Do Not Remove Proton Preferences
The update to FF 89 caused a big problem. Large spaces in between the bookmarked web sites when the window unfolds. So now, many bookmarks don't fit in the window, and to get to the bottom - the ones I can't see - I have to click the arrow at the bottom. But making it worse, is that if I do go to the bottom, the next time I open the bookmark tab, the list will open at the bottom (it doesn't revert to the top). So I'd have to scroll up to get to the ones at the top - AND the "Other Bookmarks" tab, where I also store bookmarked sites.
I list my bookmarks in the order they're in so I can get to the ones I go to most often as fast as possible. So they're at the top - I don't have to scroll far to get to them. And the "Other Bookmarks" is hidden when the window opens at the bottom. So I'd have to scroll up to get to that as well.
Also, this update changed the size of the command windows - like the copy/paste window, or the window to get the correct spelling of the word. They're so big, they run from the top of the screen to bottom, instead of a small square. So you'll have to scroll way up to get to the command or word you want.
I did find a way to get it back to what it was:
1. Open a tab and enter about:config, click OK after the warning 2. Search proton, a few will come up, change all the ones that are true to false. One was already false so I kept it, and the last one had a 3, which I kept. 3. Exit and open FF.
This will also revert the right-click command boxes back to small squares.
I posted this on this message board but this was added:
==WARNING: There are plans to remove this preference in the next two months The preference setting was created as a toggle for developers when building the new design. Now that the new interface has shipped, the preference will be removed.
If you have any issues with the new design, please let us know what it is you don't like, and we can try provide more permanent solutions depending on the issue.==
No! Do NOT remove this preference! Either that or just get it back to what it was by default. I do not want longer bookmark menus and larger command windows. It was perfect the way it was.
All Replies (20)
Hi Steve09, as you know, support forum volunteers can't make changes to the roadmap for Firefox.
For future reference, the browser.proton.contextmenus.enabled is no longer present in Firefox 91 ("Nightly"), which is scheduled to be released next month.
Since you are aware of other threads on this topic, you probably have seen the the community-supported (unofficial) workaround for menu item spacing already. I suggest bookmarking that for when you need it.
No I haven't seen the workaround for this. Can you post the link? I want to keep it the way it is.
What part of "If it aint broke don't fix it" do they not understand?
The community workaround involves setting up a userChrome.css file. The full instructions are in the following thread: https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1337841
This comment is in the context of the solution in that thread:
Some people have said that padding-block: 4px -- which means to pad the text with 4 pixels of blank space above and below -- is still too spaced apart for them. You could try reducing it to 3px or even 2px. I think it would get pretty cramped below that, but it really depends on each person's preference.
If you want to contact the Mozilla developers, I believe you can via their Bugzilla site: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/home
Create an account and post your complaint or recommendation as a new bug. Perhaps if enough people complain, they will make it easier to remove the Proton interface and revert to the classic look. I too do not like the Proton interface. I am still using v88.0.1.
I have no idea what a userchrome.css file is, where it is and what to do. So that's not happening.
Why are they making you do this? Unbelievable.
Note that Firefox 90.0 has been released, so 91 is coming closer. The only way to revert changes and customize Firefox to suit your needs is via userChrome.css.
Note that you can also use the mousewheel to scroll. You can use code in userChrome.css to add a vertical scrollbar to scrollbox elements. Due to ShadowDOM restrictions, this is applied to all such containers and you can't differentiate. Add code to the userChrome.css file.
/* SCROLLBOX - scroll bar */
scrollbox[part="scrollbox"] {overflow-y: auto !important}
It is not that difficult to create userChrome.css if you have never used it.
The first step is to open the "Help -> Troubleshooting Information" page and find the button to access the profile folder.
You can find this button under the "Application Basics" section as "Profile Folder -> Open Folder". If you click this button then you open the profile folder in the Windows File Explorer. You need to create a folder with the name chrome in this folder (name is all lowercase). In the chrome folder you need to create a plain text file with the name userChrome.css (name is case sensitive). In this userChrome.css text file you paste the text posted. On Mac you can use the TextEdit utility to create the userChrome.css file as a plain text file.
In Windows saving the file is usually the only time things get more complicated because Windows can silently add a .txt file extension and you end up with a file named userChrome.css.txt. To avoid this you need to make sure to select "All files" in the dialog to save the file in the text editor using "Save File as".
You need to close (Quit/Exit) and restart Firefox when you create or modify the userChrome.css file.
See also:
- https://www.userchrome.org/what-is-userchrome-css.html
- https://www.userchrome.org/how-create-userchrome-css.html
In Firefox 69 and later you need to set this pref to true on the about:config page to enable userChrome.css and userContent.css in the chrome folder.
- toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets = true
Okulungisiwe ngu cor-el
Cor-el, thanks, but I have no idea what you're talking about. And I'm not going to bother wasting my time trying to figure it out because I'll never get it. Not a chance. I am not a tech person at all. Besides, all that just to keep the bookmark windows as it was? Really? Why can't there be a simple setting to keep it the way it was? Why can't they just keep the proton preferences?
And who's talking about "adding a vertical scroll bar"? You mean adding a scroll bar to the bookmarks? That's the "fix?" You mean, even I did all that, it STILL wouldn't keep the bookmarks as they were? Who wants a scroll bar in the Bookmarks? It didn't need one! So why add one?
This has nothing to do with the vertical scroll bar or using the mouse to scroll. This is about FF totally messing up the bookmarks and command windows, something that could not and should not be messed up, unless that was their idea. What the heck was the reason behind this? If I wanted a messed up way to use the Bookmark tab, I'd use Chrome!
This is so ridiculously stupid and I shouldn't have to figure out this css, whatever the heck that is, to get the bookmarks back to what it was (after the proton preferences disappear). Even if that's even possible.
All I want is a very, very, very, VERY simple non-CSS way to keep the bookmarks and command windows as they always were. Oh wait, there IS one! Keep the proton preferences! Is that too much to ask?
Cypherdude said
If you want to contact the Mozilla developers, I believe you can via their Bugzilla site: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/home Create an account and post your complaint or recommendation as a new bug. Perhaps if enough people complain, they will make it easier to remove the Proton interface and revert to the classic look. I too do not like the Proton interface. I am still using v88.0.1.
This is not a good idea. The bug tracker is not where UI change decisions are made, it is where already approved UI changes are triaged for programming.
You can vote on submitted suggestions here:
Thank you Steve for that proton thing. I stick to 87 just because that stupid menus "wide spread", I will try 90 with your tweak.
With a scroll bar for the bookmarks menu, you can quickly drag the scroll bar to locate the bookmark you are searching for without the need to hover the scroll buttons and wait until you see that bookmark. You can usually drag the scroll bar within a second to any position.
But I don't want a scroll bar in the bookmark window. It doesn't need one, and it's better and quicker without it. And if it's so wonderful, why don't they add the scroll bar automatically without forcing us to do this CSS nonsense?
But why should I try and figure out something very complicated and time consuming (for me it would be) - which doesn't even get it back to what it was - and adjust to something new, that wasn't even necessary to begin with?
If auto manufacturers suddenly changed something as simple as signaling a left or right turn, making it more time consuming and frustrating, how would you feel if I offered you a set of very complicated instructions that almost addressed the issues, but didn't get the signal back to what it was? But it's up to you to do it, or live with this horrible new way to signal? And then be treated as if you're the problem for wanting the signals to go back to the way it was?
Hey, I have a idea. How about leaving the bookmark tab window alone? Or at least leave the proton preferences there?
Removing support for the proton preferences means that they have cleaned up the code and have removed the pre-proton code that was previously used. The proton preferences were only there to allow writing the new code and be able to test this new code. Once the new code is working as expected they remove the old code and the no longer needed preferences used to switch between the old and new code.
If you want to revert changes then you will have learn how to use userChrome.css, otherwise you will have to accept the changes and learn how to use the new code.
This purported "solution" of adding a scrollbar is more annoying than the super-long menu full of empty space itself. If you have many sub-folders in your bookmarks menu (probably because you like the menu to be vertically compact!) and you hover over one, or if you tend to use the mouse wheel for scrolling while the pointer is over the menu rather than the scrollbar, the sub-folder flies out and covers the scrollbar. Oh what joy! The mouse wheel is also disabled as a scrolling means while the scrollbar is covered over. So this "fix" is not acceptable.
cor-el's remark is neither helpful nor accurate. Learning how to use the userChrome.css file does not achieve reverting the changes but merely an interface that's unsatisfactory in a different way.
Steve09's analogy to turn signals is so spot-on. Mozilla's attitude, apparently, is, "We've changed the product. Get used to it. If you don't like it too bad." Interestingly I've not seen any rationale offered for why this change must be mandatory and why Mozilla insists on something as non-critical as menu spacing infuriating what's left of the base of its mere 3% of internet traffic.
I've primarily used Firefox for at least 10 years. I switched from IE and rejected Chrome as an alternative because I didn't care to have Microsoft and Google shoving things down my throat that I didn't want just so they could monetize my browsing for their fun and profit. Sadly Firefox has become just as bad... but without the market position to get away with it!
Tor is looking better and better all the time.
straymutt945 said
This purported "solution" of adding a scrollbar is more annoying than the super-long menu full of empty space itself.
if you are setting up a userChrome.css file, you can take manual control and tamp down the "padding" on menu items:
Thank you jscher2000. *That* sounds like it has potential to actually be helpful! Much appreciated.
jscher2000, I tried the compact settings on 91, it squeezed the top menu bar but not the bookmarks list.
adid1 said
jscher2000, I tried the compact settings on 91, it squeezed the top menu bar but not the bookmarks list.
Hi adid1, currently the Compact Mode only relates to the height of toolbars. There's a good chance it will affect menus in Firefox 92, but we don't know yet.
At this point, there is no built-in setting to change the spacing of menu items, which brings us to...
Unofficial Community-Supported Workaround
Firefox users can modify the user interface of the browser using custom style rules. This involves setting up a userChrome.css file. If this is your first time, make sure to set aside 10 quiet minutes to work through it.
(For anyone who already has a userChrome.css file set up, you just need to add the rule under (A) to your file.)
(A) Select and copy the following style rule code
/*** Tighten up drop-down/context/popup menu spacing ***/
menupopup > menuitem, menupopup > menu {
padding-block: 4px !important;
}
:root {
--arrowpanel-menuitem-padding: 4px 8px !important;
}
(B) Generate and download a userChrome.css file
Open the following page and paste the above rules into the editor, replacing the sample rule:
https://www.userchrome.org/download-userchrome-css.html
Some users will want to modify the code at this point because they want even tighter spacing. The first attached screenshot shows the changes when you keep 4px or use 3px or 2px. (The 8px refers to the left side and right side, so no need to change that part.)
Once your code is ready, click "Generate CSS File" and save the userChrome.css file to your computer. (See second attached screenshot)
Use the downloads list on the toolbar to open the downloads folder directly to the new userChrome.css file. (See third attached screenshot)
Minimize that file browser window for later reference.
(C) Create a new chrome folder in your profile folder
The following article has the detailed steps for that (#1, #2, and I recommend #3)
https://www.userchrome.org/how-create-userchrome-css.html
I have videos for both Windows and Mac in case the text is not clear.
(D) Move the userChrome.css file you generated in Step B into the chrome folder you created in Step C
(E) Set Firefox to look for userChrome.css at startup -- see step #6 in the above article.
The next time you exit Firefox and start it up again, it should discover that file and apply the rules.
Success?
I suggest bookmarking any thread you get userChrome.css code from for future reference (in case the rule stops working).
Thank you for taking the time to post the detailed info, jscher2000. While I don't believe it's your intent, do please understand that suggesting those who know nothing about coding can grasp this in 10 minutes can feel a bit arrogant. Much of what's on the pages you linked might as well be written in Hanzi for many of us. It's most annoying that Mozilla now requires me to become a coder just to make the product work as it used to.
But more to the point...
I finally found those ~45 minutes... so far... to try to understand this. I discovered I already had a userChrome.css file (something about hiding mobile bookmarks) so I copied and pasted your example (A) above into it. (To support my first paragraph comments: I spent at least a minute just pondering, Where do I paste it? On the same line, right after what's already there? On a new line? Should I separate it by inserting blank lines? Does it matter? Yes, I inserted a blank line, pasted on a new line and it worked. But this is the sort of fundamental context that us non-coders lack, making this all so utterly frustrating.)
Your first pasted image shows a bookmarks menu opened from the menu bar. I hide the menu bar and open the bookmarks menu from an icon on the toolbar. After applying your changes to my userChrome.css file the bookmarks menu when opened from the icon is nice and compact like it used to be (thank you). Oddly though, I turned on the menu bar and opened the bookmarks menu from there and, while it's tighter than standard, it's not as tight as opening it from the icon! That seems so strange! I don't care because I'll turn the menu bar off again but I thought it was worth mentioning.
What I do care about though is this menu item that's in the bookmarks menu: "Manage bookmarks Ctrl+Shift+O". Opened from the menu bar, it appears once, at the very top. But opened from the bookmarks icon in the toolbar, it appears twice (as the 2nd item after "View bookmarks sidebar" and again at the very bottom). I don't really want this on my bookmarks menu at all (if I want to manage my bookmarks I'll use the keyboard shortcut or open the "hamburger" application menu). Having it there twice is way over the top!
Incidentally, while writing this I noticed that the bookmarks sub-menu under the application menu includes a list of "recent" bookmarks. Can I css my way out of that ridiculousness too?? My bookmarks have stayed pretty consistent for a long time and several of the items toward the bottom of this "recent" list have been bookmarked for years! It amounts to just more clutter!
Thanks again, in advance.
straymutt945 said
(To support my first paragraph comments: I spent at least a minute just pondering, Where do I paste it? On the same line, right after what's already there? On a new line? Should I separate it by inserting blank lines? Does it matter? Yes, I inserted a blank line, pasted on a new line and it worked. But this is the sort of fundamental context that us non-coders lack, making this all so utterly frustrating.)
Good point. Firefox doesn't care how much space you put between rules, but to the human eye, nice formatting is easier to understand.
What I do care about though is this menu item that's in the bookmarks menu: "Manage bookmarks Ctrl+Shift+O". Opened from the menu bar, it appears once, at the very top. But opened from the bookmarks icon in the toolbar, it appears twice (as the 2nd item after "View bookmarks sidebar" and again at the very bottom). I don't really want this on my bookmarks menu at all (if I want to manage my bookmarks I'll use the keyboard shortcut or open the "hamburger" application menu). Having it there twice is way over the top!
I'm sure there is a way to hide it, but I have not looked it up.
Incidentally, while writing this I noticed that the bookmarks sub-menu under the application menu includes a list of "recent" bookmarks. Can I css my way out of that ridiculousness too?? My bookmarks have stayed pretty consistent for a long time and several of the items toward the bottom of this "recent" list have been bookmarked for years! It amounts to just more clutter!
This has come up in numerous threads, but I haven't tested to see which code is still working. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/search?a=1&w=2&q=userchrome.css+hide+recently+bookmarked
Thanks again. I tried a couple of the code suggestions, including yours, and while they removed the items from the list, they left the white space in the menu that the items had occupied. (Perhaps it was assumed to be a privacy concern rather than a matter of a visual waste of space for something unneeded.)
Oh well... it seems the link I will really need to find is "Cascading Style Sheets for Dummies". Ugh...