I
isocat

  • 7 hours ago
  • Joined Nov 21, 2024
  • 13 discussions
  • 22 posts
  • 0 best answers
  • 28 points
  • In Close-Tab Button Doesn't Dependably Work

    When in the tabs view, trying to close a tab is a hit-or-miss deal, mostly miss, because the close-tab button is too small to dependably hit. I like the list view, but in that view it was damn near impossible to close rather than select a tab. This thumbnail view is a bit better on that matter, but not enough better. Have a look:

    This could easily be rectified by making the close-tab button larger. I reckon 50% larger would help, 75% larger would fix the problem entirely, and 100% larger would fix it with comfortable margin for those of us with imperfect vision trying to do a quick thing without fumbling with our glasses.

    (Yes, that means I experience this as an accessability barrier)

    Orion 1.3.18 (6) (WebKit 8618.5.1.10.5) under iOS 17.7.2

    17

    • In [Accessability] Allow Users to Enforce Self-Selected Fonts

      For people with imperfect or impaired vision (as well as people with perfectly good vision but strong typeface preferences) it would be helpful to allow at least an on/off toggle, and preferably a variable degree, of enforced substitution of locally-selected fonts to override the fonts presented on websites.

      For my own example, one of the ways I celebrated my recent birthday was by getting an eyeglasses chain so I can take my spectacles off without having to hold them (or set them down and lose them) and they're still right there so I can put them back on easily. Makes me look like an oldster, but the fact is I can't tell if I'm in the right aisle at the grocery store unless my glasses are ON, but I can't see the products or read the labels unless my glasses are OFF. Likewise, when I'm sitting at my desk, my choices are to be able to see kinda passably well enough without my glasses, or differently kinda passably well enough with my glasses.

      So anything that makes the screen easier to read is a real help. Big text (headlines, etc) is readily legible in pretty much any font, but the legibility of smaller text (news articles, the text above the entry boxes on this present request-a-feature page, etc) is much more font-dependent. I would love to be able to make sites use Atkinson Hyperlegible Next, for example; it would make my browsing a lot easier, more pleasant and productive.

      There are Chrome and Firefox extensions claiming to enable this, but none I've found actually works at all in Orion.

      • In Custom Bang Creation Page Misleads Users

        Custom bangs are a terrific feature of Orion, but there's a (readily fixable) flaw in the make-a-custom-bang page, which needlessly confuses users. First, take a look at the bangs page:

        See how the leftmost column is headed "Name"? That makes perfect sense; that's the name of where the bang will take me if I trigger it. It could be the site's domain (slantsix.org), it could be just the site's name (Bluesky), or it could be whatever else.

        But now take a look at what the user sees when they will go to create a new bang:

        First question asked: "Search engine name". Um…wait, what? No, I don't want to create a bang for a search engine; I want to create a bang for [my bank, my Jell-O art forum site, whatever], why do I have to put in a search engine name?

        I went in circles with this the first day I tried to make new bangs for myself. I tried leaving that field blank, and the bang would not be created. Finally I figured out that what's actually being asked is "Hey, what do you want to call this bang so you'll recognise it in your list of bangs?".

        Please reword the text above that first field. "New bang name" or "Name your new bang" would be much better than what's there now.

        0.99.131-beta (WebKit 621.1.2.111.4)

        Sonoma (14)

        17

        • In Incomplete URL Bar Entry Self-Erases On Tab Switch

          Orion 0.99.130.2-beta (WebKit 619.1.11.111.2) under MacOS 12.7.6.

          If I enter anything in the URL bar without hitting <return>, then go to another tab, my partial entry is erased from the URL bar on the tab I was working on. Here's an example: I'm shopping for a computer, and I want to convert $6,989 in Canadian dollars to US dollars. I go to a new tab and put convert 6, but that's as far as I get before I forget the amount. So I go back to the shopping tab: Oh yeah, $6,989. But then when I go back intending to finish my entry (convert 6989 CAD to USD), the text I put in the URL bar is gone. I have to start over again:

          Might not seem like a big deal, but one's short-term memory is not always at its best. As far as I know, no other browser self-deletes partial URL bar entries like this.

          Here's Safari, which retains a partial URL bar entry indefinitely; it persists through tab shifts:

          The Safari treatment is not quite perfect, in that clicking once in the URL bar so as to have a cursor there to finish the entry selects the entire contents of the URL bar, and one must click again to deselect and put the cursor at the end of the existing part of the URL bar text—this might be configurable; I forget. I don't use Safari much.)

          0.99.130.2-beta (WebKit 619.1.11.111.2)

          Monterey (12)

          • In Orion Displays Improper Favicons In Tabs

            Hi, @Vlad. No, I'm afraid I cannot. It just started happening a few days ago; I have no idea why, and I don't know if it's possible to create a new Orion profile without destroying the existing one.

            Is there some way to reset favicons or…?

            • In Orion Displays Improper Favicons In Tabs

              Orion 0.99.130.2-beta (WebKit 619.1.11.111.2) under MacOS 12.7.6.

              For a site which does not have a favicon, Orion has begun substituting the favicon of another, entirely unrelated site. Here we see Orion using the favicon from whc.ca on all tabs with pages from slantsix.org , a site without a favicon:

              This persists even after quitting and relaunching Orion. I do not know if this is a single-site error confined to slantsix.org , or if it is more general.

              Now here's Safari showing a tab from slantsix.org (no favicon, so Safari puts a box with the first letter of the site's domain) and a tab from whc.ca (with that favicon Orion has latched onto for pages from slantsix.org):

              0.99.130.2-beta (WebKit 619.1.11.111.2)

              Monterey (12)

              • Vlad replied to this.
              • In Tabs Should Be Scrollable, Automatically & Manually.

                Vlad Please review the videos I posted at the top of this thread, showing how Firefox more elegantly provides for (and handles) tab scrolling. If there is something you aren't seeing in the vid, or would like me to explain something about it, please give a squawk and I'll make more words
                :-)

                • Vlad replied to this.
                  • In Extension Permissions are Disregarded / Overridden

                    laiz Thanks. I switched off Compatibility Mode, and I was worried I would no longer be able to watch YouTube videos (it was the case before, with Compatibility Mode switched on) but at least now at first, I can still watch YouTube. We'll see how it goes.

                      • In Tabs Should Be Scrollable, Automatically & Manually.

                        Vlad Thanks for that pointer. I still think Firefox's handling of this aspect of the UI is quite a lot more elegant and user-friendly.

                        • Vlad replied to this.
                          • In Please Show Active Tab's Title At Top of Window

                            Vlad Well, yes, of course: over the top, in accord with Scripture. But there are unbelievers who somehow think that's wrong, and while I believe they are deceived and shall not know true peace unless they repent and start hanging the toilet paper correctly, it ain't my call. 🤓

                              • In Cut URL Does Not Reappear In URL Field On Page Reload

                                Orion 0.99.130.1-beta (WebKit 619.1.11.111.2) under MacOS 12.7.6.

                                If I select and cut the URL from the URL field (for example, to paste it into an email or something), that URL is permanently gone from that instance of the page. Reloading the page doesn't bring it back as it does in both Safari and Firefox. Here's Orion. You see me select and <cmd>-x (cut) the URL, then switch over to another application and back to Orion (though this step isn't necessary), then reload the page in Orion, and the URL doesn't come back:

                                Now here's Firefox. See how the URL comes back on reload:

                                And here's Safari. We don't even need to reload the page; the URL comes back immediately on clicking anywhere other than the annoying pop-up box full of top hits I didn't ask for and would rather not have to bat away (Orion also makes this same annoyance):

                                0.99.130.1-beta (WebKit 619.1.11.111.2)

                                Monterey (12)

                                • In Consistently Logged Out of a Forum When Posting With an Attachment—in Orion Only

                                  Orion 0.99.130.1-beta (WebKit 619.1.11.111.2) under MacOS 12.7.6. One particular operation on one particular website—submitting a post on the message forum at slantsix.org/forum if the post contains an attached photo—causes the site to immediately kick me out to the login screen. The post is not preserved; logging in (again) brings me to the forum's start state. Here's the show:

                                  I've tried playing with settings (user agent, compatibility mode, etc), and with my only exension (1Password) disabled, to no avail. This misbehaviour is consistent; it happens each and every time I try to do this thing on this site in Orion. On any other browser, the post is accepted and I don't get kicked out. I can post on that forum all day long if my posts don't contain an attachment. The attachments all comply with the forum's requirements (file size, format, etc). If there's a relevant Orion logfile to check and post on here, I'll be happy to do so once directed to it.

                                  0.99.130.1-beta (WebKit 619.1.11.111.2)

                                  Monterey (12)

                                  • In Tabs Should Be Scrollable, Automatically & Manually.

                                    Safari behaves differently to both Firefox and Orion: tabs get narrower and narrower as more and more of them are added, so there are never any invisible-because-offscreen tabs to scroll to. Past a certain tab count (which will vary with window width) there are no visible-onscreen tabs, either, because they are too narrow for a title, a fraction of a title, or eventually even a favicon:

                                    To be clear, I don't think this is really better than Orion's handling of the matter, just different. I find FF's method of handling supernumerous tabs to be the most thoughtful and user-friendly, and the least ugly.

                                    • Vlad replied to this.
                                    • In Please Show Active Tab's Title At Top of Window

                                      @Vlad I don't claim it's a bug; I filed it as a suggestion/request. It sounds like you regard vertical space as precious, to be devoted to stuff other than this what I show and describe. My priorities aren't the same, as it seems.

                                      This feels a bit like the question of how the toilet paper should come off the roll, over the top or underneath from the bottom. Some people can't stand it one way, others can't stand it the other way, and there's no value in arguing over who is right or wrong.

                                      It looks as though you might be saying any vertical-space priorities different to your own are wrong. I hope that's not what you're saying. Is that what you're saying?

                                      • Vlad replied to this.
                                      • In A Constellation of YouTube Problems in Orion
                                      • In Extension Permissions are Disregarded / Overridden

                                        Orion 0.99.130.1-beta (WebKit 619.1.11.111.2) under MacOS 12.7.6.

                                        My three extensions are set to Always Allow on Every Website (Orion menu → Preferences → Websites → Extension Settings). Nevertheless, on some sites—YouTube in this example—all three extensions are disabled. Even if I change each one from "Deny" to "Allow", the setting doesn't take. See for yourself:

                                        I know it shouldn't be necessary (and might make problems) to run uBlock Origin on top of Orion's inbuilt blockers; I installed it just now to see if it would block YouTube ads—which Orion by itself does not—and/or if it would also be forcibly disabled despite my "Allow" settings. Answer to question 1 can't be known until question 2 is addressed.

                                        I tried uninstalling uBlock origin and installing some other extensions, one at a time, and they are all forcibly denied on YouTube, whether or not they have anything to do with anything YouTube does (e.g., 1Password).

                                        =-=

                                        0.99.130.1-beta (WebKit 619.1.11.111.2)

                                        Monterey (12)

                                        • laiz replied to this.
                                        • In A Constellation of YouTube Problems in Orion

                                          @carl , thank you! I duplicated your settings and EwTube started behaving, in that I could watch vids all the way through. Still with initial and interstitial ads, though. I reinstalled the Enhancer For YouTube extension—the Chrome version, apparently updated more recently and frequently. It hadn't worked for me before with my previous YT site-specific configs, but now it does. Vids work properly, and no more ads.

                                          • In Tabs Should Be Scrollable, Automatically & Manually.

                                            When there are more tabs open than can all be simultaneously viewed across the width of the window, they should be scrollable—automatically when using the next/previous tab keyboard shortcut, or manually by clicking on a button at the left or right edge of the window, near or aligned with the list of tabs. Take a look at how this works simply and elegantly in Firefox, for example. First the automatic scrolling with the next/previous tab keyboard shortcut:

                                            And then the manual scrolling with the left/right carats:

                                            Now compare this messy, unfunctional manner in which Orion behaves when a previous/next-tab keyboard shortcut is issued but the next or previous tab is offscreen:

                                            There is no apparent way to manually scroll to tabs that cannot be seen. Eek! This is a UI deficiency compared to Firefox and Safari.

                                            • laiz replied to this.
                                            • In Bookmarks Management is Almost Impossible

                                              Orion 0.99.130.1-beta (WebKit 619.1.11.111.2) under MacOS 12.7.6 ("Monterey") on an Intel MacBook Pro. I thoughtfully considered listing this as a feature request, but on balance I think it's closer to being a bug (or group of related bugs). I apologize if that's a wrong decision.

                                              In importing my Firefox bookmarks, Orion duplicated or triplicated many of them. For example, my Firefox bookmark toolbar (with its folders and subfolders) are present in Orion as "Favorites" and as "Bookmarks Bar". This makes it frustrating and confusing to add bookmarks, because I have to slog up and down through the list to try and find the right instance of the right subfolder of the right folder of the right collection.

                                              But my attempts to clean up the mess are foiled because adding, removing, or moving a single bookmark is a vexingly slow process. Orion thinks about it, then the bookmarks toolbar disappears completely, then Orion thinks about it some more, then I get a spinning beachball (enough to make me wonder if Orion has hung and is about to exit), then Orion thinks about it some more, then the bookmarks toolbar reappears with my change made. In that amount of time, I could have made 20 bookmark changes (remove, add, relocate…) in Firefox or Safari.

                                              It is not possible to shorten the process by <ctrl>-clicking (right-clicking) a bookmark in the bookmark toolbar and adjusting its presence or properties, nor (still in the bookmark toolbar) can one simply drag a bookmark up or down within its list—both of those are possible in Firefox. But in Orion, one must use "Show Bookmarks" and attempt to manage them in that slow, clunky, overly-constrained interface.

                                              Orion's bookmark management should please be made as fast, easy, and versatile as Firefox or Safari or Opera.

                                              0.99.130.1-beta (WebKit 619.1.11.111.2)

                                              Monterey (12)

                                              • Vlad replied to this.
                                              • In Please Show Active Tab's Title At Top of Window

                                                Firefox puts the title of the active tab at the top of the window. It's a very useful, helpful UI element. Look and see how the window title shifts as I flip through the tabs in Firefox:

                                                Orion does not provide a title at the top of the window. There's nothing above the URL bar. Look and see how there's still nothing above the URL bar, no matter how wistfully I flip through the tabs in Orion:

                                                Having the title at the top of the window makes it much easier to find and click the desired one of many windows open at the same time. It also makes it much easier to grab and drag the window. I cannot imagine a drawback, but perhaps there's one I'm not thinking of; if that's the case, how about making this feature a togglable option?

                                                • Vlad replied to this.