[Enhancement] support pref "browser.tabs.cardPreview.enabled"

[bege10]

Abstract

Firefox allows to change the view of tab tool tips to card view. Please, support this preference.

Steps to see the situation

1. Change "browser.tabs.cardPreview.enabled" to "true"
2. On horizontal tabs the tool tip changes to card view

Expected result

The tabs tool tips of TST also change the view

Actual (present) result

The tabs tool tips of TST don't change the view

Environment

• Platform (OS): Windows 11
• Version of Firefox: 126.0 (64 bit)
• Version (or revision) of Tree Style Tab: 4.0.15

[piroor]

Firefox does not allow WebExtensions addons to show arbitrary popup, so we only have three choices:

• A: Show preview popup inside the sidebar.
  • Pros: Easy to implement, secure.
  • Cons: Preview popup over vertical tabs will annoying (because it blocks access to tabs covered by it.)
• B: Embed preview popup inside the contents (the Web page you are currently see.)
  • Pros: Popup won't cover vertical tabs so useful.
  • Cons: Insecure. The active Web page can know you are using TST by tracking DOM events around elements embedded to the Web page by TST.
• C: Show preview popup as a regular window (like windows opened by window.open())
  • Pros: Popup won't cover vertical tabs so useful. Easy to implement, secure.
  • Cons: Visually annoying. The preview popup will have its own window decorations including titlebar.

All possible plans have serious cons, so currently I'm negative to implement preview popup from these choices.

Waterfox Sidebar (it is an extended version of TST) supports preview popup with native appearance. Waterfox itself is currently based on Firefox 115, so you'll see preview popup for tabs sidebar after its base version is updated to 128.

[bege10]

Do we talk about the same things? I don't mean the thumbnails. That is an option in the settings page of Firefox independent from the normal or card view of the tooltip. Because the tooltip without thumbnail looks the same with or without TST when the mentioned pref is set to false I thought it might be possible to have it look the same with and without TST with this pref set to true.

[piroor]

Oh sorry I misunderstood that you meant both browser.tabs.cardPreview.enabled and browser.tabs.cardPreview.showThumbnails are true. I've realized that you meant browser.tabs.cardPreview.enabled=true and browser.tabs.cardPreview.showThumbnails=false case.

I've created mock images for A, B and C.

A:

B:

C:

[piroor]

As those mocks described, such a rich popup has problems regardless it has a preview image or doesn't. This is the reason why I'm negative to simulate "browser.tabs.cardPreview.enabled" by TST.

[bege10]

I wouldn't mind A without thumbnail but I understand your opinion. Am I correct that the normal tool tip in TST is from Firefox and not simulated by TST? And that Firefox changes the tool tips to card view only for the normal Firefox tabs? So the only way to have card view tool tips in TST is by simulating them with extra code?

And thank you for this valuable add-on!