Setting New Tab home page
I do NOT appreciate that Mozilla now forces me to use the FireFox home page (or else literally nothing - a blank page) for my new tabs. I want to use the same custom page I have set up as my home page, but since the last update, that page only shows in a new window, not on new tabs. Is there a workaround for this? I use multiple tabs within the same window heavily, and having FireFox abruptly override a customization I have already set up and been using for years, that works best for me, is seriously pissing me off. I know there is a plugin to se new tabs, but I already have several plugins and would prefer not to add more.
All Replies (5)
Hi oranji, the drop-downs changed, but one thing has not: since Firefox 41, you have needed to use an add-on to choose a different new tab page.*
This extension is the "go to" so hopefully it will work for you:
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/new-tab-override/
After you set it up, there will be a third choice in the drop-down to select New Tab Override to control your new tab page.
Success?
* The other method would be to create a pair of files that run an Autoconfig startup script, but most people do not go to the trouble of doing it that way.
jscher2000, that is not correct. Until a very recent update (shortly before my post), my home page on new tabs was the same as my home page on the tab visible when opening the browser, and I never had an add-on to set that. Something did change. I do not think people should have to install a third-party extension (for which there is a charge) to control what home page they have on their browser. Mozilla is moving in an increasingly commercial and arrogant direction focused on their own goals rather than service to the user, which I am very sorry to see.
No extension is needed to set the home page -- displayed at startup and in new windows.
The new tab page has been a different story since Firefox 41 was released in September 2015. For example, here is one of my posts from that time:
https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1085174
I heard about the idea of using startup scripting (Autoconfig files) more recently.
P.S. The New Tab Override extension does not require any payment.
Support for browser.newtab.url has been removed in Firefox 41 and later and I've been using an autoconfig.cfg (mozilla.cfg) file since then (you only need two/three lines).
Using an autoconfig file also allows to set a local page or an about: page for the new tab, what extensions can't do.
See:
- https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/search?q="AboutNewTab.jsm"&w=2
- /questions/1283835 firefox.cfg no longer overwrite new tab content
See also:
autoconfig.cfg in the same folder where the firefox startup script is located (i.e. main level of program folder).
// first line is a comment line
Components.utils.import("resource:///modules/AboutNewTab.jsm");
AboutNewTab.newTabURL = "about:blank";The autoconfig.js file that specifies to use autoconfig.cfg is placed within the "defaults\pref" directory where the channel-prefs.js file is located. You need to disable the sandbox via autoconfig.js to be able to run JavaScript code via autoconfig.cfg.
// first line is a comment line
pref("general.config.filename", "autoconfig.cfg");
pref("general.config.obscure_value", 0);
pref("general.config.sandbox_enabled", false);