(1) Opening links in a new tab

Firefox doesn't have a built-in feature to always open every link in a new tab. What it does have is a built-in feature to divert new windows to new tabs instead. If you used to get a new tab every time you clicked a link, that might have been added by an add-on. Can you check to see whether you have any disabled add-ons? They would be grayed out on one of these two tabs:

(MAC) Tools > Add-ons > Extensions
(MAC) Tools > Add-ons > Plugins

(WIN) orange Firefox button or classic Tools menu > Add-ons > Extensions
(WIN) orange Firefox button or classic Tools menu > Add-ons > Plugins

Note that in Google results, you have have Google change each link to launch a new window/tab. Click the gear icon and then Search Settings to set this option. I believe this is saved using a cookie, so if you clear cookies for Google, you might need to set it again in the future.

(2) Calling up other windows

This may be caused by the "Switch to Tab" feature. For example, if you click in the address bar and start typing mozilla, one of the top results in the autocomplete drop-down may be this page with the notation switch to tab.

If you're not getting to the minimized windows that way, can you figure out a pattern of when they open?

(As a note, you should immediately update to Firefox 14, as Firefox 12 has many known bugs and security holes, Update Firefox to the latest release).

So, you want Firefox to open pages in New Windows, or Tabs, or what exactly? Can you elaborate what preferences you have selected, etc?

Under tabs in preferences I have the box checked to open new windows. But when I click a link on a page, Firefox changes the page, instead of opening a new page automatically to accommodate the link. Same too for the bookmarks I click on. And I hate it when Firefox tampers with a page I am saving as a minimized page, by yanking it back onto the screen and changing it.

Those pages should be sacrosanct in how Firefox engineers program Firefox, or at least give users the option in preferences to open new pages rather than change pages.

So, you have "Open New windows in a New Tab Instead" checked off? Or Unchecked? Do you have "When I open a New Tab, switch to it immediately" checked? By changes a page, what do you mean?

What I understand so far is that you have a Window open, minimize it, and then open another page, it opens that minimized window, and switch to a different tab? I'm rather confused right now :/

Yes, as I noted, I have that box checked to open new windows. But Firefox keeps on changing pages.

Let's cut to the chase: Please tell me how I can stop Firefox from changing existing pages to accommodate a link or bookmark clicked on, and to instead open up a new page each time automatically? If that's not within Firefox's present capabilities, I will switch to mozilla's sister browser Camino.

Did you uncheck "switch to a new tab immediately"? I'm trying to help you, but you aren't explaining the issue very clearly, nor are you answering my questions specifically, which is making it hard to understand what exactly is going on. You should be more explicit. Instead of saying "New Page" can you expand and explain is it a tab or a Window? By "Changes page" does that mean the other page is gone and in it's place is the new page (but you can click the back button to go to the old page) or it's still open in another tab or just not active?

Perhaps try the add-on Tab Mix Plus. It has a feature that you can force every link to open in a new tab if you like:

• http://tmp.garyr.net/help/#Links (description of options - see "Force to open in new tab")

• https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/tab-mix-plus/ (install page)

I don't know whether it has any effect on bookmarks. You can open those in a new window by holding Shift or in a new tab by holding Ctrl when clicking.

By the way, with respect to links going to already opened windows/tabs and replacing those pages, another scenario in which this might happen is when a page uses a script that opens a page in a named window. For example:

window.open("http://www.mozilla.org/", "MyOwnWindow");

Each time the script targets the MyOwnWindow tab/window, Firefox will re-use it as instructed. But most sites are not set up this way, so you shouldn't see it too often.

The first thing I have checked: "Open new windows in a new tab instead."

Is there something else I can choose that will solve my problem?

I clicked the first link from you, and it changed the page instead of Firefox opening a new page to accommodate the link. I hate that. Looked underneath the page and nothing was there. I wanted to be able to slide the page to the right half way to see both pages.

I was unable to figure out what to do on that first page. I'll take a look at the page from the second link you posted next. Maybe I'll be able to make more sense out of it.

I installed the thing your second link provided, but the link still thereafter failed to be accommodated by a new page. It did as before, changing the original page.

I don't fathom why Firefox engineers didn't program Firefox to automatically open new pages to accommodate links. Safari, Chrome, Camino and every other browser I've used does it.

Tab Mix Plus allows you to force every link and every bookmark and every use of the search box into a new tab. However, it doesn't seem to have the option to force it into a new window. Maybe no one has asked for that feature.

Is this your first time using Firefox, or did you use an older version?

The first time I used Firefox was when it first debuted several years ago. Have found that mozilla's sister-browser Camino is more user-friendly and, in my opinion, superior to Firefox.

Am dissatisfied with Safari, mainly because its history has been severely truncated. It no longer keeps yahoo mail pages in its history, among other things.

Another thing about Firefox that irks me is that sometimes it won't allow us to back the page up to the previous one. The arrow to back the page becomes inoperative [gray instead of black].

P.S. I up-dated to latest Firefox version. Saw no changes thereafter. Am baffled that Firefox engineers lacked nuts & bolts common sense that users would expect that, when they click on any links, a new page should open automatically to accommodate the page from the link.

Am baffled that Firefox engineers lacked nuts & bolts common sense that users would expect that, when they click on any links, a new page should open automatically to accommodate the page from the link.

I can't recall reading any other requests for this in the time I've been reading this board, so I doubt that will be added to Firefox.

If Camino works that way, you may want to continue using Camino.

If you would like the links to open in new tabs, Tab Mix Plus will take care of that for you. Please see my screen shots above showing how to set the options.

Finally, you can always hold Shift when you click to open a new window, or Ctrl to open a new tab.

Twice I downloaded and installed the Tab Mix Plus, but didn't see anything afterwards. Nothing on my desktop [where my downloads go], and I saw no sign of it in my applications folder or anywhere else. Please tell me where to find it, so I can do as you said. Thank you.

Tab Mix Plus gives you a link to its options in two places:

(1) Tools menu

(2) Tab preferences

Firefox > Preferences > Tabs

After having done as you said, now I see tabs appearing at the top of a page, instead of new page opening over-top the original page. When I click the tab. then a new page surfaces. Is there a way to make the pages appear instantly over-top the page from which the link originated?

On that second tab, the section that says Focus/Select, you can check the box for Links to switch to that new tab immediately.

Tab Mix Plus doesn't, as far as I can tell, let you open everything in a completely new window. You can "tear off" a tab into its own window by dragging it away from the tab bar. You don't have to drag far; dragging it down an inch seems to be enough to do it.

In Firefox preferences, since I added the Tab Mix Plus, now the Firefox Tab dropdown "New Window" choice is gray, so it can't be selected.