Use Tab Groups to organize a lot of tabs

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  • Revision id: 8925
  • Created:
  • Creator: Pavel Cvrček
  • Comment: Shortcut for Panorama changed (see Bug 624588).
  • Reviewed: Yes
  • Reviewed:
  • Reviewed by: scoobidiver
  • Is approved? Yes
  • Is current revision? No
  • Ready for localization: Yes
  • Readied for localization:
  • Readied for localization by: scoobidiver
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Panorama is an easy way to organize a lot of tabs. It allows you to 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.

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Why should I use Panorama?

If you're a tab addict regularly ending up with more tabs than fit on the tab bar, Panorama was made for you. It's 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 Panorama is.

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 Panorama view by clicking the Panorama button at the far right side of the tab bar.
    • For those of you who like keyboard shortcuts, you can use Command + Shift + ECtrl + Shift + E.Panorama button
  2. When you enter the Panorama view for the first time, you will see thumbnail previews of all of your tabs in one group. To make a new group, simply drag one tab 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 tabs to that new group and you can create more groups.Creating a tab group
  3. When you are done, just click on a tab to exit the Panorama view. You will be returned to Firefox, the tab you clicked on will be active and only the tabs in that group will be visible.

How do I switch between tab groups?

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

  1. Enter the Panorama view by clicking the Panorama button at the far right side of the tab bar.
    • For those of you who like keyboard shortcuts, you can use Command + Shift + ECtrl + Shift + E.
  2. Click on a tab in the group you want to switch to and you'll exit the Panorama view and be returned to Firefox. The tab you clicked on will be active and only the tabs in that group will be visible.


Try it out: Panorama is great for grouping tabs by task. For example, you might have a group of tabs related to searching for a gift and another group for paying your bills online. Try creating groups for things you normally do online and use Panorama 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. Enter the Panorama view by clicking the Panorama button at the far right side of the tab bar.
    • For those of you who like keyboard shortcuts, you can use Command + Shift + ECtrl + Shift + E.
  2. Click the search button on the right side of the window to bring up the search box and then just begin typing the name of the tab you're trying to find.
    • You actually don't have to click the search button. Just start typing in Panorama view and a search will happen automatically.
  3. As you type, the tabs that match your search will be highlighted. Just click on a tab to select it and be returned to Firefox.Panorama search
    • If you have more than one Firefox window open, you may see tabs 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?

Panorama not only lets you put your tabs into groups, it lets you organize those groups. You can easily resize and rearrange them, name them and even close whole groups at once.

Enter the Panorama view to try these things out.

  1. Enter the Panorama view by clicking the Panorama button at the far right side of the tab bar.
    • For those of you who like keyboard shortcuts, you can use Command + Shift + ECtrl + Shift + E.


  • Resizing 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 tabs will get bigger and smaller accordingly.
    • If you make the group small enough, the tabs 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.
  • Rearranging tab groups – Click and drag on an empty area along the sides or bottom of a group to move it around the screen.
  • Naming tab groups – Click next to the pencil icon at the top of a group and type in a name for it. Then just click returnenter or click on some other area of the window.
  • Closing tab groups – Each tab group has a close button in the upper-right corner. Clicking it will close that group and all of its tabs.
    • 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.

App Tabs in tab groups

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