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Tabs Unexpectedly Opening in New Windows in Full-Screen Mode on MacOS

  • 4 replies
  • 5 have this problem
  • Last reply by jgeigerm

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Hi firefox community,

I am using Firefox version 127.0.2 as my main browser on MacOS Sonoma 14.5. For the past few months, when using Firefox in Mac's full-screen mode, I've been experiencing an issue where one of the multiple open tabs unexpectedly displays in a separate window the moment I click on it.

This behavior didn't occur previously, and I believe it started happening about 3 months ago. It doesn't happen every time, but occurs a few times a day when I least expect it, making it difficult to identify the specific conditions that trigger it. I use a Magic Trackpad, and after switching to full-screen using the three-finger gesture, the moment I try to activate a specific tab, that tab alone displays as a separate window in full-screen mode.

Is it possible that a Firefox version update has changed this behavior? If this is a Firefox issue, is there a way to capture debug logs to have the developers investigate it?

Alternatively, if there's an option to prevent tabs from opening in new separate windows, that would be an effective workaround. Could you please let me know if such an option exists?

Best regards,

Hi firefox community, I am using Firefox version 127.0.2 as my main browser on MacOS Sonoma 14.5. For the past few months, when using Firefox in Mac's full-screen mode, I've been experiencing an issue where one of the multiple open tabs unexpectedly displays in a separate window the moment I click on it. This behavior didn't occur previously, and I believe it started happening about 3 months ago. It doesn't happen every time, but occurs a few times a day when I least expect it, making it difficult to identify the specific conditions that trigger it. I use a Magic Trackpad, and after switching to full-screen using the three-finger gesture, the moment I try to activate a specific tab, that tab alone displays as a separate window in full-screen mode. Is it possible that a Firefox version update has changed this behavior? If this is a Firefox issue, is there a way to capture debug logs to have the developers investigate it? Alternatively, if there's an option to prevent tabs from opening in new separate windows, that would be an effective workaround. Could you please let me know if such an option exists? Best regards,

Chosen solution

Firefox has a 'tear-off' feature to move the tab to a new window by slightly dragging the tab down. There is a pref in about:config to disable tear-off and prevent moving the file accidentally to a new window.

  • about:config => browser.tabs.allowTabDetach => false
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Chosen Solution

Firefox has a 'tear-off' feature to move the tab to a new window by slightly dragging the tab down. There is a pref in about:config to disable tear-off and prevent moving the file accidentally to a new window.

  • about:config => browser.tabs.allowTabDetach => false

Helpful?

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I have this issue as well and I believe it is a bug. Clicking and dragging the tab should result in a tear off. Clicking it alone should not

The behavior only occurs every once in a while. The drag threshold may have to be increased in macos full-screen mode to avoid this issue.

Modified by jgeigerm

Helpful?

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You can still right-click the tab to move the tab to a new window with the pref disabled.

Helpful?

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I realize this is a user support forum, not a developer one, so these answers will suffice. Thanks for the information. I may track down the issue in the tab manager code and submit a bug report when I have more information. I will link it here if I do that.

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