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Reduce layout jank when loading about:tor

Merge Info

Related Issues

Backporting

Timeline

  • Immediate: patchset needed as soon as possible
  • Next Minor Stable Release: patchset that needs to be verified in nightly before backport
  • Eventually: patchset that needs to be verified in alpha before backport
  • No Backport (preferred): patchset for the next major stable

(Optional) Justification

  • Emergency security update: patchset fixes CVEs, 0-days, etc
  • Censorship event: patchset enables censorship circumvention
  • Critical bug-fix: patchset fixes a bug in core-functionality
  • Consistency: patchset which would make development easier if it were in both the alpha and release branches; developer tools, build system changes, etc
  • Sponsor required: patchset required for sponsor
  • Localization: typos and other localization changes that should be also in the release branch
  • Other: please explain

Merging

  • Merge to tor-browser - !fixups to tor-browser-specific commits, new features, security backports
  • Merge to base-browser - !fixups to base-browser-specific commits, new features to be shared with mullvad-browser, and security backports
    • NOTE: if your changeset includes patches to both base-browser and tor-browser please clearly label in the change description which commits should be cherry-picked to base-browser after merging

Issue Tracking

Review

Request Reviewer

  • Request review from an applications developer depending on modified system:
    • NOTE: if the MR modifies multiple areas, please /cc all the relevant reviewers (since gitlab only allows 1 reviewer)
    • accessibility : henry
    • android : clairehurst, dan
    • build system : boklm
    • extensions : ma1
    • firefox internals (XUL/JS/XPCOM) : jwilde, ma1
    • fonts : pierov
    • frontend (implementation) : henry
    • frontend (review) : donuts, richard
    • localization : henry, pierov
    • macOS : clairehurst, dan
    • nightly builds : boklm
    • rebases/release-prep : dan, ma1, pierov, richard
    • security : jwilde, ma1
    • signing : boklm, richard
    • updater : pierov
    • windows : jwilde, richard
    • misc/other : pierov, richard

Change Description

We wait until the initialization is complete before we reveal the page content. So on refresh, the page just shows a single flash, but no change in layout.

We also speed up the usual page load by having l10n load both the stable and testing headings at initiation, rather than waiting for the "InitialData" event from the page actor.

In the case where we have an update to show, we wait a little longer for the l10n to complete.

How Tested

Loaded "about:tor" in various ways, at different sizes, and refreshed the page. No noticeable change in layout, just the initial "flash" when the content re-loads.

Merge request reports