Say Goodbye to the Roboform Toolbar in Firefox. Here's why

Infopackets Reader Dan L. writes:

" Dear Dennis,

I imagine that you might soon be hearing from your users about Roboform having suddenly lost its toolbar feature in FireFox.

If not, here's the answer: starting with the recently issued Roboform 8.3.7, the RoboForm extension will no longer include a full static toolbar above the content pane of Firefox. Instead, you get a button with a message that reads ("Click this button to show RoboForm commands") with a vertical menu, similar to how Roboform works in Chrome.

I found an article at RoboForm that explains the changes - and it seems that Mozilla has decided to fully embrace the use of WebExtensions starting with Firefox version 57 due out in the fall. With this release, the use of full static toolbars will no longer be allowed, though technically Mozilla has been implementing this plan since Firefox 53. Frankly, I think this is horrible in terms of usability.

The only solution at the moment (should you wish to continue using the toolbar) appears to be to roll back to the previous version of Roboform 8.3.5. But that, of course, only delays the inevitable. Anyway, I thought you might want to hang on to this information since the question may come rolling in soon. Keep up your good work! "

My response:

Thanks for the info. I had been putting off the update for the last week or so because I've been so busy with remote desktop support, and didn't want any surprises - then you sent me this email. I've just installed the latest version of Roboform today (8.3.7.7) to see what it was like, and you are right - the menu, and even the icons, have changed dramatically.

A few months back I was about to ditch Firefox completely, because it was eating ridiculous amounts of RAM - even today it will eat 2.7 GB of RAM on my machine, which then causes Firefox to slow down quite a bit - and so I started looking at Chrome as a replacement. That said, I noticed the Roboform layout in Chrome was completely different than what it looked like in Firefox - similar to how you are describing now.

Eventually I decided to stick with Firefox because I still use a few extensions that simply aren't available in Chrome. At this time I decided to completely remove and reinstall Firefox - and in the process, got rid of a few Firefox extensions (hoping this was going to resolve the Firefox RAM issue I was having).

By removing the extensions, it changed my layout of Firefox completely. There didn't seem to be any place to fit Roboform on my toolbar any longer - so I decided to try using Roboform with only the Roboform icon present, rather than the full toolbar you are describing. I can tell you now, I actually prefer to use it this way because it's very tidy.

As you mentioned, Firefox 57 is due out later this year, and that is going to have an impact on a lot of add-ons and extensions. Be prepared that many of your extensions may no longer work when this update comes out. Most importantly, however, is that older versions of Roboform are no longer going to work - so you might as well get used to it now.

I've placed my Roboform icon between the address bar and the search bar, as this makes the most sense to me. Give it a try! It's not that bad.

Thanks for the tip! If anyone else has an opinion, feel free to leave your two cents in the comments below.

Are you Still Using Roboform 7? Time to Upgrade!

Firefox 57 will be due out in a few months and if you haven't already upgraded to Roboform 8, now is the time to do it. Even if you don't use Firefox, Roboform is continually under development and will always need updating, and holding onto older versions simply isn't viable for the same reasons mentioned in this article. If you need help with the transition to Roboform 8, I can help. I can also help setup a 'centralized Roboform database' so that you can use Roboform 8 on multiple computers in the home (or office) so that they all share the same Roboform data. If anyone reading this article needs help upgrading to Roboform 8: simply contact me briefly describing the issue and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

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I need more computer questions. If you have a computer question - or even a computer problem that needs  fixing - please email me with your question so that I can write more articles like this one. I can't promise I'll respond to all the messages I receive (depending on the volume), but I'll do my best.

About the author: Dennis Faas is the owner and operator of Infopackets.com. With over 30 years of computing experience, Dennis' areas of expertise are a broad range and include PC hardware, Microsoft Windows, Linux, network administration, and virtualization. Dennis holds a Bachelors degree in Computer Science (1999) and has authored 6 books on the topics of MS Windows and PC Security. If you like the advice you received on this page, please up-vote / Like this page and share it with friends. For technical support inquiries, Dennis can be reached via Live chat online this site using the Zopim Chat service (currently located at the bottom left of the screen); optionally, you can contact Dennis through the website contact form.