Rated 1 out of 5 stars

by Geosax on Oct. 12, 2021 ·

Why is this so hard?
TB keyboard shortcuts are ruining my email folders, because they do unexpected things I didn't intend.
How can I disable keyboard shortcuts in TB?, I asked.
The answer: tbkeys-lite is the best solution.
So I learn how to install add-ons (not hard) and I install tbkeys-lite.
Now I've got a big mystery! How do you make it do anything?
There appears to be a complex syntax for specifying the actions associated with individual key combinations.
I want to USE TB, not learn its innermost secrets.
I don't want to be a TB developer, although I certainly appreciate what they do.
All I want is a clearly-labeled button:
["DISABLE KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS!"]
Poking around blindly, looking for something that will DO something, I eventually click on the wrench icon.
That gives me a page with a couple of panes (no explanation about what they mean) and --Lo and Behold!-- a button that says something like "Disable Singles."
(I can't remember exactly what it said and I am prevented from seeing it while I am typing this review.)
That looks like a possible step in the right direction, so I click it.
One of the panes is immediately populated with more gobbledygook. Don't know what it means but maybe it'll help cut down on inadvertent actions, so I click "SAVE."
Did that do it?

Will I ever be presented with a simple switch in TB Settings that will let me turn off keyboard shortcuts?

The single star review is not for tbkeys-lite itself (it probably does all sorts of wonderful things for people with the right arcane skills) but for the attitude that says this could be the best solution for an end-user.

I learned a long time ago (with Firefox) that customizing an app's behavior with add-ons is a good way to waste your time. Soon the app is updated and the add-on no longer works. You have to install the newer version of the add-on. After a while, the guy who wrote the add-on gets tired or moves on, so the add-on simply dies.

This review is for a previous version of the add-on (2.1.3). 

by will (Developer) on Oct. 15, 2021 ·

Fair enough. I tried to add some disclaimer to the summary. The character count is very limited so I could not put much in.

I was thinking that an add-on listing with no description linking to a GitHub page describing entering Thunderbird internal commands into JSON objects for its customization would be discouragement enough for users wanting a simple workflow.

I sympathize with your underlying complaint. I made tbkeys because I wanted to control my keybindings. As implemented, it does just enough for me to do that. It could be polished a lot more, but I don't have the time and an add-on isn't the right place for this kind of feature any way. Keyboard customization should be built into the application.

Regarding add-ons dying -- yes, this add-on is a follow up to a previous one called Keyconfig that had a good run from 2004 to 2019 but did not survive the changes made in Thunderbird 68. I published tbkeys to help others stranded by the loss of Keyconfig and to benefit from their help as well, as future updates to Thunderbird will break this add-on as well and require further maintenance.