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How do I disable automatic tab reopen in Thunderbird?

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  • Last reply by christ1

I normally open messages in tabs under exactly one circumstance: when I right-click on a message and explicitly open it in a tab.

I've found that (until I changed the handling of PDFs to "Save file") any PDFs that opened using Thunderbird's preview function would reopen if I closed and relaunched Thunderbird. This is not desired behavior.

I will also note that if I open Settings, it opens in a tab, rather than a separate window. This is neither expected nor desired (and my natural reaction is to click the close button on the window, closing Thunderbird, because "Settings" is something I expect to be in a window, not a tab. And that, too, reopens if I reopen Thunderbird.

And worst of all, those tabs that shouldn't be reopening at all are reopening in front of the main tab.

There was an extension called "Thunderbird-DontRestoreTabs," that would do exactly what I want, but that was made obsolete when the underlying extension technology was deprecated, so it is of no use in 115.9.0.

I normally open messages in tabs under ''exactly one'' circumstance: when I right-click on a message and ''explicitly'' open it in a tab. I've found that (until I changed the handling of PDFs to "Save file") any PDFs that opened using Thunderbird's preview function would reopen if I closed and relaunched Thunderbird. This is '''''not''''' desired behavior. I will also note that if I open Settings, it opens in a tab, rather than a separate window. This is neither expected nor desired (and my natural reaction is to click the close button on the window, closing Thunderbird, because "Settings" is something I expect to be in a window, not a tab. And that, too, reopens if I reopen Thunderbird. And worst of all, those tabs that shouldn't be reopening at all are reopening ''in front of'' the main tab. There was an extension called "Thunderbird-DontRestoreTabs," that would do exactly what I want, but that was made obsolete when the underlying extension technology was deprecated, so it is of no use in 115.9.0.

All Replies (8)

At the top right of the Thunderbird window, click the menu button ≡ > Settings > General > Language & Appearance > Restore tabs on startup Select 'None'.

No such setting. Not in the T-Bird on my Linux box; not in the T-Bird in the Linux subsystem of my Chromebook.

Use the search box in Settings and search for 'tab'.

In T-Bird 102.10.1 on my work Mac, a search for "tab" finds "Open messages in a new tab," "Close message window/tab on move or delete," "Edit events and tasks in a tab instead of a dialog window," and even "Show missed reminders for writable calendars," but no "Restore tabs on startup."

In T-Bird 115.8.0 in the Linux subsystem of my Chromebook, and T-Bird 115.10.1 on my Linux box (a System76 Meerkat, running an Ubuntu fork called PopOS), it finds "Auto hide tab bar," "Open messages in a new tab," and "Close message window/tab on move or delete."

But none of them show anything even remotely like a "Restore Tabs on Startup" setting. Firefox has "Open previous windows and tabs" right on top of settings (under startup) on all 3 platforms (112.0.2 on the Mac, 115.9.1esr on the Chromebook, and 102.0 on the Meerkat), but nothing like it in T-Bird on any of them.

The setting does exist for me for the Linux and Windows versions of TB. I don't have a Mac.

It isn't located underneath the Settings > General > Language & Appearance section though, but under 'Reading & Display' instead. My bad. In any case, a search for 'tab' will find it.

The feature Settings > General > Language & Appearance > Restore tabs on startup is only found in Betterbird.

Restore tabs on startup is only found in Betterbird.

Good point.

What's "Betterbird"?

https://betterbird.eu/