolbar button and see if I miss it.
Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and opinion.