Top toolbar is shown when hovering the top side of the screen in "single toolbar" layout with "compact mode"

[SamuXzX]

Captchas

• [x] I have read the instructions.
• [x] I have searched existing issues and avoided creating duplicates.
• [x] I am not filing an enhancement request.
• [x] I have checked that this issue cannot be reproduced on Mozilla Firefox.
• [x] I have checked that this issue can be reproduced once I removed all my Mods and Custom CSS.

What happened?

I selected the "single toolbar" layout and also the "compact mode" by right clicking on the sidebar and selecting the option. What I see is that hovering to the top side of the screen the space which would contain the second toolbar is shown.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/0c728643-aa5d-404f-800d-d45cc6880252

A response to the ticket was the following:

That's the title bar, so you can drag the window around or interact with the window control icons (minimise, windowed/maximised, close) which you appear to be missing.

But I set the title bar to be the system one so that I could manage it with my Desktop Environment:

I find it strange that the browser keeps trying maintaining its own implementation: it is empty because there's no content coming from the browser, let's just hide it.

Version

1.10.1b

What platform are you seeing the problem on?

Linux (Flatpak)

What component is this issue related to?

Customizable UI / Toolbars

Relevant log output if applicable

[sporocyst]

It is not only a place for window control button, it is also for bookmark bar.

[SamuXzX]

I get it, but it is being showed while empty, and I don't see any toggle or notice about seeing the bookmark bar when hovering to the top side of the screen; it is not really expected, most importantly because I explicitly set Zen to only use the sidebar.

[Propheticus]

@SamuXzX maybe the workaround shared here helps https://www.reddit.com/r/zen_browser/comments/1jou21y/how_to_disable_expand_top_toolbar_on_hover/

[SamuXzX]

Thank you @Propheticus, I'm sure that will work. Nonetheless, I'd keep this issue open: it is, in fact, an issue to be solved.

[Propheticus]

Found another option: Install the 'no gaps' mod and enable the remove top bar options.

(I use this mod to expand webpages to use the full screen real estate without bottom and right padding + hide instead of remove top bar so that I can still access the window controls on mouse-over)

[SamuXzX]

This is the first option I tried and it does work, thank you again. This shows that this is in fact an issue, because the workarounds comprehend tinkering with about:config or installing a mod specifically created to change things not customizable from the start: this case is worse, as removing the top bar when it is empty should be the default behaviour without mods. But it also shows that it is not an urgent matter, because there are workarounds, so we can keep this open.

[dosubot[bot]]

Hi, @SamuXzX. I'm Dosu, and I'm helping the desktop team manage their backlog. I'm marking this issue as stale.

Issue Summary:

• You reported an issue with the Zen browser on Linux using Flatpak, where the top toolbar appears unnecessarily in "single toolbar" layout with "compact mode" enabled.
• Despite system management of the title bar, an empty space remains for the second toolbar.
• Sporocyst mentioned this space is for the bookmark bar, but you believe it should be hidden when empty.
• Propheticus suggested a workaround and a mod called 'no gaps', which you confirmed works but prefer a proper fix.

Next Steps:

• Please let me know if this issue is still relevant to the latest version of the desktop repository by commenting here to keep the discussion open.
• If there is no further input, this issue will be automatically closed in 7 days.

Thank you for your understanding and contribution!

[SamuXzX]

The discussion is still relevant with latest version (1.12.5b)

[SamuXzX]

The issue has been made even worse by version 1.12.7b: now the top bar is always present, even if minimized, even when using ad-hoc Zen Mods to solve the problem (which — I repeat — is not a valid solution, and now it even isn't a solution at all). Now in compact mode the empty top toolbar always expands when hovering, which means I cannot use the top side of the screen to click buttons placed there: I have to slight move the pointer down to reach them; apart from this, the main issue is that I still have one empty top toolbar which neither Zen Mods can hide.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/903e45a4-61bb-4dc6-a65c-2a78efc263a3

[Propheticus]

zen.theme.content-element-separation set to 0 hides Zen's padding around the window. zen.view.experimental-no-window-controls set to true removes the window controls (and the bar they reside in)

By default the bar is not hidden because it holds the controls.

[SamuXzX]

Thank you @Propheticus. zen.view.experimental-no-window-controls seems like a good custom solution, given that I removed window controls from every window through Plasma settings. I just have a curiosity: shouldn't the bar be hidden anyway when removing the title bar

given that now window controls appear in the sidebar?

It seems like in compact mode window controls go back to the top bar, even if I disabled the title bar and they were moved to the sidebar:

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/7691b3ff-165d-4341-a701-c6d6bbe5c501

Additionally, now that I enabled zen.view.experiemntal-no-window-controls, window controls appear anyway in the sidebar when not in compact mode; as you can see in the video, I need to enable the title bar again for them to disappear:

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d6c7e8bf-7b80-4303-9358-d1dfa741aa31

[dosubot[bot]]

Hi, @SamuXzX. I'm Dosu, and I'm helping the desktop team manage their backlog. I'm marking this issue as stale.

Issue Summary:

• You reported an issue with the Zen browser on Linux using Flatpak, where the top toolbar appears unnecessarily in "single toolbar" layout with "compact mode" enabled.
• Sporocyst mentioned the space is for the bookmark bar, but you believe it should be hidden when empty.
• Propheticus suggested workarounds, including a 'no gaps' mod, which you confirmed works but prefer a proper fix.
• The issue worsened with version 1.12.7b, as the top bar now always appears, even when minimized, affecting screen interactions.
• Despite attempts to hide the toolbar using Zen Mods, the problem persists.

Next Steps:

• Please let me know if this issue is still relevant to the latest version of the desktop repository by commenting on this issue.
• If there is no further activity, this issue will be automatically closed in 7 days.

Thank you for your understanding and contribution!

[SamuXzX]

The issue is still relevant with 1.13.2b. A proper workaround is this:

zen.theme.content-element-separation set to 0 hides Zen's padding around the window. zen.view.experimental-no-window-controls set to true removes the window controls (and the bar they reside in)

By default the bar is not hidden because it holds the controls.

But it is a workaround, or at least it shouldn't be experimental, rather have an option in settings pages.

[dosubot[bot]]

Hi, @SamuXzX. I'm Dosu, and I'm helping the desktop team manage their backlog and am marking this issue as stale.

Issue Summary:

• You reported that in Zen browser on Linux Flatpak (v1.10.1b+), the top toolbar stays visible and expands on hover in "single toolbar" layout with "compact mode," showing an empty space meant for window controls or bookmark bar.
• The issue persists despite system title bar management and Zen Mods workarounds like "no gaps" mod or the zen.view.experimental-no-window-controls setting.
• The problem worsened in version 1.12.7b, impacting usability.
• Contributors have suggested workarounds, but you emphasize the need for a proper built-in fix or settings option.
• The issue remains open and relevant as of version 1.13.2b.

Next Steps:

• Please let me know if this issue is still present in the latest version of the Zen browser by commenting here to keep the discussion open.
• If I do not hear back within 7 days, I will automatically close this issue to help focus on active concerns.

Thank you for your understanding and contribution!

[SamuXzX]

The issue is still relevant in 1.14.9b: https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/4baaa39a-7787-4ac2-802d-d09405d2f04f

By default the bar is not hidden because it holds the controls. My setting has no controls, therefore the bar is empty: Zen could check if controls exist or expose a setting to manually hide the bar when in compact mode; hiding should probably mean applying the two about:config rules given to me as a workaround:

• zen.theme.content-element-separation set to 0 hides Zen's padding around the window
• zen.view.experimental-no-window-controls set to true removes the window controls (and the bar they reside in)

[dosubot[bot]]

Hi, @SamuXzX. I'm Dosu, and I'm helping the desktop team manage their backlog and am marking this issue as stale.

Issue Summary:

• You reported that in Zen browser on Linux Flatpak (v1.10.1b to v1.14.9b), the "single toolbar" layout with "compact mode" leaves an empty top toolbar area visible and expanding on hover despite using the system title bar.
• Contributors explained this space is reserved for window controls or the bookmark bar and shared workarounds like the "no gaps" mod and about:config tweaks (zen.theme.content-element-separation=0 and zen.view.experimental-no-window-controls=true).
• You acknowledged these workarounds but stressed the need for a proper built-in fix or a settings option to automatically hide the empty bar when controls are absent.
• The issue remains unresolved and relevant as of the latest version 1.14.9b.

Next Steps:

• Please let me know if this issue is still present in the latest version of the Zen browser and if you would like to keep the discussion open.
• Otherwise, I will automatically close this issue in 10 days.

Thank you for your understanding and contribution!

[SamuXzX]

Still relevant in 1.17.3b:

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/1e9a5399-9f68-4afc-9783-70f080fccaff