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Firefox "Print Preview" has disappeared from the File menu in 84.0.2

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  • Last reply by Chris Ilias

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Firefox "Print Preview" has disappeared from the File menu in 84.0.2; all I have now is "Print", which brings up a Microsoft Edge style print dialog. Is this an upgrading error, or is it just the way Firefox will be now?

Firefox "Print Preview" has disappeared from the File menu in 84.0.2; all I have now is "Print", which brings up a Microsoft Edge style print dialog. Is this an upgrading error, or is it just the way Firefox will be now?

Modified by firefox1202

Chosen solution

The new print experience is in testing and not everyone is getting it every time. For future reference, this is the preference to switch between the old and new styles:

(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button accepting the risk.

(2) In the search box in the page, type or paste tab_mo and pause while the list is filtered

(3) Double-click the print.tab_modal.enabled preference to switch between the new experience (true) and the classic experience (false)

(4) If there is another preference named app.normandy.startupRolloutPrefs.print.tab_modal.enabled you can double-click that one to switch it to false as well. If you do not have that one, no need to create it.

Since you are setting to false, it will look roughly like this:

Read this answer in context 👍 9

All Replies (9)

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jscher2000 said

Mike109 said

The Print Preview had already been in the menu so it's obviously possible to do. Why add another layer/menu to get to it?

There isn't another layer. You just choose Print instead of Print Preview because Print goes to the new Preview.

But I don't want to Print, so why choose Print? I want to Preview things first. Sometimes when printing a webpage I get blank pages for example. I always do a Preview before Printing in case I have to take a different approach, such as doing a screen print & printing that. In which case the Firefox Print function doesn't even come into play.

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I cannot get print preview no matter what I do? How much longer until this is fixed. I need this for business purposes. Now I waste tons of paper to get just one copy. Even the click on site that brings up to print doesn't show pages to be printed. Why did firefox mess this up. and how long will it be that we get the correct print preview


please e.mail me or fix on my site email address removed by moderator to protect user privacy (see Mozilla Support rules and guidelines under "Sensitive information").

I cannot run my business without seeing a preview can you help.


3/5

Modified by AliceWyman

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dsar3557 said

I cannot get print preview no matter what I do?

Preview is now integrated with printing and print setup. When you trigger printing, do you not see the preview? You can click "More settings" to access controls for scaling (Shrink to Fit vs. sizing).

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jscher2000, why do you keep defending a bad design that users do not want? Firefox developers have gone off the deep end so I have turned off update notifications (i.e., reduced usability) and will never update again.

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rahanner said

jscher2000, why do you keep defending a bad design that users do not want? Firefox developers have gone off the deep end so I have turned off update notifications (i.e., reduced usability) and will never update again.

I'm not here to "defend" the design, I'm explaining how to work with it or to push it off using a preference. It's not like I can stop this train!

Since the preference is easy to flip -- as explain in this and countless other threads -- there must be some other update that is bothering you which can't easily be turned off, or you are exposing yourself to unnecessary security risks.

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Was the option to revert to old style modal dialog removed in V88? I tried the print_modal setting but it has no effect on that version. The main reason for preference to old style printing is the "Simplify Page" option. Without it FF is utterly USELESS to me. Who makes these decisions to arbitrarily change things? A major selling point to FF is that it is not Chrome or Edge, so why are you copying them? So out of touch with users.

In case you want to recommend it, "Reader" mode or view does not do exactly the same thing so don't point me down that path.

If you cannot maintain support for the old printing their is no longer any reason for me to use FF. Looks like Brave might be best alternative. I don't like their printing either but it's better at blocking things and security.

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rob_j said

Was the option to revert to old style modal dialog removed in V88?

No, flipping that preference from true to false still works. Does your about:config look like this when you use tab_mo as a filter:

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Slouch said

How do we make this setting Permanent? I set print.tab_modal.enabled to "false" previously, and it changed itself back to "true"!

I have the same problem. Firefox developers deliberately override your settings. Firefox uses a backdoor called 'app.normandy' to surreptiously change your preference settings, install 'experiments', and load forth-coming updates. This, even if you explicitly selected options to NOT participate in studies, and to NOT upgrade. It is extremely upsetting and frustrating to have your browser interface and functions change without notice. That's what happened with the print interface changes. Almost impossible to find out what each invasive install does, whether it is safe to change to False. I don't like being forced to spend hours delving into Firefox's innards. I just found more loaded today.

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Hi everyone, jscher2000's post was marked as the solution by the person who asked the original question (firefox1202). Your issue may have similar symptoms, but it is likely a different cause/solution. For better help, it would be best to use https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/new where volunteers can get more details about your setup.

Because this thread is solved and more people might start using it for their own questions, I'm going to lock it.

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