Firefox new tab behavior to be updated
Firefox development lead, Mike Beltzner, has announced a slight change to the way Firefox opens new tabs, that will be featured in future releases.
Currently, when you open a link in a new tab it is added to the end of the tab bar, and the relationship with its parent tab exists only in the user’s head. I usually have to move it closer to the original tab to avoid tab scrolling.
With the new behavior, new tabs opened from a tab will be added to the right of the parent tab, unless there is already a child tab. In this case it is added to the right of the last child tab.
New tabs opened via the new tab button, File/New Tab… menu, Ctrl + T, etc. will still be opened to the end of the tab bar, as it is not possible to know if it’s contents will be related to the current tab or not.
Users of Internet Explorer 8 beta are already familiar with this behavior which also assigns a specific color to related tabs making it easier to identify them. The result, however, is a too colorful tab bar. Other approaches could be adding a small separator between tab groups, or a halo around or just below tab groups.
If you want to try this behavior, you can install Tabs Open Relative, a extension by John Mellor that does just this on Firefox 3. You will have to set extensions.tabsopenrelative.includenewtabs to false via about:config to have new tabs
I would also like to be able to press Shift while opening a new tab (via the main menu, a button, a keyboard shortcut or modifier), to force it open right to the current tab, so I can keep tabs together.
According to Mike, the new behavior will be added to trunk builds soon, but its inclusion in Firefox 3.1 is yet to be decided.
UPDATE: For people looking for a way to disable this behavior, check this post.
Comments
nitwit88
Tab Mix Plus has this a feature too. I’ve been using it since 2.0. It’s good to see it finally making it into the included features. It means one less thing to frustrate me while at a friend’s house.
Samuel
No, this is wrong, well, I think mainly that it is wrong to change the behaviour of something that far on the road and making it default without the ability to make this optional, even as an about:config option (you didn’t say if it was going to be one).
I’m used to the old method and I don’t like the idea of a new tab directly right of the current tab especially because it breaks the chronology of the currently opened tabs. When I will close the current tab to check out the newly opened tab, it will go to the last link I opened in a tab and not the first.
DavidJanuary 13th, 2009 at 4:14 am
Not a problem. “With the new behavior, new tabs opened from a tab will be added to the right of the parent tab, unless there is already a child tab. In this case it is added to the right of the last child tab.”
Asgaro
Haha, Google Chrome has this as well. Coincidence? :P
DinoJanuary 17th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
Probably, but considering a Firefox add-on has had this before Google Chrome, id say its Google copying here.
Jonathon SFebruary 22nd, 2010 at 1:38 pm
Opera has had this for years, so it’s not like Firefox is the first one, either.
New Tab Behavior Coming in Fx 3.1 « Firefox Extension Guru’s Blog
[...] New Source: Mozilla Links [...]
KX
As one who often has many tabs open during heavy research (albeit on Wikipedia), I know the annoyance of having new tabs appended to a long list of tabs. I look forward to seeing this becoming a standard feature!
Mohan
Cool, I could really use that implemented in 3.0. Hopefully it will be in 3.1
Ryan Scott Scheel
This is a feature I’ve always wanted in Firefox. I keep Tabs Open Relative with me every profile I create. I actually forgot I installed it the first time I did so, and over time, thought it was default functionality, and managed to get annoyed when I created my second profile. It would be excellent to see this in it, as it means I won’t need one more extension.
Ba Assumpcao
Hi there! I am a mac user (Leopard) and a bug appeared yesterday: when I click a e-mail link at a website, hundreds of tabs are generated and Firefox crashes. I’ve searched Support and didn’t find any help. I’ve downloaded Firefox again, uninstalled the previous one and intalled again. The bug is still there. Does anyone know what is going on?
Tks!
Ba
costinel
i really hope this will be entirely optional and not hardcoded, it would be a shame for the mozilla team to do this…. i LIKE tab behaviour as it is NOW.
Follow Up: New Tab Behavior Coming in Fx 3.1 « Firefox Extension Guru’s Blog
[...] had to look back at the original article from Mozilla Links. According to the article, the new behaviour would be “will be featured in [...]
Tommy
I understand all the ways in which one can find a link and open in a New tab, including use of the scroll wheel button of even rt. mouse button presents a drop down menu w/ “Open in a New Tab” option.
What I’d like to do is set Firefox to do that as a DEFAULT (= always). There is this setting in Tools | Options | Tabs:
Open new windows in a new tab instead
which I “thought” accomplished this and I have it checked. But it doesn’t work! Actually, several versions ago, I think it DID work, but no longer.
Why the functional disconnect?
Anybody run into this?
Any solutions?
TrueGod
This new behaviour is really annoying… Furthermore event the new tab button and ctrl+t opens new tab on the right of current one instead than on the far right of the tab bar!!!
Hope there will soon be an extension to fix this and bring me back the old tab policy…
Kevin Z.
I just upgraded to 3.6 Firefox (had been using 3.0 which doesn’t have this as a standard feature). Is there any way around child tabs opening next to parent tabs? When I am using an RSS Reader, sometimes I would rather the tabs to open at the end rather than right next to the reader tab.
Kay Smoljak
To restore the old behaviour, go to about:config, and change browser.tabs.insertRelatedAfterCurrent to false.
Dude
This change is a big mess. Prior to this you always knew where the new tab would be. Now you have to know which tab you’re on. The new ways works, but it’s the MS Office Ribbon, in that it’s slower to use.
Stephen Downes
Just got this feature in 3.6 and I HATE it. Now I never know where my tabs are.
Beren
Yeah I really don’t like this. I like to have my first 5 tabs (2 email, digg, etc) to be fixed. Having child tabs off them for new links sucks. Changed it back via about:config, but seriously, that is pretty bloody stupid. What about non-savy people out there. Should be in the options. Poor work mozilla. You fail at UI changes.
Will Wood
Thanks Kay for the solution, but I have to agree with Beren. Please can this be included as an option as it changes fundamentally how one goes about browsing. I have been using and loving Mozilla since the early days and I have spent the last week getting v frustrated and not sure what was happening when I opened a tab. This is only the 2nd time I have used the about:config section. I know it’s not as scary as it looks but generally I don’t mess with what normally works really well, but this update is so fundamental to the way most of us use the browser it really, really, really, should be easy to set up.
steev
Agree with all the comments on the fact that Mozilla has a shitty policy concerning implementing UI changes with no option to use the old behaviour (I’m also thinking of the AwfulBar here). I can see why it’s good for some, it’s not good for me, why hide all the configuration options in some cryptic list of unclear goobledygook when you can just make a check box in the options??
Sadeddin Kulturel
Here is the solution for opening new tabs at the end of the tabs
row like it was at the earlier versions of Firefox:
- open a new tab or window,
- write about:config to the url window, so that you get configuration settings of Firefox,
- find the “browser.tabs.insertRelatedAfterCurrent” by writing this Reference Name to the ‘Filter’ window,
- default value is ‘true’ which makes it “open-new-tab-next-to-active-one”.
Now change it to “false” by double-clicking on it, which makes it “open-new-tab-at-the-end-of-the-tabs-row”.
Jaska
Thanks for the advice Kay and Sadeddin!!
I searched all the menus and options “for a few times” but did not find this option anywhere in the Firefox menus. I think user should be able to choose this in tag options.
WhiteDragon32
I don’t like this. I want all my tabs to open at the end and i can’t find a way to do that. Anyone know how to make ALL tabs open at the end?
Michael B.
I usually work the same way that I read (from left to right). And when suddenly tabs get inserted I just get confused. So I was very happy to see that I can turn this off. But I can image scenarios where the insert tab function would be useful. So why not have two ways to handle tabs? Ctrl+Left clicking a link inserts or appends (whichever way is chosen in about:config) then Ctrl+Shift+Left clicking a link does the opposite.
Serge
it was VERY bad idea, at least not giving an option to customize if I really want that new tab to be opened next to the parent one or not…
VERY disappointed, so illogical and stupid, you guys gotta learn big time how Google does usability tests and implements changes ;)
Mattt
I would also prefer this to be switchable, as I too like the original tab behaviour.
Alfa
I Don’t know why they add a new feature WITHOUT the option to disable it! It is very disappointing! I used to the OLD (good) way. Please bring it back, or make it possible to disable it. It is annoying and irritating mr Firefox.. you push me back to other browsers…
Oliver
about:config
then
browser.tabs.insertRelatedAfterCurrent
Thanks!!!
zack
I prefer the old way as I can keep track of the tabs easily – I open many similar-named tags and its chronology is useful for me to keep track. Please make an option to switch between the 2 behaviours.
-Sora-
ive been using firefox for over 5 years. i really loved the way tabs were arranged because it was like a whole new OS just for browsing inside my Windows, changing the entire cluttered taskbar into something neat. its fine if this is to be changed as an “improvement” for firefox but there should at least be a bloody option right? how the hell do u expect me to get used to this stupid parent-child tab thing when ive been stuck to firefox for 5 years?
hal
Dont really like the feature right now, but no one really likes change. I would like to see some type of grouping (tab color; circle around the group) if there will not be configuration options. At least in about:config.
Me
I hate it.
At least give me a setting to be able to change it back, geez.
David Naylor
Great! Hoping to see it in 3.1!
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