Join the AMA (Ask Me Anything) with the Firefox leadership team to celebrate Firefox 20th anniversary and discuss Firefox’s future on Mozilla Connect. Mark your calendar on Thursday, November 14, 18:00 - 20:00 UTC!

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

Tabs look horrible

more options

With the latest upgrade the tabs look nasty and just icon with name of the tab - no border. How can I get them looking like they used to look prior to the upgrade, please?

Another question is why after an upgrade do my settings for a new tab to open automatically to Google with the cursor in the search box get removed. Is there a way to get it right and save it so it remains with each upgrade. I don't like searching in the address bar.

With the latest upgrade the tabs look nasty and just icon with name of the tab - no border. How can I get them looking like they used to look prior to the upgrade, please? Another question is why after an upgrade do my settings for a new tab to open automatically to Google with the cursor in the search box get removed. Is there a way to get it right and save it so it remains with each upgrade. I don't like searching in the address bar.

All Replies (4)

more options

douglas.chandler said

With the latest upgrade the tabs look nasty and just icon with name of the tab - no border. How can I get them looking like they used to look prior to the upgrade, please?

Nasty... boys -- you reminded me of a Janet Jackson song.

The new style doesn't have dividers between the background tabs, and there isn't a specific preference to re-enable them. I can give you a quick short-term workaround to use if you can't live with the change, but a more durable solution will require more work.

Temporary Fix

For testing purposes, there is a preference to switch the tab bar and address bar between new style and old style. This is not expected to continue in Firefox 90, but maybe you want to use it for now.

(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button accepting the risk.

(2) In the search box in the page, type or paste browser.proton.enabled and pause while the list is filtered

(3) Double-click the preference to switch between true (new style) and false (old style)

Longer Term Community Workaround

This involves setting up a userChrome.css file. I have a rules builder that will get more features throughout the month. By the time the above preference is removed, it should be mature. If you want to take a sneak peek now:

Another question is why after an upgrade do my settings for a new tab to open automatically to Google with the cursor in the search box get removed. Is there a way to get it right and save it so it remains with each upgrade. I don't like searching in the address bar.

Are you using the New Tab Override extension (https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/new-tab-override/) to switch the Google home page in as your new tab page? The extension has a setting to control where the cursor goes. You can click its toolbar button to access the settings.

more options

Hi Douglas, this is where to find that setting in New Tab Override:

more options

I tried that but it doesn't seem to save or do anything. I must be doing something wrongly. Any tips for "dummies" please?

more options

Make sure you have the latest version of New Tab Override, version 15.1.1 from May 26th. That should move the cursor into the page.

If you open https://www.google.co.nz/ just using a link, does the cursor go into the search box?