NetSurf 1.1 download available

Open source web browser for RISC OS updated

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Great since NetSurf by now is my favorite browser for RISC OS - kicking Browse off that throne. One small oddity might be nice to be fixed: When I click on the maximize window icon at the top right hand corner the window height is maximized but the width is not - I'd love that one fixed since for some pages like on eBay full screen display at 1600x1200 is really nice. Another nice feature would be the option that when adjust clicking on a window it opens *behind* the currently open one so that opening the several Google or eBay links is quicker (that is a bit like the tabbed browsing of Firefox). hzn on 18/8/07 7:43AM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

hzn: The first problem you mention is not a bug, it is by design. I don't personally agree with that design, so it'd be nice to have an option to switch between modes. (It's standard RISC OS behavior for the toggle button to only change change veritically if it already has enough horizontal space to display the document - try it in something like Publisher or TechWriter.) The second option: I think I'd just prefer tabbed browing It means you don't get a dozen windows floating about, only one. rjek on 18/8/07 8:44AM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

I think a bit of thought needs to go into the UI design for "tabbed browsing". The way RISC OS windows naturally work is already half way there, so I'd prefer to see the design working in concert with the general RISC OS UI than just copying Firefox/Opera wholesale. Another opportunity (like the drag-file-to-upload-box method) for NetSurf to show its colours adamr on 18/8/07 11:20AM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

Excellent news, indeed I was a bit surprised by the quick appearance of 1.1. My compliments to the team! hzn: That sounds like you want a bit of (archaic) Windows behaviour in NetSurf! Like rjek points out, NetSurf simply follows standard RISC OS GUI behaviour. It's quite typical though; most newcomers to the Mac also find this behaviour odd, since OS X mostly behaves like RISC OS in this respect. Personally I find the Windows approach such dated behaviour, which stems from the low-resolution, pre-drag&drop, single-app focus days... RISC OS and NeXTSTEP got it right at the beginning! Support for tabbed browsing would be very cool in NetSurf, which could be implemented in a RISC OS friendly manner by providing suitable configuration options. For the time being, I simply iconise new windows. hEgelia on 18/8/07 4:39PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

In reply to rjek: I never claimed that to be a bug but just an oddity! Anyhow, according to the style guide when I ask a window to go to max size it should do so if possible. hzn on 18/8/07 4:55PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

In reply to hEgelia: Well, what's wrong with "archaic Windows" behaviour if it makes life easier - anyhow it is not Windows but Firefox behaviour! Every so often I search for something on eBay. With Firefox on Windows (on RISC OS it is unusably slow) I like the option to click on several items found by my search, wait for them to load and then look through them. With NetSurf I click on one link, have then to iconise the new window or get the search result list one back to top, click on the next etc. It works but is by far less efficient. If such a option is added to NetSurf with tabbed browsing of if it offers some option to open a link in a window behind the current one I'd be happy! hzn on 18/8/07 5:00PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

hzn: If it makes your life easier and it doesn't cause worldwide chaos and madness, I guess it's all right then. Firefox on Windows follows Windows GUI behaviour, since it's a Windows application. On RISC OS, an application rarely, if ever, uses more space than required to display a window's full content, i.e. it will not 'stretch' the content when toggling the size button to maximise a window. Anyway, I understand your point. It's always a matter of personal preference, but my previous comment mentions why I think it's "wrong", i.e. dated behaviour. hEgelia on 18/8/07 5:44PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

Yay! Compiled on Kubuntu 7.04. [link] BTW, is the 'click and hold' nature of the pop up menu intentional? killermike on 18/8/07 10:42PM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

killermike: No. It's a bug I keep meaning to investigate (it doesn't occur on any of my machines.) We have an Ubuntu package pre-built that we may put on the website - NetSurf 1.1 has gotten into Debian Sid and FreeBSD ports already. rjek on 19/8/07 9:35AM [ Reply | Permalink | Report ]

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