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Single click on message in inbox randomly opens a new tab

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  • Last reply by Vlyn91

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Recently when clicking through my inbox some of the messages randomly open a new tab, just as if I had double clicked the message.

At first I thought my mouse was giving out, so I tested on a mouse-clicker site and tried to see if any accidental double clicks were happening, which was not the case. No matter how carefully I single click, every now and then a message in Thunderbird opens up in a new tab.

I then started Thunderbird in Troubleshoot mode, even though I don't really use any add-ons. But the same issue happens there too.

Any ideas why this is broken? Why does Thunderbird seem to think I sometimes double click?

Windows 11, Thunderbird 91.4.0 (64-bit)

Recently when clicking through my inbox some of the messages randomly open a new tab, just as if I had double clicked the message. At first I thought my mouse was giving out, so I tested on a mouse-clicker site and tried to see if any accidental double clicks were happening, which was not the case. No matter how carefully I single click, every now and then a message in Thunderbird opens up in a new tab. I then started Thunderbird in Troubleshoot mode, even though I don't really use any add-ons. But the same issue happens there too. Any ideas why this is broken? Why does Thunderbird seem to think I sometimes double click? Windows 11, Thunderbird 91.4.0 (64-bit)

Chosen solution

Nevermind, I fixed it: Uninstalling the mouse drivers in the device manager didn't help, after replugging the mouse the problem just continued to be there.

Uninstalling the mouse drivers and giving Windows a reboot fixed my problem. Something with Windows 11 must have been going wrong in the background. It's just weird that it only affected browsers and Thunderbird, but not any other software (Games or applications).

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All Replies (6)

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If you move through the Inbox with the arrow keys, instead of the mouse, and open messages with Enter, does the same thing happen? Replacing the mouse is probably the remedy.

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I can move with the arrow keys and the emails don't open (I always use the preview window to read them anyway). When I press enter the email gets opened in a new tab.

Replacing the mouse won't help, I already said I tested it out, my mouse is not producing double clicks.

Thunderbird just seems to register single clicks as double clicks every now and then, it's weird. I tested this out in Windows Explorer, not a single accidental double click in 5 minutes of clicking around. Just Thunderbird is messed up for some reason.

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Ok, this gets even weirder: This problem only happens in Thunderbird and Firefox, both XUL based applications. I can't reproduce it in other applications (Windows Explorer, Notepad++, etc.). Maybe it's a XUL bug?

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You can try changing a preference in Config. editor (for either TB or Firefox):

https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/fzjxjg/firefox_double_clicks_when_i_right_click/

See also https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1427631

I think if this were a TB/FF bug, there would be a deluge of reports on the forum.

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Your first link has nothing to do with it, I'm only talking about left clicks here.

I just switched out my mouse (unplugged the old one), different manufacturer, still exactly the same issue in both Firefox and Thunderbird. Not happening in Windows Explorer or Notepad++.

I'm a software developer, I do know basic troubleshooting. This is an issue most people won't notice (much), it only happens about every 5 to 10 clicks and in the browser most elements don't care about a random double click. Just in Thunderbird I got annoyed as it opened my messages in a new tab. While in the browser you can test this out by clicking random words, if the word gets highlighted you just had a double-click.

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Chosen Solution

Nevermind, I fixed it: Uninstalling the mouse drivers in the device manager didn't help, after replugging the mouse the problem just continued to be there.

Uninstalling the mouse drivers and giving Windows a reboot fixed my problem. Something with Windows 11 must have been going wrong in the background. It's just weird that it only affected browsers and Thunderbird, but not any other software (Games or applications).