Send Tab URLs: Send to Gmail feature doesn't work with new Gmail message composer

Update 17 February 2013: The problem described in this post appears to have been resolved.

Google has recently rolled out a new, redesigned message compose user interface, which breaks Send Tab URLs when selecting the option to send the list of browser tab URLs to Gmail.  After logging in to Gmail, users are stuck at the screen showing the progress for loading the inbox.

To workaround this problem, switch back to the old message compose UI.  This Gmail Help article describes how to do it.

I am holding off on a "proper" fix for this bug until I have a better sense of where Google is going with this new feature.

Using Panic Button to minimize browser windows to the system tray

A common request from users of Panic Button is to be able to minimize all Firefox browser windows to the system tray when clicking the Panic Button or pressing the F9 key, to make web browsing less conspicuous.  Well, there is a way to do that.

Download and install MinimizeToTray Revived, a Firefox extension.  After installation, go to Tools → Add-ons, locate the entry for Panic Button in the list of installed extensions, then click Options.  Select the Panic Button action to "Minimize all windows."  Then every time the Panic Button action is invoked, all open Firefox windows will be minimized to the system tray, instead of to the Taskbar.

MinimizeToTray Revived is not developed by AE Creations, so any questions and comments about it should be directed to its developer.

Panic Button 1.5.1 released!

A new, albeit minor, release of Panic Button is now out, and is available from the AE Creations website as well as Mozilla Add-ons.

If you already have Panic Button installed, it will be upgraded for you if automatic extension updates are enabled. Otherwise, open Extension Manager (Tools → Add-ons), then right-click on the entry for Panic Button  in the list of installed extensions and choose Find Updates.

What's New

• After installing Panic Button, the Panic Button toolbar button will be automatically added to the browser toolbar, if it is not there already
• Bug fix: Missing title bar grippy for the Restore Session toolbar on Linux
• Styling improvements to the Restore Session toolbar icons, mainly for Mac users; the toolbar icons now provide visual feedback when they are being clicked on

Help and Support

Questions and comments about Panic Button should be directed to the AE Creations forums, now hosted on Google Groups.

One More Thing...

Panic Button is now a Featured Extension on the Mozilla Add-ons website!

Panic Button page on Mozilla Add-ons.

Clippings was previously a Featured Extension on Mozilla Add-ons.  Now, another one of my extensions has been selected for this coveted honor!  A big thanks to all my users for their support, comments, suggestions and bug reports, as well as the translators at Babelzilla for localizing Panic Button into several languages.  You guys ROCK!!!

Clippings 3.2 released!

A new release of Clippings is out, and is now available from Mozilla Add-ons and the Clippings website.

If you already have Clippings installed, it will be upgraded for you if automatic extension updates are enabled. Otherwise, open Extension Manager (Tools → Add-ons), then right-click on the entry for Clippings in the list of installed extensions and choose Find Updates.

What's New

• Compatible with Firefox and Thunderbird version 14 or newer. Clippings is no longer compatible with Firefox 3.6 or Thunderbird 3.1.
• Bug fix: Missing Clippings submenu on the context menu since Firefox and Thunderbird 14
• Mac OS X shortcut key prefix has been changed to Command+Option. Previously, it was Control+Option, but it stopped working in a previous Firefox/Thunderbird release.

Help and Support

Questions and comments about Clippings should be directed to the AE Creations forums, now hosted on Google Groups.

Coming soon: a minor release of Clippings

Finally, some good news.  A new minor release of Clippings is in the works, which fixes the disappearing Clippings menu from the context menu in Firefox (when the cursor is in a web page text box) or Thunderbird (when composing a new message).

This issue was caused by a change introduced in Firefox and Thunderbird 14 which broke Clippings.  As a result, Clippings is currently incompatible with Firefox and Thunderbird versions 14 and 15, and the bug fix requires a new release.

In addition, the new release fixes a long-standing bug on Mac OS X where the shortcut key prefix, Control+Alt+V, stopped working several versions ago of Firefox and Thunderbird.  Mac users have had to work around it by installing KeyConfig, and then specifying their own replacement shortcut key prefix.  With the new release of Clippings, the shortcut key prefix on the Mac will be changed to Command+Option+V, and KeyConfig will no longer be necessary to be able to paste a clipping using shortcut keys.

The new release has been submitted for review by Mozilla Add-ons reviewers. An announcement will be made here once it is made available for download.  In the meantime, users should confirm that automatic add-on updates are enabled so that they get the new release when it is available.

Back from holidays

I have been away on holidays over the past few weeks, and am now catching up on messages, bug reports and requests to join the AE Creations forums.  Please bear with me as I catch up on everything I missed while I was away.

AE Creations forums have moved

Due to a shutdown of the forum hosting software on Mozdev.org, the AE Creations forums are no longer available.  Unfortunately, any messages that were there before have disappeared.

I've created a new forum on Google Groups, which you can find here:

https://groups.google.com/d/forum/aecreations-help

Anyone can view postings, but a Google account is required to post a new message, or reply to an existing message.

P.S.: The link to the forums from the AE Creations web site is still pointing to the old, non-functional forums.  That will be changed shortly.

Workaround to non-functional Clippings shortcut key prefix on Mac OS X

Mac users who have recently upgraded Firefox or Thunderbird to version 10 may have noticed that Control+Option+V, the shortcut key prefix for inserting a clipping using the keyboard, no longer works.

If this is happening to you, there is a workaround available:

Download and install the Keyconfig extension (also available here). After installation, look for the menu item under Tools -> Keyconfig, or open the preferences dialog for this extension from Tools -> Add-ons.

Locate the command named Insert Clipping. This is the command that is called to insert a clipping using the keyboard.

Select the existing shortcut key and change it by pressing a new shortcut key combination on your keyboard (for example, Command+Option+V), then click Apply. You can then use this shortcut key combination to paste a clipping using the keyboard.

Panic Button 1.5 released!

A new release of Panic Button is now available on Mozilla Add-ons and the AE Creations website.

If you already have Panic Button installed, it will be upgraded for you if automatic extension updates are enabled. Otherwise, open Extension Manager (Tools → Add-ons), then right-click on the entry for Panic Button in the list of installed extensions and choose Find Update.

What's New

• New Panic Button action: "Hide and Replace." This hides all browser windows and replaces them with a browser window displaying a web page at a specific URL
• Enhanced extension preferences dialog with descriptions of each Panic Button action
• Fixed Panic Button toolbar icon image so that it appears in the correct size in Firefox 4 and newer on Windows and Mac
• Miscellaneous behind-the-scenes cleanup
  

Help and Support

Questions and comments about Clippings should be directed to the AE Creations forums.