Tab context menu

In Firefox version 78, the Tab context menu has been changed to add a new Close Multiple Tabs submenu. Inside of this submenu are options to Close Tabs to the Right and Close Other Tabs. This context menu can be viewed by right-clickinga secondary/two-finger click or holding down the control key while you click on a Firefox tab.

We made this change because the proximity of the menu items for closing tabs to the right and closing other tabs was causing some to accidentally close the wrong set of tabs, which resulted in a sub-par user experience. While there is an Undo Close Tabs menu item, some data may have been lost as well as potential increased network usage if the closed tabs were no longer in the Firefox cache.

The Close Tabs to the Right feature was a first step towards providing more nuanced ways of managing tabs. We have been thrilled to see how passionate people are about using it. In order to solve the problem of accidental tab closures, and in the spirit of advancing functionality, the Close Tabs to the Right option has been moved into a submenu. The Close Multiple Tabs menu item provides an area to add functionality that people have asked for, such as Close Tabs to the Left.

These context menus provide accessibility benefits for features that do not exist as keyboard shortcuts. That is why we take great care in introducing and removing them.