multi-account-containers
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mozilla
Default container names specific to a browser window
Hi there, I'm a big fan of the profiles functionality in firefox. Containers look like they support the use case I'm looking for in a modern way. My use case is pretty simple: I have multiple accounts on account specific sites (azure, aws, google, etc.) I use these services for both work and home. I use different browser windows to hold work accounts and home accounts.
This feature request is to be able to have Firefox open a specific container (as its default) in a browser window so that my sessions can be segmented and support a "this window has home tabs" and "this window has work tabs" workflow
Yeah, this is my workflow too. Making tab-by-tab container decisions is a lot of mental overhead, IMO.
I basically segment my contexts with windows. Or a window in another browser if I need to separate logins (e.g. on Google). Or a private window if I want a disposable context. I'd also love to be able to naturally move tabs between two different windows to switch containers. And when I hide a container, I'd want restoring it to try to restore the original window arrangement - not pile all the tabs into one window.
This would help my workflow a lot! It would also be great if the container name could be added to the window title - this way, I could handle each container differently in my WM.
I would like to add an infinite amount of +1s to this !
I'm a user of Multifox (or was) with the "window mode" option enabled , as its no longer supported I can no longer assign a profile to an entire window, my workflow is similar to the previous posters.
Setting profiles on a per tab basis does not work for me as I can have anywhere upto and over 170odd tabs across several windows.
Being able to set a profile per window (or even option to have it per window or per tab to appease everyone) would be a massive advantage and would definitely help to streamline a very busy work flow !
To implement this we would likely need a platform change to do this cleanly. Other extensions have been able to implement this however I would rather not make hacks.
See: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1403422
Thanks @jonathanKingston for the context. What's the likelihood that we might expect this feature from the core mozilla team in the near future?
Not sure, "container windows" is certainly well asked for and this is essentially that somewhat. I think we should keep pushing for the platform support for this feature first. Even if we don't end up making it an option it will allow addons to make this much more cleanly.
Note: this is also a commonly-mentioned feature for Chrome-like parity to help users switch from Chrome. ;)
In addition to the note from @groovecoder - it will also help to stop users switching over to chrome now that there is currently no easy way to set container windows with Firefox anymore, it may not seem like much but it is a deal breaker for many users
If I'm reading @jonathanKingston right, there's a higher likelihood the extendability will be built out before this becomes a first class feature, resulting in an opportunity for an extension to add the feature.
If this is the case, I'd be happy to put a bounty on the extension and ask if the others on this issue would be interested in joining me.
Unfortunately extension programming isn't something I've done before, but I do build websites, I'd be happy to build a site, possibly even host it too, if a project was started to cover the container windows feature.
This and container-scoped bookmarks are the only things keeping me from switching entirely to Firefox -- hope it happens soon!
I would definitely love if I could set a default container – this is would enhance the Firefox browsing experience by some order of magnitude!
@sandinmyjoints I too want both of those things (bookmarks and window-defaults) but we should probably consider the scenario where they conflict.
In particular, when someone uses a Container-X-by-default window, and selects a Container-Y bookmark.
Personally, I think the bookmark's settings should win, it's the "privacy safest" outcome. If someone's workflow is to use the same bookmark in multiple identities, then it's probably best for them to not set a specific container for that bookmark at all.
Happy new year, all. Any news on this effort? Really liking containers but wish I could configure a default for windows (and a default container overall) - when I click links in slack for work it's very annoying that they don't open in the work container!!
OK, so it sounds like we're up to four related mechanisms:
- Domain-based (in Firefox 57)
- Bookmark-based (in Firefox 59)
- Window-based (?)
- Global default (?)
@chicagobuss While it would be great to set a "Work" container a the default for external links when on an actual at-the-office desktop, I have a harder time imagining the "right" behavior for a multipurpose machine. Firefox can't know whether the link you clicked was from a work-conversation versus a personal-one.
@DHager re: default-container windows and bookmarks colliding: I'd prefer to see container-bound windows, in which it is not possible to open a tab that uses a different container. One (or more) window(s) for Work containers only, others for Personal, etc. Then bookmark conflicts go away because you can only see/navigate to bookmarks associated with container bound to the currently active window.
This is what I'm used to in Chrome, so I'm very comfortable with this and my bookmarks are organized according to this principle. I can imagine use cases where you want to have tabs from different containers next to each other in the same window, like comparing a work account with a personal account for some reason. I'm sure there are creative ways to accommodate that use case.
What about, instead of setting the context of a window, the functionality is mirrored in another way? For instance, like opening a link in a new tab from a container that stays in a container, also having this occur when opening a new tab from a container? Is this more feasible in the framework?
+1. I'm constantly opening "generic" tabs in the window I've designated for [personal | work | other] account. I've only been using this tool for about 20 minutes and I already reeeeeally really want this :)
@sandinmyjoints @joesanford What if instead of some mechanism for explicitly assigning a Window-Container relationship, it becomes implicit based on the population of tabs already present inside that window?
Suppose the user creates a tab with ctrl-t, which always happens in the context of a particular window. Check if that window exclusively contains tabs bound to a single container X. If so, then it is safe to assume that the user wants another tab for the container X as well. If not, then fall back to the current behavior.
In other words, you create a "Work Window" simply by making sure that none of the tabs in it are anything except Work tabs, and after that Firefox helps you avoid accidentally breaking that pattern.
@DHager @sandinmyjoints @joesanford
What if instead of some mechanism for explicitly assigning a Window-Container relationship, it becomes implicit based on the population of tabs already present inside that window?
Interesting proposal, it seems like there are at least three cases here:
- when a user clicks a link outside of the browser with no context available
- when a user clicks a link inside an existing tab.
- when a user clicks a bookmark
For case no. 1, what about simplifying and just using the last focused container (or window)? I personally think any implicit workflows should be as simple as possible for a user to easily reason about what will happen. This solution goes along with user workflow IMO, because typically I am already looking at a "work" tab whenever I am clicking links in other programs related to work. I can live with the compromise of accidentally clicking a link meant for personal and having it open in my work tab, or vice versa. This solution can potentially be applied to no. 3 as well.
For case no. 2, it seems like what makes sense is to stick to the same container for any clicked links.
In general, I like the "one container per window" approach as it seems like it would simplify user workflows.
I have been a Chrome user the past 4-5 years and would love to make the switch back to Firefox - this is the one thing holding me back. I am a developer and am open to being involved with development on this (in FF or a plugin) as a way to pitch in and give back to the FF community.
+1 on @digitalowlnyc comment. The 3 contexts and how they are handled as well as helping out. I'm a Dev as well.
I don't think windows should be implicitly assigned an accnt though. A window should be opened under a specific accnt. Any tab opened in that window opens with that accounts settings. The window has it's assigned colour and it's icon so I know which window is which.
Again, if it's feasible to parcel out tasks I'd love to help out. I guess I could just look at the source.
@digitalowlnyc
Interesting proposal, it seems like there are at least three cases here:
Adding two more:
- Case 4: User creates an URL-less tab in an existing window (e.g.
ctrl-t) and wants it to already be for a certain container. - Case 5: User creates an URL-less tab in a fresh window (e.g.
ctrl-n) and wants it to already be for a certain container.
I find Case 4 is especially common when the next thing I'm about to do is type in some web-search terms.
Case 4: User creates an URL-less tab in an existing window (e.g. ctrl-t) and wants it to already be for a certain container.
This was the use case that made me go back to Chrome. I was constantly opening a "session less" tab.
I'd really love this. Another use case for me is that when I'm at work and need to log in to a CLI (fly, we are using concourse and you log in via oauth), I have to click a link in my terminal. In my browser, I'm only logged in to the application in my "Work" tabs and by default when I Ctrl+Click the link in my terminal it will open a default tab, hence failing the login.
Trying to switch full-time from Chrome, and this is really holding me back. I really want to have separate browser windows for contexts, and have each of them default to different containers.
Is there an easy way to enable this in an extension or other format?
@ericholscher I can't speak to the technical issues, but I think the immediate problem is what workflows should -- and shouldn't -- be supported, or else how to get them to play along in a scheme that is understandable by users.
I'm also in the camp of people who use this workflow in Chrome, and have it as a fairly major blocker for switching.
In my case, it's even more extreme separation, as I have multiple desktops and keep solely Work windows on one and solely Personal windows on another. This does completely remove any confusion over what should happen with external applications -- if I'm on the work desktop, all the other apps are also work-related, so of course I want links from them to open in my work profile.
There was an earlier statement of how this could be a good extra addon, but it needed some backend changes before that was practical. I'd be happy to poke at making that addon, if anyone knows whether those changes have happened?
The chrome design (tying the window to the container the way @sandinmyjoints describes it) is the right one. I wanted the same behavior in firefox, so I ended up running multiple profiles concurrently by starting up firefox with separate firefox -no-remote -P <profile name> commands on the command line.
The experience ends up being very much like chrome in that identity, bookmarks, history, etc. are separate per-profile. The chrome UX for creating those windows is way better, with the button in the top-right corner of the window, but otherwise the behavior is very similar.
I still think mozilla should implement some version of this issue to streamline the UX for this usage pattern. But for people who want something now, profiles are there.
Has there any progress on this front? I agree that this is a really important next step for Multi-Account Containers
