Obsolete:Future:NewTabs

Scratch pad

Camino's current implementation is OK but I'd say it's to complicated for "normal" users. I much prefer the approach safari has. You either enable it or disable it. And with that you get further options. But on default users won't be surpised by it.

• http://wiki.mozilla.org/Firefox:3.0_Tabbed_Browsing
• http://wiki.mozilla.org/Link_Targeting
• https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=323810

We have two choises:

• we continue on the road we are on, and only extend our current feature set.
• we do a different aproach, either enable or disable tabbed browsing.

The New Approach

The main concern with Camino's curent tabbed browsing preference implementation is that it is over complicated. Normal users rarely know Tabbed browsing exists. We should make ensure that they can easily disciover it. Allowing them to turn it on or off, and controll it with modifier keys. Similar to Safari.

We should makk tabbed browsing more off an easy experience then a set of options. Users want to use tabbed browing or windowed browing, it's that simple. And with the new single window mode prefs we should make this happen.

So instead of providing a slew of settings that need to be set before a user can actually really start using tabbed browisng we should offer a single click enable, that on it's turn sets the prefs accordingly.

We shouldn't provide special prefs for links from other apps, instead we should let those links behave like normal link requests. But research by mozilla shows that people expect window from other apps to always open in windows, we should enable that on default and only offer a pref to redirect it to a tab if they wish.

• Enable Tabbed browsing:
  • Open links that open a new window in a new tab.
  • Reuse the frontmost window or tab for links that open new windows.
  • Open links from another application in a new window.
  • Always show the tab bar.

• Tabs and windows:
  • Open new windows and tabs in the background.
  • Warn me when closing windows or quiting with multiple pages open.

The following key combo's don't depend on wheither tabbed browsing is turned on.

• command-click always opens links in a new tab
• command-shit-click always opens a link in a new tab in the background
• command-option-click always opens a link in a new window
• command-option-shift-click open a new link in a new window in the background

And ofcourse we keep the contextual menu's we have already. But we allow it to use the Shift key top open a tab or window in the background.

New Camino prefs

The current prefs are ok, but they need to be clearer. And should be setyp so that the important and most used are at the top.

• Force links that open new windows to:
  • Open links in a new tab
  • Reuse the frontmost window or tab

• Links from other applications:
  • Open in a new window
  • Open in a new tab in the frontmost window
  • Reuse the frontmost window or tab

• Command click on links:
  • Opens in a new window
  • Opens in a new tab

• New windows and tabs:
  • Open in background

• Tab bar:
  • Always show tab bar

• command-click opens link in a new tab/window, depending on pref
• command-shit-click opens a link in a new or back tab, depending of pref

Also we need to start using the help buttons to link to our support docs.

Current Camino prefs

• Tab bar:
  • Always show tab bar
• Command click on link:
  • opens in a new window
  • opens in a new tab
• new windows and tabs
  • open in the background
• link from other applications
  • open in a new window
  • open in a new tab in the frontmost window
  • reuses the front most window

I think it is a very good idea to list our key combinations in this panel, tabbed browsing is a feature we should make as easy as possible. So providing the key combos directly where they can enable it is the best of all places to show them.

• Our keycombo's
  • command-click opens link in a new tab/window, depending on pref
  • command-shit-click opens a link in a new or back tab, depending of pref

Current Firefox prefs

• Open links from other applications in:
  • a new window
  • a new tab in the most recent window
  • the most recent tab/window
• forec links that open new windows to open in:
  • the same tab/window as the link
  • a new tab
• hide the tab bar whne only one site is open
  • select new tabs opened from links
  • warn when closing multiple tabs

Safari tab prefs

• Enable tabbed browing
  • select new tabs as they are created
  • Always show tab bar

• Seperatly apple lists all the shortcuts a user can use!
  • command-click opens link in a new tab
  • command-shit-click opens a link in a new tab and selects it
  • command-option-click open link in a new window behind the current one
  • command-option-shift-click open a new link in a new window and select it