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

How to I restore a single tab that i have deleted by mistake?

  • 12 replies
  • 4 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by GreenGreat

more options

In the previous Firefox, there was a history menu section "recently closed tabs". You could see all recently closed tabs, choose the one you wanted back, and restore it.

The new Firefox doesn't have this option, or not where I can see it. I'm sure it is dead simple, but I don't know how to do it. I do not like "tinkering", I am not technical. Can someone advise me please?

I don't want to "restore all tabs" or "restore session" this time, just one tab.

Thank you.

In the previous Firefox, there was a history menu section "recently closed tabs". You could see all recently closed tabs, choose the one you wanted back, and restore it. The new Firefox doesn't have this option, or not where I can see it. I'm sure it is dead simple, but I don't know how to do it. I do not like "tinkering", I am not technical. Can someone advise me please? I don't want to "restore all tabs" or "restore session" this time, just one tab. Thank you.

All Replies (12)

more options

hello GreenGreat, firefox 29 comes with a redesign, you can find the history under the New Fx Menu menu button with the option to restore a recently closed tab on the right of the toolbar. alternatively you can press ctrl+shift+t to restore the last open tab.

Learn more about the design of the new Firefox version 29
more options

Hi Philipp,

Thank you for that. Clearly I am misunderstanding something. I open my three-bars menu, and click on History. This gives me a number of choices, including "Restore Closed Tabs." I tried this last time I wanted to retrieve a tab I had just closed, and it restored the tab OK, but it restored every other tab I had closed in the last few hours, too. This is where my problem started! It didn't offer me any other options.

What am I missing?

Thank you for the ctrl-shift. Where did that come from, please?

more options

in the history menu you can click on one of the tabs listed under ""Restore Closed Tabs" if you want to reopen that selectively and not all the entries that are stored there.

more options

Hi Philipp,

I'm afraid I just tried that, and exactly the same thing happened as happened last time .,.. there ARE no tabs listed under "Restore Closed Tabs" - it just restores everything. And as I just shut down all the music I had been listening to during the day, i got 6 Youtube channels all playing at me at once ... funny, but not what I was after.

I have to go out for a bit now, but clearly something is wrong ... I would expect tabs to be listed, but they aren't. It just goes whoosh and restores everything. (It's not just this computer either, as my previous experience was on my laptop, which is Vista not Windows 7).

Oh dear! What can the matter be?

Modified by GreenGreat

more options

There is an add-on you can install called "Undo Closed Tab". Been using it for years, and couldn't live without it.

more options
  • You no longer need to open a sub menu to see the recently closed tab and windows because now those items show directly in the History drop down list in the 3-bar Firefox menu button drop-down list.
    The Recently Closed Tabs/Windows sections are only present if there are tabs and windows to restore.
    Note that it might be hard to see the separators between the sections.
  • You can click Customize and drag the History button on a toolbar for easy access.
  • In the History menu via the Menu bar, Recently Closed Tabs/Windows sections are still sub menus.
more options

Thank you. Where do I find it please?

Sorry that was for dwcains ... I'm not used to the way this forum doesn't quote! And I can't see the names while editing either!

Modified by GreenGreat

more options

To Cor-el

Thank you, I just tried that and it seems to be the answer. Basically I can locate a recent tab on the History and re-open it. Simple really!

I will wait and see if dwcains can tell me where to find the add-on and then mark the problem solved somewhere. I don't want to find I am not able to get back into the thread, as present the only way I know to get into the thread is via the "not solved" button on the email alert!

The system is driving me nuts - I already typed this reply but it hasn't appeared on the thread. I hope it now won't appear twice!

more options
more options

To Cor-El ...

Alas this morning I discovered the "catch" ... the History doesn't display the tabs I just closed, it only displays when they were opened.

I often keep tabs open for several weeks. In fact the one I closed this morning I only opened yesterday afternoon, but it had still dropped a long way down the History list and I had to go looking for it before I could restore it.

If it had been open for only a few days I would be unlikely to locate it again to re-open.

If it had been open for a few weeks, even less likely, so I am right back at start with the "Open closed tabs" command which opens all of them ...

IS the History list searchable?

Why can't there be a list of recently closed tabs like there was in the previous set-up, I wonder?

Yours still perplexed.

more options

To dwcains

Thank you I have not tried to load this yet, I am waiting till I have a companion to keep an eye on me as i am not very computer expert.

However I see from the reviews below it that other people are having the same problem as me.

So here is hoping!

more options

Well, now I have downloaded the Restore Closed Tab add-on recommended by dwcains, very simple and it works. You get an actual list of recently closed tabs, instead of recently opened tabs.

This is not the whole story, though.

Not long after, a friend came round. I told him about my dilemma and quite proud of having found a solution by asking people myself.

He said "do Alt-H" and I did, and on the top left of my Firefox, a set of drop down menu tabs appeared. Under History, there was the Restore Recently Closed Tab option, with the list of recently closed tabs next to it. Just as it had been in Firefox 28. No plug-ins needed. (Nice to have, but not needed. This whole thread not necessary, if only I had known.)

I was dumbfounded. Why did nobody mention this? I am sure they would have done if they had known.

He told me "the menu icons are just the simplified version. You can add things to that menu if you want to." SURE but where do you find them? (My friend doesn't know, he's just working off general principles.)

Can anyone tell me where is the information about what is in the hidden menus, and not in the "quick" menus?