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"Exit" option under Firefox Button

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Hi, I wasn't sure under which topic to post this question, but I use Windows XP and recently created the Firefox Button in place of the menu bar.

There is an "Exit" option within the Button menu. I mistakenly thought that was to exit the button view and regain the menu bar. I was wrong and it closed all my open tabs I was working on!!!

I unfortunately could not restore any of them because I was in private browsing mode, and as far as I can tell, restoration is not an option in PB mode.

So I lost all my work and had to guess and try to recreate my opened tabs.

That raw "Exit" button leaves us too vulnerable to an unrecoverable action. Please change it so that it is clear what we are exiting...e.g. apply a longer label such as "Exit Firefox" or "Quit all tabs" or something. Better yet, it would be nice to have a pop-up warning asking if we are sure we want to exit the whole browser and quit all tabs.

Unfortunately this has happened to me twice because I forgot about the first time. For me it seems intuitive that the button is for quitting the button function. Hopefully I will learn, but there should be a fail safe on that Exit button.

Also, how do we switch off the button to see the menu bar again?

Thank you.

Hi, I wasn't sure under which topic to post this question, but I use Windows XP and recently created the Firefox Button in place of the menu bar. There is an "Exit" option within the Button menu. I mistakenly thought that was to exit the button view and regain the menu bar. I was wrong and it closed all my open tabs I was working on!!! I unfortunately could not restore any of them because I was in private browsing mode, and as far as I can tell, restoration is not an option in PB mode. So I lost all my work and had to guess and try to recreate my opened tabs. That raw "Exit" button leaves us too vulnerable to an unrecoverable action. Please change it so that it is clear what we are exiting...e.g. apply a longer label such as "Exit Firefox" or "Quit all tabs" or something. Better yet, it would be nice to have a pop-up warning asking if we are sure we want to exit the whole browser and quit all tabs. Unfortunately this has happened to me twice because I forgot about the first time. For me it seems intuitive that the button is for quitting the button function. Hopefully I will learn, but there should be a fail safe on that Exit button. Also, how do we switch off the button to see the menu bar again? Thank you.

All Replies (9)

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You can write a bug (Request for Enhancement} here to try to change that, for now though i dont see a addon for it.

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You can make the menu bar visible via Firefox > Options.

In PB mode no data is stored to disk, so you will always lose all session data and open tabs if something goes wrong or you inadvertently close Firefox or the window or tabs, so you need to be extra careful in PB mode and if necessary bookmark tabs via the star.

You should consider to do important work not in PB mode and only use it for browsing sites that aren't important enough to store data.
You can open a New Private Window for PB mode and use a normal window for other work.

Future Firefox versions will support Private Browsing per tab, this is already available as an extension.

The Firefox menu button gets a purple background or you get a purple PB mask on the menu bar or tab bar (Linux) when you are in a PB tab and all Private Browsing mode tabs get a dashed underlining unless you are in permanent PB mode.

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Thanks very much Colbabomb, I'll write a bug report for that! Thanks for the link! :)

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Thanks a lot for the info., cor-el! I see the menu option now -- I forgot where it was. Thanks also for the advice re: use of PB mode, and for the heads up on the upcoming PB mode changes and the add-on. I'll check it out.

Have a great night to both of you!

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Well it turns out that I can't submit a bug report because my e-mail address will get published there, so I don't have one suitable to use for that purpose (all but one of my e-mail addresses have my name in them).

If there is any way to forward my issue to the bug team or other staff on my behalf, I'd be grateful. I know some other forums work that way, but I don't know if this one does.

Thanks again for all your help!

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do you use bugzilla login or persona?

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Sorry for the delay. I was using Bugzilla log-in. I'm new to Firefox, so still learning about all the great add-ons, but as far as I can tell, Persona just looks like theme skins for Firefox, so I don't understand how Persona can disguise my log-in...is that what you meant?...sorry for being an ignorant n00b. :)

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https://login.persona.org/ - Mozilla Persona

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Personas - with an "s" - are lightweight themes. Someone at Mozilla liked that name so much that they used it this new web Identity Login scheme called Persona (without the "s"). Now the old Personas are simply known a "themes" or lightweight themes.