Using Tabs on Firefox for Android

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  • Revision id: 61823
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  • Creator: Joni
  • Comment: hid the send tab feature. it's canceled for fx29.
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  • Reviewed:
  • Reviewed by: heyjoni
  • Is approved? Yes
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Firefox for Android lets you easily create and manage multiple tabs. This article will show you how it's done.

Where are my tabs?

To view your tabs in Firefox for Android, just swipe to the right and you'll see a sidebar containing a thumbnail for each tab. You can select any tab by tapping on it. When you're done, swipe to the left to bring the web page back in view.

Mobile Tabs

How do I open a new tab?

  1. Swipe to the right to select the New Tab button located on the bottom, left side of the screen.
  2. You'll be taken to the Awesome Screen and a list of your most visited sites. You can type the name or address of the website you're looking for or just choose it from a list of your bookmarks, history and tabs.
See Customize the Firefox home screen for more Awesome Screen tricks.
Mobile Tabs1

How do I close and reopen tabs?

Swipe to the right to see a list of your tabs. Tap the red close button on a tab to close it.

If you close a tab by mistake, you can reopen the last closed tab by tapping the green restore button at the bottom, left side of the screen.

Mobile Tabs2

How do I open a link in a new tab?

  1. To open a link in a new tab, do a long-tap on the link to open the contextual menu.
  2. Tap Open Link in New Tab.
  3. You'll see a notification that a new tab was opened.
    Mobile Tabs3
  4. To switch to your new tab, swipe to the right and tap on the new tab's thumbnail.
Mobile Tabs4

Firefox for Android tabbed browsing

This tutorial shows you how to use tabs.

Where are my tabs?

To view your tabs in Firefox for Android:

  1. The numeric tab icon on the upper right corner of your screen shows you how many tabs you have open. Tap on it to view all your open tabs.
    Android Numeric Tab Icon phone 480 2
  2. Firefox displays your open tabs as thumbnails (for tablets, this list will be on top for portrait and on the left side for landscape). Visit any tab by tapping on it.
    Android Tab List phone 480
  3. To close a tab, tap on the X next to it.

Tap the title bar and start entering text. If you type something that matches one of your open tabs, Firefox will display the "Switch to tab" option in the auto-suggestions. Tapping "Switch to tab" will take you to your existing tab instead of opening a new tab.

Android switch to tab jelly bean 480 wide

How do I open a tab?

Open a blank tab

  1. Tap the tab icon to display the panels.
    numeric tab
  2. Tap the + (the plus sign) at the top right corner of the screen to open a new tab.
    new tab
  3. The new tab will load the Awesome Screen and a list of your Top Sites, Bookmarks and History. You can choose from these home screen options or type in a new search or URL.
  1. To open a link in a new tab, do a long-tap on the link to open the contextual menu.
  2. On the contextual menu, tap Open Link in New Tab, or Open Link in Private Tab if you don't want Firefox to save that site in your history.
  3. To switch to your new tab, view your tabs and tap on its thumbnail.

Private Tabs

Switch to Private browsing mode if you don't want Firefox to remember your browsing or search history. Tap the tab icon at the top of your screen, then tap the mask icon.

private tabs

From here, you can view a list of tabs you've opened in Private browsing mode, or open a new, private tab by tapping the plus icon private plus.

How do I share my tabs?

Share your open tabs across all your devices with Firefox Sync.

If you have tabs open on another device, you can access them on your Android device by tapping the number at the top of your screen, and then tapping the Sync icon.

synced tabs

How do I close tabs?

View your tab list and tap X next to the tab you want to close.