Opera 20 - Another unhappy loyal supporter
-
-
deld1ablo last edited by
I guess I am not greedy. I just want a few things, but I have no idea what they are called, so I can't search for them.
http://i.imgur.com/sE5PBxC.jpg
RSS is one thing, but I guess that is not hard to find.
Now the tabbing system will be worse, since if it has the tabbing system it will likely lack the mouse extension to actually navigate it. Oh, and popping up tabs correctly. What I remember from using CHOpera over the easter was that I could not change what tabs I ended up in when I closed them.
Oh, and Ctrl+Z and the waste bin.I would assume bonus points for a way to just dump all the bookmarks into a "Bookmarks" folder on the speed dial, just so I get quick links working.
After that, I will most likely run into some other retarded inconsistency, and get mad, for no reason. -
lem729 last edited by
Sexy Undo Close Tab is quite good for dealing with closed tabs.. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/sexy-undo-close-tab/bcennaiejdjpomgmmohhpgnjlmpcjmbg?hl=en
And you can program it so Control Z opens closed tabs (and control shift T will be there to do it also) (For some quirk, I don't quite understand, that control Z doesn't work from the speech dial page, so if I'm there I use the Control Shift T).
To use a Chrome exention, though, you do need the Opera Extension called, "Download Chrome Extension." https://addons.opera.com/en/extensions/details/download-chrome-extension-9/?display=enRSS is easy to find for Opera 21. I use Feedly (which is super), and also, Live News Feed (which works from the Speed Dial) both from the Opera store. And of course the Discover features of the Opera Speed Dial, with it's 14 subject areas, around 36 countries (change the country to get a different view of the world) and multiple languages is competitive with the best of the RSS feeds for subject areas, and information.
On Tabbing, you have to do some looking at available extensions for easy navigation. One interesting one is
the Opera extension, the Switcher, https://addons.opera.com/en/extensions/details/the-switcher/
where you open the icon to see a list of your tabs, or do it via keyboard with Control M. It's easy to deal with the tabs from there. Another possibility is, Quick Tabs for Chrome.
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/quick-tabs/jnjfeinjfmenlddahdjdmgpbokiacbbb?hl=enIn Quick Tabs (when you click on the extension icon) presents you with list of all the open tabs sorted in order in which they were recently use (I like this recently used idea). You can use the arrow keys (or the mouse) to quickly switch to the tab you want, or better still you can actually type some of the characters of the tab you are looking for and Quick Tabs will search in the title and URL to list only the tabs that match the letters you typed. Quick Tabs also keeps track of recently closed tabs and allow you to search and restore closed tabs as well.
Now you say, "I would assume bonus points for a way to just dump all the bookmarks into a "Bookmarks" folder on the speed dial, just so I get quick links working." When you import your bookmarks from Opera 12 to Opera 21, you go to Menu/More Tools/Bookmark Importer. Now when you click on that, you get an option to move your bookmarks to the Speed Dial (it will put all of them in one position o the speed dial) OR to the Personal Bookmarks Bar. Most people choose the later, but you do have a choice. Of, course you can drag any bookmark on the personal bookmarks tool bar to the Speed Dial, and vice versa.
-
deld1ablo last edited by
So Control Z is disqualified?. Thats a shame. Maybe it was a good extension.
Switcher by its description, sounds like a gimmick tool where you use tabs as bookmarks. I can see the use, and it does apparently do something you could do in old Opera. Not a useful feature, but a very good one. But it seems inferior for what I asked for. And thats a shame.
Quick tabs seems quite disqualified, and it does apparently just do what Switcher does, but quite a bit more elegant. That means its actually too horrible for real usage.Thanks for the rest, anyhow.
-
lem729 last edited by
I wouldn't disqualify Sexy Undo Close Tab for Control Z. I think it's pretty good, and I use it on my Opera 21. It has a lot of nice features. First control Z generally works (the glass isn't half-empty) with the one caveat (that if you're on the speed dial page, just go control shift T or open another page for control Z). It gives a running count that you can see on the face of the extension of all closed tabs, and it can count very high with no problem. You can set it to keep the closed tabs available for reopening, EVEN AFTER you close the browser. So close the browser, go back, and the closed tabs from the last time around are there for reopening if you want. And a single click on the icon for the extension, shows all the closed tabs in a drop-down list, making it easy to find and open the one you need with a mouse click. If you have a lot of closed tabs, there's even a search box to help you find the one you want.
On tab managing, I guess I didn't quite understand what you were looking for when you said: "Now the tabbing system will be worse, since if it has the tabbing system it will likely lack the mouse extension to actually navigate it." If you're referring to something like Mouse gestures, there's a Chrome extension called Smooth Gestures that has a lot of tab navigation. If you enlarge the pages in the softpedia article, you can see a lot of the gestures that it has.
http://www.softpedia.com/reviews/windows/Smooth-Gestures-Review-178409.shtml
Smooth Gestures is in the Chrome store: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/smooth-gestures/lfkgmnnajiljnolcgolmmgnecgldgeld?hl=en
It has over 12000 downloads, and is rated 4 stars so people do seem to like it.
Anyway, good luck.
-
Deleted User last edited by
I'm rather shocked with what happened in this recent update to Opera, a browser which I've been using for years (heck, I even paid for v4, I believe it was).
No single X in the upper right corner seems possible at this time for the tabs. What was once a deeply flexible toolbar has become Chrome-like and frozen in place.
No Quick Preferences? Egad, that was one of the most winning attributes of Opera, for me.
I simply cannot manage scrolling and clicking through a SpeedDial equivalent of hundreds of bookmarks, as if we all must pile into a mobile browser way of acting on the desktop. Sure, this is obviously anticipating a path to touchscreens, but that's still a ways off for proper desktop systems, IMHO.
Certainly, I can go on, but complaining won't offer anything productive. I did want to offer that another long-time user is not catching up with this latest wave.
It's apparent that much work has gone into this release, but I don't need another Chrome-like browser and am slower with this new design. I'll go back to 12.x until this new codebase offers more flexibility. Good luck to others.
- wader
-
lem729 last edited by
@wader
I have an x in the right hand corner of my tabs, and I'm using Opera 21. I'm not sure why you don't, and I do.
And you say, you "cannot manage scrolling and clicking through a SpeedDial equivalent of hundreds of bookmarks." Why don't you put most of the bookmarks in your Personal Bookmarks Bar, which you enable in Opera Settings/Browser/User Interface, and choose, "Show the Bookmarks Bar." Now you can have in that personal bookmarks bar, folders within folders within folders ad infinitum. It should be great for organizing. And you can always add a Bookmark Manager Extension. I like Neater Bookmarks in the Chrome store (which I find very good), but there are others. You can use the Speed Dial, just to showcase those bookmarks you come back to all the time. And you do know, I'm sure, you can make folders on the speed dial, by dragging the thumbnail of one link on the speed dial, over the folder of a second link. With folders on the Speed Dial, you can showcase more there too.
The New Opera Settings are not that extensive -- only four categories -- Browser, Website, Privacy & Security, and Opera Help. Maybe there's why you don't have quick preferences. Just use the keyboard, Alt P, and you are immediately at settings/preferences.
I think it takes a little time to get used to the different features of Opera 21. My thought would be to yes, go back to Opera 12.x, but use both. Get a little practice with Opera 21, and it won't be so forbidding. Even come into to the forum here, and ask questions about Opera 21 (or Opera 12), if you need help or suggestions. The best of luck to you!
-
Deleted User last edited by
@wader
I have an x in the right hand corner of my tabs, and I'm using Opera 21. I'm not sure why you don't, and I do.Sorry, I should have been more clear: I have always used a single X for closing each tab in the upper right corner of the Opera navigation bar. It used to be that we could turn off the per-tab X feature and Opera would instead provide the single X, itself. In more recent versions, I could add a button to the bar for such a feature (and far more) from places such as the Wiki:
http://operawiki.info/custombuttons
Yes, settings have been streamlined in ways, but turning On/Off Javascript, etc. takes some additional navigation into and then out of a Settings page beyond the simple 1-2 menu presses that I used to navigate.
Yes, I keep well-worn sites in my Speed-dial, but having nested views/folders is simply not how I work or search for sites of interest in most contexts from my saved links. I also tend to use a minimal toolbar approach and eschew use of a Bookmarks bar for maximum real estate - I'm far happier with quick menu pull-downs or panels that open/close for a quick task.
Even Firefox has Chrome-ized itself a bit in its v29, but I was able to get right back to my desired shortcuts and other efficiencies within 10 minutes of installing their latest. That's essentially what I was hoping for Opera, but this isn't the first time Opera has started with a certain way of doing things before building itself up on a new codebase, I suppose.
The new Opera browser is fast and sleek, so I hope that they can "open it up" to above (and other) possibilities over time.
- wader
-
deld1ablo last edited by
You can set it to keep the closed tabs available for reopening, EVEN AFTER you close the browser.
Its called not closing tabs. And history. Then again, since I am used to Opera not impacting performance, I tend to leave it permanently open on my computers.
Its sorta a non issue.On tab managing
Right mouse + scroll wheel. Done.
Ctrl + Holding tab without changing tabs before its released is another.
There is imgur link there. If you don't understand what it is in the picture, please don't reply with anything stupid. No really.Smooth Gestures
Useless gimmick to reimplent shit left lbm -> rmb, mouse movement + key to do stuff. Its bad. Its really bad. It has some use if the mouse has a good sensor, but thats it. -
slarkki last edited by
Opera 20+ series is complete crap. Pretty much all things that have made Opera good are gone. I have that plague on my laptop but using 12.xx in my main PC. Sometime after the updates stop coming to 12.xx it's probably time to switch.
Last time I made a switch I think it was from Netscape Navigator to Opera and I have been mostly happy even though there were a few rather unstable versions along the way. And that switch was made back on like.. 2003? Can't remember exactly. The new chosen path really makes Opera a very, very dead option. I'm guessing the ONLY thing they care about now is mobile phones and they want to build a generic version around that.
-
lem729 last edited by
@wader
I also tend to use a minimal toolbar approach and eschew use of a Bookmarks bar for maximum real estate - I'm far happier with quick menu pull-downs or panels that open/close for a quick task.>
I like a minimal toolbar approach. You don't need a permanently open Bookmarks bar in Opera 21. Get a bookmarks manager extension like Neater Bookmarks, that gives you a drop down of the bookmarks, when you click on the extension icon. As for the Personal bookmarks bar, just go alt P, and take the dot out of show the Bookmarks. Now you have a minimal interface. If you worry about making a bookmark, use the Opera extension, Add Bookmark, which puts a star in the address bar to make the bookmark, if you want. Or it's easy to put the bookmarks bar back for an instant if you need it -- just Alt P and put the dot back in. It's practically a toggle. Alt P and take it out. Alt P and put it back for the moment you want to see it. Remember, just clicking on the icon for the bookmark manager extension lets you see the vertical bookmarks in a drop-down vertical display. Most of the time that's all you need.
-
jito463 last edited by
Most of the time that's all you need.
Correction, that may be all you need, that does not mean it applies to everyone.
-
lem729 last edited by
Most of the time that's all you need.
Correction, that may be all you need, that does not mean it applies to everyone.
I was addressing Wader, who said he wants a minimal interface. You can certainly have the Bookmarks bar present all the time if you choose. But there is an option not to, because it's easy enough to see the bookmarks, by just clicking on the icon for the bookmarks manager extension (Neater Bookmarks) and getting the vertical display of the bookmarks any time you want.
-
Deleted User last edited by
You don't need a permanently open Bookmarks bar in Opera 21. Get a bookmarks manager extension like Neater Bookmarks, that gives you a drop down of the bookmarks, when you click on the extension icon. As for the Personal bookmarks bar
Ah, I haven't done much exploring of the Chrome store - Neater Bookmarks is a nice extensions, thanks.
- wader
-
lem729 last edited by
It's great. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/neater-bookmarks/ofgjggbjanlhbgaemjbkiegeebmccifi?hl=en
-
alfster last edited by
I had totally forgotten about the 'new' Chrome based Opera. I read all the stuff about the Beta version and basically it would seem all the same complaints are still there - especially the lack of text-cascading bookmarking with the replacement by the speed dial set-up which looks so laborious and unwieldy I'm not even going there - I do not need pretty pictures to go to favourited sites - in fact it is probably the worst method I could imagine.
Lots of people saying that there are plenty of extensions to download to get old functionality back is just mind-bogglingly crazy: no software developer worth their salt would remove useful functionality and then have 3rd party extensions fill the gaps.
The problem with software development these days is that they have been blinded by the shiny new visuals rather than stopping and working out what a browser should be doing...which is what Opera 12 did very well...a darn shame they could not have kept developing that version.
Having seen the Youtube video of the new one I does not grab me...although with all the snap zooms and pans across the screen I have no real idea what it can do apart from being more suited for touch screens.
-
lem729 last edited by
Lots of people saying that there are plenty of extensions to download to get old functionality back is just mind-bogglingly crazy: no software developer worth their salt would remove useful functionality and then have 3rd party extensions fill the gaps.>
i don't at all agree with ypur premise. Is tab stacking functionality? It's nice, but not everyone needs it. The same with a sidebar. Everybody's view differs. I didn't need many of the features others deem functionality. On some things, I'm sure I would like more in the native browser -- like more bookmark manager type functionality, including import and export features (I'm hoping it will come). But for sure, it is not at all crazy to look to extensions to get the some of the functionality that a person may want. This "no software developer worth their salt line" is just a line in a post. It's way too general. The new Opera did not purposely eliminate functionality. It switched browser engines out of necessity (to get a significant speed increase, and have a browser up-to-date enough to access sites, the old browser was failing at), and had to start from scratch reprogramming. And since reprogramming takes time and financial resources (and since putting all of the stuff from the old browser in the new wasn't feasible (financially or otherwise) or could affect performance, the concept has changed. Not only the complexity of reprogramming dictates that, but economics also in providing a free browser. The new concept is a fast, minimalist basic browser (not cluttered by everyone's wish-list of functionality) with yes -- for sure -- extensions to fill individual needs. Get used to it ;). The ability to use a lot more extensions than the old browser every could is a huge plus.
-
exitstation last edited by
What a disapointment!
All the features that were the reason I became a loyal Opera user for over a decade have been replaced with meaningless gadgets.
What features? Well all those Opera had and removed with version 20 to suck up to new users probably those that are happy enough to use Chrome.
Yeah, that's it! Opera just became as trivial and useless as Google Chrome.
Hopefully I can find a version 12. If not, then it's goodbye Opera
-
lem729 last edited by
I can't disagree with you more strongly. The new Opera has many fine features, including more speed, a Super Speed dial, the Discover feature, access to many many more extensions. Meaningless gadgets. Lol. No need to argue there. If I like pistachio ice cream, you like Rum Butter. Opera still makes Opera 12 available on its website. So go there and take a look. Happy browsing.
-
blackbird71 last edited byI can't disagree with you more strongly. The new Opera has many fine features, including more speed, a Super Speed dial, the Discover feature, access to many many more extensions. Meaningless gadgets. Lol. No need to argue there. If I like pistachio ice cream, you like Rum Butter. Opera still makes Opera 12 available on its website. So go there and take a look. Happy browsing.
Speed is not a feature, it's a characteristic or attribute. And one browser's speed vs. other browsers' speeds is constantly changing, a fact one realizes if they've at all watched the various speed-test site results over more than a few months, let alone years.
IMO, Discover is far less of an "essential" native feature to a browser than any of a host of real features now natively missing in Blink Opera... previewing other sites' content ought to be a "summary" website or home-page feature, not a browser feature. Certainly some folks will like Discover and it probably gains Opera click-count revenue, but it also represents design effort that did not go into other, more browser-relevant, features.
User designation of his own engine choice (whatever that may be) as a persistent default search engine ought to be a foundational feature of a browser... searching is something central to almost every user, and ought to be under his full control. For over a year, we've heard it's a "security issue"... yet it's apparently not for other browser makers.
"Access to many many more extensions" now indeed has relevance, primarily because the associated "features" are now natively missing in Blink Opera. What you're asserting is precisely the "less is more" argument of competing browsers that Opera itself mocked for years. Extensions are inherently unstable in the grand scheme of things when compared with native features, unless the browser maker himself is also making/proof-testing those extensions. As it now stands, extensions are usually not developed by people "on the inside" of the various idiosyncracies of the browser engines (which thus too often causes hiccups, weird behavior, or incomplete performance as compared with native features), and extensions are far too often unpredictably broken by various of the now-frequent browser updates... updates which the average user is unable to block.
@lem729, of course you have every right to strongly disagree. But please understand that there is a host of dissatisfied 'Old Opera' users 'out here' who nevertheless don't see a browser in the same terms as you do (or apparently as the current Opera developers do). Most of such users view a good browser as natively a highly configurable tool, not merely an entry-level portal for viewing media-sites which has to be manually patched with extensions for each "feature" that experienced user instinct and experience show ought to be natively part of a good browser. To be highly configurable, the browser should possess the features in the first place.
I'll grant that such negative user feedback is seemingly making little impact on Opera's design thrusts, and probably won't in days to come. But that doesn't negate the validity of the feedback or the reasoning behind it.
