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Shortcut CMD+W (close single tab) not working anymore

  • 10 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 25 views
  • Last reply by flx1998

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Hi all, the shortcut to close a single tab (ctrl+W (Windows) or cmd+W (Mac)) is not working anymore.

here is what I tried so far: - disabling all extensions (via restart in safe mode) but to no avail - reinstalled Firefox but the problem persists - verified, that the command is indeed cmd+W and was not changed by accident - all other shortcuts are working well

NOTE: I can see that when I press cmd+W, the "file" tab up above on the Mac menu bar flashes for a brief moment, as if the system detects the shortcut. But the tab stays open.

Any other ideas I could try out?

Hi all, the shortcut to close a single tab (ctrl+W (Windows) or cmd+W (Mac)) is not working anymore. here is what I tried so far: - disabling all extensions (via restart in safe mode) but to no avail - reinstalled Firefox but the problem persists - verified, that the command is indeed cmd+W and was not changed by accident - all other shortcuts are working well NOTE: I can see that when I press cmd+W, the "file" tab up above on the Mac menu bar flashes for a brief moment, as if the system detects the shortcut. But the tab stays open. Any other ideas I could try out?

All Replies (10)

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You aren't trying to close a pinned tab as that won't work with the Cmd/Ctrl+W shortcut ?

Close Tab should be in the Tab context menu and not in the File menu. You can also close a tab with a middle-click with the mouse wheel. Can you close a tab using those methods ?

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Thanks for the response. Unfortunately, not yet solved.

- tabs I am trying to close are not pinned. - closing tabs with mouse wheel click works perfectly fine. - close tab is for sure in the file menu, there is no tab menu in my browser version (115.2.0esr (64-bit))

other tab related shortcuts work well - cmd+t (open new tab) - shift+cmd+t (re-open closed tab)

Thanks for other ideas - this leaves me puzzled

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Start Firefox in Troubleshoot Mode to check if one of the extensions ("3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions) or if hardware acceleration or if userChrome.css/userContent.css is causing the problem.

  • switch to the Default System theme: "3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Themes
  • do NOT click the "Refresh Firefox" button on the Troubleshoot Mode start window
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Hi there, did not solve the issue. Troubelshoot mode didn't change anything, same faulty behavior. Also the theme is the default one already.

As for the mouse-wheel-click, that still works well!

Interested to hear if others also share this issue.

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Does it still happen in a new profile? An easy way to test a new profile is to install Developer Edition and see if it happens there or refresh your existing profile.

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Hi there, thanks for the thoughts/ideas, unfortunately... to no avail! I created a new profile and had it launch in a new browser. Same issue.

I then tried installing the developer edition but.... and maybe here lies the root cause of the issue... I can't because I am running macOS Mojave (10.14.2).

So maybe it simply is, that my OS is not up to date anymore? - And I can't update the OS any further, because the hardware of the Macbook Air is not supporting it (argh, hate Apple for doing that!!)

Could that be it?

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Does Cmd+W work in other applications? Maybe some third-party software is intercepting it.

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Yes, it works well in Chrome for example.

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You aren't using a locale or keyboard l;ayout that may have keys located differently ?

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Good idea but no. It is a qwertz layout and I am not changing locale. Like mentioned in my initial post, I can see that when I press cmd+W, the "file" tab up above on the Mac menu bar flashes for a brief moment, as if the system detects the shortcut. But the tab stays open.