Work on the new linux theme for Firefox 3 is progressing nicely due to a very active group of contributers. To match the operating system’s theme, Firefox’s navigation toolbar will use native GTK icons. The remaining icons are being drawn in the Tango style. I owe a huge thanks to Andreas Nilsson, Michael Ventnor, Kalle Persson, Lapo Calamandrei, Garrett LeSage, Michael Monreal, jimmac, and everyone else who is contributing to help ensure that Firefox 3 looks great on linux.
[Update: there is some very thorough coverage over on Ars Technica with lots of screenshots]
In addition, Ryan Flint just committed a patch to make the tab bar use native tabs. Its not in the nightlies yet but it is in the currently-NPOTB Gnomestripe.
That is all very well for Gnome users. What about KDE and other environments?
I don’t particularly mind the look of Firefox on KDE, what does annoy me is that Firefox doesn’t seem to know what part of the browser is which when I’m right clicking.
For example, right-clicking on the tab bar or any toolbar brings up both the right-click menu for that, AND a redundant (and non-functional) right-click menu for the page I’m viewing. Why?
Additionally, I can’t cancel the right-click menu for the tab bar or toolbar. Once I’ve brought them up, I need to select an option, or they won’t go away! For the right-click menu for the page, I can just click somewhere else to make it go away. Again, why does this happen?
Cosmetics is one thing, but this is just broken.
@Daniel: Some distributions use or used a cross-environment theme. I just make sure that my GTK/Gnome-theme matches the one of KDE. And using Tango style icons allows for a better “cross-environment-look” as well. I use GTK-Apps all the time under KDE and they don’t look out of place at all. Certainly less out of place than certain versions of Microsoft’s media player look on their own platform.
Making a QT port of Firefox isn’t something I expect the Mozilla Foundation to do and it doesn’t seem to be in huge demand either, as nobody has yet tried to build one.
Off-Topic: @Rhapsody: I can’t reproduce your right click troubles. Any add-ons to blame? Already filed a bug report?
@Arthur: Sorry for the off-topic, and your question about add-ons led me to the solution. This problem always seemed to manifest after I viewed an image, and disabling Image Zoom seems to have eliminated the problem. I shall thank you now for pointing out the obvious, and ask at the Image Zoom Forums about this.
(Hey Alex, you spelled my name wrong… Don’t worry; most people seem to.)
>spelled my name wrong
Sorry about that, just updated the post.
Great to hear. Keep up the good work.
Any word on widgets? I use the little app found here: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=369596 to de-uglify firefox widget under Linux. With 50 pages of responses to that one forum post, it appears I’m not the only one.
Of greater personal concern, any chance of working with Gnome devs to enable drag-n-drop of links? I can dnd an address from Firefox onto my desktop to create a link but can’t drop that link back to a Firefox window to open it. I know that Epiphany has had that ability for ages.
Bah, looks like the native tabs break using the mousewheel on the tab bar; any chance that could come back?
Good job on the icon theme, specially that it’s gonna be tango.
Just one more thing… being native is not only about the icons. e.g. menus always look like rectangles, doesn’t matter what kind of theme your using, or it absolutely doesn’t look native in some themes like aurora which is my favorate theme. Not to forget the widgets…
but even with all this FIREFOX IS STLL MY FAVORATE WEB BROWSER IN ALL DIFFERENT PLATFORMS.
p.s.
I have the same problem that Rhapsody has, which is the most annoying thing in firefox. (sometimes it become like that not always, I even had the same problem in windows version of firefox)
Arthur I really must take exception to your remarks with respect to the GTK/GNOME centricity of Firefox.
It not only looks out of place using the file “manager” included for uploads and downloads but it’s furiously annoying to anyone the least bit familiar with Konqueror.
Mostly we just grin and bear it and, like me, use Konq for any serious uploading and downloading of files so we aren’t presented with that awful file “manager”.
The one major annoyance of Firefox is it’s tie to GNOME when you operate in KDE. The browser does, indeed look out of place and lacks any ability that I can find to get it to use KDE apps as helpers.
As Rhapsody notes there are other things that are just broken using FF under KDE. To get full functionality, it seems, one is pushed to GNOME.
Reality is that if I wanted to use GNOME, I’d be using it. I don’t and I’m not, nor is 50% of the Linux world.
ttfn
John
If you use KDE and don’t like the GNOME-orientation of Firefox, why not just use Konqueror? Most sites work in KHTML/WebKit now, thanks to the popularity of Safari…
Also it looks like it’s not Netscape Inc. doing the GNOME integration, but mostly GNOME enthusiasts. If KDE enthusiasts bothered, maybe there would be a change to get KDE integration?
You know, the only real problem I have with FF for linux is the ugly file open dialog. I wish one of the two would happen:
1. Allow the user to use KDE open/save dialogs which actually show image previews, etc. How many people are turned away from FF for linux because they can’t preview images they’re going to upload to flickr or photobucket?
2. Modify use of GTK API so that the GTK dialog that firefox does use provides these previews and less quirky navigation. I know gimp does something like this.
I have not yet been able to test ff3 on linux (i am posting this with ff3 for windows, looks nice), so if 1 or 2 have been done, then kudos.
then kyou
OK, my quesion is – CAN WE CHOOSE on Linux to use default Firefox 3 theme ? or we are only condamned to Gnome by Default. Ithink we must have this choice somewhere on themes tab OR on Preferences.
I like my theme Aurora-Orion in Gnome – I think is one of the best ever.
But when I am in Firefox I don’t wanna feel I’m in Nautilus.
I wanna see and recognize my Firefox.
All this “native look” problem it’s a bit geek-ish – not a discusion generated by the simply users.
Anyway to give this choice – to choose what you like (firefox native OR gnome native) – it’s a must.
Then, ultrapartisans(like Ephyphany fans), geeks and normal peoples will be hapy both.
So please take consider that.
Also about design / usability – could we have an unified Stop / Reload button (optional on Customize), for some more space on Navigation Toolbar ?.
I don’t care about icons! Widgets are a small matter. I just want the KDE file dialog. I’d also like Firefox to use KDE’s keyring. As someone else pointed out, why not do platform integration as a plugin? So you could download the KDE, Gnome, Win32, Mac or whatever plugin. This would be much better than getting into bed w/ one side in the Linux desktop wars.
As to “why not use Konqueror?” comment –> Konqueror is a joke. It can’t even do gmail.
The only reason the for KDE crew to make a new browser, was that was a project that someone thot would be cool. That’s a fine reason in the FLOSS world to write software–but not a good enough reason for the rest of use to use it. So have your fun coding Konqueror, but please get it together w/ Firefox so the rest of us have a browser that works well on our platform.
“Type your comme Konqueror is a joke. It can’t even do gmail.”
Konqueror CAN do gmail. You need to go to Tools -> Chage Browser Identification -> Other -> Firefox 1.5.0.4
When the page is reloaded gmail thinks it is fiirefox and loads properly. This is a problem with google not recognising the program not konquerors inability to render the pafe
Why don’t linux users get the large back button?I can’t understand…
You said that FF needs an element to evidentiate itself,cross-platform.Well,why leave it to the trash for linux users?
WHY DOES FF3 LINUX NOT LOOK LIKE FF3 FOR WIN?!?!?!?!?
The windows one looks much better, i like the bigger back button, and the dropdown list for back and forward. I don’t really like tango, i prefer the icons from the windows version, why can’t we just have it?
Same icons in windows and linux!
konqueror is not a joke, but there are reasons i prefer firefox like the extentions and the customisation of the interface.
@gabriel
Modify use of GTK API so that the GTK dialog that firefox does use provides these previews and less quirky navigation. I know gimp does something like this.
try this in about:config ui.allow_platform_file_picker;false
and googling around for kde firefox stuff can sort you out with a nice theme and a couple of extensions for any other problems.
BTW once firefox is integrated to gnome the kde to gnome integration kicks in an firefox uses the same widgets (or widget look atleast) as any kde app. so if FF looks really bad, you need to sort out Firefox->gnome before sorting out gnome->kde
ace & bobo your free to install a windows theme but having the same icons in both windows/linux is a terrible idea windows users have a horrible idiot proof interface, linux users have a more minimalist gnome/kde3 interface (ive not tried kde4 yet). big idiot proof buttons do not belong in linux. however if you are somebody who wants them then the firefox windows theme (and all the work for it will be available to you)
*Fart* Not a good theme tbh. Don’t like the bevelness of the new theme. Like the flatness of the old one
To: Bodo and Ace.
I was confused just like you, i agree that firefox for linux should have the same style as firefox for windows as default.
If you want the larger back button style you must install another theme in your firefox try for example this https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7379 i didnt found yet another similar. good luck. cya luky
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