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How do I change the default web page when I open additional tabs?

  • 2 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by biggrey

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My home page is set to the regular default page but when I open additional tabs a Yahoo page opens and I don't use this and want nothing to do with it. I used to get the Google/AVG search page. This only happens when I open additional tabs.

So how to I set the page that opens when I open additional tabs?

Thanks! biggrey

My home page is set to the regular default page but when I open additional tabs a Yahoo page opens and I don't use this and want nothing to do with it. I used to get the Google/AVG search page. This only happens when I open additional tabs. So how to I set the page that opens when I open additional tabs? Thanks! biggrey

Chosen solution

(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter. Click the button promising to be careful.

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

(3) Double-click the browser.newtab.url preference and enter your preferred page:

  • Page thumbnails (default) => about:newtab
  • Blank tab => about:blank
  • Built-in Firefox home page => about:home
  • Any other page => full URL to the page

Press Ctrl+t to open a new tab and verify that it worked. Fixed?

Some gotchas:

If Firefox won't let you edit this setting: you may have something called SearchProtect on your system.

If Firefox lets you save your change but ignores it: one of your extensions may be overriding it. You can review, disable, and/or remove extensions on the add-ons page. Either:

  • Ctrl+Shift+a
  • "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons

In the left column, click Extensions. Then take a hard look at the list on the right. (It's possible you got a bundle of crap with something free you downloaded recently.)

If the change works during your session, but at the next startup is back to Conduit: you might have a user.js file in your personal Firefox settings folder (your Firefox profile folder). This article describes how to track down and remove the file: How to fix preferences that won't save.

Any luck?

Read this answer in context 👍 3

All Replies (2)

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Chosen Solution

(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter. Click the button promising to be careful.

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

(3) Double-click the browser.newtab.url preference and enter your preferred page:

  • Page thumbnails (default) => about:newtab
  • Blank tab => about:blank
  • Built-in Firefox home page => about:home
  • Any other page => full URL to the page

Press Ctrl+t to open a new tab and verify that it worked. Fixed?

Some gotchas:

If Firefox won't let you edit this setting: you may have something called SearchProtect on your system.

If Firefox lets you save your change but ignores it: one of your extensions may be overriding it. You can review, disable, and/or remove extensions on the add-ons page. Either:

  • Ctrl+Shift+a
  • "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons

In the left column, click Extensions. Then take a hard look at the list on the right. (It's possible you got a bundle of crap with something free you downloaded recently.)

If the change works during your session, but at the next startup is back to Conduit: you might have a user.js file in your personal Firefox settings folder (your Firefox profile folder). This article describes how to track down and remove the file: How to fix preferences that won't save.

Any luck?

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Wow! Thank you for the instructions on how to remove the Yahoo page from opening in a new tab. And for replying so quickly!

Most impressive! biggrey