Hi

Thank you for using Firefox. We’re sorry that you’re unhappy with the new design.

Here are a few suggestions for restoring the old design. We hope you’ll find one that works for you:

• Use the Classic Theme Restorer to bring back the old design. Learn more here: How to make the new Firefox look like the old Firefox
• Use the Add-on Bar Restored to bring back the add-on bar. Learn more here: What happened to the Add-on Bar?

Firefox is a work in progress and your feedback is very important to us. Our support community is run by volunteers who work hard to help all Firefox users, but we can’t make changes to the design ourselves. Please help us improve Firefox by leaving feedback where the designers and engineers can see it: https://input.mozilla.org/en-US/feedback.

I am not sure what the problem is you are seeing. Is it that you have addons that are now not compatible ? Is it just manual customisations are somehow lost ?

I have not updated Mozilla Firefox Linux yet, and Iceweasel is not fully directly supported here {Although it does link here from its GUI ) but Mozilla Firefox 39 for Windows looks much the same as Fx38.0.5 and I do not notice much of significance in the release notes that affects the UI

• https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/39.0/releasenotes/
  • There is the new Invite people in your social network to a Firefox Hello conversation
  • Many other changes are not noticed by most ordinary users https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/Firefox/Releases/39

One issue is add-on compatibility, yes. Sometimes they are, sometimes not, often they need re-configuration, and / or the new-layout's latest creations (read: "breakage") are not addressed, requiring yet more add-ons.

I have some add-ons which simply put items back in menus which were there for years, then "disappeared" thanks to some GUI-theorist's swell notion. Another new add-on, this round, just to get the search bar to work as it did for years. The "classic restore" add-on helps with tons on-purpose-imposed breakage, but it also takes a long time to go through the myriad of settings which un-do-set the many changes, forced on us by gui-designers.

Bottom line - I should not download an upgrade to my "piano" application and get a "tuba," with the "option" to install a bunch of "add-ons", maintained by 3rd parties in their spare time, to restore the piano-keyboard I expect. New layouts should be an option to enable or disable, sans-add-ons.

pianists - really? That's a 'whine' I haven't heard before.

What keyboard commands have been changed with the "new" UI? ["new" 14 months ago]

As far as "forced changes" - who is forcing you to use Firefox?

These add-ons can be a great help by backing up and restoring Firefox

FEBE (Firefox Environment Backup Extension) {web link} FEBE allows you to quickly and easily backup your Firefox extensions, history, passwords, and more. In fact, it goes beyond just backing up -- It will actually rebuild your saved files individually into installable .xpi files. It will also make backup of files that you choose.

OPIE {web link} Import/Export extension preferences

@FredMcD - Thank you for that info. This looks like a way to greatly shorten the process of Fixing Firefox to work "like the Firefox browser" (whatever version you learned to use), when setting up a new machine or re-installing.

Unfortunately, this would not help with new changes in later releases (installed to patch security issues). Those will require more add-ons / customizations to Fix. But at least all the hours spent putting Firefox back to working "like Firefox" could be preserved, speeding future repairs to the gui-damage done.

I would suggest everyone save one of these backups as soon as you have things working "like Firefox," so that If things fry later, you can have a "gui-restore point" to work from.

the-edmeister said

What keyboard commands have been changed with the "new" UI? ["new" 14 months ago] As far as "forced changes" - who is forcing you to use Firefox?

The GUI is part of the keyboard, in that analogy. A piano doesn't have a "mouse" which is integral to its operation.

Force = "learned to use it". Who forces pianists to play piano?

JKff22 said

Unfortunately, this would not help with new changes in later releases

Not So. Febe will restore much of you system. And once the browser is back the way you want it, new add-ons or settings, Febe will save the new profile.

You may find this useful;

Customizable Shortcuts {web link} Allows to customize Firefox shortcuts.

I had to do a new FF installation in a Virtual machine yesterday. This add-on was very helpful in shortening the process of un-breaking / restoring the user-interface.

It even worked across a version change (which seem to be weekly, now - should be up to FF version #20574 by next year).

Thanks Very Much!!