Exactly, all the tiles are restricted in a tiny space, and no matter how many columns we choose to have, they are always very small. Bring back that very useful slider.
lando242, you really make no sense.

I'm finding that the tiles are too large and only allow 7 columns, in its present configuration. The old slider button allowed resizing down to much smaller tiles, and I could get them all on one page. Now, I have to scroll down 1.5 pages to get to all tiles. Annoying.

Okay, I found it.
It's configurable, up to a point.
Menu|Settings|Start Page... "Maximum number of columns"... drop-down menu goes to 11, but is pre-set to 7 columns. No leeway, no options beyond 7. Drop-down menu needs amending.
Thanks for your help, lando242.

Its in Options. IIRC you have to enable Power User Options if you want it to display it though. You open the Options page, click an empty space on the page somewhere and enter the Konami Code to enable it. Be careful, changing some of those options can mess stuff up pretty good. Which is why they are hidden.

Options page? Where is that? There's no Options on any menu I can find.
Konami Code? Seriously? That sounds way above my pay grade.
At the missing wrench link-icon in previous versions, there used to be a slide button where the Speed Dial page could be simply resized to show more/fewer tiles, change backgrounds etc. Now that's gone. A right click now does themes and extensions, but the simple page re-size wrench icon is MIA.

At 7am, Opera updated itself to v29.0.1795.47 and I'm scrambling to get things "fixed", once again. The little wrench icon in upper right-hand corner has disappeared, and was replaced with a search button. I can't find where to configure the number of tiles on the page. Right clicks only deal with themes or extensions. I want to change the layout of Speed Dial.

@gdnctr
As sidneyneto says, try Opera 21. If your father likes a speed dial, this one is better than ever, because you can drag one link position over another and create a folder of items for one speed dial position. If he has to reset the speed dial in Opera 21, there aren't that many links in the Opera 12 speed dial, so it shouldn't be that hard to re-customize it. But with the ability to create folders of items for one position, he can have at his fingertips in the speed dial a lot more..

Thanks; we'll try v21.

Last question. My Dad's v12.16 now has light green page backgrounds on all websites, and the html/xhtml-css isn't rendering properly. It's basically useless, so I've had to switch him over to FF and Chrome. We've been using Opera since 2009 and have Speed-dial customized, so we hate to lose it on his lapper. My desk unit's working fine; his is the problem, just as of yesterday 5/9. Any suggestions?

@gdnctr
Opera switched browser engines from Opera Presto to Opera Blink. The last version of Opera Presto is 12.17. Opera Blink started at version 15, and is now at Opera 21 (for a stable version). Opera permits a download of both Opera Presto and Opera Blink from its website. If you have Opera 12.17, it will, I understand, not update to Opera Blink. Now Opera is committed to working on Opera Blink. It is not working on Opera Presto anymore. That browser (Presto), while it has many wonderful features is a bit outdated, and has trouble rending some sites. Opera blink is faster, renders sites better, and is more a minimalist browser (with basic functions)as well as certain wonderfully unique features (a Speed dial where you can add folders of urls/landmarks for each position of the dial)(there is no browser on the internet with Speed Dial quite like this one), Stash, a Discover feature, Off Road Mode, and more. In Opera 21, most customization is gotten through extensions. With one Opera Extension, "Download Chrome Extension," Opera 21 users can download and install almost any extension in the Chrome store. And there are a lot of amazing customization opportunities there! Of course, extensions in the Opera store are also still available. Instead of bundling features in the new Opera 21 browser (many of which most users might never user), Opera is opting for providing generally basic features in this leaner, faster browser, as well as some of the new super creative extras (like the wonderful Speed Dial) and letting users decide which add-ons they want to install on their browser to provide the necessary customization. And you can stay with Opera 12.17 (because you may like features there that cannot be completely replicated in Opera 21 even with extensions), or install Opera 21 (and with extensions end up doing more in some areas than you could ever have done before with Opera 12.17. You can even download Opera 21, and use it and Opera 12.17 simultaneously until you can decide which you prefer.
Here's a link to Opera 21 for download. http://blogs.opera.com/desktop/2014/05/opera-21-desktop-released-aura-powered/

Now I understand. Thanks so much for the reply!

Stick with 12.16. You'll be happier.

What's with v21? Mine says v12.17 and I'm up-to-date...

[Mod note: I removed your duplicate posts across other threads in the forum.]