Feedback to Firefox team & WARNING to its users
On Firefox for Windows (on Windows 11 release 99.0.1), the first setting in Settings is "Open previous windows and tabs". This is incorrect. It doesn't do this. When checked, upon startup, it will restore one window, its tabs, & maybe its sessions (?), and it will send all the other Windows & their tabs to the bit bucket.
Users: KNOW & HEED this warning! Team: Please take what you've already done for that window and merely do it also for the rest of them? In the mean time, please change the wording to something like "Open one of the windows and its tabs". Ideally, identify which window has been chosen for this.
Thanks, and be well.
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Hi Bill, I can only describe how it work on Windows 10, so maybe this no longer works correctly, but please let us know:
Firefox should restore all the windows that were open at the time Firefox quit. So if you want to quit Firefox with multiple windows open, make sure to use the menu to quit the program:
- menu button > Exit
- (menu bar) File > Exit
If you close individual windows one after another, or if you let Windows close them sequentially, usually only the last window will be reopened automatically.
Even when only one window is restored, normally up to 3 closed windows will be available from the History menu. Either:
- "3-bar" menu button > History > Recently Closed Windows
- "Library" toolbar button > History > Recently Closed Windows
- (menu bar) History > Recently Closed Windows
If you don't get 3 windows and you know you had at least 3 open at some point during your last session, you can check this hidden setting:
(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button accepting the risk.
More info on about:config: Configuration Editor for Firefox. The moderators would like us to remind you that changes made through this back door aren't fully supported and aren't guaranteed to continue working in the future. Since we have had this setting for a long time and I use it myself, I feel comfortable mentioning it.
(2) In the search box in the page, type or paste browser.sessionstore.max_windows_undo and pause while the list is filtered
By default, this preference has a value of 3
(3) If you want to reset this preference, you can use the arrow on the right end of the row. If you want to save more closed windows, double-click the preference to display an editing field. Change the value to your preferred number of restorable closed windows, then press Enter or click the blue check mark button to save the change.
(For many years, I've set this to 10 because I tend to separate tabs into groups of related pages. Some people, on the other hand, rarely have more than 1 window.)
Use one of these to close Firefox if you are currently doing that by clicking the close X on the Firefox Title bar, especially if you have multiple windows open to prevent losing tabs in unnoticed windows.
- "3-bar" menu button -> Exit (Power button)
- Windows: File -> Exit
- Mac: Firefox -> Quit Firefox
- Linux: File -> Quit
I marked solution as solved prematurely. I didn't actually test it first, since it seemed so correct & definitive. I would have been perfect, if it had worked. Ctrl-Shift-Q & restart gives me latest window only. Menu > Settings > Exit & restart gives me latest window only. In the Settings menu, I definitely have that first setting box checked to restore windows & their tabs. My screenshot wouldn't attach for some reason.
Aside: After searching around this forum for an hour, I finally had to change my user name (!!) even to just get to this previously-asked question (got Page not found until then.) But now here I am.
Since the above doesn't work, what do I have to do to get penultimate window to be restored?
Once again, Firefox for PC 99.0.1 on Windows 11.
I marked solution as solved prematurely. I didn't actually test it first, since it seemed so correct & definitive. It would have been perfect, if it had worked. Ctrl-Shift-Q & restart gives me latest window only. Menu > Settings > Exit & restart gives me latest window only. I definitely have the top Settings box checked to restore windows & their tabs. For some reason, the screenshot for that wouldn't attach.
Aside: After searching around this forum for an hour, I finally had to change my user name (!!) even to just get to this previously-asked question (got Page not found until then.) But now here I am.
Since the above doesn't work, what do I have to do to get penultimate window to be restored?
Once again, Firefox for PC 99.0.1 on Windows 11.
Are all the windows you want to restore still open when you use "File Quit/Exit" (Ctrl+Shift+Q) ? If session restore is working properly then you should get all windows that were open on the next start. Otherwise there would be windows you can restore (History -> Recently Closed Tabs/Windows). If session restore isn't working properly and you do not get sessionstore.jsonlz4 in the profile folder then something goes wrong there.
You can check for problems with the sessionstore.jsonlz4 file in the Firefox profile folder that stores session data.
- rename/remove sessionstore.jsonlz4 and sessionstore.js
You may also have to rename the sessionstore-backups folder.
When sessionstore.jsonlz4 is deleted you lose pinned-tabs and open tabs and you will have to recreate them, so if necessary make a note or bookmark them. sessionstore.jsonlz4 is only present in the Firefox profile folder when Firefox is closed.
You can use the button on the "Help -> More Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:profiles page (Root directory).
- Help -> More Troubleshooting Information -> Profile Folder/Directory:
Windows: Open Folder; Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder - https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-firefox-stores-user-data