Tab preferences and settings

Revision Information
  • Revision id: 25984
  • Created:
  • Creator: Michael Verdi
  • Comment: Removing note about the multiple tabs warning - it was incorrect
  • Reviewed: Yes
  • Reviewed:
  • Reviewed by: Verdi
  • Is approved? Yes
  • Is current revision? No
  • Ready for localization: Yes
  • Readied for localization:
  • Readied for localization by: Verdi
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This document explains all of the optionspreferences available in the Tabs panel of the OptionsPreferences window of Mozilla Firefox. For other panels, see OptionsPreferences window.

The Tabs panel contains optionspreferences related to the tabbed browsing feature.


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  • Open new windows in a new tab instead: This optionpreference controls whether links from other applications or from web pages which request to open them in new windows are opened in a new window or a new tab in the most recent window.
Note: If you have chosen to open pages in new tabs, Firefox will ignore this optionpreference and will open a new window from a link if the page author specified that the new window should have a specific size, because some pages can only be displayed correctly at a specific size.
  • Warn me when closing multiple tabs: When you close a window with multiple tabs, Firefox will ask you to confirm your choice. This prevents you from accidentally closing the whole window when you intended to only close the current tab. Uncheck this optionpreference to disable this warning and have Firefox automatically close the window.
  • Warn me when opening multiple tabs might slow down Firefox: When you open a large number of tabs at once, Firefox will ask you to confirm your choice. This prevents you from accidentally slowing down your system while the pages are loading. Uncheck this optionpreference to disable this warning.
  • Always show the tab bar: If you're only viewing one web page in a Firefox window, the tab bar is not normally shown. Check this optionpreference to always show the tab bar, including when only the Firefox window contains only one page.
  • When I open a link in a new tab, switch to it immediately: When you middle-click on a Web link (or hold down Ctrlcommand while clicking with the left mouse button), the page will be opened in a new tab. That page will not be displayed and will load in a background tab. Check this optionpreference to load and display the page in a new foreground tab instead.
  • Show tab previews in the Windows taskbar: When you move your pointer over the Firefox icon in the Windows 7 taskbar, Windows will show you a preview of the Firefox window. With this option check marked, Windows will show you a separate preview for each tab.


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