Taborama for Firefox combines Tab Groups with Containers
Taborama is an experimental add-on for the Firefox web browser that combines the use of containers with Tab Groups functionality.
Mozilla removed the Tab Groups functionality from the Firefox web browser some time ago. While Firefox users may install extensions such as Tab Groups or Simplified Tab Groups to reintroduce the functionality in the browser, at least some of these extensions will stop functioning once Firefox 57 gets released.
Mozilla plans to cut support for legacy add-ons in Firefox 57; this means that any extension that is not compatible with the WebExtensions standard by then, will cease to work in Firefox.
Update: Taborama has been renamed to Conex.
Taborama
Taborama is a WebExtension. This means that it is compatible with Firefox 57 and future versions of the web browser. In fact, it can only be installed in Firefox 57 right now.
The extension brings back tab grouping functionality, and combines it with Firefox's own Containers feature. First launched as a Test Pilot experiment, Containers will become a native Firefox feature.
Containers separate open sites and services from each other to improve accessibility and privacy.
The combination of Tab Groups with Containers makes sense if you think about it. Tab Groups provide you with options to sort tabs into groups and work with just one group of them. Containers group tabs as well making it a natural fit.
The extension is not fully usable yet. That's not the developer's fault though as the API to show and hide tabs has not been made available yet.
While you may use Taborama right now in Firefox 57, you cannot use it to only display a tab group in the browser's interface at this point in time. As soon as Mozilla implements the API, the functionality will become available however.
The extension adds an icon to the Firefox address bar that displays all containers. A search is provided to find sites of interest quickly, but you may also click on any container to list the sites it contains.
Sites are listed with a thumbnail icon, the page title, and the address. A click jumps to the selected site in the browser.
The search lists matching sites that are open in Firefox, but also sites found in the browsing history making it a tad more useful.
Verdict
Taborama is a promising add-on for the Firefox web browser. While its true functionality is not there yet, its author seems to be very active so that it seems likely that it will be added once Mozilla adds the required API.
Now You: Tab Groups, Containers, how do you manage tabs?
It was renamed to avoid conflict with a Chrome extension. (to Conex)
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/conex/
Seems like for some reason the add-on was pulled and is no longer available?
Tabmarks is a promising alternative (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tabmarks/)
We have to agree to disagree here. Besides, I just expressed a specific example how E10s can be an improvement with containers bound to groups.
As for DTA and TabGroups, oversimplifying by vilifying the addons authors is just unfair to them and dis-informative to the readers. I suggest you reread the open letter explaining the decision to quit TabGroups. If you don’t care to be informed, at least be fair in your claims. In this case, the fact that some addons can be ported does not mean they all can. The opposite is actually true, so that your demonstration is actually ridiculous.
To be honest, I have no interest in this line of discussion : either you already know what has been shown and explained months ago or you don’t. 140 signs thoughts process won’t make a difference either way.
@archie: DownThemAll died because the author refused to work with Mozilla to make API and port his addon.
See uBlock Origin, NoScript? They do it and their addons still continue working.
With WE, no addon will be broken with each update. “the part of Ghacks readers interested in Firefox and not being 140 signs anonymous commenters” never read the advantage of WE and only care that their legacy addons died
>> Ghacks readers have another POV and the switch to WE appears as a debacle to most of them.
>*Vocal commenters.
Fair enough. I should have written “the part of Ghacks readers interested in Firefox and not being 140 signs anonymous commenters.” But that’s a bit of a mouthful.
Thanks for the help.
Erg… It’s cool I guess, but this definitely not the Tab Groups I’ve been using. I seriously hope this is just a variant and be it’s replacement.
Also, Fuck the people who run Mozilla! They should have never removed this feature, that’s how you have an edge over your competitors you have useful features they don’t have!!
If they cared about their users they would’ve made it *possible* for most developers to transition their addons without a complete rewrite and in due time without waiting for the fucking api to be usable months(-years?) later. Too many of my addons became abandoned thanks to them.
Damn, you know how to exaggerate. You need to realize that the whole point of moving to e10s and subsequently to webextensions was to create a more stable and harmonious foundation to build addons on and additionally make the browser faster en more secure. How are they going to achieve that if they still need to support addons that were written years ago on an obsolete codebase? Also, the version of Firefox stable that halts support for legacy extensions is still months away, so how can you even begin to suggest that they are late with api development?
“Erg… It’s cool I guess, but this definitely not the Tab Groups I’ve been using.”
Dude you sound like my grandparents with your fear of change. I swear people like you rather see Firefox lose all it’s market share just so you can use your trusty addons that were abandoned 6 years ago anyway.
I’m glad the addons are being purged to make way for WE. Yes half of my addons are still legacy, but the other half has either been updated or replaced with a WE alternative at a faster pace than I expected. Some developers didn’t have the time to put effort into a rewrite and that’s a shame, but it’s also a necessary evil to ensure Firefox’s longevity.
> Ghacks readers have another POV and the switch to WE appears as a debacle to most of them.
*Vocal commenters.
While we appreciate your enthusiasm, it appears that you are painting a rosy picture of a much darker situation. Ghacks readers have another POV and the switch to WE appears as a debacle to most of them. At least that is my evaluation.
Tab groups is a legacy extension that was born to alleviate the loss of the panorama feature. Dumping panorama was silly and clearly indicating that Mozilla looks way too closely at market shares and has no issues with sticking it to their faithful geek user base. This extension went on a major overhaul recently (V 2.) Despite this major upgrade, the author shortly posted a detailed explanation why he was giving up: this had everything to do with late API’s and even more so with insufficient access through API’s. Late API’s can be fixed: will it really ? Insufficient APi’s is a done deal it is a design choice and some things just won’t be done. Firefox as we know it is already dead as legacy extensions have already started to die and the rest of them will be dead by 57.
If you take a look at DownThemAll, and try to understand why such an ubiquitous extension would simply go dead instead of being ported, you’ll get the same kind of feedback : API’s and insufficient access. Some things simply won’t be done in E10. As in: won’t be possible/allowed.
Massive loss of functionality in FF and Mozilla leaving its most loyal users in the dust is a major concern for the grand Ma’ type Firefox users.
Trying to convince us that it’s only a matter of time until the lost functionalities are restored if lying to our faces. This is what you just did. calling people grand ma’s and shamelessly lying to their faces denotes some specific kind of arrogance, more than ignorance.
Bottom line, MS keeps IE rolling while trying to shove Edge in our throat – and failing., This is what will happen to E10 FF if you ask me. To me it’s a done deal. Not a small thing when you’ve been using and supporting a product since V1
Mozilla kills its legendary software almost instantly by commandeering its brand and sticking it on the less desirable, run of the mill product. What were they thinking ? Or more to the point: who are the MORONS running this ?
As for Firefox longevity, I can tell you this: I won’t be sending €20 Mozilla’s way this year. I know, I know : grandma’s are a bit crazy and don’t really do what they’re doing. Guilty as charged.
I guess forking it will be. Hopefully, those doing the forking will not think so little of why Firefox was created and who its users are. I can tell you this : some of them are Grand Ma’s.
Tab groups have become the foundation of my browsing process years ago. OTOH I do not use containers, despite their obvious usefulness: their volatility and poor user interaction make them useless, borderline dangerous. Binding containers to groups is a nice way to make it all better. How they were not linked from the get-go is beyond me.
If such major features start becoming accessible again, I would definitely think about letting FF upgrade. In that case a very nice improvement over legacy FF : I do believe containers are needed and an appropriate response to some of today’s concerning challenges.
I also feel that this add-on is superior to the original Tab Groups (Panorama). Both in terms of user experience and features (because of Containers).
A separate page with nice huge visual groups can be done too, which would help managing large or numerous groups, but the quick access UI looks very good and makes switching more fluid and comfortable. We’ll have to see how it feels when used.
The tab hiding API is planned to be there for Firefox 57, I think.
Looks like I’ll be trying it together with Tree Style Tabs, even though I decided I wouldn’t need tab groups with TST.