Am I the only person on earth who isn't just thrilled to pieces with Firefox's tabbed browsing thing? I hardly ever use it, and then usually only by accident. Whenever I do try to use it (or more often, find I've accidentally opened a link in a tabbed window instead of a new window because the options are right next to each other in the right-click menu) I always lose the tabs, or forget there are tabs open not separate windows, and then I try to close the (I thought) window I was reading, and I get the annoying "you have more than one tabbed window open do you really want to close all the tabs" message. I would rather just open separate windows and not have to hunt around for the tabs. I'm not sure what the purpose of tabs is anyway.
The new version of Firefox (2.4) has moved its tabs too. The "x" that closed them used to be located at the far right, now they are on the tab itself. At least I think they used to be on the far right of the browser window -- I told you I don't use the damn things. And one more thing: the new version had been set to automatically open new windows inside a tab, so any website that was set up to open links in separate windows would open inside a tab, which played hell with my blog QuickPost thing (I would pick "view site" after making a post, and my website would squeeze into my tiny QuickPost window). It was easy enough to find where this annoying option could be turned off, but I was not pleased.
Comments (8)
A while ago I did read a similar complaint. The person hated tabs and wanted to force FF to open every link in a new window. But the reason for Firefox's existence IS tabs (rather than cluttering up the Windows taskbar).
The other reason for FF is that it's customizable.
If someone doesn't want either of these, I'm puzzled why they would use FF.
I switched just because I could open new links in a new window with the mouse wheel click (easier than IE at the time). The rest of the features sold me completely. Different strokes, I guess.
Posted by Jim C.![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://victorysoap.us/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
|
June 3, 2007 1:11 AM
Posted on June 3, 2007 01:11
The resizing of the windows can be suppressed, too.
Posted by Jim C.![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://victorysoap.us/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
|
June 3, 2007 1:14 AM
Posted on June 3, 2007 01:14
I don't know, I don't mind a cluttered task bar. I don't keep a lot of programs and pages open, so I don't really have that problem too often. Tabs get cluttery too! Hey, FF's newfangled spellcheck says "cluttery" isn't correct. Is too!
I use Firefox mostly because IE irritates me. It just does -- for instance, any time you click on a link, IE makes this "click" noise. Grrr!
Posted by Andrea Harris![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://victorysoap.us/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
|
June 3, 2007 7:18 AM
Posted on June 3, 2007 07:18
The "x" that closed them used to be located at the far right, now they are on the tab itself.
I've got 'em in both places. I think the one that isn't default is thanks to an extension called "Tab Mix Plus." I couldn't stand not having one on the tab, in case I want to close one that I'm not looking at. And I couldn't stand not having one at the end of the tab bar, either. And my cake? I want to have it and eat it too, is that so wrong?
(rather than cluttering up the Windows taskbar)
Windows XP has an option where you can make it collect multiple instances of the same program into a -- well, a "drop-up" menu, I guess you'd call it, unless you put the taskbar at the top of your screen -- to take up less taskbar real estate.
Posted by McGehee![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://victorysoap.us/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
|
June 3, 2007 10:19 AM
Posted on June 3, 2007 10:19
You can put the close button on the right side by changing the configuration.
Enter "about:config" in the address bar (no quotation marks). In the search/filter bar, enter "browser.tabs.closeButtons".
Double-click on the entry. Put a "3" as the value. The close button should now be on the right side.
Posted by Alcibiades![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://victorysoap.us/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
|
June 3, 2007 3:19 PM
Posted on June 3, 2007 15:19
I love the tabs. In Opera, it's ever better because you can open web pages in a "background" tab, which means it goes in to a new tab but you stay on the current tab. That's great for picking a bunch of things off a list (such as netsearch results) quickly in to different tabs for later viewing. I have lots of desk top clutter / applications running all the time. I also tend to have multiple distinct web projects active simultaneously (reading weblogs, updating my weblogs, doing website development). I have one window for each with tabs for the different pages I need. Saves a lot of hunting for the right window.
Posted by Annoying Old Guy![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://victorysoap.us/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
|
June 3, 2007 7:37 PM
Posted on June 3, 2007 19:37
Andrea,
You can turn off that annoying click in IE. Go into "Control Panel" and select "Sounds, Speech and Audio Devices". Then select "Change the Sound Scheme". In the "Program Events" window, find under "Windows Explorer" the "Start Navigation" event. Go to the "Sounds" drop-down list underneath and select "(None)" a the press OK. These instructions are for XP, but I imagine it's similar for most Windows systems.
As for tabs...I love tabs because I hate having a bunch of windows open. But, different strokes and all that. :-)
Posted by Susan B.![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://victorysoap.us/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
|
June 4, 2007 9:32 AM
Posted on June 4, 2007 09:32
Obviously that should be "and then" press OK. That's what happens when I type in a hurry.
Posted by Susan B.![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://victorysoap.us/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
|
June 4, 2007 9:35 AM
Posted on June 4, 2007 09:35