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Right Click [W} Open Link New Window, changed to [D].

  • 9 replies
  • 2 have this problem
  • 46 views
  • Last reply by producer2

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From the very start, for the last 25+ years, Right Click a link, and hit the letter W to open the link in a new window... Suddenly, with 88 Update, it is now the letter D. (while everything else in Windows is still W)

How do I get it back to [W] (Industry Standard is W)

Why did Mozilla change the letter to D?

I don't mind having to train myself to use D instead of W... I do mind that everything else still uses W, so I have to train myself to only use D in Firefox.

From the very start, for the last 25+ years, Right Click a link, and hit the letter W to open the link in a new window... Suddenly, with 88 Update, it is now the letter D. (while everything else in Windows is still W) How do I get it back to [W] (Industry Standard is W) Why did Mozilla change the letter to D? I don't mind having to train myself to use D instead of W... I do mind that everything else still uses W, so I have to train myself to only use D in Firefox.

Chosen solution

Note that currently accesskey="w" is used for #context-openlinkinusercontext-menu (Open Link in New Container), so you may want to override this accesskey as well, possibly to "C".

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All Replies (9)

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There have been label changes that caused access keys to get changed in some cases (#1690561).

"View Image" => "Open Image in New Tab" (I)
"Open Link in New Container Tab" => Open Link in New Container (B->W)
"Open Link in New Window" (W->D)
"Bookmark This Link" => "Bookmark Link" (L->B)
"Copy Link Location" => "Copy Link" (A->L)

  • 1690561 - Adjust content context menu item labels for clarity/brevity [88]

(please do not comment in bug reports
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/page.cgi?id=etiquette.html
)

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Yes, this is one of the worst changes Mozilla has made in recent years. After three decades of power use, I can't just suddenly switch gears, especially when I have to use other browsers that continue this key-cut tradition. I might also add that I'm encountering more and more sites that specifically recommend using Chrome. Has Firefox jumped the shark?

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While there is no officially supported workaround for this, you can use startup scripting to hack menu labels and shortcut keys. This takes some work to set up so if you're interested in the details, check out:

https://www.userchrome.org/what-is-userchrome-js.html

To adapt the script in my Example section, the info for the "Open Link in New Window" access key change is:

      {
        id: 'context-openlink', 
        newkey: 'W',
        newlabel: 'Open Link in New Window'
      }

If you are adding that as a third change after the other two, make sure to add a comma between before the new one.

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Chosen Solution

Note that currently accesskey="w" is used for #context-openlinkinusercontext-menu (Open Link in New Container), so you may want to override this accesskey as well, possibly to "C".

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producer2 said

Yes, this is one of the worst changes Mozilla has made in recent years. After three decades of power use, I can't just suddenly switch gears, especially when I have to use other browsers that continue this key-cut tradition. I might also add that I'm encountering more and more sites that specifically recommend using Chrome. Has Firefox jumped the shark?

Yes... doing research, I open a lot of new pages.... I ended up switching to Chrome for research, so I could continue to use W for my Open in Window key - hard to undo 30 years of training..

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Does anyone from Mozilla monitor these pages? I can't believe only a handful of us are furious about this utterly unnecessary change. I'll try to figure out the autoChrome thing, but this is such a waste of time. I might as well just switch permanently to Chrome.

I do genuinely appreciate the help you guys are offering, though. Thank you.

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Producer2;

I think they do... But clearly, they don't consider this a problem! Yea... lets just change an internationally standard shortcut key function on a whim! Nobody will notice!!!! I guess they don't think we used those shortcut keys.

Modified by wizflip

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producer2 said

I'll try to figure out the autoChrome thing, but this is such a waste of time. I might as well just switch permanently to Chrome.

Here is an expanded version of the startup script that includes the W change (and the container change):

https://www.userchrome.org/samples/autoconfig-context-menu-items-W.zip

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I found a solution to this problem. I've switched over to Chrome, which I used to dislike. They've made substantial improvements over the years, and I couldn't be happier. Sorry, Mozilla. You blew it.