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Attachments do not open in a new tab

  • 3 replies
  • 0 have this problem
  • 5 views
  • Last reply by Autotech1

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Previously when I would open an attachment in my att/bellsouth email, (powered by Yahoo), it would open in a new tab and also download it and save it to the download folder. Now when I click on attachment it displaces my inbox while still downloading and saving it in the download folder. I did make one change previously; I set it to open downloads in Firefox because if I wanted to open something from the past, it would open in Edge. I don't use Edge, so I set it to "open in Firefox" but now I can't find that setting to see if it is causing my issue. If it's not causing my issue, I will still need to know how to get attachments in my email to open in a new tab.

Previously when I would open an attachment in my att/bellsouth email, (powered by Yahoo), it would open in a new tab and also download it and save it to the download folder. Now when I click on attachment it displaces my inbox while still downloading and saving it in the download folder. I did make one change previously; I set it to open downloads in Firefox because if I wanted to open something from the past, it would open in Edge. I don't use Edge, so I set it to "open in Firefox" but now I can't find that setting to see if it is causing my issue. If it's not causing my issue, I will still need to know how to get attachments in my email to open in a new tab.

All Replies (3)

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If you use extensions ("3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions) that can block content (Adblock Plus, NoScript, DuckDuckGo PE, Disconnect, Ghostery, Privacy Badger, uBlock Origin) always make sure such extensions do not block content.

Firefox shows a purple shield instead of a gray shield at the left end of the location/address bar in case Enhanced Tracking Protection is blocking content.

  • click the shield icon for more detail and possibly disable the protection

You can check the Web Console for relevant-looking messages about blocked content.


You can try these steps in case of issues with webpages:

You can reload webpage(s) and bypass the cache to refresh possibly outdated or corrupted files.

  • hold down the Shift key and left-click the Reload button
  • press "Ctrl + F5" or press "Ctrl + Shift + R" (Windows,Linux)
  • press "Command + Shift + R" (Mac)

Clear the Cache and remove the Cookies for websites that cause problems via the "3-bar" Firefox menu button (Settings).

"Remove the Cookies" for websites that cause problems:

  • Settings -> Privacy & Security
    Cookies and Site Data: "Manage Data"

"Clear the Cache":

  • Settings -> Privacy & Security
    Cookies and Site Data -> Clear Data -> [X] Cached Web Content -> Clear

Start Firefox in Troubleshoot Mode to check if one of the extensions ("3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions) or if hardware acceleration or userChrome.css is causing the problem.

  • switch to the DEFAULT theme: "3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Themes
  • do NOT click the "Refresh Firefox" button on the Troubleshoot Mode start window
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Hi Autotech1,

It does sound like a setting was possibly changed. Can you confirm what kind of file type it is that's now downloading and not opening in a new tab? PDF is the most common and what I'd recommend looking at first.

You can change your download settings, and download actions for different file types by following this guide: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/where-find-and-manage-downloaded-files-firefox#w_change-download-actions-for-file-types

Please let me know if you need any more help, thanks~!

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My issue seems to have fixed itself; the attachment no longer opens in the same tab as my inbox, it opens in a new tab. I unchecked a setting that apparently made it work properly, "open links in tabs instead of new windows", but I couldn't figure out why that would have worked to fix the issue. Additionally the inbox tab closed at some point, so I went back and checked it again. The attachment still opened in a new tab, but the inbox tab still closes after a few seconds when the attachment it opened.

This attachment is a PDF, but I have not experienced this issue in the past to know if it occurs with any other type of attachment.

I performed the suggestions in both responses, and when I opened Firefox in troubleshooting mode, the inbox tab still closed on its own, so I know it's not an extension that's causing this issue.