Certain actions cause a new tab to appear instead of the intended action?
I seem to have a problem with certain parts of Firefox. More details: A single new tab- the default one that would open by clicking "New tab"- opens up when I click "restore previous session" or click anything from "Recently closed tabs". It does NOT seem to open when I click one of the links right in my History menu. When I click on a link that has been scripted to automatically open in a new tab, the default new tab opens where the link SHOULD have opened, but the actual link also opens in a new window. When I try to move a tab from one window to another, the tab stays in the old window but the default new tab opens in the window I tried to move it to. Opening any link from my "Bookmarks" menu works normally and does not seem to cause the problem What could be happening here, and can it be fixed?
I made a brief reference to this problem in another post, but that was more about recovering an old session (which was solved) so it seems like it would be better to post details about this particular problem in a separate post. If this still counts as a duplicate I'll just put this in my other post.
Chosen solution
Have you ruled out an extension issue? You could test in Firefox's Safe Mode. In Safe Mode, Firefox temporarily deactivates extensions, hardware acceleration, and some other advanced features to help you assess whether these are causing the problem.
If Firefox is not running: Hold down the Shift key when starting Firefox.
If Firefox is running: You can restart Firefox in Safe Mode using either:
- "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
- Help menu > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
and OK the restart.
Both scenarios: A small dialog should appear. Click "Start in Safe Mode" (not Refresh).
Any improvement?
Read this answer in context 👍 1All Replies (4)
friedtofu said
A single new tab- the default one that would open by clicking "New tab"- opens up when I click "restore previous session" or click anything from "Recently closed tabs".
Does this only affect previous session tabs? In other words, if you open tab and view a page, close the tab, then try Recently closed tabs to re-open it, does it work during the same session, or is that also broken?
When I click on a link that has been scripted to automatically open in a new tab, the default new tab opens where the link SHOULD have opened, but the actual link also opens in a new window.
I have no way of knowing what kinds of links you are dealing with, but generally speaking, websites can direct a link to a new window using either:
- target attribute
- JavaScript window.open() method
The default Firefox setting is to send these to a new tab instead of a new window unless the window.open() method specifies certain features of the new window, such as height and width, in which case Firefox allows the new window.
That's just background, since having a link create a new tab AND then spring out into a new window just isn't one of the normal things that happens. This page has variations on these kinds of links:
https://jeffersonscher.com/res/popit.html
Can you reproduce the blank tab + new window problem with one or more of those links?
Note: For testing, please do not modify the click, i.e., do not hold Ctrl or Shift when you left-click the link.
When I try to move a tab from one window to another, the tab stays in the old window but the default new tab opens in the window I tried to move it to.
Do you mean dragging the tab from the tab bar of window#1 to the tab bar of window#2, or using the "Move to New Window" item to create a new window with the tab?
jscher2000 said
Does this only affect previous session tabs? In other words, if you open tab and view a page, close the tab, then try Recently closed tabs to re-open it, does it work during the same session, or is that also broken?
No, even tabs closed during the same session are affected. I've tried this multiple times and it looks like all recently closed tabs have the same problem regardless of session.
Can you reproduce the blank tab + new window problem with one or more of those links?
Looks like the problem can be replicated with either of the first two links! The third opens in a new window with no issues.
Do you mean dragging the tab from the tab bar of window#1 to the tab bar of window#2, or using the "Move to New Window" item to create a new window with the tab?
The problem only occurs when I drag the tab. Selecting "Move to New Window" works normally.
Seçilmiş Həll
Have you ruled out an extension issue? You could test in Firefox's Safe Mode. In Safe Mode, Firefox temporarily deactivates extensions, hardware acceleration, and some other advanced features to help you assess whether these are causing the problem.
If Firefox is not running: Hold down the Shift key when starting Firefox.
If Firefox is running: You can restart Firefox in Safe Mode using either:
- "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
- Help menu > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
and OK the restart.
Both scenarios: A small dialog should appear. Click "Start in Safe Mode" (not Refresh).
Any improvement?
It looks like it was a problem with the add-ons since restarting in Safe Mode removed the problem. Now that I've narrowed down the source of the problem to my add-ons, I was able to look through them and disable the one that caused the issue. Thank you very much for the help!