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Why doesn't Firefox close tabs when I use the command-w shortcut keys?

  • 8 replies
  • 24 have this problem
  • 3 views
  • Last reply by gslrider

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Every so often, on random sites, I would have 2 or three tabs open. I would command-w (on a Mac) to close the front most tab, and it would close. Bringing the next tab to the front. But when I hit command-w again, I get the warning sound on my Mac, and the tab does not want to close. Even though Firefox is at the most front of applications, and the tab I'm trying to close is at the front of Firefox browser window. I have to click on the page (even though it's already at the front), for command-w to work and close the tab. I've reset Firefox to default twice already. I've even deleted it, and reinstalled it.

Every so often, on random sites, I would have 2 or three tabs open. I would command-w (on a Mac) to close the front most tab, and it would close. Bringing the next tab to the front. But when I hit command-w again, I get the warning sound on my Mac, and the tab does not want to close. Even though Firefox is at the most front of applications, and the tab I'm trying to close is at the front of Firefox browser window. I have to click on the page (even though it's already at the front), for command-w to work and close the tab. I've reset Firefox to default twice already. I've even deleted it, and reinstalled it.

All Replies (8)

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One situation in which Command+w or Ctrl+w might not work is if the "focus" is in a plugin such as the Flash player used on Youtube after you interact with the player controls. Firefox will continue to send the keyboard input to the plugin until you move the focus back to the page. Does that account for any of the problem?

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Is only the keyboard shortcut not working (i.e. can you still close this tab with the mouse or via the File menu or with a middle-click on that tab)?

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That's correct. Just the keyboard. Closing the tab using the File>Close Window, and clicking on the 'x' on the tab closes it. But it doesn't happen all the time, it seems random.

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Thanks. Interesting. Now that you mention it, the last time this happened, I was watching a flash video clip (not YouTube). But if I close that tab using the command-w, wouldn't the focus automatically be shifted to the next tab that comes up? So using command-w should work, no?

Or even though it comes to the front, I still have to physically select the tab or click on the browser window? Is this a known glitch in Firefox that will be resolved? Never used to happen prior to the last update.

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If that next tab has the focus set to a plugin then you can't close that tab via the keyboard without first setting the encoding to an element on the web page or the user interface to switch the focus away from the plugin.

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The front most tab I closed via shortcut keys had the flash video. The tab that comes up afterwards is the one I can't close via shortcut keys, it has the link I clicked on to open up the flash video on another tab. Does that apply still? The link to the flash video makes the tab focus on a plugin? If so, why isn't it consistent with other pages I visit that have links to flash videos?

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A regular link in the page (not in a Flash-based menu or embedded PDF, etc.) wouldn't be in a plugin.

If instead of clicking away from the link you try tabbing to a different link, does Ctrl+w work from there?

If this problem only happens on one site, I would suspect some kind of special scripting. Scripts that intercept keystrokes can determine the element to which they were directed, so a link could be treated differently, although I can't think of a good reason for that...

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I usually do a "open link in a new tab". That goes for pretty much any link, including videos. The new tab that comes up (video), I can command-w that to close it. But I can't command-w the original page the link is from. I have to click on that page again, even though it's already up front. Even without having to actually click on the page again, I can still use my scroll wheel to move the page up or down. I just can't use a shortcut key to close it. Unless I click on it again.

Not sure if it's a specific page. As I mentioned, it seems to be random. Next time it happens again, I'll try to recreate the process and see if it will do the same thing again. And I'll jot down the site, and link.