Firefox URL Bar

[Manu Cornet]

Hi !

Just my 2 cents about this: I think users set up a few categories of
objects with which they interact while using a computer. For example, a
button : it looks like it can be clicked, often has some text or an icon
on it, and performs an action when you single-click on it.

Another object is the text field. It is a white rectangle with text in
it, often just one line, and you can change the text inside just like a
mini-text editor.

I think most users put the URL bar in the "text field" category : it
definitely looks like one. Therefore, I think we should give it the
"usual" behavior for a text field. Users are not used to seeing all the
the text in the field getting selected when single-clicking.

On the other hand, in this particular location, I do agree that
single-click-selects-all may be convenient in most cases. Question is :
do we want to let users behave the way they're used to, or do we want to
let them get used to a new behavior (they need some time to adapt to it,
and is this really worth a spare click each time, or not) ? Another
question : do we want to minimize the number of "categories" (a button,
a window, a text field, etc.) users will have to remember ? If we enable
single-click-selects-all in the URL bar, then the bar doesn't behave
like other text fields, and deserves its own "category"...

Hope what I am saying is not just stupid commonplaces :)

Cheers,
Manu