Firefox is stealing my screen space.

User avatar
ChrisGreaves
PlutoniumLounger
Posts: 15498
Joined: 24 Jan 2010, 23:23
Location: brings.slot.perky

Firefox is stealing my screen space.

Post by ChrisGreaves »

Prolonged at Win11 and the Display size/scale/dpi/pixels.
Cheers, Chris


Firefox is stealing my screen real estate, and I would like to stop it doing so. I don’t know whether Win11 impacts Firefox, or whether it is a new release (I am 110.0.1 and up-to-date), or whether this new laptop is so sensitive that I am “clicking in the wrong place”, or what.
The image above shows in a purple circle what data is available to me when I ask for a list of topics from Eileen’s Lounge, and (red circle) what I would like to reclaim for the Firefox Thief.
Untitled2.jpg
Now some of usable real estate is soaked up by phpBB software, and perhaps an unfamiliar skin would reduce that a bit, but the bottom line is that if I could only get rid of the red-circled stuff, and add that space to my purple-circled stuff, the data available for my eye-brain to process would be doubled, and that ought to halve the time it now takes for my mind to process the results of a search (in Eileen’s lounge). I suspect the rewards would be much greater in a general Google search.

Contributing to my despair is that I don’t know the names of these new turfs, which makes it harder to search for a means to get rid of them.

1: I guess I have to have a Title bar for a window. Even though I know that I called up Firefox and can recognize the screen contents as that of a browser. Lions 1, Chris 0.
2: I could live without a menu bar; Since before my mother died (which is a sign of how depressing computers have become today) I knew that Alt+F brought up the File menu, Alt+E the Edit menu, and Alt+H led to About. I could do without the menu bar. But still an all it has retained its size.
3: This 40-acre lot seems to be new turf for a search box, but for years now, Ctrl+K has either opened a search box, or put my text cursor where it needs to be. I don’t need to SEE a search box. Ctrl+K, Ctrl+V, then <Enter> I can do while hunting for the keys on the keyboard.
4: I recognize the re-carved pictograms here, but once again the area seems to me to be three times the height it needs to be.
5: This area too I recognize by the pictograms (Why did I spend the first four years of my life learning to read words when today …?) but the area seems to me to be twice the height it needs to be.
6: I can no longer see where my purple six went.
7: This area, marked by a purple box, is to me the usable data that I see on a screen nowadays. It is not, you ask me, very much return on Investment on an $1,00 laptop and a two-week delay while the delivery crew goofed off.

If we now add my red area to my purple area, we will have doubled the area available for useful results.
Double the data means double the data that my high-speed eye/brain can accommodate, and that means double my speed of evaluating results.

It is now a desperate race against time whether my screen results will shrink to zero before I give up on computers.

Please note in passing that the text in Eileen's Lounge is mercifully small, I am trying not to chew up the screen with fonts that are over-kill for my prescription lenses.

(signed) “At least I vented on MSPaint while I had the screen area yesterday” of Bonavista.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Last edited by ChrisGreaves on 15 Mar 2023, 14:30, edited 2 times in total.
An expensive day out: Wallet and Grimace

User avatar
ChrisGreaves
PlutoniumLounger
Posts: 15498
Joined: 24 Jan 2010, 23:23
Location: brings.slot.perky

Re: Firefox is stealing my screen space.

Post by ChrisGreaves »

ChrisGreaves wrote:
12 Mar 2023, 21:01
Firefox is stealing my screen real estate,
Untitled.png5.png
Then I swiveled my chair though ninety degrees and asked for Active Topics on the Win7/Firefox 110.0 edition.
It seems to me that the laptop Win7/Firefox 110.0 (no suffix!) gave me 7.5 lines of data without any tweaking to the upper area, whereas Win/Firefox 110.0.1 is chewing up real estate.
Cheers, Chris.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
An expensive day out: Wallet and Grimace

User avatar
HansV
Administrator
Posts: 78232
Joined: 16 Jan 2010, 00:14
Status: Microsoft MVP
Location: Wageningen, The Netherlands

Re: Firefox is stealing my screen space.

Post by HansV »

This is what I see in Firefox 110.0.1 on Windows 11:

S2334.png

I don't display the menu bar (on the very few occasions that I need it, I press Alt to unhide it).
Nor do I display the Bookmarks toolbar - I use the Bookmarks menu.
In the Customize screen, I have set the Density to Normal, not Touch (which would result in larger icons),
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Best wishes,
Hans

User avatar
ChrisGreaves
PlutoniumLounger
Posts: 15498
Joined: 24 Jan 2010, 23:23
Location: brings.slot.perky

Re: Firefox is stealing my screen space.

Post by ChrisGreaves »

HansV wrote:
12 Mar 2023, 21:26
I don't display the menu bar (on the very few occasions that I need it, I press Alt to unhide it).
Nor do I display the Bookmarks toolbar - I use the Bookmarks menu.
In the Customize screen, I have set the Density to Normal, not Touch (which would result in larger icons),
Thanks Hans. I found Customize but could not see references to "denisty"

Then I had a thought: Were things really better in the good old days?
So I made no changes to this Win11 system, revouninstalled FF 101.0.1 and installed Firefox Setup 83.0.
Looks like this:-
Untitled4.jpg
MUCH less real-estate stolen from me.
Ten items of data available, which is better than 5.5

I think that this little experiment confirms my belief that FF 101 is either mimicking Win11's desire to fill the screen with useless enhancements, or else Win11 is somehow forcing FF to take on an appearance akin to Win11, perhaps by "upgraded" DLLs and the like.

I have turned off Updates, and will sleep on this.
Tomorrow morning I should make a decision, either to revert to 101.0.1 or to see what Firefox Setup 56.0 looks like. :evilgrin:

Cheers, Chris
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
An expensive day out: Wallet and Grimace

User avatar
HansV
Administrator
Posts: 78232
Joined: 16 Jan 2010, 00:14
Status: Microsoft MVP
Location: Wageningen, The Netherlands

Re: Firefox is stealing my screen space.

Post by HansV »

Sorry, the Density drop down is at the bottom of the Customize Toolbar drop down.

S2335.png
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Best wishes,
Hans

User avatar
DocAElstein
4StarLounger
Posts: 542
Joined: 18 Jan 2022, 15:59
Location: Re-routing rivers, in Hof, Beautiful Bavaria

Re: Firefox is stealing my screen space.

Post by DocAElstein »

ChrisGreaves wrote:
12 Mar 2023, 21:01
Firefox is stealing my screen real estate,
Hello
I never noticed that, but I have noticed that what I see is often in a few slightly different variations, since I have a diverse mixture of computers , operating systems and Firefox versions. They seem to change the layout a bit which often makes it difficult for me to find the correct info in a tutorial to do something.
I have noticed that if I use Firefox a lot then it eats my C: drive disk space, so have some others. (The average opinion seems to be that it shouldn’t and that it is some bug or other that only sometimes crops up). It probably happens a lot and most people don’t notice – so far 4GB stolen from the C: drive is the most I saw reported, so a lot of people would not notice that bit extra on their C: drive gone. My Layman gut feeling is to get rid of it if its there and is not supposed to be. (Occasionally it saved me due to my bad computer practices of using the C:drive a lot to store stuff. – ( I am getting better now I am better informed thanks to people here) )
I got a way to get a refund
https://eileenslounge.com/viewtopic.php ... 47#p305247
, that also has sometimes been quite generous in what it gives me, even on my one windows 11 machine. When you are in the mood Chris, it might be worth trying that. You might be surprised at the refund.
Alan
I seriously don’t ever try to annoy. Maybe I am just the kid that missed being told about the King’s new magic suit, :(

User avatar
HansV
Administrator
Posts: 78232
Joined: 16 Jan 2010, 00:14
Status: Microsoft MVP
Location: Wageningen, The Netherlands

Re: Firefox is stealing my screen space.

Post by HansV »

Are you still referring to disk space as memory?
Best wishes,
Hans

User avatar
DocAElstein
4StarLounger
Posts: 542
Joined: 18 Jan 2022, 15:59
Location: Re-routing rivers, in Hof, Beautiful Bavaria

Re: Firefox is stealing my screen space.

Post by DocAElstein »

I may have initially.
But I think i got it right eventually, I edited a bit just before your post, when I remembered the stuff you all recently told me
I seriously don’t ever try to annoy. Maybe I am just the kid that missed being told about the King’s new magic suit, :(

User avatar
HansV
Administrator
Posts: 78232
Joined: 16 Jan 2010, 00:14
Status: Microsoft MVP
Location: Wageningen, The Netherlands

Re: Firefox is stealing my screen space.

Post by HansV »

Thank you, that's better.
Best wishes,
Hans

User avatar
DocAElstein
4StarLounger
Posts: 542
Joined: 18 Jan 2022, 15:59
Location: Re-routing rivers, in Hof, Beautiful Bavaria

Re: Firefox is stealing my C: drive disk space.

Post by DocAElstein »

I usually get it... eventually :-)
I seriously don’t ever try to annoy. Maybe I am just the kid that missed being told about the King’s new magic suit, :(

User avatar
PaulB
BronzeLounger
Posts: 1596
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 20:28
Location: Ottawa ON

Re: Firefox is stealing my screen space.

Post by PaulB »

Chris, what is your screen resolution? Is your first illustration a full screenshot?
Regards,
Paul

The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts his sails.

User avatar
ChrisGreaves
PlutoniumLounger
Posts: 15498
Joined: 24 Jan 2010, 23:23
Location: brings.slot.perky

Re: Firefox is stealing my screen space.

Post by ChrisGreaves »

PaulB wrote:
13 Mar 2023, 20:04
Chris, what is your screen resolution? Is your first illustration a full screenshot?
Untitled.png
Hi Paul.
I have returned to the recommended levels 125% scale and 1920x1080 resolution.
Two major points:
(1) It is not too late in the game to do a factory reset and start over again.
(2) I am increasingly aware of pitfalls in trying to make a dozen applications retain a consistent style.

Option (1) comes about because I had not realised that Win11 was such a mish-mash of unwanted features. I have seen many web sites with solutions of "getting rid of Firefox's Tab bar" and "what is this Show More Options nonsense?", and as I have posted here, changes in MSPaint, Notepad etc. I had not anticipated changes in what had been static items for twenty years or more.

Option (2) comes about because I thought that moving to a 1920x1080 laptop screen would improve my life. Instead in several applications the fonts are now too small for me to read, which led/leads me into a series of changing scale in each application - in MSWord View, Zoom, 125%, in Firefox Ctrl+Shift+Plus etc, and so I have been juggling too many variables simultaneously.

I have to get on with commitments, and so the fastest course might be to Throw A Six And Start Again. At least in a new topic devoted to Win11 Display issues I could tread carefully and be monitored, to coin a phrase, along the way.

All of this, coupled with an over-sensitive touch pad (after trying to resolve that I have returned to a real Mouse) and changes in taskbar (rename your BATch file to be an EXE and you'll be fine) and similar (to me) drastic changes, and a laptop keyboard with grey letters on silver keys, and the requirement that some of the time but not all of the time, I must hold down a "fn" key to get things done and Shift+<F2> no lonre works in MSWord/VBE, and we end up with a very petulant, impulsive 76-year old teenager!
Cheers, Chris
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
An expensive day out: Wallet and Grimace

User avatar
StuartR
Administrator
Posts: 12577
Joined: 16 Jan 2010, 15:49
Location: London, Europe

Re: Firefox is stealing my screen space.

Post by StuartR »

I often run a very high resolution screen at a lower resolution because otherwise things are just too small for me. Sometimes the Scale option is sufficient to fix this, but not always.
StuartR


User avatar
ChrisGreaves
PlutoniumLounger
Posts: 15498
Joined: 24 Jan 2010, 23:23
Location: brings.slot.perky

Re: Firefox is stealing my screen space.

Post by ChrisGreaves »

StuartR wrote:
14 Mar 2023, 10:06
I often run a very high resolution screen at a lower resolution because otherwise things are just too small for me. Sometimes the Scale option is sufficient to fix this, but not always.
Thanks Stuart. My findings exactly.
I tried first a lower resolution (less modern than 1920x1080) and then tried scale (up from 125%) all the while wondering why I had bought a laptop that could pack so much data into a 13.5" x 7.75" screen, only to have to reject a significant chunk of it!

For the record the DELL Win7 screen is 13.25" x 7.75", they are probably identical, except for the resolution.
When I placed the order i thought that with 1920x1080 I would be given more data per (glass) screen. Might even speed up my work by being able to process (eye/brain) data in larger chunks.

Cheers, Chris
An expensive day out: Wallet and Grimace

User avatar
ChrisGreaves
PlutoniumLounger
Posts: 15498
Joined: 24 Jan 2010, 23:23
Location: brings.slot.perky

Re: Firefox is stealing my screen space.

Post by ChrisGreaves »

An expensive day out: Wallet and Grimace