A 2nd instance of a web site in a new tab interferes with the first
I fly XYZ airlines (not their real name). Legend has it that, when checking in online, the closer you check in to precisely 24 hours before flight time, the better your position in the boarding line will be. So I don't doubt there's an automated app out there to handle this task for you. If not, there should be.
But I'm old-fashioned, so I just open XYZ's checkin page, fill in my information, and wait for the clock to tock. Then I pounce, and usually get a decent spot in line.
But if my wife is traveling with me, I have to get BOTH of us good spots. So, I first thought I'd load XYZ's checkin page in 2 tabs, one filled in with my info, the other with hers, thinking that a quick hit the button - switch tabs - hit the button would get us both checked in within a few ms of each other.
Wrong. As soon as I click the button on one tab, that passenger's information replaces the original information on the other tab. So, I've got to painstakingly re-enter that passenger's information, and he or she loses a few precious spaces in line. Maybe.
A similar interference takes place when ordering tickets. We live roughly halfway between 2 major airports, and it's useful to look at schedules and fares at both airports, or dollars vs points, when deciding on flights. So you would think I could start the reservation process for airport ABC on one tab, and CBA on another tab, and switch back and forth as I'm trying to decide.
Wrong again. I can't tell exactly what changes, but one tab's progress affects the other tab's status really adversely.
The ordering process works fine if I use 2 computers side-by-side. I haven't tried 2 different browsers, or 2 browser windows yet, but plan to some day. I've written XYZ but don't expect much back.
Any ideas?
All Replies (3)
Hi
I think that what you are seeing is the personal data you have entered the first time round being "cached" in the browser, then reappearing in the second tab.
You may want to try using Private Browsing in each tab. You can find out more about how to do this here.
However... there is a new feature that is due to be released (hopefully this year) that should allow you to do exactly what you describe. It is in the pre-release testing versions of Firefox at the moment, but hopefully it should be available for people to use in the finished product later this year.
I hope this helps, but if not, please come back here and we can look into a different solution for you.
I have to say it doesn't make sense to me that anyone would want that behaviour as a feature, but I'll give it a try. I'm checking the "helpful" button anyway, in wild anticipation.
Firefox is becoming another application so feature-rich that I don't know how to use it anymore. That may be a good thing, but if that behaviour goes against common sense, it could be dangerous. In my case, the "personal data" involved in the two tabs are for two different persons, and I find it difficult to accept that Firefox arbitrarily decides to override one person's data with another's, taken from what (to me) should be an entirely unrelated tab.
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