7.0.X UX/UI Feedback

[maxxcrawford]

We launched a new version of Multi-account Containers today. Please feel free to leave feedback on this issue. If you find a bug related to the new release, please file a separate issue. Thanks!

[redoPop]

My preferred way to open a new container is with control+. then use up/down arrows to select a container and press enter. The new UI adds some friction:

• Up/down arrows are no longer supported, so I had to switch to tab/shift+tab
• I have to press tab six times to cycle through the top menu before the first container is highlighted for selection
• Pressing enter on a container now opens a submenu in which I have to press tab twice again, then enter again, to open it

I'm sure it's a nice addition for some, but I'm unlikely to use the numeric shortcuts – I'm a TKL keyboard user so my touch-typing skills are iffy for the number keys 😅

[kuzi-moto]

My preferred way to open a new container is with control+. then use up/down arrows to select a container and press enter. The new UI adds some friction:

I second @redoPop. Just updated and immediately realized that up/down arrows don't work which would be a huge inconvenience as I'm using that many times a day.

On a positive note, I noticed the option to open a specific bookmark in a container, which is a huge plus.

[maxxcrawford]

@redoPop Good call out. I filed a bug for the arrow keys regression. Thanks!

[charles-m-knox]

Thank you guys for updating the multi-account containers extension, it's been a long time!

I have some direct feedback about the newest change: The "Always open in X container" option was very important. Being able to quickly see which container a page was associated with was very helpful. Now I have no idea what sites are associated with a container, from what I can tell. I consider this a significant regression.

One huge improvement that needs to be made to the multi-account containers UI: I use a container for each domain, sometimes multiple for the same domain. My list of containers is quite large. It would be extremely helpful to add a filter/search box to the multi-account containers dropdown box. It is quite difficult to scroll through a long list of containers, hoping I find the right one.

In fact, as a general rule, I should never be required to scroll through a list of containers if it's longer than, say, 10 containers. I should be able to do a quick filter on the containers that I want. Any time I'm presented with a list of all the containers, I should have option to filter quickly by typing something in.

Additionally, since the list of containers are sorted chronological by creation date, the long list of containers is even more painful to sift through. So if a quick filter text box is not something that can easily be implemented, at least add the ability to quickly sort the list of containers alphabetically with a click of a button. This should be super easy to accomplish.

[umquat]

I have a suggestion in #1783. When you click on a container name, a new tab should open in that container (as it used to be before 7.0)

As @charles-m-knox mentions, scrolling trough a long list can be burdensome; maybe filter on keystroke?

Container list could also be sortable with some kind of handle or maybe by usage (more frequently used at the top perhaps?)

Lastly, thanks a bunch for this extension!

[hr-curtissimo]

I cannot thank all of you enough for this container. It is the only way I browse the Web.

What @charles-m-knox writes:

One huge improvement that needs to be made to the multi-account containers UI: I use a container for each domain, sometimes multiple for the same domain. My list of containers is quite large. It would be extremely helpful to add a filter/search box to the multi-account containers dropdown box. It is quite difficult to scroll through a long list of containers, hoping I find the right one.

That is so me, too. I have a lot of containers. It'd be nice if I could just do Control+N, start typing the container I want, the list filters or smart-match selects or whatever, I hit Enter to open a tab in that container.

[extr3metech]

Pros: The new layout looks sleek.

Other Feedback:
The keyboard navigation is not working with the new update. This is a huge productivity miss.

• Before the release I could do the following:
  press CTRL + .,
  navigate using the arrow keys to the profile and then hit ENTER and I have a webpage open in that container.

-With the current design, there is an too many keypresses to use to open a webpage in a container. Here what the new update did:
CTRL + . => Opens the main menu.
Then ALT/TAB (or arrow keys when it gets fixed #1785 ) to scroll to the selected container.
Then hit Enter, to go inside the container's menu.
Then scroll down again to select the option "Open new Tab in this container".

Entering a nested menu to open in a specific container in my opinion every time is a huge productivity miss for a keyboard user.

It would be nice to have an option to switch back the behavior to the default via a config option while keeping the new UI look. If a user needs to go to the nested menu, then a additional shortcut such as SHIFT and something else, will take inside the nested menu would be an added bonus.

Perfect Alternative suggested by @https://github.com/hr-curtissimo.
Ref: #1784 (comment)

[extr3metech]

-It would be nice to document somwhere visible within the plugin settings itself regarding the numberpad shortcuts.
Filed #1787

[morachimo]

Congrats on the release! I'm a huge fan on the extension and I've been a great advocate of it for years.

I fully agree with @umquat (see #1783). I don't know how anyone else was using the extension but the new UI has added an extra step to my daily workflow. Expected behavior should be: 1. Clic on Menu Bar Button, 2. Choose container, 3. New window opens in that container.

Sure, those extra 4 settings seem useful But why not putting those top four (4) settings on an overflow menu or only available once you're already into that container? I can expand on the idea (even graphically) if interested.

[karrakoliko]

Font spacing is broken #1786

[smerrill]

Chiming in to ask to please restore arrow key functionality. My workflow is to hit Control-. and then use the up and down arrows to select the container in question.

Thanks for the great extension and browser!

[smerrill]

In the meantime is it possible to install an older release?

[Eduardo06sp]

Absolutely digging the beautifully designed, new options!
I would just love to know what Keyboard Shortcuts 1-10 mean (I figured out 1-9 is just the number row).

I'll try and dig into the revised code to see what that last one is lol

[Eduardo06sp]

Found the actual shortcuts in one of the commits:
Ctrl + Shift + [1-9, or 0 on number row]

To open your first 10 containers, which is configurable in the settings!!!

Edit: I had no clue extension shortcuts were a setting in the browser
You can edit them too!
Add-ons manager > Gear Icon > Manage Extension Shortcuts

[extr3metech]

That is so me, too. I have a lot of containers. It'd be nice if I could just do Control+N, start typing the container I want, the list filters or smart-match selects or whatever, I hit Enter to open a tab in that container.

• I would love this as well. It would be perfect. (Similar to how to select folders/files within the ranger terminal file browser.)

[nikolaykhodov]

@smerrill

In the meantime is it possible to install an older release?

You may want to find older versions at https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/multi-account-containers/versions/
I have just downgraded to 6.2.5 with no pleasant experience: I had to uninstall the extension, install 6.2.5 and then disable automatic updates for it. Here is the outcome:

• it reset to the default configuration
• it was needed to restore custom containers (created by me/renamed default ones)
• the downgrade's also wiped some cookies: a few sessions are still active, but majority vanished.

[cptX]

The thing I realized immediately is that before the update I was clicking once on the prefered name of the container and a new tab on that container was openning right away. Now clicking on a name opens a second menu where I need to click again "Open new tab in this container" which is terribly unpractical. I don't understand why you changed that. It was so practical!! Please change it back!

[aafrasht]

I completely agree with @cptX. @maxxcrawford You need to fix this! I used to be able to open the container I want with one click, now it takes two. It is insanely inconvenient. And I don't really want to use keyword short-cuts as an alternatives. Revert to one click please!

[cabello]

Let us all be mindful that this is free open source software provided by lovely volunteers and tune the tone.

I also noticed today that up/down arrows were not working anymore, excited to see this has already been filed as an issue and people are working on.

Thank you for this amazing extension, I use it on a daily basis and I feel I have more privacy with all the extra containers I use. 🙇

[angela-d]

Also parroting @cptX comment.
The extension constantly reminds me it's there by wasting my time with numerous clicks everytime I want to open a new tab.

Downgraded to the previous release and turned upgrades off on that extension. Bad design, imo.

Why was the UX change necessary? It was a very seamless experience, prior.

[noph34r]

i prefer the "old' one when i can just click and open new empty tab
but now i have to click twice just to open one....

i have 10 container and those are waste of time, might as well using the old kind or have "open all container" in single click
shortcut is "fine" but, single button for "open all container" is better

[tomaspapi]

The update looks much cleaner, congrats. Two pieces of feedback:

• "Always open this site in this container", "Create a new container" and "Open X container" used to take a single click (after opening the add-on icon) by checking the box on the top, hitting the + icon on the bottom right and clicking on the name of a container, respectively. All of these require now an additional click. I'd love all the features and functionalities that made that possible back. Like, it takes the same amount of clicks to edit the name of a container, or change the colour, than it takes to open one — which is a foundational, very basic and everyday use of the extension.

• For people who have many containers (i.e. one per domain), this update is extremely inconvenient. Everything requires going through your entire container list — not only opening one (as it used to be already) but also now assigning this domain to the current container, since the checking box is gone. And they are not even ordered properly so finding the correct container is terrible. The ability to order alphabetically would be awesome and having a search box would be a plus too.

I'll use this opportunity to include some general features I'd love to see in the extension as well:

• Ability to include all subdomains of a domain in a container (i.e. *.domain.com)
• Ability to add domains without having to actually go to that site (like writing it in the "Manage Container" setting)
• Ability to export configuration and settings

This is one of my favourite extensions, thanks for all the work you do.

[eefi]

I noticed on macOS that the default mapping of the numbered shortcuts to Cmd+Shift+3, Cmd+Shift+4, etc. conflicts with the macOS shortcuts for taking screenshots. I've filed #1791 to track this.

[eefi]

An idea for those who want the old simple container opening flow from up/down arrows… Can either Multi-Account Containers or Firefox itself provide a keyboard shortcut to access the long-press-on-new-tab-button containers menu? I'm referring to the menu that was made more accessible in https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1606265.

If there's a keyboard shortcut to open that menu with the first container highlighted, then it can provide a place where up and down cycle through the list of containers, and Enter immediately opens a new tab with that container. (I explicitly suggest starting with the first container highlighted rather than the likely default implementation of having the "No Container" first element highlighted to start because anyone using a keyboard shortcut to access this menu would likely just use Ctrl+T/Cmd+T to open a new tab with no container.)

Then the new more complex UI in the Multi-Account Containers panel can remain for the more complex management tasks it seems designed for.

[eefi]

I have some direct feedback about the newest change: The "Always open in X container" option was very important. Being able to quickly see which container a page was associated with was very helpful. Now I have no idea what sites are associated with a container, from what I can tell. I consider this a significant regression.

@charles-m-knox I found where this is located… From the Multi-Account Containers panel, click on the Manage Containers bar on the bottom, then click your container, and finally there's a Manage SIte List… link toward the bottom of the panel.

[klaritan]

Not liking this new UI only because I have to click twice to open a new tab on a container. I know I can still click once but that requires secondary click on a smaller button.

[CaviaPorcellus]

I like the new UI, but the icon's color should probably be a lighter gray to match Firefox's default icons. I'm using the default Firefox theme in Ubuntu.

[Laurensdc]

I expect the currently selected tab to be re-opened in container when I hit the shortcut.
E.g.: Hit ctrl+shift+1 -> Open current tab in container 1.

[yshui]

The "Manage This Container" button blocks the last tab in the container.

[MurzNN]

At previous version was be easier to remove several containers one-by-one, because after deleting one - I will stay on "Manage containers" page and can do one-click for delete next container, but now after deleting - extension returns me to default page, so I need to enter "Manage containers" page again, and scroll down to needed container.

[dogancelik]

I want to do Ctrl + . then R (reopen this site in) then use the numbers (1-9) to change tab containers.

Currently I have to use arrow keys to go to "Reopen this site in" sub-panel which is more time consuming than pressing Ctrl+. > R > 1.

[groovecoder]

Just because ordering is mentioned here ... #330 was fixed in #1608 and 7.3.0 release is pushed to AMO waiting for review and publish.

[frnk01]

Please order the list alphabetically and add support for search. This is a must.

[grahamperrin]

alphabetically

▶ #1866 please

[santo998]

Will you add more colors and icons to the containers?
i.e.: a government icon (building), an education icon (graduated student).
Also red, black and blue colors...
There are people like me, who have lot of containers, and with the limited set of icons and colors, its hard to identify them even if you order them alfabetically.

[grahamperrin]

colors

▶ #391 please

icons

▶ 2017 issue #843, 2018 issue #1185

[santo998]

I already replied on those issues threads.
How can i vote to see the features implemented?

[alchen]

Can we finally have a sensible solution to edit domain lists and domains that redirects? There have been a number of PR's popping up in the past, but most are left without getting any attention. Any one of them could have solved a myriad of related issues that are keep getting reported.

#1688
#1627
#1613

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Related issues:

#691, #640, #719, #837, #839, #1227, #1670, #1833, #1473

[grahamperrin]

How can i vote

Thumbs up.

[achernyakevich-sc]

I would propose to pay serious attention to the fact that Proton UI in Firefox can't be turned off anymore. So problem with highlighting of tab by the color of container is in place and it is enough serious. You just can't understand which container tab belongs too until you open the tab.

See #2102.

[kurahaupo]

@charles-m-knox

I use a container for each domain, sometimes multiple for the same domain.

Ok, I would love to be able to do this, so how does one set up multiple containers for a single domain? Does that mean attaching a container to a bookmark, or manually selecting a container before opening the site (more than once), or somehow applying "always open in" rules based on something other than just the domain?

[grahamperrin]

multiple containers for a single domain?

1. refrain from always opening the site in any container
2. How to bookmark a page to always open in a set container? #854 (comment)

[kannes]

The latest version gave me an obnoxious ad for a VPN service instead of showing me the containers when I clicked the icon in the menu bar. I had to ready through some manipulative marketing speak and click a "Done" button to be able to see my containers again.

Later I got another ad for the same VPN service in the containers menu that wanted my attention.

Both these events were very unsettling UX events and hampered my experience in using the extension as intended.

Please do not display ads.

[kannes]

How would reading the release notes before updating would have prevented me from the unwanted, repeated (once overlaid to the addons bar, once when opening the addon menu for the first time after updating) and misleading (one of the ads did not mention the option to use a self-hosted proxy) advertisements about Mozilla VPN for 5$/month? I know I sound like an annoying troll but seriously, that's how I felt when I saw the ads. UX wise it made me want to shout at the screen.

[kannes]

I got both of them as an existing user.

Any ad is obnoxious, especially ones that popup in previous quite places and that require you to act to get rid of them ;) My wording is strong because I despise advertisements and these really felt out of place.

[kannes]

That is a different step and while I don't know what is hidden behind the "Learn more" link there, the content is standard extension stuff without any commercial endorsement or advertising.

I meant the two dialogs you showed in #1784 (comment), the "Learn more" link there leads to https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/products/vpn/?several_tracking_parameters which has no mention about one's own self-hosted solution, not even that the VPN software is open-source. It is plain advertising for the commercial Mozilla VPN service, is it not?

[grahamperrin]

#1784 (comment)

The latest version

Is not 7.0.⋯. I'm hiding my comments; @kannes with reference to the verison in the release notes, please consider moving your 8.0.⋯ feedback to an appropriate issue.

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#1784 (comment)

@maxxcrawford since 7.0.⋯ is outdated, would you like to un-pin this issue?

Thanks.

[dannycolin]

Closing since 7.0 has long been released now 🎉.