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I've lost my tabs that used to be there all the time

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When I'd use Firefox, if I'd click on a link, another tab would appear next to the previous tab. I could continue adding tabs across the top as I followed new links. Each tab would have a short description of the page that it corresponds to, and I could switch between tabs (web pages) by clicking any one of these visible tabs at any time. I've lost the ability to have these tabs turned on all the time, every time I go online. Could anyone help to restore these tabs??

When I'd use Firefox, if I'd click on a link, another tab would appear next to the previous tab. I could continue adding tabs across the top as I followed new links. Each tab would have a short description of the page that it corresponds to, and I could switch between tabs (web pages) by clicking any one of these visible tabs at any time. I've lost the ability to have these tabs turned on all the time, every time I go online. Could anyone help to restore these tabs??

Chosen solution

Dear McCoy, Cor-el & Roland Tanglao, Thank you for your help in solving my Missing Tabs problem. I was told to click the Restore Defaults button next to the blue Done button in the Customize Menu. When I did this, the Tabs returned to the top of the page to stay. As it turned out, the lower toolbar of my RoboForm program was covering those two important buttons. Thank you all for your patience with me and spending your time solving my problems. I wish that I had enough computer knowledge to help other people as you've done for me. At 61 years old, I'm just lucky to know anything about computers at all. I thank all three of you !!!!

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All Replies (9)

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Hello driftwood27855,

I may be totally misconstruing your question, but it sounds to me like you want to restore the previous session when you open
Firefox ..... (?)

If that's the case, would you please go to the 3-bar menu (or Tools) => Options => General, and under "Starup" check the box next to "Restore previous session".

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I'm afraid that's not it. In a nutshell, when I log on to Firefox my homepage (AOL) appears on the screen and a tab reading: AOL News, Weather, Sports etc.. appears above the URL field at the far left side of the screen. If I switch to a new webpage, the name of the new page replaces AOL News, Weather, Sports etc... I can open new tabs separately, and have as many of them showing at once, this time side-by-side and lined up from left to right. Having multiple tabs showing at the same time above the URL field allows me to quickly switch between webpages that I have previously viewed. I must have pushed a wrong button or two because the tabs aren't there anymore. They have always been present since I started using Firefox. I enjoy this feature every day, and would sure like to have it back again. Can you help??

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Make sure you do not run Firefox in Full Screen mode (press F11 or Fn + F11 to toggle; Mac: Command+Shift+F).

When you are in Full Screen mode, hover the mouse to the top of the screen to make the Navigation Toolbar and Tab bar appear. You can use one of these to leave Full Screen mode:

  • press the F11 key
  • click the Maximize button at the right end of the Tab bar
  • click the Full Screen button in the "3-bar" Firefox menu button drop-down list
  • right-click empty space on a toolbar and click "Exit Full Screen Mode"

Try to rename/remove xulstore.json and if present delete localstore.rdf in the Firefox profile folder with Firefox closed.

You can use the button on the "Help -> Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:profiles page.

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I meant to say that when I am in the menu for the "Three Line", there is no "Full Screen" button to click on.

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driftwood27855 said

I meant to say that when I am in the menu for the "Three Line", there is no "Full Screen" button to click on.

You should be able to find it right under "Restore Previous Session", next to the plus sign (+) (looks like a bolded forward slash with arrows at both ends)

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McCoy, How do I activate the Restore Previous Session button? It is grayed out.

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driftwood27855 said

McCoy, How do I activate the Restore Previous Session button? It is grayed out.

Would you please check these settings :

Options => Privacy & Security => under 'History' => choose 'Use custom settings for history' and make sure that both 'Always use private browsing mode' and 'Clear history when Firefox closes' are unchecked.

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Dear driftwood87555,

Am I wrong thinking that the topic of this thread is exactly the same as in the thread you started on October 27 :

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1238477  ?

(I only just now noticed ..... )

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Chosen Solution

Dear McCoy, Cor-el & Roland Tanglao, Thank you for your help in solving my Missing Tabs problem. I was told to click the Restore Defaults button next to the blue Done button in the Customize Menu. When I did this, the Tabs returned to the top of the page to stay. As it turned out, the lower toolbar of my RoboForm program was covering those two important buttons. Thank you all for your patience with me and spending your time solving my problems. I wish that I had enough computer knowledge to help other people as you've done for me. At 61 years old, I'm just lucky to know anything about computers at all. I thank all three of you !!!!