Use tabs to organize lots of websites in a single window

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  • Creator: Tonnes
  • Comment: add line break in front of first image
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  • Reviewed by: AliceWyman
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You can use a single Firefox window to hold multiple websites for viewing. Each website is displayed in its own tab.
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Opening tabs

Open a new blank tab

When you create a new tab, it will contain a blank page with the Location bar focused. Start typing a web address (URL) or other search term to open a website in the new tab - see Address bar autocomplete suggestions in Firefox for information on how to use the Location bar to get where you want to go quickly. To create a new blank tab:

  • New tab button: Click the New Tab button on the right side of the last tab.
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  • File menu: On the menu bar, click the File menu, and then select New tab.
  • Keyboard shortcut: Hold down the Ctrlcommand key and press T.

You can load most links on websites into their own tabs:

  • Middle-click: Click on the link with the middle mouse button. On most mice with scroll wheels you can click using the wheel.
  • Drag and drop: Click on the link and keep holding down the mouse button. Drag the link up to a blank space on the tab bar.


Closing and restoring tabs

Close a tab

  • Close button: Click on the close button on the tab you want to close.
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  • File menu: On the menu bar, click the File menu, and then select Close tab.
  • Middle-click: Click on the tab you want to close with the middle mouse button. On most mice with scroll wheels you can click using the wheel.

Restore a closed tab

To bring back a tab you've closed:

  • History menu: On the menu bar, click the History menu, select Recently closed tabs, and then select the tab you want to restore.
  • Keyboard shortcut: Hold down the Ctrlcommand and Shift keys and press T.


Moving tabs

Change the tab order

To move a tab to a different location on the tab bar, drag it there using your mouse. While you are dragging the tab, Firefox will display a small indicator to show where the tab will be moved.
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Move a tab between windows

  • To move a tab from one window into its own window, click on the tab and then drag it below the tab bar.
  • To move a tab from one Firefox window to another, click on the tab and then drag it to the tab bar on the second Firefox window.

Tab settings

To customize your tab settings in Firefox, see PreferencesOptions window - Tabs panel.

Tips and tricks

Bookmark a set of tabs

If you have multiple tabs open, you can bookmark that set of tabs in a folder:

  1. On the menu bar, click Bookmarks and select Bookmark All Tabs.... The New Bookmarks window will appear.
  2. In the Name: field, type a name for your set of bookmarks.
  3. In the Folder: field, select the folder in which you want to store your set of bookmarks.
  4. Click Add Bookmarks.

To open that set of tabs again, click the Bookmarks menu, select the folder you created, and then select Open All in Tabs.

For more information on bookmarks, see the Bookmarks in Firefox article.

Make a set of tabs your home page

If you have multiple tabs open, you can make that set of tabs open up when you start Firefox:

  1. In the Menu bar at the top of the screen, click Firefox and then select Preferences or Settings, depending on your macOS version.Click the menu button Fx89menuButton and select Settings.
  2. Select the General panel (Main panel in Firefox 3.5).
  3. In the Startup section, click Use Current Pages.
  4. Close the Settings page. Any changes you've made will automatically be saved.

Shortcuts

There are keyboard and mouse shortcuts that can be used to speed up tabbed browsing tasks. See:

For more information on setting the home page, see How to set the home page.

Troubleshooting

For problems with tabbed browsing, see: