First impression. Minor drawbacks. Features I often miss in browsers. Three things which stopped me.
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Several month ago I heard from Vialdi. And it really gave me some big hope, because I am still using the Opera 12, because all other browsers really have some drawbacks in respect to usability. I tried weeks to get comfortable with Opera 24, and I also tried with Firefox. But after several weeks I ended up back in Opera 12 because it really has advantages. Then a few weeks ago I tried the Vivaldi TP3 (Windows 7, 64 bit). And it REALLY made me happy, because it actually has nearly all those features which I constantly miss in other browsers (see list at the end). Here from my first experience are those things which I noticed that are not that good: [ol][li]EULA window should be re-sizable.[/li] [li]Changing EULA without notifying user and without asking for agreement is not considered vaild in lot of countries.[/li] [li]For displaying the Privacy Policy you should start the default browser and not the Internet Explorer.[/li] [li][strike]I'd like to chose the installation folder.[/strike] [color=#00bb00]Edit: you can do this[/color][/li] [li]I'd like to chose the start menu folder.[/li] [li]I'd like to chose whether to create a desktop icon or not.[/li] [li]In the bookmark sidebar a right click and create new folder doesn't work.[/li] [li]In settings for a search engine the field for the URL is too small.[/li] [li]There should be a better way for closing the editing area in the bookmark side bar (besides using context menu for a second time).[/li] [li]In the bookmark sidebar, you should be able to add the current page as bookmark to the selected folder by using the right click context menu.[/li][/ol] But I know this is just a RC version, and maybe some things are already fixed or improved. But I was really happy about Vivaldi, because it has a huge lot of those things which I frequently miss in other browsers. I made a list about those feature, which I usually miss. And this is actually a list which was created long time before I checked out Vivaldi, at a time, where I tried to get comfortable to Opera 24 or Firefox and failed. Important browser features for me (which are usually missing in browsers) : [ol][li][b]folders and subfolders in speed dial[/b] --> [color=#008800]YES[/color][/li] [li][b]mouse gesture for duplicate current tab [/b] --> [color=#008800]YES[/color][/li] [li][b]right-click with scrollwheel up or down for navigation through tabs, or another way to do this by only using the mouse [/b] --> [color=#ff0000]NO[/color], or I missed it.[/li] [li][b]shortcut to open last closed tab [/b] --> [color=#008800]YES[/color][/li] [li][b]bookmark sidebar (similar as Opera 12) [/b] --> [color=#008800]YES[/color], and I am really happy about the switch (with the small arrow) for showing/hiding the sidebar.[/li] [li][b]moving tab bar to bottom instead of top [/b] --> [color=#008800]YES[/color][/li] [li][b]adjust website settings for each website (cookies, Do Not Track, JavaScript, plug-ins, popups, pictures, get location, media, ...)[/b] --> [color=#008800]YES[/color], but I don't understand how to change the default for all websites. I found vivaldi://chrome/settings/content after reading the forum but there is no official way to get there by using the UI. And a complete overview, for which website special settings have been made, seems to be missing, too. [/li] [li][b]open website settings dialog for a website by using context menu or by another quick access [/b] --> [color=#008800]YES[/color], in the address bar. But it took me several days until I found this menu.[/li] [li][b]setting for opening new tab always next to the current tab[/b] --> [color=#ff0000]NO[/color][/li] [li][b]setting for starting plugins only by click-to-play[/b] --> [color=#ff8800]PARTLY[/color]. It actually is there, but I there is no official way to set it for all websites, only the hidden vivaldi://chrome/settings/content.[/li][/ol] Very helpful browser features for me (which are usually missing in browsers): [ol] [li][b]custom mapping of shortcut keys to any browser function (similar as Opera 12)[/b] --> [color=#ff8800]MOSTLY[/color]. Nearly all important keys can reconfigured.[/li] [li][b]custom mapping of mouse gestures to any browser function (similar as Opera 12)[/b] --> [color=#ff0000]NO[/color]. (but it seems to be planed) [li][b]tiling some windows or allowing a full [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_document_interface]multiple document interface[/url].[/b] --> [color=#ff8800]PARTLY[/color]. Seems to work only for tab stacks, and you can't change how much screen space each tab get.[/li] [/ol] As you can see, most what I want is there in Vivalid, and you don't find so many of these features in other browsers. I even considered using Vivalid right now as main browser and I did so for about one or two weeks. Mainly three things have stopped me:[ol][li][b]the bookmark management[/b] (right click for adding the current page to a folder in the sidebar)[/li][li][b]the tab position of a new tab[/b] (I really prefer it next to the current tab)[/li][li][b]and the missing possibility to have Flash at click-to-play at all websites stopped me[/b] (which I just found out can be solved by vivaldi://chrome/settings/content)[/li][/ol]. Also some parts of the user interface are also a pretty slow in comparison to Opera 12. But with the three features I mentioned I think I'll switch to Vivali right now forever. I am really confident that with one of the upcoming versions Vivaldi is going to be my new default browser! I'm already in love ...
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EULA window should be re-sizable.
It is — use the scroll wheel. The About, Help window doesn't seem to be resizable, however.
I'd like to chose the installation folder.
You can choose a standalone installation.
In settings for a search engine the field for the URL is too small.
When you add a new search engine the field is big enough. After adding it, the field doesn't need to be big.
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EULA window should be re-sizable.
It is — use the scroll wheel. The About, Help window doesn't seem to be resizable, however.
Scrolling and re-sizing are two totally different things.
Scrolling means, you can only look at a part of the EULA at once, always one part after the other. Currently you can not look at more than three sections of Vivaldis EULA at the same time.
Re-sizing means, that you can look at more sections at the same time, which allows you to get a quicker overview, what is included in the EULA and what not. Furthermore it is far more comfortable to read.To give an extreme example: I once had an installer for a different program which had about 5 full-screen-pages of EULA text. But it had a very small text field which allowed you to read only three lines of text at the same time without scrolling, and each of these lines was so short that it had about 8 to 10 words in average. Of course you were able to read everything that way, but it was pretty bad. Vivaldis EULA is not that bad, but its way of forcing people to look only at a small part at once is going into the same direction.
I'd like to chose the installation folder.
You can choose a standalone installation.
You are right. It is there. I don't know why I have missed this. I always look for the custom or advanced installation or additional settings. Did the first TP3 installers really always have this possibility?
In settings for a search engine the field for the URL is too small.
When you add a new search engine the field is big enough. After adding it, the field doesn't need to be big.
A lot of searches can be fine tuned by setting additional GET parameters or can be generalized by removing those. Having to do this in a field of about 8 letters is not very nice. And if you don't know how to include the search term (%s) you have to look it up by looking at an existing example.
Follow the link in my now-revised first post of the below-linked thread, to another thread with a fully working solution for (2), and a discussion of the pros & cons.
Thank's for the hint. I'll have a look at it.
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Don't you know how to zoom with a scroll wheel mouse yet? Hold down control key and scroll.
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I think he's talking about resizing the installer's EULA window (when you click the "Terms of Service" link in the installer), not the browser's about page (which can, of course, be manipulated freely).
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- nocturnalYL is completely right, I'm talking about the Installer. You can not zoom there.
- Re-sizing a window is not the same as zooming in and out or changing text size.
This is the window I am talking about:
[attachment=1323]VivaldiInstallation.png[/attachment]
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Resize a window and resize text are totally different things. In my view, all windows should be resizable, including dialog prompts. It should be possible to maximise EULA windows for reading comfort, if you expect your users to actually read it.