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'''...in progress...'''
Question: does moving a tab break our tab position state code? Do we also need to update position on TabMove???==addtabbeside.js==
Start by creating a new ==Creating the rest of the extension, either by hand, or using Ted Mielczarek's wonderful wizard: ==
Directory ===Extension files and directory structure:===
'''addtabbeside/''' content.manifest install.rdf '''content/''' firefoxOverlay.xul overlay.js Start by creating the following directory structure:
Here is the '''content.manifest''' file:====addtabbeside/====
content addtabbeside content/ Having added our script and overlay chrome://browser/content/browser.xul chrome://addtabbeside/contentfiles, we now need to add a couple of metadata files to help Firefox understand and install/firefoxOverlayload our extension.xul
Here The second metadata file we need to create is the '''addtabbeside/install.rdf''' file for . This is an [http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Install_Manifests install manifest] that tells the Firefox add-on manager how to install the extension:, with information like who wrote it, the version number, compatibility information, etc.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <RDF xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#" xmlns:em="http://www.mozilla.org/2004/em-rdf#">
<em:targetApplication>
</RDF>
Here is firefoxOverlayEventually we'll package our extension properly into a redistributable .xpi. However, while we're testing it's nice to be able to use it in an expanded form so we can make changes.xul:
<pre> <?xml version="1To this end, create a file named '''addtabbeside@senecac.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <overlay id="addtabbesideon.ca''' and put it in your development profile's extensions directory (NOTE: replace ''Username'' with your username and ''dev-overlay" xmlns="httpprofile'' with your development profile name)://www.mozilla.org/keymaster/gatekeeper/there.is.only.xul"> <script src="overlay.js"/> </overlay></pre>
Load Listener code: Or in Mac OSX
http: ~/Library/developer.mozilla.orgApplication Support/enFirefox/docsProfiles/Extension_Frequently_Asked_Questions#Why_doesn.27t_my_script_run_properly.3F
Reading through the rest of the Start your browser and make sure your extension is loaded (check '''moveTabTools > Add-ons''' method, we ) and working properly by creating some tabs to see that when a tab is successfully createdwhere they get positioned. If you're having problems, check the '''TabOpenError Console''' event is dispatched ('''Tools > Error Console''') for hints.
(see ...)===Packaging the extension===
Once debugging and testing is complete, you'll want to [http:// Dispatch a new tab notificationdeveloper.mozilla. We do this once we're org/en/docs/ entirely doneExtension_Packaging create an installable .xpi file] to give to your users. As was previously mentioned, so that things .xpi files are in just .zip files with a consistent statedifferent extension. // even if All .xpi files must contain the event listener opens or closes tabs'''install. var evt = documentrdf''' file in the root (i.createEvent("Events"); evte.initEvent("TabOpen", truewhen you unzip it, falseinstall.rdf should be in the top directory); t.dispatchEvent(evt); return t;
This is useful information, because it tells us that if we want Follow these steps to know when a tab has been created, we have to add a listener for this eventcreate an installable .xpi:
moveTabToYou can try installing your extension in a browser that doesn't have it by simply dragging '''addtabbeside.xpi''' into it. This should trigger the add-on manager and give you the option to install your extension and restart the browser.
http://lxr.mozilla.org/seamonkey/source/toolkit/content/widgets/tabbrowser.xml#1958 Create a file named: '''addtabbeside@senecac.on.ca''' This file should contain the full path to your extension==Success, for example: C:\temp\addtabbeside Now put this file in your development profile's extensions directory (NOTE: replace ''Username'' with your username and ''dev-profile'' with your development profile name):some bugs==
It's one thing to say you'd like to change the browser's behaviour, but quite another to actually do it. The change you have in mind might be quite simple, in the end (ours is). But you still have to figure out where that simple code needs to go. That can be difficult. However, difficult isn't the same as impossible.
How do you begin? First, let's start at the top and find some UI notation we can search for in the code. In our case, we can focus on the various methods for creating a new tab:
* CTRL+T
* Right-Click an existing tab and select New Tab
* File > New Tab
The second and third methods are useful, as they provide us with a unique string we can search for in the code. Before we can change anything, we have to search and read existing code in order to understand where to begin--this is the standard pattern for open source and Mozilla development.
==Search 1 - finding a UI string==
We're looking for a unique string--"New Tab"==, so we'll use [http://lxr.mozilla.org LXR's] '''Text Search''' feature. Here are the results you get when you search for "New Tab":
<blockquote>http://lxr.mozilla.org/seamonkey/search?string=New+Tab</blockquote>
Lots of results, many of which point to comments in the code. However, the first result looks interesting:
<blockquote>http://lxr.mozilla.org/seamonkey/source/toolkit/locales/en-US/chrome/global/tabbrowser.dtd#2</blockquote>
Here we see the DTD file describing the key/value pairs for the en-US localized strings. Mozilla uses this technique to allow localizers to translate strings in an application into many different languages without having to change hard-coded strings in the code (you can read more about localization, DTDs, and Entities [http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/XUL_Tutorial:Localization here])
Looking closely at '''tabbrowser.dtd''' we see that our English string, "New Tab", has the following entity:
<!ENTITY newTab.label "New Tab">
This is good information, because it allows us to repeat our search with an entity instead of a string, which should help us get closer to the code we're after.
==Search 2 - finding an ENTITY==
Repeating the search with the '''newTab.label''' ENTITY value instead of the "New Tab" string makes a big difference--we have many fewer hits:
<blockquote>http://lxr.mozilla.org/seamonkey/search?string=newTab.label</blockquote>
Not surprisingly, the first result is the same DTD file (i.e., tabbrowser.dtd) we already found. The second result looks interesting, though:
<blockquote>http://lxr.mozilla.org/seamonkey/source/toolkit/content/widgets/tabbrowser.xml#80</blockquote>
Here we see the code to generate the pop-up context menu for a tab (i.e., what you get when you right-click on a tab in the browser):
<pre>
<xul:menuitem label="&newTab.label;" accesskey="&newTab.accesskey;"
xbl:inherits="oncommand=onnewtab"/>
</pre>
Having found the appropriate entity value, we also notice the use of a function name, '''onnewtab'''. This line of code says that the xul:menuitem will inherit the '''oncommand''' value from its parent (you can read more about XBL attribute inheritance [http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/XUL_Tutorial:XBL_Attribute_Inheritance here]). In other words, when this menu item is clicked, call the '''onnewtab''' function.
==Search 3 - finding a Function==
Armed with this new information, we are even closer to finding the right spot to begin working. We've gone from UI string to XML ENTITY to function. All we have to do now is find that function:
<blockquote>http://lxr.mozilla.org/seamonkey/search?string=onnewtab</blockquote>
This returns many results for things we aren't interested in, including files rooted in /suite, /db, etc. Since we are interested in finding this behaviour in Firefox, we need to focus on the files rooted in '''/browser'''. One looks particularly interesting:
<blockquote>http://lxr.mozilla.org/seamonkey/source/browser/base/content/browser.xul#503</blockquote>
In this case, the tabbrowser widget has the onnewtab property set to another function, '''BrowserOpenTab();''' (i.e., Firefox seems to handle tab creation in a non-standard way, providing its own method instead of using the default). Since we want to find the definition of this function, we search for '''"function BrowserOpenTab("''', which returns two results:
<blockquote>http://lxr.mozilla.org/seamonkey/search?string=function+browseropentab%28</blockquote>
Again, we're interested in Firefox (i.e., browser) instead of SeaMonkey (i.e., suite), so we skip to the second result:
<blockquote>http://lxr.mozilla.org/seamonkey/source/browser/base/content/browser.js#1802</blockquote>
This shows us that we need to be looking for yet another function, '''loadOneTab()'''. Another search:
<blockquote>http://lxr.mozilla.org/seamonkey/search?string=loadonetab</blockquote>
The first result is not surprising, and we're back to the tabbrowser widget. The '''loadOneTab''' method calls another method to actually create and insert the new tab:
var tab = this.addTab(aURI, aReferrerURI, aCharset, aPostData, owner, aAllowThirdPartyFixup);
Since '''addTab''' is a method of '''this''' we can search within the current document (CTRL+F) to find the '''addTab''' method. Finally we've found the right spot!
<blockquote>http://lxr.mozilla.org/seamonkey/source/toolkit/content/widgets/tabbrowser.xml#1160</blockquote>
this.mTabContainer.appendChild(t);
Now all that we have to do is modify it to insert rather than append.
=The 'How': the necessary changes to the code=
There are different ways you could go about making this change, and someone with more experience using tabbrowser might recommend a different strategy or outcome. I decided to work on something that I knew nothing about in order to highlight the process one goes through, or at least the process I went through, when working with someone else's code. Since my goal is to show you how to do this, I also discuss my errors and mistakes below--they are an important part of the process too.
==First Attempt==
The goal is to make as small a change as possible, since the existing code works well--I just want it to work slightly different. I'm also not interested in reading all of the code in order to make such a small change. I want to leverage as much of what is already there as I can.
I assume that the '''appendChild()''' method is responsible for the behaviour I don't like (i.e., adding new tabs to the end of the list). I'm not sure what to replace it with, so I do another search inside tabbrowser.xml (i.e., using CTRL+F) looking for other methods/attributes of '''mTabContainer'''. I come-up with some interesting options:
index = this.mTabContainer.selectedIndex;
...
this.mTabContainer.insertBefore(aTab, this.mTabContainer.childNodes.item(aIndex));
...
var position = this.mTabContainer.childNodes.length-1;
I decide that I can probably accomplish my goal using these alone, and so start working on a solution. Here is my first attempt, showing the changes to '''mozilla/toolkit/content/widgets/tabbrowser.xml''' and the '''addTab''' method:
// Insert tab after current tab, not at end.
if (this.mTabContainer.childNodes.length == 0) {
this.mTabContainer.appendChild(t);
} else {
var currentTabIndex = this.mTabContainer.selectedIndex;
this.mTabContainer.insertBefore(t, currentTabIndex + 1);
}
I then repackage the toolkit.jar file (change ''objdir'' to your objdir name):
$ cd mozilla/''objdir''/toolkit/content
$ make
then run the browser to test (NOTE: ''minefield'' is my testing profile):
$ ../../dist/bin/firefox.exe -p minefield --no-remote
I try to create a new tab using '''File > New Tab''' and nothing happens.
==Second Attempt==
Clearly my code has some problems, since I've completely broken addTab. I decide to look for clues in the '''Error Console''' (Tools > Error Console) and notice the following exception whenever I try to add a new tab:
<code>Error: uncaught exception: [Exception... "Could not convert JavaScript argument" nsresult: "0x80570009 (NS_ERROR_XPC_BAD_CONVERT_JS)" location: "JS frame :: chrome://global/content/bindings/tabbrowser.xml :: addTab :: line 1161" data: no]</code>
I make a guess that childNodes.length is not zero, but 1 by default (i.e., there is always at least one tab, even if it isn't visible). A quick modification to the code, and I test again:
if (this.mTabContainer.childNodes.length '''== 1''') {
...
==Third Attempt==
This works, but only the first time I create a new tab. Clearly I still have some misconceptions about how '''mTabContainer.selectedIndex''' and '''mTabContainer.insertBefore()''' really work.
I can't yet see how my code is wrong, but the exception I'm getting clearly indicates that I've got some sort of type conversion problem. I decide to look again at the code examples in tabbrowser.xml that I'm using as a guide, specifically '''insertChild()'''.
After a few seconds the error is obvious: I've used an Integer where a Tab was required. Here is the corrected code:
// Insert tab after current tab, not at end.
if (this.mTabContainer.childNodes.length == 1) {
this.mTabContainer.appendChild(t);
} else {
var currentTabIndex = this.mTabContainer.selectedIndex;
this.mTabContainer.insertBefore(t, '''this.mTabContainer.childNodes.item(currentTabIndex + 1)''');
}
==Success, and some bugs==
After repackaging the toolkit.jar file and running the browser, I'm able to confirm that this last change has been successful. Opening a new tab now works in the way I originally described. I make a few more tests to insure that I haven't broken anything else, for example, what happens if I am on the last tab and not in the middle. This works, which makes me realize that using '''append()''' is probably not necessary at all, and I can safely shorten my code down to the following:
// Insert tab after current tab, not at end.
var currentTabIndex = this.mTabContainer.selectedIndex;
this.mTabContainer.insertBefore(t, this.mTabContainer.childNodes.item(currentTabIndex + 1));
This means that six lines of code become two, and with that reduction in number of lines, hopefully a reduction in new bugs I've added (NOTE: within reason, favour fewer rather than more lines of code).
Speaking of bugs, a closer read of '''addTab''' (see [http://lxr.mozilla.org/seamonkey/source/toolkit/content/widgets/tabbrowser.xml#1219 line 1219]) would indicate that we've introduced a few with our new positioning code:
// wire up a progress listener for the new browser object.
var position = '''this.mTabContainer.childNodes.length-1;'''
var tabListener = this.mTabProgressListener(t, b, blank);
...
this.mTabListeners[position] = tabListener;
this.mTabFilters[position] = filter;
...
t._tPos = position;
Where the assumption before was that the newly created tab was at the end of the list, the new code breaks that. Therefore, we also need to update the value of '''position'''
// wire up a progress listener for the new browser object.
var position = currentTabIndex + 1
No other obvious defects are visible from our changes.
The change I was making was simple enough that I didnMany of the steps we did in order to create the extension't bother looking at any documentation or using s installation and registration files will be the JavaScript debuggersame each time. I found out afterward that tabbrowser has good Rather than doing it by hand, you can use [http://developerted.mozillamielczarek.org/encode/docsmozilla/XUL:tabbrowser documentation extensionwiz/ an on MDC-line wizard]. Another trick worth trying when you're making lots of JavaScript changes like this is to add the following line to your build a basic extension.mozconfig file: ac_add_options --enable-chrome-format=flat
This will cause The process of developing extensions is greatly improved with the .jar files to be expanded so that you can edit the .xml/.js/.xul files in place and skip the repackaging step above (see addition of [http://wwwkb.mozillamozillazine.org/build/jar-packaging.html). If you also use Setting_up_extension_development_environment some preferences] to the browser, as well as the [http://ted.mielczarek.org/code/mozilla/extensiondev/index.html Extension Developer's extension] . This extension will automate many of the steps described here. It will also allow you can to reload the browser's chrome at runtime. This is a great way to test changes to your XUL/JS files without restarting having to restart the browser.
→addtabbeside/
[[Dive into Mozilla]] > [[Dive into Mozilla Day 5]] > Modifying Firefox using an Extension Lab
=Introduction=
In the [[Dive into Mozilla Modifying Firefox Lab|previous lab]] we made a small change to the behaviour of Firefox by modifying the browser's source code. In this lab we explore how to achieve the same effect using an '''extension''' rather than modifying the tree. ''(Thanks to [http://www.starkravingfinkle.org/blog/ Mark Finkle] for the idea of redoing this as an extension.)''
The goal of this exercise is to expose you to Firefox extensions and to show you how to modify or extend the browser without changing it's its source code directly. Some thought will also be given to the two methods of doing this (i.e., in the tree vs. as an extension), comparing their advantages and disadvantages.
=The 'What': write a tab creation extension=
What does this leave? You could [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fork_(software_development) fork] Firefox, as some people have done, and create your own version of the browser. Obviously this isn't what we'd like to do. Rather, what we need is a mechanism to insert a small change into the browser, and do so in such a way that users can choose to install our code or not. Mozilla provides such a mechanism in the form of Extensions.
Extensions allow third-party developers (and Mozilla, for that matter) to write add-on packages that users can install to extend or modify the standard browser. By rewriting our earlier code as an extension, we can give our users an extension to installa small add-on, which will have the same effect as our custom build. For all but the most universal of changes, extensions are the best way for developers to write code that targets the browser.
==Planning the extension==
===How to move a tab?===
Now we know that there is a logical time/place to run our code via the '''TabOpen''' event. The next thing to consider is what our code will do. Previously we replaced '''append''' with '''insertBefore''' and stopped the problem before it happened. In However, in this case, by the time the '''TabOpen''' event is dispatched, the tab will already be created and positioned at the end of the list.
We need another solution, so we need . It's time to go hunting in tabbrowser's [http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/XUL:tabbrowser documentation] and [http://lxr.mozilla.org/seamonkey/source/toolkit/content/widgets/tabbrowser.xml code]. What we need is a way to reposition a tab after it has been created. A quick look through the docs for [http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/XUL:tabbrowser tabbrowser] reveals nothing. However, the [http://lxr.mozilla.org/seamonkey/source/toolkit/content/widgets/tabbrowser.xml code] is more helpful:
<method name="moveTabTo">
===How to get the newly created tab using code?===
Having already studied and worked with the code in '''addTab''', and knowing that new tabs are always appended to the end of the list, we could do thisthe following in order to get the new tab:
// In an extension, gBrowser is a global reference to the tabbrowser element
t.dispatchEvent(evt);
This means that in the event system, we'll be able to listen for and capture this event, and in so doing get at t (i.e., the tab object) via the event's '''target'''. Three lines of code become one:
var newTab = e.target;
===How to get the index of the currently selected tab?===
We know that in order to move a tab using tabbrowser's '''moveTabTo''' method we need the tab object--which we now have--and the index where it should be placed. Looking through the tabbrowser code for tabbrowser again, we see [http://lxr.mozilla.org/seamonkey/source/toolkit/content/widgets/tabbrowser.xml#1453 references] to code like this:
var currentIndex = this.mTabContainer.selectedIndex;
Finally, we've got all the pieces in place and can write some code.
=The 'How': the extension's code=
Now that we have the logic for our code, all that remains is to write the necessary pieces in order to have it get executed at the right time. When we modified the code in the tree this wasn't a concern: we assumed that code we changed in '''addTab''' would get executed whenever '''addTab''' got called. With an extension, we have to explicitly tell the browser how and when to execute our code. We do this using '''event listeners'''.
From our previous research, we know that the methods in tabbrowser cause a variety of events to get dispatched into the event system. These events move through the event system regardless of whether any code notices them--they are passive. In most cases, nothing is done in response to events. However, any developer can decide to do something in response to an event, which is what extension developers must do in order to get their code into the browser.
We need to wire our code to a number of events by [http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/XUL_Event_Propagation#Adding_an_Event_Listener adding event listeners]. Two of the events we know already, '''TabOpen''' and '''TabSelect'''. However, we also need to register our listeners at start-up using the '''window's load event'''. We'll add code to remove our event listeners in the '''window's unload event''' too.
To keep things clean we'll write all this code in a custom object called '''AddTabBeside'''. Here is '''addtabbeside.js''':
var AddTabBeside = {
// State info on the last tab to be selected.
mPreviousIndex: 0,
onLoad: function() {
// Add a listener for the TabOpen event, which gets called as
// part of addTab in tabbrowser.xml
var container = gBrowser.tabContainer;
container.addEventListener("TabOpen", this.onTabOpen, false);
// Also add a listener for TabSelect so we know when focus changes to a new tab
container.addEventListener("TabSelect", this.onTabSelect, false);
// Finally, add a listener for shutdown
window.addEventListener("unload", this.onUnload, false);
},
onUnload: function() {
// Remove our listeners
var container = gBrowser.tabContainer;
container.removeEventListener("TabOpen", this.onTabOpen, false);
container.removeEventListener("TabSelect", this.onTabSelect, false);
},
onTabSelect: function (e) {
// When a different tab is selected, remember which one. This is
// necessary because when a new tab is created, it will get pushed
// to the end of the list, but we need to know where to put it.
this.mPreviousIndex = gBrowser.tabContainer.selectedIndex;
},
onTabOpen: function (e) {
// Get the newly created tab, which will be last in the list
var newTab = e.target;
// Move this new tab to the right of the previously selected tab,
// checking to see how many tabs there are currently. By default
// there is 1 tab, and the first time onTabOpen is called, there will
// be 2 (the default plus the newly created tab). In this case, don't
// move the new tab, since it is already in the right spot. In all
// other cases, move the tab to the right of the current tab.
if (gBrowser.tabContainer.childNodes.length > 2) {
gBrowser.moveTabTo(newTab, this.mPreviousIndex + 1);
}
},
};
// Insure that our code gets loaded at start-up
window.addEventListener("load", function(e) { AddTabBeside.onLoad(e); }, false);
This code will become part of an overlay that will be merged with the browser at runtime. But where do we put this file? Firefox needs to know where it is in order to load and run it at startup. We also need to create an installation package for our overlay.
Firefox extensions are packaged as compressed zip files with a '''.XPI''' extension. This is what you download when you visit http://tedaddons.mielczarekmozilla.organd choose to install an extension. Because extensions are just .zip files, you can unpack any extension and see how it's built. For example, try saving [https:/code/addons.mozilla.org/firefox/extensionwiz16/ChatZilla's .xpi] to your computer and decompress it (NOTE: if your built-in unzip program won't do this, try changing the file's extension to .zip).
An extension is a series of files and directories containing JavaScript, XUL, CSS, XML, RDF, and other custom text files. Some of these files define scripts to be executed, such as those we wrote above. Other files contain information ''about'' the extension, metadata telling the browser how to integrate and install things, what the extension is called, its version number, etc. We need to create these other files now.
addtabbeside/
chrome/
content/
Because this is a first extension, we will skip some [http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Building_an_Extension#Setting_up_the_Development_Environment other directories and files] that more complete extensions would include (e.g., localization, skins).
====addtabbeside/chrome/content====
The first thing to do is to copy the '''addtabbeside.js''' file we wrote earlier to '''addtabbdeside/chrome/content/addtabbeside.js'''.
This code now needs to get merged into the browser so it can access elements within the application. We do this by providing a [http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/XUL_Overlays XUL Overlay] file. A XUL Overlay is a .xul file that specifies XUL fragments to insert at specific merge points within a "master" document. Often this is used to add new UI to an application (e.g., a new menu item), but in our case we'll use it to merge our addtabbeside.js script into the browser.
We need to create '''addtabbdeside/chrome/content/overlay.xul'''
<pre>
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<overlay id="addtabbeside-overlay"
xmlns="http://www.mozilla.org/keymaster/gatekeeper/there.is.only.xul">
<script type="application/x-javascript" src="addtabbeside.js"/>
</overlay>
</pre>
The first is '''addtabbeside/chrome.manifest''', which is a [http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Chrome_Manifest Chrome Manifest]. This file helps Firefox translate between chrome:// URIs and actual files on disk. It also allows us to specify where our overlay will be merged into the browser:
# Chrome package addtabbeside has it's content in ./chrome/content
content addtabbeside chrome/content/
# Overlay the browser.xul file with overlay.xul
overlay chrome://browser/content/browser.xul chrome://addtabbeside/content/overlay.xul
The first line registers the location for our content (i.e., .xul, .js). The second line registers our overlay, and says that overlay.xul will be merged with browser.xul. Mozilla uses chrome:// URIs to refer to aspects of the interface, and chrome://browser/content/browser.xul ''is'' the browser (try typing it into the address bar).
<pre>
<Description about="urn:mozilla:install-manifest">
<em:id>addtabbeside@senecac.on.ca</em:id>
<em:creator>David Humphrey</em:creator>
<em:description>New tabs are created beside the current tab instead of at the end of the tab list.</em:description>
<Description>
<em:id>{ec8030f7-c20a-464f-9b0e-13a3a9e97384}</em:id> <!-- firefox -->
<em:minVersion>2.0</em:minVersion>
<!--<em:maxVersion>3.0a3pre0a9pre</em:maxVersion>--> <!-- trunk build Feb 27Oct 14, 2007 --> <em:maxVersion>3.0+</em:maxVersion> <!-- work for v3.0 and above -->
</Description>
</em:targetApplication>
</Description>
</pre>
===Testing the extension===
C:\Documents and Settings\''Username''\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\''dev-profile''\extensions\addtabbeside@senecac.on.ca
This file should contain a single line of text--the full path to your extension, for example:
C:\temp\addtabbeside
# Create a new zip file named '''addtabbeside.zip''' (NOTE: you can use .xpi instead of .zip if your application will allow it).
# Add your extension files and directories to '''addtabbeside.zip''', making sure that '''install.rdf''' is in the root (i.e., don't zip the addtabbeside directory itself, just it's contents).
# Rename the resulting file to '''addtabbeside.xpi'''
The rewrite to an extension has been a success. C:\Documents and Settings\''UsernameIn both cases we've managed to achieve the same goal using almost completely different methods. Using an extension we'\Application Data\Mozilla\ve made it possible to share our changes with any Firefox\Profiles\''dev-profile''\extensionsuser worldwide without having to ship a custom build.
However, as was the case in our previous attempt, our code has a bug. Moving existing tabs doesn't update our position state, since we only modify '''mPreviousIndex''' when a new tab is selected; moved tabs remain selected, but change their order (i.e., TabSelect won't get dispatched on a move).
Luckily we've already stumbled upon the solution to this problem--the ''overlay'TabMove''' event. Here is the updated version of '''addtabbeside.js''', with the changes in bold:
var AddTabBeside = {
// Also add a listener for TabSelect so we know when focus changes to a new tab
container.addEventListener("TabSelect", this.onTabSelect, false);
'''// And a listener for TabMove to fix an edge case'''
'''container.addEventListener("TabMove", this.onTabSelect, false);'''
// Finally, add a listener for shutdown
onUnload: function() {
// Remove our listeners
var container = gBrowser.tabContainer;
container.removeEventListener("TabOpen", this.onTabOpen, false);
container.removeEventListener("TabSelect", this.onTabSelect, false);
'''container.removeEventListener("TabMove", this.onTabSelect, false);'''
},
onTabSelect: function (e) {
// when When a different tab is selected, remember which one. This is
// necessary because when a new tab is created, it will get pushed
// to the end of the list, but we need to know where to put it.
};
// Insure that our code gets loaded at start-up
window.addEventListener("load", function(e) { AddTabBeside.onLoad(e); }, false);
=Reflections=
You can read complete details on how to set-up an extension developer's environment [http://kb.mozillazine.org/Setting_up_extension_development_environment here].
=Resources=
* [http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Extensions Extensions on MDC]
* [http://kb.mozillazine.org/Extension_development Extension Development on Mozillazine]
* [http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/XUL_Event_Propagation XUL Event Propagation]
