Use Tab Groups to organize a lot of tabs

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Tab Groups (also known as Panorama) are an easy way to organize a lot of tabs. With Tab Groups, you can visually group related tabs, switch between groups and quickly search through all of your tabs. This article will have you juggling dozens of tabs in no time.

Note: This applies to the latest Firefox version which can be downloaded from mozilla.org/firefox.

Why should I use Tab Groups?

If you're a tab addict, regularly ending up with more tabs than fit on the Tab Strip, scrolling your tabs all round, Tab Groups were made for you. They're also great for grouping tabs by task, and then switching between them. Try out the steps in the rest of this article – you'll quickly see how useful they are.

How do I create a Tab Group?

If you don't already have a number of tabs open to work with, do it now.

  1. Enter the Tab Groups view by clicking the List All Tabs button at the far right side of the Tab Stripbutton list all tabs and selecting Tab Groups.
    • For those of you who like keyboard shortcuts, you can use Command + Shift + ECtrl + Shift + E.Tab Groups win1
  2. When you enter the Tab Groups view for the first time, you'll see thumbnail previews of all of your tabs in one group. Lets call them tiles. To make a new group, simply drag one tile out of the group and then drag a second one on top of it. A box will be drawn around them.
    • You can continue adding tiles to that new group and you can create more groups.Creating a tab group
  3. When you are done, just click on a tile to exit the view. You will be returned to Firefox, the tile you clicked on will be active and only the tiles in that group will be visible.
Try it out: Once you've created your first group, the Tab Group button will be added to the right end of the Tab Strip to give you a one-click way to get back to your groups.
Panorama button

How do I switch between Tab Groups?

Switching between groups is easy. With a little practice, this becomes almost automatic.

  1. Click the Tab Group button at the far right side of the Tab Strip. group your tabs3 (keyboard shortcut Command + Shift + ECtrl + Shift + E).
  2. Click on any tile in the group you want to switch to, and you'll exit the view and be returned to Firefox. The tile you clicked on will be active, and only the tiles, in that group, will be visible.
    • The keyboard shortcut, Ctrl + `control + ` allows you to go to the next Tab Group and Ctrl + Shift + `control + shift + ` to the previous Tab Group.


Try it out: Tab Groups are great for grouping tabs by task. For example, logically, you might have a bunch of tabs related to searching for a gift and another bunch for paying your bills online. Try creating groups for things you normally do online (in bunches) and use Tab Groups to switch between them. It's an easy way to stay organized.

How do I search through my tabs?

Quickly find that tab – it's much easier than finding a needle in a haystack.

  1. Click the Tab Group button group your tabs3 (keyboard shortcut Command + Shift + ECtrl + Shift + E.
  2. Click the magnifying glass (or search button) on the right side of the window magnifying glass2 to bring up the search box. Then just begin typing the name of the tab you're looking for.
    • Or just start typing and a search will happen automatically.
  3. As you type each letter, the tiles that match your search will be highlighted. Just click on a tile to select it, and you'll be returned to Firefox.Panorama search
    • If you have more than one Firefox window open, you may see tiles from other windows that match your search listed at the bottom of the window. Clicking one of those will switch you to that Firefox window, tab and group.

How do I organize my Tab Groups?

Tab Groups can easily be resized, rearranged and named. When you're done with a group you can close it and get rid of all of its tiles at once.

First, click the Tab Group button.group your tabs3 (keyboard shortcut Command + Shift + ECtrl + Shift + E).

If you want to:

  • Resize Tab Groups – Click and drag the resize handle at the bottom-right corner of a group to make it bigger or smaller. As you resize the group the tiles will get bigger and smaller, proportional to the size of the group. tab resize3tab resize4
    • If you make the group small enough, the tiles will get stacked on top of one another. Below this stack, a preview button will appear. Click the preview button to see what tabs are in the stack without changing the size of the group.
  • Rearrange Tab Groups – Click and drag on an empty area along the sides or bottom of a group to move it around the screen. tab move1tab move2
  • Name Tab Groups – Click next to the pencil icon at the top of a group and type in a name for it. Then just hit ReturnEnter or click on some other part of the window. name tab1name tab2
  • Close Tab Groups – Each tab group has a close button in the upper-right corner. .close button Clicking it will close that group and all of its tiles.
    • If you've closed a tab group by accident, you can click the Undo Close Group button to restore it before leaving the Panorama view.

Is that all there is to it?

No, these are the basics of learning what we call the Tab Group Editor. Try it, it is fun. If you understood all of this, that's great. You are more than halfway there! So what you should do is try applying what you've just learned so far. Try using the Tab Group Editor, and grow accustomed to it

It does have some surprises, and there are some advanced features in it. When you're ready, or in case you see something which is called a stack, stack icon2

you should go to lesson two which is called Mastering the Tab Group Editor. It explains these quite well, and will solve the stack problem.

App Tabs in Tab Groups

When you are using App Tabs with Tab Groups, they will be represented by their site's icon on the right side of each tab group.
App Tabs in Panorama

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