browser.download.useToolkitUI;false no longer works

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Epidomis
Posts: 102
Joined: January 29th, 2011, 5:02 pm

browser.download.useToolkitUI;false no longer works

Post by Epidomis »

It seems that the about:config "browser.download.useToolkitUI" no longer works for turning off the new download manager, only recently it seems. I usually only use my nightly profile every new release to see what new and just last week or something it stopped working and the download manager shows up no matter what you set the preference too. I noticed that when I started a new profile, the preference was set to false on default too.

https://wiki.mozilla.org/User:P.A./Pane ... ger/Status
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KilliK
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Joined: June 18th, 2004, 7:11 am

Re: browser.download.useToolkitUI;false no longer works

Post by KilliK »

in my case, it was reverted to false, i set it again to true and the new download manager was once more disabled.
Epidomis
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Joined: January 29th, 2011, 5:02 pm

Re: browser.download.useToolkitUI;false no longer works

Post by Epidomis »

ominus wrote:in my case, it was reverted to false, i set it again to true and the new download manager was once more disabled.


Lol, that seems to work like you said. I noticed though that while this enable the old download manager, the new download manager icon (down arrow) is still there even though it doesn't have any purpose.

Not complaining, b/c it is easy to hide enough, but would this warrant a bug report?
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KilliK
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Re: browser.download.useToolkitUI;false no longer works

Post by KilliK »

is this icon supposed to open/close the original downloads tab which existed before the new mechanism was introduced?
mak77
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Location: Italy

Re: browser.download.useToolkitUI;false no longer works

Post by mak77 »

The old download manager won't be supported forever, so rather than keeping reverting to something old that may disappear, you'd better file bugs to express what you are missing from the old manager.
The fact the button does not disappear from the toolbar is expected, you can remove it at any time using the common Customize procedure, fwiw.
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KilliK
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Re: browser.download.useToolkitUI;false no longer works

Post by KilliK »

you are right but the new download manager is in the works for at least a year and a half and it is still half-broken.
when they will officially release it, then i will adopt it and discuss its bugs and deficits.

In a more personal note, i really like what Mozilla is trying to do with their new UX.
most people here dont understand it but i think Mozilla is not going to give as another Chromified interface but something a lot more than that, something that will enhance a lot further our browsing experience.
getting rid of all the toolbars and sidebars and buttons and panels, all that visual noise which occupies a lot of the screen space, and merge all these elements in one unified,condensed,simple and minimalistic,clean and tidy,less cluttered and less screen occupied interface where the necessary information is always visible and the desired function immediately available, is the way to go.

the question is when is Mozilla going to complete and release the new interface? i hate to see the competitors to beat down Mozilla in this department as well and introduce the same fresh ideas that Mozilla is already working on as something new.
TheVisitor
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Joined: May 13th, 2012, 10:43 am

Re: browser.download.useToolkitUI;false no longer works

Post by TheVisitor »

ominus wrote:you are right but the new download manager is in the works for at least a year and a half and it is still half-broken.
when they will officially release it, then i will adopt it and discuss its bugs and deficits.



The time is NOW to file any bugs/deficits as it (new download manager) is already headed for release and I believe its on the Aurora channel now. That means only 12 more weeks before it goes mainstream. Waiting to file bugs once it hits release is TOO late ! That means anywhere from 6-18 more weeks before fixes for any shortcomings will again hit mainstream users. I seriously doubt they (Mozilla) will release a 'point-release' to fix any issues unless they are very severe.

Release Downloads Panel bug: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=747422 only see two (2) dependencies at this time, so if you concerns are not covered by those, then its time to file. Looks like they have already fixed a ton of issues looking at the number of fixed dependencies.

Status tracking page: https://wiki.mozilla.org/User:P.A./Pane ... ad_Manager
Briscoe
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Joined: June 14th, 2012, 11:53 am

Re: browser.download.useToolkitUI;false no longer works

Post by Briscoe »

I got use to it and like it now.
dsmith
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Joined: November 5th, 2002, 1:00 pm

Re: browser.download.useToolkitUI;false no longer works

Post by dsmith »

I used to disable it, since I couldn't remove it with toolbar customizations. However you can now pull it off when customizing the toolbar, so I don't see any reason to disable it.
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Drumbrake
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Re: browser.download.useToolkitUI;false no longer works

Post by Drumbrake »

ominus wrote:getting rid of all the toolbars and sidebars and buttons and panels, all that visual noise which occupies a lot of the screen space, and merge all these elements in one unified,condensed,simple and minimalistic,clean and tidy,less cluttered and less screen occupied interface where the necessary information is always visible and the desired function immediately available



IMHO,it's never going to fit in a single button,and it shouldn't anyway.
Epidomis
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Joined: January 29th, 2011, 5:02 pm

Re: browser.download.useToolkitUI;false no longer works

Post by Epidomis »

I don't mind the concept, but I find it odd that it only display 3 recent item you downloaded and it doesn't allow you to scroll down or up to look at more like the old download manager thus removing a basic functionality for any download manager.

If you want look beyond the 3 item it shows, they make you open another window, which kind of kills one of the original purpose of the exercise, in addition to making you move your mouse downward and adding additional clicks in comparison to the old download manager.
mak77
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Location: Italy

Re: browser.download.useToolkitUI;false no longer works

Post by mak77 »

Epidomis wrote:I don't mind the concept, but I find it odd that it only display 3 recent item you downloaded and it doesn't allow you to scroll down or up to look at more like the old download manager thus removing a basic functionality for any download manager.


That's cause it's not a download manager, it's a notification, the Library Downloads view (CTRL+J) is the intended replacement for the download manager window, and it doesn't change a thing, as before you opened the DM window, you now open a Library dm view. In future Library will move to a tab, so that will be more coherent (fwiw, you can already open about:downloads tab).

The feedback on the notification panel contents may clearly improve it, the number of entries may be increased and downloads may be ordered in a more useful way, though without that feedback it's hard to figure what's best for most users (but surely a scrollbar is not in the plans atm).
Clearly disabling the feature doesn't allow to try and improve it.
mak77
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Location: Italy

Re: browser.download.useToolkitUI;false no longer works

Post by mak77 »

ominus wrote:you are right but the new download manager is in the works for at least a year and a half and it is still half-broken.


What's half-broken? How can bugs be fixed if you keep them secret?
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Drumbrake
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Re: browser.download.useToolkitUI;false no longer works

Post by Drumbrake »

mak77 wrote:The feedback on the notification panel contents may clearly improve it, the number of entries may be increased and downloads may be ordered in a more useful way, though without that feedback it's hard to figure what's best for most users (but surely a scrollbar is not in the plans atm).


Why no scrollbar ? As the download manager gets integrated in the Library and then as the next step the whole thing will open as a tab ,that would make sense.
On a side note,it looks IMHO a bit more polished now,but still I can't get used to the idea of opening the whole Library just to look at the downloads,it looks kinda confusing.
mak77
Posts: 264
Joined: April 3rd, 2006, 4:51 pm
Location: Italy

Re: browser.download.useToolkitUI;false no longer works

Post by mak77 »

Drumbrake wrote:Why no scrollbar ? As the download manager gets integrated in the Library and then as the next step the whole thing will open as a tab ,that would make sense.
On a side note,it looks IMHO a bit more polished now,but still I can't get used to the idea of opening the whole Library just to look at the downloads,it looks kinda confusing.


Cause a scrollbar in a notification panel is sort of nonsense and confusing for the average user.
On the other side, you don't have to open the "whole" (it only has a sidebar and a toolbar more than the old manager) Library to look for downloads, the button indicator is there to tell you when there's something in need of attention and the panel covers the most common cases (sparse downloads along the day). When you have to downloads lots of files, it's likely an external download manager can do much better than a browser in any case.
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