Center clicking no longer switches to new tab.
Previously, when I center clicked a link etc, my screen switched to the new tab. Since installing recent update, I believe v46, the screen no longer switches to new tab until I click the new tab.
Similar questions have been answered, but if they included the solution to this problem, I have not understood. I gather there is a solution in an Accounts page in Options, but I have not ben able to find it.
All Replies (6)
See the Tabs settings in Options/Preferences > General:
- Tools > Options > General: Tabs:[X] "When I open a link in a new tab, switch to it immediately"
There are three prefs, accessible via the about:config page, to control the focus if you click a link (open link in background or foreground).
- browser.tabs.loadInBackground (normal links)
- browser.tabs.loadDivertedInBackground (javascript)
- browser.tabs.loadBookmarksInBackground (bookmarks)
- browser.search.context.loadInBackground
You can open the about:config page via the location/address bar. You can accept the warning and click "I'll be careful" to continue.
Thank you for your reply.
When I go to Tools > Options > General: I find nothing about Tabs or Preferences.
The Options page in Tb 46 has changed, and no longer includes some things which used to be there in 45. (or 44?) When I went to about:config, I found a picture of a file listing browser.tabs, but it was not operable. I did not figure out how to get the the page pictured.
I have explored your hyperlink above, without finding anything which appeared to apply to my problem.
I used Firefox with little difficulty for many years. Over the past few years it has become much more complex, frequently baffling this non-geek. That is my situation now. I have attempted to follow your instructions, and I am baffled by what I have found. Firefox now seems to be written for people with greater knowledge than I posses.
Please be patient with me.
Don't you see this on the about:preferences#general page?
Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions ("3-bar" menu button or Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem.
- Switch to the DEFAULT theme: "3-bar" menu button or Tools > Add-ons > Appearance
- Do NOT click the "Refresh Firefox" button on the Safe Mode start window
I did indeed see: "Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions...or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem." I also read somewhere that Safe Mode did not solve a very similar problem for someone else.
I installed no new extensions nor activated hardware acceleration prior to this problem appearing. It apears to be a direct result of installing Firefox v46. I suspect that returning to v45 would fix it. Can I do this?
The following sequence sound much more promising
" Tools > Options > General: Tabs:[X] "When I open a link in a new tab, switch to it immediately" "
so I attempted this. But, as so often has happened before, when I tried Tools > Options > General, I did not find anything about Tabs under General. Are we using the same program?
Can you assist me in following the promising sequence above? What did I do differently such that I did not find the Tabs:[X] you described?
Is it possible to start Firefox in safe mode without restarting the whole computer in safe mode?
PS I found how to start Firefox in Safe Mode. However I would prefer to pursue the more promising possibilities first. Switching back to Firefox v45 might be the simplst way to sove this problem.
Do you have more issues with the Options/Preferences pages?
If the about:preferences pages aren't displaying as they should then an extension could cause this and in that case it should work in Safe Mode.
If it works in Safe Mode and in normal mode with all extensions ("3-bar" menu button or Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) disabled then try to find which extension is causing the problem by enabling one extension at a time until the problem reappears.
Close and restart Firefox after each change via *"3-bar" menu button > Exit (Power button)
- Windows: File > Exit
- Mac: Firefox > Quit Firefox
- Linux: File > Quit