In-content Preferences

Intro

• The Preferences, which previously were displayed in a preferences window, are shown now into their own options tab in the browser when they are opened by a user.
• The Preferences window is moved into the content area. This move provides several benefits for users. First, it removes yet another easy-to-lose window. It means that changing preferences in Firefox can be an identical and easy experience an consistency across operating systems.

References

• Firefox's redesigned Preferences
• Jaws Blog post
• Mozilla makes the In-Content Preferences default in Firefox Nightly
• Ghacks Blog post
• Firefox32: Preferences open in a tab by default
• New tab-based Preferences design
• In-content-preferences Wiki page
• In-content-UI-Visual-Unification Wiki page

Testing Approach

For Preferences we are testing, first, that Preferences is now opened in-content and not in a window. Then, we are testing each button, each tab, each category and subcategory from Preferences in order to see if these work properly and without any issues.

For now, Preferences appear in-content by default only for Firefox Nightly. If you like this and do not want to wait until Mozilla makes it the default option for all channels, then do the following to make it the default one when you open the options in the Firefox browser:

• • 1. Type about:config in the browser's address bar and hit enter.
  • 2. Confirm you will be careful.
  • 3. Search for browser.preferences.inContent and double-click it to set it to true.

The pref browser.preferences.inContent makes the new in-content options the default, which means that any click on Options in Firefox will spawn them in a tab in the browser and not in a window. When you now open the preferences, you will notice that they are opened in a tab in the browser instead of in their own window.

OLD "PREFERENCES" LOOK

NEW "PREFERENCES" LOOK

One and Done Tasks

TBD

Related Prefs

• browser.preferences.inContent will allow the user to enable/disable the in-content Preferences page
  • Note: this pref is set on true by default only on Firefox Nightly

Bug Work

• Metabug: 718011 - [meta] Move preferences from a window/sheet to in-content
• Tracking bug: 738796 - Visual polish for in-content preferences

• Resolved fixed:

• • Bug list
• Unconfirmed bugs:

• • Bug list

Bugs that need verification:

• 752197 - Make all dialogs windows in-content
• 993361 - A prompter ("|") appears in random places on Advanced tab for in-content preferences
• 752719 - Interaction redesign for in-content Preferences
• 993383 - A dialog window without title bar appears after pressing on some buttons for in-content preferences
• 1005029 - The icon ahead of "Desktop" from download location preference field isn't displayed on reload

Sign-offs

Beta sign-off

Release sign-off