I agree. It's one of my bugbears. A simple solution would be to do as Firefox does. E.g., have a blue bar at the top of the active tab.

Windows does similar with the active applications on the task bar.

My history with my default browser is that you eventually get to a point where some version is almost perfectly optimised to the way you like to browse, with or without supplementary extensions. Then new features get added that may be mildly annoying but you can tweak things a bit, then more features get added (that may included removing existing ones and/or making them worse), then you get sufficiently pissed off to give another browser a try. That browser is usually lacking with respect to some features you are used to. But you stick with it and over time it becomes optimal again. Then they start ruining the experience for you and the cycle starts again!

@atomicthumbs I fully agree! In fact one of the main reasons why I switched from Firefox to Opera after well over a decade with Firefox was precisely because of Opera's vertical tab cycler. I thought it was a near-perfect implementation with the previews. It just needed a tweak to stop accidental interference from the mouse.

I used to use Tab Mix Plus for this in Firefox Classic but when Quantum was released we had to settle for the horizontal tab cycler that is even worse than the current Opera implementation.

The flag to disable the horizontal cycler did work OK in 67 but is, as you say, broken in 68.

68 also broke my instant search customisation, where I had set it up to do tab search only, by default. I'd set this up as F2. Now I get both tabs and sites but I can live with that or possibly tweak it back again. I haven't tried. Plus I know you can get tab search through the new magnifying glass or Ctrl+Space.

I do wish devs would stop fixing what ain't broken. I don't mind if they add new features or even change defaults. But don't break previous behaviour unless you're sure that a replacement is superior.

It's not just Opera though. The whole industry is guilty - and I'm a dev myself!

Looks like I may have to implement your fix - although I also live with instant tab search. Yet another major reason why I switched from Firefox!

(Edit: I now have back my F2 which just does tab search, which is fine by me - and the old Ctrl+Tab. Thanks @atomicthumbs But I bet it gets broken again in 69!)

At the moment I have Opera as default and Vivaldi as No. 2 but I can easily see this being reversed given a few more "improvements."

@leocg it would be nice if you could do that. The old Opera was more flexible in this, although I was only a very occasional user of the old Opera.

I think the way Firefox works in full screen mode is the way to go, but the other browsers don't do it.

I.e., move mouse to the top of the screen and the address bar and tabs become available.

@stevencee moving the mouse over the magnifying glass lets you see the zoom level. Though it would be nice to be able to see at a glance what setting you're at.

You can also zoom in and out using one-click keyboard shortcuts. By default 0, 6, + and -. You have to enable one-click keyboard shortcuts first though.

Also Ctrl+ mouse wheel if on Windows.

The way to improve the visual tab cycler and make more tabs visible is to restore the vertical one!

Just tried. Oh man, that is bad. Must be a regression surely?

@yanta said in Microsoft switches to Chromium:

@coffeelover

I'm afraid Opera could lose market shares to Microsoft if MS should succeed in developing a browser with a nice UI and some useful additional features.

For myself it has proven quite hard to shift me from whatever has been my preferred browser. I was a Firefox user for well over a decade. I've now switched to Opera as default (although I still use Firefox). Edge will have to replicate the features of Opera that I've discovered to be compelling to get me to switch.

I should say though that I do not find any one browser to be superior to all other in all respects. Hence I have several installed and occasionally have a need to use one of the others - even Edge as it happens!

@tioosaminha if you don't care for specific features then don't use them and/or disable them. Don't assume other users have no use for them. We are all different.

@lucasnorthmi51959 I have several browsers installed too. Main reasons are 1 I'm curious to see what they have to offer that's different from their competitors 2 I find that no one browser is better than all others in every respect. So, depending on context, I sometimes switch for specific tasks.

I have this extension installed from ages ago. The last update was from 2019. Is it actually still required for new Opera installations?

Reason I ask is I have a friend who's an Opera newbie.

@silenthugofdoom In my experience, once you get to a browser that's perfect or near-perfect, after customisation it eventually regresses.

It's happened to me with Opera. Fortunately, it's still good enough to be my default.

@silenthugofdoom Opera and Vivaldi for me. Used to be Firefox and Opera in that order. I find that no one browser is superior to all others in all respects. So will switch depending on the task at hand.

@not-you I thought Google Hangouts was dead or, if not, is due to be dead?

@jamesconstance try this extension https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/i-dont-care-about-cookies/fihnjjcciajhdojfnbdddfaoknhalnja

Not foolproof but it takes care of most cookie stuff (these pop-ups were forced by the EU, one of those things where usability clashes with privacy).

Other pop-up types you mention are trickier to deal with. I'm not sure you can. You can try switching to reader view (I use an extension but Opera cold do with having that built in like Vivaldi and Edge, for example).

I had this problem on my work PC earlier in the year and, as suggested, re-running the installer fixed it. But why does it sometimes happen in the first place?

@mjnoach I second that. Also make them mappable to keyboard shortcuts.

E.g., in Microsoft Visual Studio

Once the Find dialog is displayed you can then toggle case and/or toggle whole word using Alt+C and Alt +W.

Then Esc to dismiss dialog.

@Keepskite what was the date problem?

@billoumi I agree. I've only tried workspace once and I actually expected opening in a new window to be the default and got a shock when that didn't happen. But I can see a reason for both scenarios, so an option would be nice.

@careware I like the sidebar but I also often want it hidden and I agree the software should honour the user's choices.