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

Cuireadh an snáithe seo sa chartlann. Cuir ceist nua má tá cabhair uait.

Middle-click to open link in new tab will mostly open in background but sometimes switch to it immediately

more options

About 99% of the time when I middle-click a link in order to open it in a new tab, it will open the tab in the background. However, every once in a while middle-clicking will open the link in a new tab and switch to it immediately.

I want the tabs to be opened in the background, and my Firefox preferences are set accordingly (i.e., I have not enabled "When you open a link, image, or media in a new tab, switch to it immediately").

Is this a bug, or am I unknowingly modifying my middle click to trigger switch-immediately somehow? If I am, I'd like to know how because there are some times when I'd like to open a link in a new tab and switch to it immediately—just not at random 1% of the time.

About 99% of the time when I middle-click a link in order to open it in a new tab, it will open the tab in the background. However, every once in a while middle-clicking will open the link in a new tab and switch to it immediately. I want the tabs to be opened in the background, and my Firefox preferences are set accordingly (i.e., I have ''not'' enabled "When you open a link, image, or media in a new tab, switch to it immediately"). Is this a bug, or am I unknowingly modifying my middle click to trigger switch-immediately somehow? If I am, I'd like to know how because there are some times when I'd like to open a link in a new tab and switch to it immediately—just not at random 1% of the time.

All Replies (2)

more options

Hmm, I don't know how to get Firefox to switch. Possibly if a page has "look at me" code to focus itself that might trigger it? If you can think of some examples, support forum volunteers could look at those links.

Note: due to a spamming problem, posts with links to non-Mozilla sites need to go through a moderation queue. To bypass that, insert a space before the .com (or .org, etc.) so that the forum doesn't realize it's a link. For example:

https://www.example .com/

See next reply...

Athraithe ag jscher2000 - Support Volunteer ar

more options

Actually I forgot something: if you hold the Shift key while middle-clicking, Firefox will do the opposite of the default.

If "When you open a link, image or media in a new tab, switch to it immediately":

  • is not checked (default): adding shift switches immediately
  • is checked: adding shift stays on the tab where you middle-clicked the link