You can middle click to open links you're hovering over in new tabs, and this add on also might work (it is a bit old so I'm not sure 100%) https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/open-link-with-new-tab/

You can also adjust your settings in options so when you open new tabs it doesn't switch to them. about:preferences under tabs, uncheck "switch to new tab when opening"

Hi Redmark, let me add two notes:

(1) Firefox's built-in settings for links are directed toward what to do with links that launch new windows. Allow a new window or divert it to a new tab instead?

Firefox does not have a built-in setting to send all links to a new tab, regardless of whether they are coded to open in a new window or not.

(2) Search engines generally offer a setting for where to open search results links, which often will refer to a new window. You usually can find it it Preferences or Settings.

If your main concern is search results and you have trouble finding that on your search site, you could mention which one it is and a support volunteer could take a look.

I have a problem with jscher2000's reply. It doesn't bother to answer the original question. So, I'll try to give my same problem.

For years, in Firefox, with a normal Google Search result page, I would left mouse click (LM) on a result and a new tab to the right would be opened BUT I REMAINED ON THE GOOGLE SEARCH PAGE. This allowed me to scroll down and select additional result before going to each page for review.

I moved to Chrome and hated it's change to opening the tab and moving me to it instead of leaving me on the search page. I developed a work around.

I've come back to Firefox only to find they've copied the same idiotic process as Chrome.

I tried Eve's suggestions, but changing either, both, or any combination of preferences in both Firefox preferences and/or Google search preferences does NOT fix this stupidity. The only (and an old one) possible action is to click on the Middle Mouse (MM) button which does open a new tab for the data page AND leave me on the search page. If this is the only fix, I'll have to live with it, but please explain something for us all.

Why can't Firefox set a preference to have the normal Left Mouse (LM) do exactly what the MM button does? Is that too complicated to do? If so, why?

atsdon1 said

For years, in Firefox, with a normal Google Search result page, I would left mouse click (LM) on a result and a new tab to the right would be opened BUT I REMAINED ON THE GOOGLE SEARCH PAGE. This allowed me to scroll down and select additional result before going to each page for review.

Assuming you weren't using an add-on, here's how that probably worked:

(1) Set your Google preferences to open results links in a new window

https://www.google.com/preferences ("Where results open")

By default, Firefox will divert those new windows to new tabs instead

(2) Set diverted windows to open in background tabs instead of switching to them immediately

Firefox has a separate focus/background settings for user-directed new tabs versus automatically diverted windows:

(a) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button accepting the risk.

(b) In the search box above the list, type or paste inback and pause while the list is filtered

(c) [User-tabs] If the browser.tabs.loadInBackground preference is bolded and has a value of false, double-click it to restore the default value of true

(d) [Diverted] Double-click the browser.tabs.loadDivertedInBackground preference to switch the value from false to true

Number (2) works well, had a friend who show me this way, Wording was a little different :

  "loadBookmarksInTabs True "

but it work.

Thanks jsher2000

jscher2000., Thank you.

Following (c) and (d) below I found neither was bolded, but the default for (d) was false. I set it to true and it worked.

I'm sure this will help others, too.

Again, thank you.

(c) [User-tabs] If the browser.tabs.loadInBackground preference is bolded and has a value of false, double-click it to restore the default value of true (d) [Diverted] Double-click the browser.tabs.loadDivertedInBackground preference to switch the value from false to true