This may be related to  issue 800999 .

I expect the shelf will not change visibility or position when switching from clamshell to tablet mode.  I keep my shelf on auto-hide on the right side of the screen.  To use the shelf in tablet mode, I simply swipe left from the right side of the screen.

I find it very confusing that it is now switching to visible and on the bottom in Chrome OS 63.

Re #4: This was an intended change to force shelf to always be on the bottom in tablet mode.

#5 I hate this change! I like the shelf on the right so I can just swipe it in with my right hand naturally and select.  On the bottom of the screen it is finicky to work with, and makes the screen too short as well.  Also I want the shelf hidden, I often want full screen apps in tablet mode.

Why would you override my preference?  I set it to be on the right and auto-hide, please don't fuss with my preference.

Where is this change being discussed?  I hate it! 

This change is extremely annoying! Why would my preference (to keep the shelf on the left side of the screen and to have it auto-hide) be overridden when moving into tablet mode? I honestly thought this was a bug and spent more than an hour sending feedback, trying to track down fixes, etc. 

Can you please tell me where this new behavior is being discussed?  I haven't had one issue due to the shelf being hidden on the right, with apps going into tablet mode and breaking.  If I want to access the important navigation items, I know where they are and get at them by swiping the shelf into view.

I did have an issue with the new behavior, running the Android app Squid for drawing, where my palm was resting on the shelf at the bottom of the screen (instead of on the right where it used to be), and caused the settings tray to be displayed while I was trying to draw.

The only way to make an app full screen in tablet mode is to hide the shelf by swiping it away, since the keyboard is inactive.  Will you continue to be able to swipe the shelf away with this new behavior?

I am not going to bore you with too many details, but I will share a couple of interesting points that I hope will make the rational for our decision clearer.
1. less than 5% of users even have side shelf
2. much less auto-hide
3. when we tried variations of side shelf or hiding the shelf with users, they got stuck and didn't know "where the back button is" or "how to switch apps" etc.
4. No user complained about this move, however, many did complain about accidentally hiding the shelf or not being able to reach the back button.

While I understand that you really liked working this way, and I'm sorry it has impacted you. Sometimes we have to sacrifice a bit to make the overall experience for majority of users good. We all on the team many time sacrifice our own "hacks" and learnt behaviors in-favor for making the user experience better for (hopefully) everyone.

That being said, I am hearing your concerns and we will look into this.

I don't understand about how with less than 5% users having side shelf and even less auto-hide, that 1) no user complained about this move (two here have so far), and 2) many did complain about accidentally hiding the shelf.  If the shelf is hidden accidentally then the user will be confused even if in clamshell mode, right?  Does that mean you will take away auto-hide completely in clamshell and in tablet mode?  Have you considered that your 5% users are precisely the ones who are not confused?

I  want to be able to have a full screen apps in tablet and clamshell mode.  I'm willing to swipe the shelf away to get there.  But I don't understand why you need to move the shelf to the bottom.  What is the plan here?  

Thanks

This change should not impact clamshell mode. If it does, please file a bug and we'll look into it.

The change is still ridiculous. Let us make our own decisions and set our
own settings. You're fast on your way to becoming Apple making all choices
for us and justifying it with facts and figures that no one else has any
knowledge of - how do we know if the 5% figure is true? Even if it is, let
the 5% decide for themselves how best to use the device for which they just
spent $2000 - when it comes to my Pixelbook.

i'll add my voice to those few who dislike the change. i too have my shelf on the right and hidden and would like the shelf behavior preserved while in tablet mode.

speaking of things i'd like to see implemented on the shelf, i wouldn't mind seeing a full-screen soft key added to the shelf. it is particularly annoying to open an app in tablet mode, then have to flip the keyboard around to maximize the app, and then revert back to tablet mode to finally use the app. 

I changed my shelf settings to left side specifically for tablet mode.

If the shelf is at the bottom in tablet mode, my wrist and sleeve would cause false touches that activate the shelf when I use notetaking apps (such as Squid) on Samsung Chromebook Plus. Even autohide does not help: moving my hand up (happens regularly when writing with stylus) causes a false "swipe up from the bottom" touch and unintentional shelf reveal, which is often then activated accidentally. Having the screen switch to expose mode without warning is a pain.

The only way I have found that reliably prevents the false shelf (and shelf widget) activation is to move the shelf to the left (I am right-handed). Forcing this shelf to the bottom will significantly degrade stylus experience, which I understand is becoming an important use case for 2-in-1 Chromebooks.

Please think of the poor stylus users - especially since those of us are typically Chrome OS loyalists who pony up for premium (2-in-1 with stylus) devices.

I have a similar complaint to #16. When I'm taking notes in Squid on the PixelBook, I inadvertently hit the shelf and open up random apps that I had no intention of opening. It's very annoying.

#15, you can go full screen in tablet mode by swiping the shelf away.  For now at least - I don't what the plans are going forward.

The more I think about it the less I understand why this change is being made.  It ignores user preference, it creates problems with palm rejection, and the kicker is it doesn't seem to address the target audience.  In comment #11, omrilio@chromium.org says that less than 5% of users have side shelf, let alone auto-hide.  That means that 95% have the shelf visible and on the bottom, which is what this change is designed to achieve.  So the audience which is (negatively) affected by this change is precisely the people who don't want the shelf on the bottom or visible, and who have selected that preference!

I really don't get it.

The option to change shelf position was working fine for me for the last year of use, right side with auto hide. Then some nerd with a bunch of numbers decides "I" do not need a feature "I" paid for. Change it back, allow me to choose the setting I want, and stop screwing with "MY" property.

I just updated to beta channel and the shelf is always on the bottom in tablet mode.

Maybe we could compromise.  I'm happy for the shelf to be visible initially when moving to tablet mode, as long as you can swipe it away.  I see no reason however, based on the above rationale, to insist that the shelf be on the bottom vs where the user set their preference (eg to be on the side).  

Can this behavior be modified to not change the placement of the shelf, only the initial visibility?

Since research reveals that many Chromebook users have been adversely affected by the Chrome OS development team's decision to force the shelf to be in 'Bottom' position in Tablet Mode (and in Tent and Entertainment modes, too), I have compiled a comprehensive campaigning Issue Report, asking the Chrome OS development to undo this regressive, freedom-limiting restriction, by restoring our 'Left' and 'Right' shelf position options to Chrome OS Tablet Mode:

● 'Prior Tablet Mode Shelf Position "Bug Fix" Seriously Degrades Chromebook UX', 03 Mar 2018
» https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=818423
— contains links to six related Issue Reports, and copies of 12 other end user complaints regarding the detrimental effects of restricting shelf position in Tablet & Tent & Entertainment Modes to 'Bottom' only.

If you too would appreciate the restoration of the 'Left' and 'Right' shelf position options to Tablet & Tent & Entertainment Modes, then please:
1. click on the link above,
2. scroll down to the bottom of the Issue Report webpage, and
3. click on the star, to 'Vote for this issue and get email change notifications';
4. optionally, do please also add a comment of your own, maybe describing how the new, forced, 'Bottom'-only shelf position imposition adversely affects your own use of Chrome OS


Thanks in advance for your help in restoring user-determined shelf position freedom to Chrome OS Tablet Mode.

See also:

● 'Why Can I No Longer Choose Shelf Position in Tablet Mode?', 01 Mar 2018
» https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/pixelbook/8XXiGakpREA
— an issue discussion thread in the Google Product Forums.

Thank you for all your feedback, I care deeply about it, I'd like to track it in a clean single bug.

My thanks to omrilio@chromium.org for consolidating the nine Chrome OS Tablet Mode shelf-related issue trackers which I identified (plus my own) into a new meta-issue-tracker:
● 'Investigate improvements to shelf on tablet mode', 09 Mar 2018
» https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=820368

If, like me and many other Chromebook users, you too would appreciate the restoration of the 'Left' and 'Right' shelf position options to Tablet & Tent & Entertainment Modes, or if you are experiencing other Tablet Mode shelf-related problems, then please:
1. click on the link above,
2. scroll down to the bottom of omrilio's Meta-Issue-Tracker webpage, and
3. click on the star, to 'Vote for this issue and get email change notifications';
4. optionally, do please also add a comment of your own, maybe describing how the new, forced, 'Bottom'-only shelf position imposition adversely affects your own use of Chrome OS, or supplying additional useful diagnostic info, such as specific details about how use of a particular app is hindered by the shelf.

Thanks in advance for your help in restoring user-determined shelf position freedom to Chrome OS Tablet Mode.

See also:

● 'Why Can I No Longer Choose Shelf Position in Tablet Mode?'
— an issue discussion thread in the Google Product Forums, 01 Mar 2018
» https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/pixelbook/8XXiGakpREA

● 'Chrome OS: Tablet Mode Shelf-Related Issue Trackers'
– shared Google Sheets spreadsheet, 11 Mar 2018
» https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16XSTb96nJlWYlOhs3dPlLqiCdll4vdM1yxVZHMvCt3M/edit?usp=sharing