Please give me the old interface back in the Firefox extension

Sandie

Ugh, just accepted an update and now I have the same browser interface in FireFox that I've seen sometimes when I've used Chrome. Why was there no warning?



I have logical folders set up, which made it very easy to switch between work sets, and to find logins, and now I can't access them. I was hoping you'd add them to the iPad interface, instead it seems you're going in the other direction towards the interface I've seen on Chrome?



I've absolutely loved the ease of use of 1Password, but in one update you've ruined it! I can't get the Firefox app unlocked quickly, I type the master password and hit return, and nothing happens, I have to switch back to the mouse and click! If I lock it, it's a real struggle to get it unlocked again (the field seems to stop recognising that I'm typing, and I have to click around a lot open and shut the app / to get it working). When it does unlock, it seems much slower than the old interface.



I don't want to use a search box as a primary method of getting at my logins, it's clumsy, and you've added steps to the process! What used to be one click to open the 1Password interface, followed by a swift selection off of a dropdown menu has now become:[list=1]

[*]open app

[*]click to get search box open

[*]type text

[*]move mouse back to list to select actual login required.

[/list]

You're adding barriers to use, rather than making it easier to use! How is this an improvement?



Another useability issue is that the old inteface used to be centred on my screen. This one appears to be locked to the icon that opens it, it might feel a bit more useable if it wasn't squashed up in the top corner of the screen.



I use 1Password to both bookmark and store passwords. I don't use any bookmarking service nor do I set up bookmarks in browsers. This means whatever device I'm on, 1Password has all my synchronised passwords and bookmarks. If I'm a guest on a computer I typically get the password from my phone (was hoping there would be a web version sometime). You've just completely changed the interface, and the usefulness of the app to me. Please advise if you'll be offering an interface choice, or whether this is now it.



Oh, and reading the forum I note you're suggesting we use CTRL+\ which only works intermittently on Firefox 11.0, although I note that it does place the interface window in the middle of the screen. So if we could have control of which shortcut to use to make the screen appear, I guess that might partially solve the problem.



Have you actually looked at this interface with a UX person?



Having been with you a long time and recommended this as an app 'that just works' I'm now off to look at the competition. Really disappointed.



Sandie

Don Dinnerville

I'll second this request. I'm not a fan of the new interface at all - especially since it's now one interface in IE and a different interface in Firefox. As a developer, I have to go back and forth, so to have two different UIs for this one program is frustrating. Besides, a fundamental change to the look and feel of the interface means re-learning how it works, and so far, I'm learning that how this one works is not nearly as good as how the old one worked.

khad

Sandie,



Thank you so much for taking the time to post your feedback. We always appreciate knowing what 1Password users are looking for and take it all into account as we move forward. I believe you would not have taken the time to post if you didn't actually care about 1Password, so I also thank you for your passion.



We've unified the extension interface across Safari, Firefox, and Chrome on both Mac [b]and[/b] Windows now. Firefox for Mac has used the "new" extension for over half a year now. We thought it was about time to roll it out in Firefox for Windows with the release of Firefox 11.



Having folders in the extension is something we are looking into, and I have passed your vote for this along to the developers.



[quote]I can't get the Firefox app unlocked quickly, I type the master password and hit return, and nothing happens, I have to switch back to the mouse and click![/quote]

This is not expected behavior. Pressing ENTER after typing your master password absolutely should unlock the extension. I've not heard of the problem you are describing before, and I'm confident we can get it working for you just like it does for all the other Firefox extension users if you are willing to work with us to resolve it on your machine.



[quote]click to get search box open[/quote]

This is not necessary. There is no need to click anything to begin a search. Simply press CTRL+\ to open the extension, type a few characters to immediately begin a search for the Login you would like to Go & Fill, then press ENTER. You can use the arrow keys to select from the list as well. The "search" button is there for discoverability, but you never need to click it to begin a search. I hope that helps if even just a little bit.



[quote]the old inteface used to be centred on my screen.[/quote]

The new extension popup utilizes Fitts' law to open from the toolbar button when you click on it with your mouse cursor. The resulting popup is always closer to where your mouse cursor already is because of this. If you open the Firefox extension using the keyboard shortcut, it does, in fact, open in the center of the window.



[quote]If I'm a guest on a computer I typically get the password from my phone (was hoping there would be a web version sometime).[/quote]

The 1PasswordAnywhere feature has always been built into your data folder to give you access to your data in any modern web browser. You can find an overview of it with instructions in the User Guide:



http://help.agilebits.com/1Password3/1passwordanywhere.html



[quote]CTRL+\ which only works intermittently on Firefox 11.0[/quote]

Coupled with the above problem related to master password entry, it sounds like there is certainly something happening on your machine which is not expected behavior. CTRL+\ should always either open the extension popup or, if you are viewing a login page for which you have an entry saved in 1Password, fill your credentials.



Please let me know if you would me to help you resolve the issues you are having. I would love to get things working on your machine.

khad

[quote]I'll second this request. I'm not a fan of the new interface at all - especially since it's now one interface in IE and a different interface in Firefox. As a developer, I have to go back and forth, so to have two different UIs for this one program is frustrating. Besides, a fundamental change to the look and feel of the interface means re-learning how it works, and so far, I'm learning that how this one works is not nearly as good as how the old one worked. [/quote]



Don,



As I mentioned in my reply to Sandie above, Internet Explorer is actually an outlier now. It is the only browser (out of seven if we include the Mac versions of Safari, Firefox, and Chrome as well) that has a different interface. There are some technical reasons for this, but our goal is to unify the interface across all browsers eventually. I don't have a time frame for this, but it is on our radar.



You mention that the standard extension is "not as good as" the IE-only one, but you didn't give any specifics. I would love to help if you could provide more details.



Thanks in advance!

ChrisJenkins

I've been 'suffering' with the new interface on the Mac for ages now and am sad to see it also arrive on Windows (I use Windows much more than OS X). I fail to see anything better about the new interface and the lack of folders is a massive backwards step. Please can we get back to the perfectly usable interface we had before. What are the supposed advantages of this new interface?



And of course the new extension is totally broken in FireFox 11 at the moment (doesn't work at all) though hopefully there will be a fix for that very soon.

khad

Chris, the biggest changes are foundational rather than on the surface. The new extension uses Mozilla's JetPack APIs which we believe is the future for Firefox extensions. One of the most noticeable benefits for users such as yourself is that the new extension does not have to be recompiled with every single Firefox release. [b]Compatibility issues are essentially a thing of the past now. [/b]I can't stress how huge this is. Our current extension has been working in Firefox (for Mac) since version 6 and is still working in the current version 11. In fact, the "new" Firefox extension [i]already[/i] works in Firefox 12 and 13. That was pretty much impossible before.



Another nice perk is that the "new" extension [b]updates happen in the background and do not require a restart of Firefox[/b].



Having the same extension running in [b]six browsers[/b] across [b]two platforms[/b] is in itself a pretty amazing accomplishment, but we start to see benefits from this as features and fixes in "the extension" are immediately available to all users of every browser.



To reap these and other benefits, there needed to be a fundamental shift in



…the way the extension connects to the main application (respecting sandboxing rules set forth by the browsers for increased security)



…and it's interface (since "native" UI elements are not possible in the modern extension APIs provided by the browsers and would look out of place in Windows if we used Mac elements and vice versa).



It is not really possible to go backwards since browsers are only tightening the sandboxing — and for good reasons — as we move forward.





[quote]And of course the new extension is totally broken in FireFox 11 at the moment (doesn't work at all) though hopefully there will be a fix for that very soon.[/quote]

As I mentioned above, the extension has been working with Firefox 11 since day one. [url="http://forum.agilebits.com/index.php?/topic/10274-problem-with-firefox-11/page__view__findpost__p__59137"]It appears that you were able to get the specific issue you had on your machine resolved by following the troubleshooting guide.[/url] That's great! <img src='http://forum.agilebits.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

Sandie

Thanks for taking the time to respond.



Whilst I can certainly understand why you would unify the interface across browsers, I can't think of a good reason why you would remove useful functionality whilst doing that.



I suspect the users commenting on the forum are the tip of the iceberg on this issue. I had actually been using Chrome less and less because I find the 1Password interface so awful. I would open Chrome for browsing, then when I needed to login, recall that it's a pain, and switch to FireFox instead. So I've been really unhappy with the Chrome 1Password interface for as long as I can recall, but had no idea you were unifying the interface and about to remove the interface I was happy with!



For the record, I won't be using 1Password or recommending it to anyone because:[list]

[*]Your unified interface doesn't work well for me.

[*]Your company appears to have become focused solely on your new technology/architecture, and blinkered to what your customers actually want. "...biggest changes are foundational rather than on the surface.." seems to be the company view, and you really don't seem to be understanding that as product users, we're not overly concerned with that, and for us the only visible changes are the interface!

[*]I was appalled that there was no warning prior to the update. The last thing you want during a working day is something like this to stop you in your tracks, because all of a sudden an inteface has been radically altered.

[*]Passing my 'vote' along to the developers strongly suggests to me that you either have absolutely no intention of making the folders accessible again, or it's so far down your priority list, it could be years before it arrives.

[*]No folders on the iPad app.

[*]No tabs in iPad app's browser, meaning that working with multiple logged in accounts open at the same time requires copy and paste to another browser option.

[/list]

Sandie

khad

Sandie, all of us at AgileBits will be very sad if you stop using 1Password. We value your feedback (and that of all 1Password users) immensely.



[quote]Your company appears to have become focused solely on your new technology/architecture, and blinkered to what your customers actually want. "...biggest changes are foundational rather than on the surface.." seems to be the company view, and you really don't seem to be understanding that as product users, we're not overly concerned with that, and for us the only visible changes are the interface![/quote]

I completely understand how it is possible to see it that way, but the truth is that it's not so much that we are focused on new technology but that the browser makers are. We are responding to a shifting landscape by producing an extension that will allow us to stay current — now and for a very long time to come. The old method simply is not feasible going forward.



We've actually had a very large number of users who have been requesting the "new" extension in Firefox for Windows for months now. Most of it has been via email, but there are definitely [url="http://forum.agilebits.com/index.php?/topic/10178-love-the-new-firefox-extension/"]folks on this forum who love the new extension interface[/url]. That obviously doesn't help you, and I understand that. Such matters can be very subjective, so I have tried to stick to the objective fact in my replies.



[quote]I was appalled that there was no warning prior to the update. The last thing you want during a working day is something like this to stop you in your tracks, because all of a sudden an inteface has been radically altered.[/quote]

The extension was already in five other supported browsers (including Safari and Chrome for Windows), but you are right. We could have done more to notify folks beyond the [url="http://blog.agilebits.com/2012/03/22/1password-firefox-new-extension/"]blog post[/url]; [url="https://agilebits.com/onepassword/win/release_notes#v283"]release notes[/url]; and forum posts.



[quote]Passing my 'vote' along to the developers strongly suggests to me that you either have absolutely no intention of making the folders accessible again, or it's so far down your priority list, it could be years before it arrives.[/quote]

It doesn't suggest anything beyond what I wrote, and I meant what I wrote. I am advocating on your behalf to the developers for this feature. I'm on your side.



[quote]No folders on the iPad app.[/quote]

Not yet.



[quote]No tabs in iPad app's browser, meaning that working with multiple logged in accounts open at the same time requires copy and paste to another browser option.[/quote]



Hey, wait a minute. I thought we were talking about the extension interface. That's two 1Password for iPad comments in a row now. <img src='http://forum.agilebits.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />



No matter. I am happy to suggest that you tap the "globe" icon in 1Password's built-in browser to access any of the Login items you have saved for a particular domain.



If you do stop using 1Password at this time, I hope you will keep 1Password in mind in the future as we continue to improve both the application and extension.

mbm-kevin

I am running 3.9.2 in FireFox 11 and am disappointed the folders went away.

I keep track of many logins for different accounts and without the folders, it is much harder to find the login I want to use.

_PLEASE_ bring back the folders~~~~ (or at least make it an OPTION to hide folders)



Kevin "the bookkeeper"

Chris White

Hey Kevin,



As you can imagine we've gotten a lot of requests to bring back folders and I know this is definitely on our developers radar. Like Khad, I can't make any promises but I am personally hoping to see folders added to the new extension soon! I just want to assure you that your request has been heard and letting us know this is important to you will help determine the future developments of 1Password.



I also want to point out that with a standardized extension across six different browsers it's going to be much easier for our developers to add features and make improvements quickly because they don't need to worry about six different implementations. Right now those changes may seem to be in the background but they're foundational in a way that will let us be more responsive to users like you going forward.

Don Dinnerville

[quote name='khad' timestamp='1332811204' post='59118']

You mention that the standard extension is "not as good as" the IE-only one, but you didn't give any specifics. I would love to help if you could provide more details.

[/quote]



I think that others in this thread have adequately covered how it's not as good. Chief concern - folders. And inherently, completely different UI is not as easy to use, which equates to "not as good". Other concerns / suggestions (not necessarily limited to ways that this is inferior to IE extension, but just some general feedback):[list=1]

[*]The 1Password button isn't a toggle. If I click it once, the interface displays. If I click it again, it refreshes. Sometimes I click on it only to see that the login credentials I'm looking for aren't there, so I want it to go away. But it's not always convenient to click somewhere else on the browser or web page to get the focus to go away and "lose" the 1Password interface.

[*]No "Fill Last Generated Password" button.

[*]No tooltips on any of the buttons in a brand new interface = confusion.

[/list]

That's it for now. But please don't take a page from Microsoft's toolbars to ribbons playbook - fundamentally changing user interfaces without any communication ahead of time breeds contempt amongst your audience. 1Password is a good product, but alienating your most loyal users is a pretty bad idea.

Don Dinnerville

PS - I'm "following" this topic, but I've received 0 notices of any replies to this thread since I began following it. Not sure if the system isn't working or there's some setting in my account options that's "off", but it'd be nice if following a topic actually notified me of responses to that topic.

khad

[quote]The 1Password button isn't a toggle. If I click it once, the interface displays. If I click it again, it refreshes. Sometimes I click on it only to see that the login credentials I'm looking for aren't there, so I want it to go away. But it's not always convenient to click somewhere else on the browser or web page to get the focus to go away and "lose" the 1Password interface.[/quote]



This appears to be a bug in Firefox for Windows. It is the [i]exact same extension[/i] in Firefox for Mac, but it behaves as you are expecting it to behave in Firefox for Mac. This behavior is controlled by the browser not the extension. <img src='http://forum.agilebits.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':(' />







[quote]No "Fill Last Generated Password" button.[/quote]

Not as such, but you can click the "View password history" to see all generated passwords for the domain you are currently viewing. Just click the one at the top of the list (or any of them) to fill.



[img]https://img.skitch.com/20120406-jh33d8f641cg3ej4tbcp7fsuer.png[/img]

One extra click with far more power, but I will definitely let the developers know you would like to see a "Fill Last Generated Password" button.







[quote]No tooltips on any of the buttons in a brand new interface = confusion.[/quote]

No tooltips at this time, but there are labels at the top of each section. If you quickly TAB through them you can learn them in a moment. I hope that helps.



[img]https://img.skitch.com/20120406-r5fy595am72dx76q2qgqgdsa5j.png[/img]



[quote]That's it for now. But please don't take a page from Microsoft's toolbars to ribbons playbook - fundamentally changing user interfaces without any communication ahead of time breeds contempt amongst your audience. 1Password is a good product, but alienating your most loyal users is a pretty bad idea. [/quote]

We have no intention to alienate anyone. As I mentioned above, we actually rolled out this extension more than half a year ago on the Mac, and it has been in use in Safari and Chrome in Windows for quite some time now. It has already received a major facelift since [url="http://blog.agilebits.com/2011/07/11/safari-5-1-users-meet-the-new-1password-extension/"]its first incarnation[/url] due in part to user feedback. Please keep it coming. We really do appreciate it!





[quote]PS - I'm "following" this topic, but I've received 0 notices of any replies to this thread since I began following it. Not sure if the system isn't working or there's some setting in my account options that's "off", but it'd be nice if following a topic actually notified me of responses to that topic. [/quote]Notifications are working for me, but I will double-check our backend. Thanks for letting me know. Please make sure the email messages are not in your spam folder by mistake.

IndyJpr

[quote name='khad' timestamp='1333685051' post='59337']We have no intention to alienate anyone. As I mentioned above, we actually rolled out this extension more than half a year ago on the Mac, and it has been in use in Safari and Chrome in Windows for quite some time now.[/quote]



You keep repeating a variation of this statement. FYI, this is absolutely no consolation to users, like me, that have been happily using the Firefox version for sometime and could care less what others have been using or are happy with. I purchased your product based on the functionality present within Firefox. I have now lost that functionality.



Instead of giving us a vague statements like "I'll pass this on to the developers" why don't you (or someone with the authority to do so) give us a concrete statement as to whether this functionality will be restored. (A time frame would also be nice but I'm afaid I'm already asking too much.)



Thanks for listening,