[Support] Change Bookmark Recent Folder List Length

This is the new support and feedback thread for Change Bookmark Recent Folder List Length.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/change-bookmark-recent-folder-/

You can find the old thread here.

This topic is now listed. It will be displayed in topic lists.

Man @Mayken you got a hot addon here, there are two bug topics opened up here, we told them to post here but they haven’t so I’ll do it on their behalf:

https://discourse.mozilla-community.org/t/so-confused-how-do-i-fix-bookmark-list-length-extention/3834

https://discourse.mozilla-community.org/t/change-bookmark-recent-folder-list-length-add-on-doesnt-work-in-ff-40-0-3/3862

Thanks for posting them in this thread. I did not see them elsewhere.

Short answer: There is a new version, 1.2.1, in the review queue which is compatible with Firefox versions 26 - 42.*. You can install it from the list of all versions on the Mozilla add-ons site. When version 1.2.1 is reviewed, all users will be automatically updated. If anyone is experiencing problems with version 1.2.1, I definitely want to hear about it so I can get any such problems fixed quickly.

Yes, the currently reviewed (and distributed) version, 1.1.0, of Change Bookmark Recent Folder List Length is not compatible with Firefox 40.0+. Unfortunately, there were major changes in the file this add-on modifies between Firefox 39.* and 40.0+. This results in the add-on causing a variety of errors when users upgrade to 40.0+. I have marked the 1.1.0 version as only compatible through 39.0, but that does not appear to actually do anything.

I have added a note in bold explicitly addressing this issue to the add-on description page for Change Bookmark Recent Folder List Length which states that version 1.1.0 is not compatible with 40.0+ and mentions that version 1.2.1 is available from the version history page.

Version 1.2.1 also fixes an issue that the add-on was not functional for ESR releases. This was due to my not realizing that Firefox does not handle version wildcards in the chrome.manifest file in an industry standard way. Given the way that Firefox handles wildcards in that file it is necessary to list every version individually. This means that the ESR releases needed to be explicitly specified. This has been done in version 1.2.1.

Hi Makyen - any way we can lobby TPTB at Mozilla to review and approve v1.2.1? It has been better than a month now since 1.2.1 came out (was forced to come out).

Now two months and five days since 1.2.1 released. Still no Mozilla review and approval. What’s going on?

1 Like

The latest version didn’t pass review, due to some technical issues. I don’t know if the developer plans to submit a new version with any changes, or if they would prefer to have the add-on downgraded to preliminary review so that new versions will be pushed via automatic updates.

Developer now appears to be MIA, which is too bad. Your solution sounds reasonable but not a peep from the dev.

Makyen, I can’t tell if you are still around. jorgev below suggested a method for getting 1.2.1 into the auto-update queue (downgrade to preliminary review), that or submitting needed changes to 1.2.1. But it’s been many months since any action on this issue.

Hi: I have no idea if I am posting in the correct place. I am terribly sorry to report, this new support forum is so hard to follow and understand. I dont like it already. It is too confusing to find your addon, then find the end of the thread, and then post… so i post here… please tell me if its in the wrong place.

My post:

  1. I love your addone, been wanting more folders for soooooo long. I have 25 folders.
  2. Would you consider adding ability to have separators. As my 25 list is very long for the eye.
  3. Would you consider adding ability to “pin” folders. I have 2 folders I always use, and would be even simply if they were always at the top. Currently the pinned folders are Fx default ones
    e.g.
    Bookmarks Toolbar
    Bookmarks Menu
    Unsorted Bookmarks

(I do not use any of these folders as I am always saving to folders within my toolbar)

  1. Appears to be a slight intermittent issue with your add on and version 45 Firefox. Every so often, when I save a new bookmark item to an existing folder (in my list of 25), I click on the folder in the dropdown list, then “Unsorted Bookmarks” is shown in the selected folder. So then I must reselect it. It happens about 10 times a day and I would save liley 30-40 new bookmarks a day.

Thankyou for your time.

  1. Do you think you’ll be able to update this extension to use the WebExtensions API?
  2. In the description text on AMO, the link to the old forum thread is still used.

Thanks for the great extension!

  1. There is no possibility to have this add-on work as a WebExtension. WebExtensions are explicitly restricted from making the type of changes needed to affect the Firefox user interface.
  2. Thanks for telling me. I, obviously, missed that link when the change to Discourse happened. I have updated the description.

I added the following to the description for this add-on. I will probably add the same to all my other add-ons, as none of the ones I’ve released have any possibility to be updated to WebExtensions. I’ve made some WebExtensions for personal use, but haven’t released any.


Support for this add-on will end with Firefox 56.

There is no possibility that this add-on can be updated to work as a WebExtension, which is the only extension type permitted to work with the release version of Firefox 57+. This add-on, like many which we all use on a regular basis, can not be implemented under the limited capabilities permitted to WebExtensions, which have a very limited ability to affect the Firefox user interface. If you wish to continue to use such add-ons, you will need to use Firefox 52 ESR, which will be supported by Mozilla through 2018-06-26.

The only other possibilities are to use Firefox Nightly, or perhaps Firefox Developer Edition, which can have support for other extension types enabled. However, Mozilla plans changes which will break many add-on interfaces in future Firefox releases. Thus, it’s not clear for how long existing add-ons will function in Nightly and Developer Edition.

In addition, Mozilla has stated that they will, at some (unspecified) point, stop accepting updates for extension types other than WebExtensions.

Personally, this change in Firefox means that Firefox is no longer Firefox. I call it Smolderfox, because the fire is basically out. Firefox without legacy add-ons is not the Firefox I’ve used for years. I may choose to continue to use Smolderfox, but it’s already changing to a completely different browser. Thus, any inertia in changing is broken. Many of the things I like about Firefox will be gone. The only reason which I see at the moment to continue to use Firefox is that Mozilla has a human review every add-on from a security and privacy point of view. That’s a big reason, but it’s the only reason I see.

Thank you for your great explanation.

None of the extensions I have written will work under Firefox 57 either.

Two of the biggest things that makes Firefox great are the customizability and flexibility. Those will be significantly hampered with Firefox 57.

Did you maybe consider implementing the same functionality by submitting the code patch to Firefox (e.g. via the config option)?