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

Lolu chungechunge lwabekwa kunqolobane. Uyacelwa ubuze umbuzo omusha uma udinga usizo.

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...

Okulungisiwe ngu jscher2000 - Support Volunteer

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