this post was submitted on 23 Dec 2024
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Firefox

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 12 hours ago

This is huge actually I’ve been wishing Firefox had groups since chrome added them. Groups combined with container tabs is going to be lifesaving!!

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Pleased they are back - however, the back and forth decisions by firefox is giving me whiplash.

https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/432s5m/tab_groups_to_be_removed_why/

8 years ago they deleted working tab groups and claimed like a fraction of a percent used them. Now they are back...

They are making and killing stuff so fast. Lockwise, send, vpn, etc

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 hours ago

Well, they removed it because telemetry showed not everyone used them and now it was the most requested feature on their forum for years, so it makes sense I think?

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I change my mind all the time after 8 years. Im glad Firefox does this as well.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Corporations aren't people

[–] [email protected] 3 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

People work for corporations.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Not all the people laid off by Mozilla Corporation thanks to their indecisiveness.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 hour ago

Exactly, like I dont think it should have been removed. I had been using it daily. I'm just wondering how they concluded that a big enough chunk of the community wanted tab groups (back) to justify the investment. Or indeed, have they learned from their mistakes just ripping stuff out.

Don't get me wrong, they aren't the only one. Ie chrome being insane and ripping out jpegxl etc.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago

To be fair, the original Panorama implantation wasn't the best. A lot has changed in eight years and it's a lot easier to build and maintain.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 17 hours ago

I mean, the real reason is that Chrome added them four years ago. Like it or not, when Chrome adds something, it becomes a de facto standard for browsers.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 day ago

Nice. I didn't know this was a thing in Firefox. This can be already enabled in Firefox stable manually: https://www.ghacks.net/2024/12/03/how-to-enable-tab-groups-in-firefox/

  1. Open about:config
  2. Set browser.tabs.groups.enabled to true
  3. Restart
  4. Right mouse click on a Tab and click Add Tab to New Group
[–] [email protected] 5 points 20 hours ago (2 children)

I don't understand what tab groups are from the description in the article. How are they different from keeping groups of tabs in separate browser windows? Is this just something I don't understand because I don't keep tabs open forever?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 17 hours ago

They are mostly the same as keeping them in separate browser windows, but with the advantage of being in one browser window. They also have the advantage of being label-able.

I don't keep tabs open forever, but back when I used Chrome I regularly used tab groups when I was working on multiple projects simultaneously; the Jira ticket, the PRD, the API documentation, the necessary AWS consoles, and the GitHub PR for one project go in a tab group. Name that group and collapse it, and now you can easily reopen it again when you're ready to switch contexts.

"Why not just put them in a separate window?" Sometimes that's preferable. Sometimes both solutions together are better. On a single monitor, having everything in one window is usually preferable for my workflow. In any case, you can't name a separate window. And if you use a sidebar extension, they aren't persistent across multiple windows.

"Why not just use bookmarks?" Bookmarks are a long term solution. Tab groups solve the short term problem. They're ephemeral.

"Why not just close the tabs until you need them again?" I do that as much as I can. But it's not practical in all cases. One project is in active development, one is in PR Review, one is in QA, and I have a support escalation I need to work on in the meantime. Each of those tabs might be needed at any time during the week.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 19 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago
[–] [email protected] 2 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Sorry but this tab groups implementation is weak. I have used many tab groups add-ons for years and so far the best one to my liking is on Sidebery, and tab groups isn't even its main functionality.

[–] Blisterexe 1 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

it is in beta tbf, i'm sure theyll make it more powerful later

[–] [email protected] 1 points 21 hours ago

I have no doubt about that. However I also don't think it will surpass what Sidebery offers.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Will this replace the Simple Tabs Group add-on?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I used Simple Tabs Group before, but its been a while. And with my quick testings of the new Tab Groups, its not quite the same. For one the Tab Groups are integrated into the Tabs itself and not a separate menu. You may like it or not. Overall Simple Tabs Group has much more configuration and options.

But overall it does the basic job of this addon. The biggest plus for me is, that I do not have to install and configure a third party addon, and trust it. I predict most people would not need such an addon anymore, if they don't want to deep dive too much.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 21 hours ago

Ah, I see.

What you are describing is similar to me of how Chrome handles it on desktop, not a fan (I prefer STG, or Safari), but definitely better than nothing for a stock experience.