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How do I disable automatic tab reopen in Thunderbird?

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  • Nuɖoɖo mlɔetɔ christ1

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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)

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

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

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

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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.

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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.

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

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What's "Betterbird"?

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Restore tabs on startup is only found in Betterbird.

Good point.

What's "Betterbird"?

https://betterbird.eu/