Tabs shouldn't be hidden. When does the problem occur? For example, once you have a large number of tabs, not all of them fit on the tab bar. Normally you get icons at the left and right ends to scroll the tabs along the bar. You also may get a drop-down tab list. I have attached a screenshot of what I see on Firefox 56.

If you have that situation but you do not get the buttons, I wonder whether it could be caused by a broken add-on. Do you use Tab Mix Plus? You can view, disable, and often remove extensions on the Add-ons page. Either:

• Ctrl+Shift+a (Mac: Command+Shift+a)
• "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons
• type or paste about:addons in the address bar and press Enter/Return

In the left column of the Add-ons page, click Extensions. Then cast a critical eye over the list on the right side. Any extensions that Firefox installs on its own are hidden from this page, so everything listed here is your choice (and your responsibility) to manage. Anything that could modify how tabs work in Firefox which might not be compatible with Firefox 56? If in doubt, disable.

Sometimes a link will appear above a disabled extension to restart Firefox before the change takes effect. You can complete your work on the tab and click one of the links as the last step.

Any improvement?

Thank you for your thoughtful response. I have now found where I can see the tabs. However, to answer your questions:

    I do not use tab-mix plus
    I have not added any add-ons

Basically, I do not like having to minimize Firefox so that I can see what other tasks I have running. Also, I prefer to old way where my tabs were listed across the top of the screen and I could switch from one to another with one click--I do switch between tabs frequently.

Is there any way I can return to the old way of showing the screen?

Hmm, Firefox 56 still lists tabs across the top of the screen. Two thoughts:

(1) Is Firefox in full screen view?

In full screen view, the tabs bar and the rest of the toolbar area slides up and out of view. You can see it again my moving the mouse pointer all the way to the top of the screen. If that is happening, try using the F11 key to switch back to a normal view.

(2) Did the preference to divert new windows to tabs get turned off? Could you check here:

• Windows: "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Options
• Mac: "3-bar" menu button (or Firefox menu) > Preferences
• Linux: "3-bar" menu button (or Edit menu) > Preferences

In the left column, if the General panel is not selected, click General. Then on the right side, in the second section of the page ("Tabs") make sure this setting is checked (turned on):

Open new windows in a new tab instead

If it's already turned on, click it twice (off then on) to make sure.

Does that help?

Meanwhile, if you want to consolidate some existing windows into a single one, you can make the unwanted window smaller (resizable instead of maximized) and drag the tab into the tab bar in the other window to move it there. Hopefully the setting will avoid the need for this in the future.

Thanks for trying to help me!

I have changed to the mode where the tabs always show in the left-hand column, which at least makes them accessible. And in this mode, the other tasks do show up at the bottom of the screen.

From here, I think it is just a matter of, if I can't go back to the old way of working, I'll just have to learn how to work with this display.

Thanks again.

Your setup sounds very interesting. There was a "Test Pilot" experiment that put tabs in the Sidebar, which usually appears on the left side. It was called "Tab Center". But if you checked the Add-ons page, Extensions list and didn't see "Tab Center" then I don't know what is going on with your Firefox.

I checked again and found there is a place to set up add ons, but I have not done that and prefer not to mess with things I don't really understand, so I left that page without selecting anything.

Again, thanks for your help. I can live with it the way it is. After I've used it for a few weeks, I'll probably get comfortable with it.

Okay. But for future reference, the Extensions panel of the Add-ons page shows what is already installed and unless it is disabled, it is already running on your Firefox. I recommend taking a look at that when you get a few minutes just to be in control of your browser.