Firefox opens link in new tab in background window not a new tab in active window
Since firefox update version around start of 2018, whenever I open a link from another app into firefox the link opens in a new tab in the furthest back background/minimized window - not the frontmost active window. This always happens when firefox is automatically launched by clicking on the link. This problem does not happen if firefox is already open (ie. link correctly opens in new tab in the frontmost/active window). Very annoying as I have several windows with tabs minimised in background. This never happened before this year's updates.
Is this a bug or is there a config setting that can tell firefox to always open link tab in active/frontmost widnow?
All Replies (7)
Hello zaggie111,
Please take a look at jscher2000's post (Chosen Solution) :
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1199017
Would that work for you too ?
There is no way to select in what window an external link opens. There can be some confusion about the order windows open when you start Firefox, so it might not be easy to tell in what window the link gets opened, probably the last or the first window that is restored and that order can be affected by what window was active (selected) when you closed Firefox the last time.
As mentioned, this problem only started with this year's version update. Prior to then, new links always opened in the last active window if/when link launches Firefox, ie. window was active (selected) when I closed Firefox the last time. So this suggests that something in the recent version updates have changed.
McCoy - Thanks for link. My settings for external links were set correctly (3) and does works if Firefox is already open but not if closed and is then opened/launched by external link.
zaggie111 said
McCoy - Thanks for link. My settings for external links were set correctly (3) and does works if Firefox is already open but not if closed and is then opened/launched by external link.
Is it possible that it is about the timings of Firefox's launch processes? That the process loading the config preference doesnt load fast enough - loads after the external link arrives so by then it's too late?
zaggie111 said
Is it possible that it is about the timings of Firefox's launch processes? That the process loading the config preference doesnt load fast enough - loads after the external link arrives so by then it's too late?
I think the configuration preference -- new tab, new window, replace page in last used tab in last used window -- is read before the link is opened. However...
I'm sure it takes time to read through the session history file and determine the load order, and it's possible that the link opening process occurs the moment the first window is available.
(Possibly related?) In my experience on Windows, the order of restored windows is not the same from one session to the next, except for the first window. It has been that way since at least Firefox 42, and there is a bug on file to keep the original order (order in which the windows were opened) instead of whatever Firefox is doing now, but I don't think anyone is working on it at the moment.
That's interesting... would be great if there's a way to change load order so that the link opening process occurred when the last window is available? I'm using Firefox on a Mac.