Defaults that Should be Changed

In general, changing defaults is something that should seldom be done as it upsets existing users for no good reason.

However, there are some notable exceptions. These defaults should be changed because they are the cause of countless support questions on these forums, wasting time for both new users and those who come here to help them.

These default settings should be changed — perhaps you know of some others. Please vote if you agree.

ad "Tabs to reach top of window": -1 for that, but +1 for changing the skin in a way that allows the "chromeIntegrationDragArea" setting to work as intended again (currently, even when setting that to 0, there is still a gap, which really sucks as it is pure lazyness by the skin authors to fix this)

Originally posted by serious:

Tabs to reach top of window": -1

Well, if the skin is fixed, the tabs will only reach the top if drag area maximized = 0.

The default is 1. Perhaps I should have made that more obvious.

Originally posted by Pesala:

Reuse current tab (off)

Exactly. There's no reason for it to be on by default now. It use to be for compat with IE's defaults. But, IE only does that by default when tabs are disabled (which isn't the default). So, Opera is being consistent with nothing.

Originally posted by Pesala:

Show dropdown button in address field (on)

Agreed. There's no gain in having it hidden by default.

Originally posted by Pesala:

Tabs to reach top of window

Originally posted by Pesala:

Well, if the skin is fixed, the tabs will only reach the top if drag area maximized = 0.

Agreed. Users shouldn't have to jump through hoops to get tabs touching the very top. But, I think having drag area maximized = 0 by default isn't bad either. Most average users use the maximize/restore button and not the title bar area (that's covered mostly when the menu bar is hidden). They also annoyingly have the restored down size of the window stretched to the size of the screen so that it almost looks maximized. So, having the drag area set to 0 by default wouldn't hurt average users at all. For the rest of us, would can always change it.

(I personally don't require tabs touching the top edge. I don't click anywhere near the top of the tab. I click closer to the bottom.)

Originally posted by Pesala:

Well, if the skin is fixed, the tabs will only reach the top if drag area maximized = 0.
The default is 1. Perhaps I should have made that more obvious.

I am pretty content with that default _if_ changing it would have any (real) effect on the behaviour which it doesnt with the current broken skin :/
I agree that fixing the skin and exposing the option (and also for not-maximized mode) through the advanced tab options would be the best solution

PS: the reason I like to have the setting to "1" instead of "0" is rooted in Windows 7's window handling functions: I use that area to grab the window and drag it out of maximized mode and then over to a second desktop and re-maximize it there by dragging it to the top of the screen

How about switching the tab cycling behavior to cycle in tab bar order instead of recently used order? When I cycle through tabs, I expect cycling to occur in the same order as the tabs at the top.

This thread is pointless. The defaults are decided by Opera. Reporting so that a mod can close it.

A thread like this is basically "customize Opera for me personally by default and ignore all the 56 million other users."

Originally posted by burnout426:

Opera is being consistent with nothing.

Opera is being consistent with itself.
As it's the only browser that let you to choose to leave the current page (simple click), open in a new tab (Shift + click) or in a new tab in the background (Ctrl + (Shift +) click). So sometimes when users are told about this they leave reuse current tab enabled.

Originally posted by burnout426:

Originally posted by Pesala:

Show dropdown button in address field (on)

Agreed. There's no gain in having it hidden by default.

Who knows...?

Originally posted by Pesala:

Tabs to reach top of window

Do you really see that much people complaining about this? You know why the space is there by default...

Originally posted by spadija:

How about switching the tab cycling behavior to cycle in tab bar order instead of recently used order? When I cycle through tabs, I expect cycling to occur in the same order as the tabs at the top.

I don't get the default Recently used order list, it aways require me a lot of clicks to get in the tab I want... But some people like it (requires confirmation). It's the default behavior of some developer-oriented software like Visual Studio and Notepad++.
I started a thread a long time ago trying to discuss about this and other defaults...

Originally posted by Chirpie:

This thread is pointless. The defaults are decided by Opera.

This thread isn't pointless. They may hear us and rethink about it, make new usability researches... And it may result in better behaviors for the average users. And they are more than 56 million!
It doesn't look like "customize Opera for me personally by default and ignore all the 56 million other users" for sure! Pesala states why he created this topic on his first post.

Show dropdown button in address field (on):
I agree with this one even though I rarely use it myself. But newbie users and people that don't know about the forum or the opera:config have no idea how to re-enable this, they just think it's gone. My sister was lucky that I often hang around here so I could tell her how.

Reuse current tab (off):
Not sure if this option really does what I think, but if it's to always open links in a new tab, I disagree with it. Users are used to page opening in the same tab(or letting the website decides what's best) and a lot of less advanced user don't even see the tabs, they think the active one is the only open window(I've seen this behavior way too often for my taste) so I think on is a good default. If I want to open in a new tab, I'll do it manually.

Tabs to reach top of window:
I also don't think this should be changed since some user are used to double-clicking in the title bar to maximize/minimize a window and from what I understand, this would prevent user from doing it. Especially if the only reason is for user who click on tabs at the very top to not have to go slightly down. Breaking a feature just to make some people life easier is not a good default.
But by re-reading the posts, it seems this wouldn't break the title bar space by default so it might not be that bad of an idea, not sure what the point is though.
Not that I care personally since I enabled the title bar to show up so I'd still have plenty of space to do it. It's so important to me especially since they hardcoded part of the color of the URL to make it harder for us to know where we're at.

Originally posted by spadija:

How about switching the tab cycling behavior to cycle in tab bar order instead of recently used order?

This is too much of a personal preference thing to be changed. People are used to the way it is since it's been that way for a long while(at least according to my memory) so it should stay on by default(is that even an option we can choose?)

Also, I'd almost want to add "resizing of picture to fit screen (off)" for a default since there's no feature I hate more in opera right now, but it's actually a good default so just having an option to disable it would satisfy me.

Originally posted by Chirpie:

This thread is pointless. The defaults are decided by Opera.

Post reported for trolling.

Originally posted by Rijk:

The basic question of this discussion is OK by the way: getting the default settings right is very important, because most users never change any setting.

Originally posted by rafaelluik:

Do you really see that much people complaining about this? You know why the space is there by default...

Yes to both, and it can still be there by default if the skin is changed.

Originally posted by SamKook:

Breaking a feature just to make some people life easier is not a good default.

Fixing the skin does not break anything. It makes it possible for the tabs to reach the top, but the default Chrome Drag Area Maximized = 1 still leaves a pixel to grab at the top of the window.

Originally posted by SamKook:

not sure what the point is though.

The point is that if you set Chrome Drag Area Maximized = 0, then users who maximise the window can select tabs more quickly. See Making Tabs Fit Fitt's Law. Currently, one must modify the standard skin or use a different skin.

Originally posted by SamKook:

Also, I'd almost want to add "resizing of picture to fit screen (off)" for a default since there's no feature I hate more in opera right now, but it's actually a good default so just having an option to disable it would satisfy me.

Yes, some people don't like this behaviour, but its a good default. Its important to know the difference between one's own personal preferences and optimal default settings.

Originally posted by rafaelluik:

But some people like it (requires confirmation).

I don't see a good reason to change the tab cycle order default. It would upset too many existing users who are used to the current behaviour, though it might help those migrating from other browsers. As said by Rijk in your thread.

Originally posted by Rijk:

It might be good to know that Opera's tab bar was originally created (in Opera 4) to work exactly like the Windows task bar, with Ctrl+Tab as the in-window version of Alt+Tab.

OK let me answer this...

Originally posted by SamKook:

Reuse current tab (off):
Not sure if this option really does what I think, but if it's to always open links in a new tab, I disagree with it.

It isn't, by disabling it, it affects the context menu commands Search, Search with, Go to Web Address, etc and some other functions like the search field, and make these things to aways open in a new tab in the foreground instead of reusing the current tab (leaving the current page) and to get the thing in a new tab you have to hold Shift and click/enter or Ctrl to background.

Also let me say this... My family, friends and I never used the address field drop-down arrow.

Originally posted by Pesala:

Fixing the skin does not break anything. It makes it possible for the tabs to reach the top, but the default Chrome Drag Area Maximized = 1 still leaves a pixel to grab at the top of the window.

Originally posted by Pesala:

The point is that if you set Chrome Drag Area Maximized = 0, then users who maximise the window can select tabs more quickly. See Making Tabs Fit Fitt's Law. Currently, one must modify the standard skin or use a different skin.

Now that I get it, it's true that it would be a good idea.

Originally posted by Pesala:

Yes, some people don't like this behaviour, but its a good default. Its important to know the difference between one's own personal preferences and optimal default settings.

Which is exactly what I said so it feels weird as a response.

Originally posted by rafaelluik:

It isn't, by disabling it, it affects the context menu commands Search, Search with, Go to Web Address, etc and some other functions like the search field, and make these things to aways open in a new tab in the foreground instead of reusing the current tab (leaving the current page) and to get the thing in a new tab you have to hold Shift and click/enter or Ctrl to background.

Good to know, but I still think the default should be to reuse the current tab since it's what I would expect it to do and for what I said before about some people not really aware of tabs.
I also happen to prefer it that way since I like to control the behavior. I can easily open a new tab before my search if it's what I want.

Originally posted by rafaelluik:

Also let me say this... My family, friends and I never used the address field drop-down arrow.

Sure some people don't use it(I used to but don't really anymore since I hadn't notice it was gone before my sister asked me), but it's been there for a while and the people that do are used to it. It also doesn't take a lot of space so it's not much of a bother for the people that don't use it.

They could also change the behavior of the address bar to be similar to the previous and next button, click and hold for a second and the menu appears(But I personally prefer the arrow).

Originally posted by serious:

+1 for changing the skin in a way that allows the "chromeIntegrationDragArea" setting to work as intended again (currently, even when setting that to 0, there is still a gap, which really sucks as it is pure lazyness by the skin authors to fix this)

It is fixed in Opera 12 and maybe in latest builds of 11.60

Originally posted by s-a-s-h:

It is fixed in Opera 12 and maybe in latest builds of 11.60

Confirmed in both. Although it doesn't look like its fixed because the tabs don't reach the top of the window, they have a few transparent pixels at the top, so clicking at the very top does switch tabs if the Chrome Drag Area Maximized is set to zero. It would be better to make it look fixed too, otherwise users will click the transparent area expecting to grab or click the title bar to drag or restore the window.