Improvement suggestions for Epiphany

[Alexander Foss <alexsfoss gmail com>]

Dear Epiphany Developers,


I would like to see some Webkit enabled browser as the default in Ubuntu, because it will inevitably be a faster browser and able to integrate well with the Gnome mobile platform. The obvious candidate for this browser is Epiphany with the Webkit back-end. Epiphany has a well stated manifesto that it is going to keep things simple. With that said, I think there are parts of the Epiphany design and interface that both complicate it in some areas and leave out important features in other areas all together. Here are some points of what I think Epiphany needs to do to become the browser of choice for Linux desktops. I have ordered these points in an order of what I think would be easiest to implement (I'm not a programmer, so take my opinion with a grain of salt).


General Browser Stuff

• Migrate the back end to Webkit – I know this is already planned and definitely not the easiest, but it doesn't hurt to keep it in mind.
  
  
• Make the default look a little more compact – All of those functions could easily fit onto one tool bar, thus removing clutter. Some of the buttons could even be removed by default, such as the zoom buttons and the history button. Set the font sizes to a comfortably readable resolution (the default is a little small, by the way), and if the reader wants access to buttons to make the font larger/smaller, he/she can add them. The “Go” button can also be removed, since most people use the enter key.
  
  
• Set a much smaller maximum size for the icons for bookmarks added to the tool bar.
  
  
• When a new tab is opened with CTRL+t, the default position of the cursor should be in the URL space.
  
  
• Instead of letting users choose a maximum size for the cache folder, temporary files should just be cleared when the browser exits.
  
  
• Improve the bookmarking interface – The current bookmarking interface leaves very little room to do anything outside of just storing and tagging links, such as maintaining RSS feeds.
  
  
• Add native RSS support – Epiphany does not have any way by default to use RSS feeds, a now very standard method of syndication for web content. Not even clicking on a direct link to RSS feeds will prompt any method of subscription. One way of doing it might be making RSS feeds appear as topics in the Bookmark Manager and having each RSS item appear as something in the title menu, or allowing RSS feeds to appear as a tree view in the title section (such as when you view directories in Nautilus in list view). There should also be an icon somewhere in the URL bar or the status bar to subscribe to the RSS feed.
  
  
• Make it easier for users to right click on an empty space on the tool bar and add bookmarks. While it is nice to be able to drag bookmarks from the Bookmark Manager directly onto the tool bar, that is not the obvious thing to do. It can be as simple as having a message in the Bookmark manager that says “To add bookmarks to the browser tool bars, select a bookmark and drag it onto the tool bar.” Right clicking on the tool bar and selecting “Add Bookmark...” would just open the Bookmark Manager.
  
  
• Extensions – While you can install the epiphany-extensions package, one cannot install extensions directly in the browser. Users shouldn't have to drop mysterious files into mysterious folders; they should be able to click “Install new extension...” and browse for the file (are there any Evolution and Rhythmbox developers reading this?).
  
  
• Smart Bookmarks – although nice in theory, they are not very well implemented, since it requires knowing how to use wild cards in a URL. Most people I know use them to integrate search engines in with the browser tool bar. Maybe a search engine applet can be made.
  
  
• When typing something in the URL space, pages that are bookmarked are not distinguishable from simple browser history. Firefox accomplishes this by putting a star next to bookmarked links. Perhaps we could use something like bold font, or something that is still a little more obvious then a star?
  
  

Preferences Related Stuff

• Turn off by default “Automatically download and open files,” so that people can know for sure where the file is being saved. It was nice having the PDF I downloaded open right away, but not nice not knowing where it was saved (it was not saved to the desktop). It was also not nice having theme archives that I downloaded from Gnome-Look.org be opened instead of just saved (extracted theme archives and not that useful). The files should just be downloaded to where the user chooses to save them, and then be able to click “Open” in the download manager when it's done.
  
  
• Similar to Firefox, disable pop-ups by default and prompt the user when a pop-up has been blocked.
  
  

I hope that someone benefits from these comments and I look forward to hearing your feedback.


Regards,

Alex Foss