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Make Ubiquity the Address Bar
How amazing would it be if you made the firefox address bar into ubiquity. Not only could I go directly to web pages, but do all sort of searches as well as highlight information on any page and do stuff with it in the address bar. The Smart Location Bar is great but this would make it amazing. Also you would not really need the search box anymore because you would be able to do the searches directly from the address bar.
I’m really hoping this gets adopted
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The more people who like this idea, the more it gets noticed.
The company has this in progress.
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For people who are really excited about this feature and want to try out the very experimental version, check out Blair's blog post that includes how to try it out:
Taskfox Guinea Pigs Wanted
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I had a similar idea but instead of replacing the address/awesome bar i think it should just replace search bar. Or if you could have the option that if you add ubiquity to your installation of firefox you can have the option to have it replace the address bar and or the search bar. The best part of firefox is that people can add stuff that the find useful. Eventually people would see what a good idea ubiquity is and would want it and come to expect it as a integral part of any browser.
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How about the 'awesome bar' still functions normally when you click it, but takes on Ubiquity functionality when invoking opt/alt-space?
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Inappropriate?The problem with this is that you'd be getting Ubiq command suggestions when you wanted URL suggestions, and vice versa. You'd need some way of differentiating between the two.
Hold on, awesome idea, brb.
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Blipo, what is the awesome idea? -
>_> >_> <_>< >_> If it works out, I'll share it.
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Inappropriate?There are plans of integrating Ubiquity with the AwesomeBar. Anyone want to help with that?
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That would be awesome. Too bad I'm not that good. :<
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Inappropriate?How about the 'awesome bar' still functions normally when you click it, but takes on Ubiquity functionality when invoking opt/alt-space?
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Just to clarify: you're also implying that the command(mac)/control + l would also access "AwesomeBar" functionality, correct? Absolute genius!
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I think that would be the best way to do it: ALT+L gets normal URLs, CTRL+space brings up Ubiquity. A good idea!
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This would be even worse than what we have now: there would still logically be two command-lines, but they will occupy the same place in the GUI. This is a usabilty no-no.
We should think about how to unclutter the conceptual model, not just the graphical representation. -
Inappropriate?I had a similar idea but instead of replacing the address/awesome bar i think it should just replace search bar. Or if you could have the option that if you add ubiquity to your installation of firefox you can have the option to have it replace the address bar and or the search bar. The best part of firefox is that people can add stuff that the find useful. Eventually people would see what a good idea ubiquity is and would want it and come to expect it as a integral part of any browser.
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Agreed, but I think the Awesomebar is already poised to supersede the search bar anyway. :)
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What's the point of having a separate search bar and AwesomeBar?
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Inappropriate?Perhaps this could be added as another character action in the awesomebar, without disrupting anything else.
For example, currently adding a * to the beginning of what you type limits searches to your bookmarks, a + limits to tagged pages, a ^ searches from your history (these characters can be customized in about:config). So maybe typing a & or somesuch could initiate ubiquity matches / autocompletion instead.
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Inappropriate?It would be possible to integrate with the awesome bar differentiating commands Ubiquity with a different color to the suggestion of the address bar.
I’m undecided
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Inappropriate?I'd love it if Ubiquity's keyboard shortcut accessed the Awesome Bar, but I don't want to limit surfing to a command like "goto."
Perhaps make such a command default?
I’m torn
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Inappropriate?Needs to be done; having two command lines is messed-up. I'm having serious trouble deciding whether something should be a ubiquity command or a bookmark keyword (on one hand, searches should probably be keywords, on the other hand -- ubiquity's previews are neat).
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Inappropriate?The way ubiquity works is great!
I don't like to use the mouse for google something. Easily pressstrong+spaceand you get everything that you may wanted. since I use Ubiquity I don't need the search-field.
it doesn't waste space on my screen and I don't need to use the mouse.
I would like to get access from ubiquity to the AwesomeBar, because then I could hide this input field too and don't need the mouse for that.
Ubiquity could replace anything in the top of the browser. that would be nice apart of the fact that presumably no one else could use my browser any more ;)
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I kinda explored that idea for a while (I even somehow disabled the tab bar for a few days), wrote two commands (go-url and go-webpage) yet I would still have preferred to have it integrate with the standard firefox user interface INSTEAD of a simplistic frustrating css layer on top of the chrome.
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Don't know about hiding addressbar/awesomebar (doesn't sound too appealing to me), but I just want to make sure you know what Alt+D does (@ windows, might be different shortcut on Linux/Mac).
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Alt+D is the internet explorer shortcut for the addressbar as far as I know, yet on mac/linux/windows I use ctrl/command + L(ocation) and ctrl/command + K(searchfield)
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Wegguy: I think the idea(l) would be to add Ubiquity's functionality to the Location bar, not the other way around.
Alt+D only works on Windows (yes, because it's an IE shortcut), but Ctrl/Command+L works everywhere. If you're used to using Firefox on multiple platforms, get used to that shortcut. :) -
Ctrl+D adds the page to bookmarks for me (FF3.1 / WinXP). Alt+D focuses locationbar for me (yes, both in IE and FF).
And I wasn't replying to the main topic but merely commenting on Remorak's reply, hence the comment instead of reply. An important part of his point seemed to be not having to touch mouse to work with locationbar/awesomebar - which you already don't have to. -
I rather like like the "simplistic frustrating css layer"
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Inappropriate?The reason I dislike the current "simplistic frustrating css layer" is due to the following reasons:
- It doesn't integrate into the UI and secondly it doesn't integrate into the style of the OS/firefox
This also means that a user would need to apply two different skins to change his or her firefox theme.
- As mentioned it isn't discoverable
Expanding on that a new user isn't expected to consider ubiquity this quickly, working with mediocre computer users I often see them first empty the url bar and next start thinking about how they wanna access the site they have in mind. (whether they are gonna type the url, whether they already accessed the site or whether they are gonna use the i'm lucky search)
- It doesn't follow the space allocation a user expects. Now it (seems to) load(s) into the webpage, which may give the impression its part of the current website.
- It doesn't use xul to build the user interface. This may seem a really weird statement to make, but even though I have never checked the code for the 'awesomebar' most or all user interface elements are shown through xul (I only base this on my knowledge of certain parts of firefox, which mainly have to do with the development of extensions, but if this should become a main part of firefox one day, it wouldn't be a bad idea to keep this in mind.).
I’m frustrated :P, not really actually...
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Inappropriate?It would contribute to streamline Firefox interface design more like Google Chrome design
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Inappropriate?Having ubiquity integrated in the awesome bar would effectively prevent you from being able to email the url, or do whatever with the actual page url that you are viewing because it would replace the url with the ubiquity command that you are currently typing. the only way i can see to solve this problem would be to have a sub-command call the url of the current page... but thats more complicated than just opening up ubiquity and typing "this" in.
Try to simplify it, not complicate it. IMHO Ubiquity needs it's own interface, whether it be another button on the toolbar which then drops down the ubiquity ui or the keyboard command. i like the toolbar button idea for all those 'novices' out there ;)
I’m concerned
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Most users aren't interested in the url itself and rather see the url as a representation of the page. So if they would type into the awesome bar mail this to misterx in their eye's nothing weird would happen. (Oh and this isn't naturally getting the input fields content, but rather the page url)
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Most users don't even know what a URL is. :) That bar with the slashes and other garbage in it means nothing to them. They understand that a domain, like "pepsi.com", is a "place" on the internet, but that's about it. The rest is gibberish to them.
Instead of copying and pasting a URL to show something to a friend, they click the "Share this page" link on the page and it emails the URL for them.
I've even seen people type "google" into their browser's search bar in order to find google.com, after which they type what they're really searching for into the page itself. -
Inappropriate?I love this idea. However, I'm not exactly sure why. What is there really to gain by combining them? I think the concerns about losing Awesome Bar functionality are valid. The solutions are variations on the same theme of separating them out somehow. But that made me realize that they're already separate as they are now. Ubiquity is totally a typing thing, so it doesn't make sense to have a mouse event open it--which means it doesn't *need* any screen real estate, as the Awesome Bar does. What is the difference between having to type a special command in the Awesome Bar or do something different in the search bar, and just the normal Ubiquity keyboard shortcut? I am beginning to think there is no real benefit from combining them. It would just add some confusion and a lot of extra work.
I think my vague feelings in support of this idea come from the instinct that Ubiquity needs to somehow feel connected to the browser skin. It seems to just be floating up there somewhere... not part of the browser. It appears over the website, which makes it feel like part of the web page too. Putting it up in the chrome would make me feel more at ease. Perhaps a better solution would just be to stick Ubiquity up into the chrome when you open it, so that it feels attached. It can still overflow into the page, as the Awesome Bar does, but it is anchored in the Chrome, and it feels less floaty.
Ultimately, if this is the real concern, maybe we want to question whether or not that is a big enough issue to do anything at all.
I’m I like Ubiquity.
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Inappropriate?i have set my status bar and menu bar on autohide... i have hidden the title_bar/caption... i have gotten rid of search bar... all that remains to be removed is the nav bar... and then i will have ONLY the tab bar (chrome-like thanks to chromifox and some extensions) on my firefox and everything else is content...
if ubiquity can have location bar features, pop goes the nav bar and i would be the happiest person alive :) ... perhaps a simple custom command could be added ... like "address_bar" or something, which when invoked, will simply look for an url as its argument... the trick however ... is that this command will be able to parse the browser history and other stuff to suggest sites and all just like the awesomebar does... and there it is...a ubiquity command to get location bar...
can some intelligent and skilled fella PLEEEZ do this!? and then i will upload a screenshot of my awesome ff3 to make others jealous ;)3 Comments Add a comment
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how many non-technical people use firefox without any bars on the top? i'm going to go ahead and say that this would be a limitation for UB. Why cant you just kill the nav bar now anyway and just create a goto command for UB? Problem solved.
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shikhanshu, you might be interested in Atul's Chromeless Browsing Commands.
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Gustavo, with Personal Menu, you don't need bars on the top and I'm pretty technical and its not limiting at all, though I do have the search bar still enabled.
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Inappropriate?There is now a project to uplift some Ubiquity functionality into the awesome bar.
Introducing Taskfox
Taskfox Wiki Page
Wired Article about Taskfox
I’m excited for Ubiquity to reach more people.
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Inappropriate?Yeah well simply put a toggle button (Taskfox/Awesome/Both split) where the drop down arrow would be and have also a shortcut key.
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Inappropriate?try my ubiquity skin: http://userstyles.org/styles/17350
it also skins ubiquity:mouse
not trying to be arrogant... it should be the next standard... -
Inappropriate?All of the ubiquity commands require spaces, so if you put define this, or map that, etc, the awesomebar knows its not a URL.
I’m excited
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Inappropriate?For people who are really excited about this feature and want to try out the very experimental version, check out Blair's blog post that includes how to try it out:
Taskfox Guinea Pigs Wanted
I’m excited.
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Inappropriate?It's great idea (similar to Chrome) and in my case would fit pretty much all the uses. The only advantage of Ubiquity is that it can modify the current page and get the page selection. If that can be done from the URL bar, that'd be an improvement for everyone.
I’m excited
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