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Tabs allow you to open and organize multiple websites inside a single Firefox window. This keeps your screen from getting cluttered and makes it easy to switch between sites.
This article covers the basics of using tabs. To learn about tab settings, see Tab preferences and settings.
Table of Contents
Open a new tab
To open a new tab, click on the plus sign on the right side of the last tab. The cursor will appear in the address bar so you can start typing in your search or URL.
- Keyboard shortcut: You can also press Ctrl + TCommand + T to open a new tab, instead of using a mouse.
Open links in a new tab
Normally, when you click on a link, it opens in the current tab. If you want to open a link in a new tab instead, just right-click on the linkcontrol-click (hold down the control key while you click on the link) and select from the context menu.
Open a page from History in a new tab
- Right-clickHold down the Control key while you click on the or button to open the tab history.
- Command-click (hold down the command key while you click on the item)Ctrl-click (hold down the Ctrl key while you click on the item) to open it in a new tab.
Duplicate an existing tab
To duplicate a tab that's already open:
- Right-clickHold down the Control key while you click on the tab you want to duplicate.
- Select from the context menu.
Close tabs
To close a tab, just click on the on the tab itself, or middle-click on the tab.
- Keyboard shortcut: You can also press Ctrl + WCommand + W to close the current tab.
Close multiple tabs at the same time:
Command-click (hold down the Command key while you click on the tab)Ctrl-click (hold down the Ctrl key while you click on the tab) to select the tabs you want to close. Then right-clickcontrol-click on any of those tabs and select to close the ones you selected, where <n> is the number of tabs you have selected.
You can also use the tab context menu to close multiple tabs and perform other tab actions. To learn more, see the Tab context menu article.
Close duplicate tabs:
To close tabs that are duplicates of the current one:
Right-clickHold down the Control key while you click
on a tab and select .
Bring back a closed tab
To bring back a tab you've closed by mistake:
Right-clickHold down the Control key while you click
on the tab bar and select from the context menu. Alternatively, click on the Firefox menu button , click on followed by , then choose one of the previously closed tabs.
- Keyboard shortcut: You can also press Ctrl + Shift + TCommand + Shift + T to bring back the most recently closed tab.
Manage tabs
Switch between tabs
You can visit a tab simply by clicking on it, or press Ctrl + TabControl + Tab to quickly switch to another tab.
Change the order of tabs
To move a tab to a different position on the tab strip, just drag it there using your mouse.
Move a tab to a new window
To move a tab to its own window, click on the tab and drag it out of the tab strip. A new window will open.
If you want to move a tab from one Firefox window to another, click on the tab and drag it to the tab strip of another Firefox window.
See all of your tabs
If you've opened more tabs than will fit on the tab strip, tab scroll buttons appear at each end. Clicking on them will scroll the tab strip left or right.
You can also click on the List all tabs icon at the end of the tab strip, where you can view and manage your tabs from the drop-down menu. To learn more, see the Tab overview menu article.
Pin tabs
Pinning a tab allows you to keep your favorite sites open and just a click away. Pinned tabs open automatically when you start Firefox. For more information about pinned tabs, see Pinned Tabs - keep favorite websites open and just a click away.
To pin a tab, just right-clickcontrol-click on it and select .
To pin multiple tabs at the same time: Select the ones you want (Ctrl-clickCommand-click on each tab), then right-clickcontrol-click on one of them and select .
Bookmark tabs
Select the tab you want to bookmark, then right-clickcontrol-click on the tab and select .
To bookmark multiple tabs at the same time: Select the ones you want (Ctrl-clickCommand-click on each tab), then right-clickcontrol-click on one of them and select A new folder will be created to contain bookmarks for each tab. Give the new bookmarks folder a name and choose which folder to store it in. Click on to finish.
To bookmark all open tabs in a window at once: Select from the Bookmarks menu.
Right-click on any of the tabs, choose from the context menu, then right-click on any tab and select A new folder will be created to contain bookmarks for each tab. Give the new bookmarks folder a name and choose which folder to store it in. Click on to finish.
- Keyboard shortcut: You can also press Ctrl + Shift + DCommand + Shift + D to bookmark all open tabs in a window at once.
For more information on bookmarks, see Bookmarks in Firefox.
Tab tips and troubleshooting
- To learn keyboard and mouse shortcuts that speed up browsing tasks, see Keyboard shortcuts - Perform common Firefox tasks quickly and Use mouse shortcuts to perform common tasks in Firefox.
- To mute audio in a single tab, click on the audio button on that tab.
- To change the content of the New Tab page, see Customize your New Tab page to hide or display content and Customize items on your Firefox New Tab page.
- To set a different home page instead of the New Tab page that opens when Firefox starts, see How to set the home page.
- To customize your tab settings, see Tab preferences and settings.
For other tab issues or problems, see:
