Windows 10 reached EOS (end of support) on October 14, 2025. If you are on Windows 10, see this article.

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More
Solved Archived

Middle Click To Open New Tab

krustykobb replied
krustykobb

When I middle click a link (e.g. a bookmark) to open a new tab, it automatically switches to this tab, and if possible I would like to disable this. Thanks in advance :)

When I middle click a link (e.g. a bookmark) to open a new tab, it automatically switches to this tab, and if possible I would like to disable this. Thanks in advance :)
Read this answer in context

Chosen Solution

Sorry, I forgot about this pref that you can toggle on the about:config page:

  • about:config page: browser.tabs.loadBookmarksInBackground = true

Note that you can toggle this by holding down the Shift key and middle-clicking the bookmark/link.

You can open the about:config page via the location/address bar. You can accept the warning and click "I'll be careful" to continue.


There are these prefs, accessible via the about:config page, to control the focus if you click a link.

  • browser.tabs.loadInBackground (normal links)
  • browser.tabs.loadDivertedInBackground (javascript)
  • browser.tabs.loadBookmarksInBackground (bookmarks)

All Replies (6)

Hi!

Try this KB article and disable: "When I open a link in a new tab, switch to it immediately"

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/tab-preferences-and-settings

Let me know if that helps!

-Robert

Hi,

This is already unchecked - the problem only appears to occur when I middle click a link bookmark in the bookmark bar, and not links within other sites

Bookmarks always open immediately in a new tab (middle-click or Ctrl left-click) or the current tab (left-click) and you can't prevent that and open them in the background. Those settings only apply to links that you click on a web page.

See:

For links opened via JavaScript you can look at this pref:

So there is no way that I can stop the bookmarks automatically being switched to when I open them? When I was using Chrome I would middle click a bookmark and it would load without switching to it

Chosen Solution

Sorry, I forgot about this pref that you can toggle on the about:config page:

  • about:config page: browser.tabs.loadBookmarksInBackground = true

Note that you can toggle this by holding down the Shift key and middle-clicking the bookmark/link.

You can open the about:config page via the location/address bar. You can accept the warning and click "I'll be careful" to continue.


There are these prefs, accessible via the about:config page, to control the focus if you click a link.

  • browser.tabs.loadInBackground (normal links)
  • browser.tabs.loadDivertedInBackground (javascript)
  • browser.tabs.loadBookmarksInBackground (bookmarks)

Thanks - changing the load bookmarks in background option in about:config solved my problem :)