Join the Mozilla’s Test Days event from Dec 2–8 to test the new Firefox address bar on Firefox Beta 134 and get a chance to win Mozilla swag vouchers! 🎁

This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

The number of thumbnails on my new tab page has changed

  • 4 replies
  • 19 have this problem
  • 8 views
  • Last reply by Ian.F

more options

When I switched my PC off last night my Firefox new tabs page was displaying twelve thumbnails, four per row in three columns. When I switched my PC on today I opened a new tab page and there were only eight thumbnails showing, four per row but only two rows. I haven't changed any of my setting in my sleep so why has the page layout changed and how can I revert it to the way that it was? Altering the zoom on the new tabs page, to 80%, allows me to view fifteen thumbnails (I don't actually want fifteen just my original twelve) but only on that specific page, if I open a fresh new tabs page it is back to displaying only eight thumbnails again.

When I switched my PC off last night my Firefox new tabs page was displaying twelve thumbnails, four per row in three columns. When I switched my PC on today I opened a new tab page and there were only eight thumbnails showing, four per row but only two rows. I haven't changed any of my setting in my sleep so why has the page layout changed and how can I revert it to the way that it was? Altering the zoom on the new tabs page, to 80%, allows me to view fifteen thumbnails (I don't actually want fifteen just my original twelve) but only on that specific page, if I open a fresh new tabs page it is back to displaying only eight thumbnails again.

Chosen solution

Hi, as you know you can change the number of tiles on the New Tab Page by zooming in or out.

You also mentioned keeping the same zoom setting when clicking on a new tab: Type about:config into the address bar, press Enter, accept the warning, scroll down to browser.newtab.preload and double click on it to change 'Value' from True to False.

It is also possible in about:config to change the maximum number of tiles, by scrolling down to browser.newtabpage.columns (or .rows), then right click > Modify, to set a new number in 'Value.'

As an alternative, you may like to try the add-on New Tab Tools.

If your question is resolved by this or another answer, please take a minute to let us know. Thank you.

Read this answer in context 👍 13

All Replies (4)

more options

The problem seems to have corrected itself. I closed Firefox and when I reopened it I now have fifteen thumbnails on my New tabs page, five per row in three columns. I guess I'll settle for that.

more options

Chosen Solution

Hi, as you know you can change the number of tiles on the New Tab Page by zooming in or out.

You also mentioned keeping the same zoom setting when clicking on a new tab: Type about:config into the address bar, press Enter, accept the warning, scroll down to browser.newtab.preload and double click on it to change 'Value' from True to False.

It is also possible in about:config to change the maximum number of tiles, by scrolling down to browser.newtabpage.columns (or .rows), then right click > Modify, to set a new number in 'Value.'

As an alternative, you may like to try the add-on New Tab Tools.

If your question is resolved by this or another answer, please take a minute to let us know. Thank you.

more options

Thank you for your advice Scribe, I changed the preload value to False, the number of tiles was already set as 5 rows and 3 columns. Now I'm getting 15 tiles every time that I open the a new tab, which is fine by me. Before following your tip about changing the preload value I was initially getting 8 tiles on a new tab but if I left the tab and returned later the display had magically changed to 15 tiles, presumably as the page had loaded the reduced zoom setting and this had overrode the default settings.

more options

Hi there.

Like Mice_Elf I also always saw 4 columns and 3 rows displayed on the new page tab, only to notice this evening that this was now 4 x 2. Zooming out to 90% restored the missing thumbnails, but only temporarily. Using Scribe's suggestion of changing the value of browser.newtab.preload to 'false' appears to have fixed the newtab page at 90% to give me all twelve of my thumbnails.

In about:config the number of columns is set by default to 5, but, unlike Mice_Elf, I do not see them and nothing changes if I change this figure to 4, the number of columns I see anyway. I wonder whether this might be because I am using a laptop (technically a notebook): if the thumbnails could be reduced in size only to a certain minimum might the browser choose the number of rows appropriate to the screen-size?

Thanks for your help.