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Version 97 print.tab_modal.enabled set to FALSE not working anymore

  • 17 cavab
  • 10 have this problem
  • 3 views
  • Last reply by rw330i

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I have always had the Print UI disabled by setting print.tab_modal.enabled to FALSE. Since the Version 97 update today, this is not working. The FALSE setting is still there under about:config but the Print UI dialogue now keeps coming up.

I have always had the Print UI disabled by setting print.tab_modal.enabled to FALSE. Since the Version 97 update today, this is not working. The FALSE setting is still there under about:config but the Print UI dialogue now keeps coming up.

All Replies (17)

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Did you disable the default experience because you wanted to use the old preview or because you wanted to use the system print dialog?

I'm sure you know that there is a link to call up the system dialog on the right side of the preview/setup/print overlay:

So that is one extra click now (assuming the preview/setup/print overlay doesn't offer the settings you need).

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I do not want to have to use the built in Firefox Print UI. I want to continue to use my system dialogue without any extra clicks. I would request that the print.tab_modal bypass is re-instated as an option so I am not forced to use the built in Print UI. The old print interface that was removed in Firefox 97 was preferable and was more useful for convenient direct access to system printing.

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Hi guys, jscher2000 and cor-el

I totally agree with kemiles. It is very hard for us older folks to use the new version without the Print Preview. Too many things to figure out when the Print Preview is so easy. It took me about 5 pages of wrong printing before I could figure out how to print an important medical paper I need for my doctor's appointment. It is a waste of time and hassle. Why not give us the choice like before by making the print.tab_modal .enabled to the old (false) mode. Like kemiles I tried doing that and it does not work anymore. Please be a little more considerate to older people!!!!!!!

Amy

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Changes like this are very irritating and absolutely not necessary. What not just leave the pref for those who want to use it?

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Amylogamy said

It is very hard for us older folks to use the new version without the Print Preview.

Hi Amy, there should be a preview on the left side and settings on the right side. (Example screenshot attached.) Yours doesn't have the preview?

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Hi jscher2000

It is really hard to determine the size of what is going to print. You can see it the print preview but I printed about 5 pages with miniature letters before I figured out you have to click on the page size, then the scale, then using print system dialog etc. It is so much easier and obvious with the old Print Preview. You could see exactly the size of what was going to print. I don't understand why we cannot have the option of keeping the old one. What is it to you? Does it affect the program on your side so much that we cannot keep both? Still really upset about this change.

Taking about change now my tabs with the icons are not there either anymore. I use to click New Tab and it would show me big icons with the most used tabs. Now I just get a menu with the 10 most used. Why?????? I like to be able to see all the big icons. Is this fixable or do we have to follow your great IMPROVEMENTS with this also?????

Amy

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Hi Amy, it's not my decision about how printing works, I'm just a support forum volunteer.

Amylogamy said

It is really hard to determine the size of what is going to print. You can see it the print preview but I printed about 5 pages with miniature letters before I figured out you have to click on the page size, then the scale, then using print system dialog etc.

The paper size should stay on the last used size, such as Letter or A4. You shouldn't have to change that. For scale, it sounds like you will want to adjust that more often to suit the site. After that, you should be able to click the large blue Print button and not need to use the system dialog. Unless there is a specific printer preference you cannot modify through the setup panel.

Taking about change now my tabs with the icons are not there either anymore. I use to click New Tab and it would show me big icons with the most used tabs. Now I just get a menu with the 10 most used. Why??????

Let's discuss under your question here: https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1367585

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Hi jscher2000

Sorry I did not mean to take it on you. Thank you so very much for being a volunteer helping out people like me.

The people at Firefox should consider that many of us are not really savvy with computers. I think I know more than most people my age but it is still hard when they throw this changes at us without warning.

I did not  know about the page size until started playing with it. I know how to scale it also. I do use the system dialog because I do a lot of printing and I want to save ink by choosing draft. I guess I am going to have to get used to it.

Again thank you so much for your help.

Amy

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As a further problem with Firefox's removal of the ability to default to the windows system print dialogue in W7 and being forced to use the 'new' Print UI, I am unable, as far as I can see, to print a selection on the page without clicking on to the system dialogue link at the bottom of the Print UI window and going to the system print function anyway and then selecting "Print Selection".

Firefox need to restore the default print.tab_modal.enabled pref so the system print dialogue can remain the Firefox default and bypass the built-in Print UI. What is the point of a print function such as the Print UI that is not completely functional, with ease?

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Does the Firefox team pay any attention to complaints like this or are we just wasting our time complaining?

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kemiles said

As a further problem with Firefox's removal of the ability to default to the windows system print dialogue in W7 and being forced to use the 'new' Print UI, I am unable, as far as I can see, to print a selection on the page without clicking on to the system dialogue link at the bottom of the Print UI window and going to the system print function anyway and then selecting "Print Selection".

Hmm, this is slightly messed on Windows 10. What I see is:

(1) Select the part of the page you want to print

(2) Right-click > Print Selection and Firefox opens the combined preview/setup overlay

In the overlay, the preview should show only your selection.

If "More settings" is expanded, you will see Firefox placed a bubble next to "Selection" in the Format section (Simplified only appears if Reader Mode is available for the page):

(3) If you need to adjust other settings not available in the combined preview/setup overlay, click "Print using system dialog"

In the system dialog, Page Ranges section, Selection is not marked. However, Firefox already knows you want to print the selection, so it completely ignores any changes you make to the Page Range section -- at least in my test. You can leave it on All.

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Thanks for your response. Period of adjustment. This appears to work. Missed that. Good solution.

However it does not eliminate my annoyance at not being able to set the W7 Print System Dialogue as the default printing routine. All my Canon printers using the Canon print utility also handle formatting and display a proper preview, so with the Firefox Print UI, I jump through two layout previews before the job goes through. I see no need to disable my Canon preview as other programs use it just fine.

I should be able to continue to choose the W7 print system dialogue by default as was the case before version 97.

The extra work to click the print system dialogue to complete a print job is unnecessary.

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There is a bug on file to add a user preference to bypass the preview. This is unlikely to appear before Firefox 98 next month, and I'm not sure whether it will make it into Firefox 98 (it isn't even in testing yet).

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There are now several posts about this on the new feedback site connect.mozilla.org (which has replaced mozilla.crowdicity.com). You can access this new site using your Firefox login. I would encourage anyone who has an opinion about this to visit the new site and leave some feedback.

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Hi paul921,

Thank you for giving us the new feedback site.

I only could find one post under printing. What are the other comments posted under?

Thank you,

Amy

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=== For those who do not want any preview ===

It's finally here. Firefox 101 has a preference to bypass the combined print preview/setup overlay and go straight to the system dialog. Here's how you can try it out:

(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button accepting the risk.

More info on about:config: Configuration Editor for Firefox. The moderators would like us to remind you that changes made through this back door aren't fully supported and aren't guaranteed to continue working in the future.

(2) In the search box in the page, type or paste print.prefer_system_dialog and pause while the list is filtered

(3) Double-click the preference to switch the value from false to true

If you need to restore the default display, you can call up the preference and double-click again to toggle the value back to false. There's also will be a reset arrow at the right end of the row when the preference has a non-default value.

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I'm glad they decided to listen to their users.