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Can I restore the start-up settings (opening windows & tabs) to what they were before the Quantum "improvements" changed them?

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  • Last reply by cor-el

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Before Quantum, I used to have an opening window with 5 tabs that I used every day; if I then clicked on "new window" this would open with just one tab containing a search box. On shutting down, I would first shut any more newly opened windows and leave the "5-tab" window until last. When I next opened Firefox, only one window would open - the "5-tab"one. Can anyone tell me whether and how I could set Quantum do do the same, please? With Quantum, if I had several windows open during one session and shut them down, the options that I have found are either:- - Show ALL Windows AND Tabs from last time (not just the one "5-tab" window that I want;) - this takes time to load all the previous windows (and then to close the unwanted ones.) - Show your Home Page - but if I also Use Current Pages to get the "5-tab window, when I then click on New Window, I get all these tabs opened in the new window as well - not a single tab with a search box.

Before Quantum, I used to have an opening window with 5 tabs that I used every day; if I then clicked on "new window" this would open with just one tab containing a search box. On shutting down, I would first shut any more newly opened windows and leave the "5-tab" window until last. When I next opened Firefox, only one window would open - the "5-tab"one. Can anyone tell me whether and how I could set Quantum do do the same, please? With Quantum, if I had several windows open during one session and shut them down, the options that I have found are either:- - Show ALL Windows AND Tabs from last time (not just the one "5-tab" window that I want;) - this takes time to load all the previous windows (and then to close the unwanted ones.) - Show your Home Page - but if I also Use Current Pages to get the "5-tab window, when I then click on New Window, I get all these tabs opened in the new window as well - not a single tab with a search box.

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Hi EmmBee, you said

Before Quantum, I used to have an opening window with 5 tabs that I used every day; if I then clicked on "new window" this would open with just one tab containing a search box. On shutting down, I would first shut any more newly opened windows and leave the "5-tab" window until last. When I next opened Firefox, only one window would open - the "5-tab"one. ... With Quantum, if I had several windows open during one session and shut them down, the options that I have found are either:- - Show ALL Windows AND Tabs from last time (not just the one "5-tab" window that I want;) - this takes time to load all the previous windows (and then to close the unwanted ones.)

Pinned Tabs option

I don't use this myself, but it has been suggested in other threads. You can "pin" the five tabs and then Firefox will restore them at startup. See: Pinned Tabs - keep favorite websites open and just a click away.

Note: Like other session history, pinned tabs are part of history. Setting Firefox to clear history when it closes will remove the session history file and your pinned tabs.

Restore Previous Session

The way session restore works should not have changed from Firefox 56.

Normally, when you close a window, that change is reflected in your session history file within 15 seconds. So if you close the unwanted windows and pause for 15 seconds (or read a still-open tab), Firefox should record that change and not open those windows the next time you restore your session.

Some users reported a bug where Firefox would stop updating the session file; it would just be frozen in time due to a problem with a background process (invisible while you're using Firefox). Firefox 58 will include a fix to work around that (restarting the background process), so if this bug is affecting you, hopefully it will be better soon.

Modified Shortcut Option

You can add URLs to your Firefox shortcut so that Firefox automatically opens those addresses when you use the icon. These threads describe the mechanics of that:

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A new window always opens with all home pages, so you are limited in the home page setting or use a about:blank bookmark on the Bookmarks Toolbar to open a blank page via Shift + left-click in a new window.

Note that you can choose to restore pinned tabs on demand.

  • browser.sessionstore.restore_pinned_tabs_on_demand = true
  • browser.sessionstore.restore_on_demand = true

You can open the about:config page via the location/address bar. You can accept the warning and click "I accept the risk!" to continue.