Just open Options > General and put the Home Page as about:newtab

Having clearly said I don't want responses that provide work-arounds, please read the previous post to which I tried to provide a link - the url is there in full however. It would have been more useful if you'd responded with an explanation for how to correctly post links ;) ....... initial post now edited - option not originally given.

I do not want to change my homepage to be crystal clear!

Ignore PS. as I've now found how to do this. PS. As you are a moderator, perhaps you could correct the link in my post so that it displays correctly, thanks.

Sorry, what you asking for doesn't exist in Firefox. If you are asking about having Mozilla add about:newtab as a selectable option, please provide that "feedback" here: https://input.mozilla.org/en-US/feedback

Open a new window or tab. In the address bar, type about:config. If a warning screen comes up, press the Be Careful button. This is where Firefox finds information it needs to run. At the top of the screen is a search bar. Enter browser.newtab.url and press enter. browser.newtab.url tells Firefox what to show when a new tab is opened. If you want, right click and select Modify. You can change the setting to;

about:home (Firefox default home page), about:newtab (shows the sites most visited), about:blank (a blank page),

or you can enter any web page you want.

The same instructions are used for the new window setting, listed as browser.startup.homepage.

First, thanks for the quick replies even if they aren't helpful, other than the feedback link, although in my case https://input.mozilla.org/en-GB/feedback would be more appropriate, but the-edmeister wasn't to know that at the time due to the ridiculous way one has to register for these forums!! It doesn't allow for the correct information to be put in one's profile with the initial post, or the ability to correctly post a link!

Having now found my way about a bit and updated the profile, although the full url of the link I was attempting to give was in my initial post, I'll edit that shortly so that it shows correctly, then perhaps people will easily be able to read it.

I'll repeat, I don't want workarounds previously suggested, or to change my homepage. I know about the settings you mentioned thanks FredMcD.

I'm currently using the "chosen solution" in How do I set the startup page to the new tab page? as the optimum workaround for the time being.

It's pretty obvious that what I asked doesn't currently exist in Firefox (I wouldn't need to ask if it did!) and Feedback may be the best place to request Mozilla to add such an option, but that could take some time even if they choose to do it. I was rather hoping that someone might know some clever editing of about:config that might add it as a selectable option in the dropdown box.

We gave you a way to "edit", but I guess it wasn't "clever enough" for you.

Using the "Solution" in that other thread will work fine for when you first open Firefox, but it won't work if you would use the "Home" button.

Edit 'what' ed-meister? - perhaps you could be a bit clearer! (If you are talking about the original post, there were no options available when making the initial post to get registered - by the time I found where to edit it, you had already responded! Maybe you are expecting all people with problems to be more clever than you.)

One consistent thing I've noted reading some threads rounds here - people don't read what's been posted carefully. When I use the "Home" button - guess what - I expect to go the page I set as my homepage - which as I've already said twice, I do not want to change. I do however want Firefox to start on the "newtab" page.

Can I be any clearer.

As I've said, I was hoping someone may have some clever edits for about:config that would give the option in the drop-down box.

You are making this far harder sounding than it really is. The only "clever editing" needed is to type about:newtab in the Home Page box in Options > General -> Startup - underneath "When Firefox starts: Show my Homepage" and to the right of the words - Home Page.

Or with only about:newtab open use the Use Current Pages button in General.

How to set the homepage

Oh dear! What with all the moans there seem to have been about FF29 and quite a few posts round here where people complain that others don't seem to read what's been posted, I really am starting to think some people associated with Mozilla are starting to lose the plot.

Whilst I appreciate that you are trying to help the-edmseister I'm afraid you are not, so it may be best if you don't respond further on this one. You are not reading/listening! As mentioned at least twice before, never mind what was in the thread I linked in my OP, I do NOT want to change(use) my homepage setting (which right now is set to one of my ISP's network performance pages).

As explained, I was hoping that it might be possible to edit about:config (or elsewhere) to provide that extra drop-down option. It really needs someone very knowledgeable on the code to tell me if it's possible. I appreciate it may not be, as there could be code in another compiled module that controls this. I don't know if someone like cor-el would be able to help.

so you want to have two home pages? You really aren't being clear, if you want to have the newtab page appear when you press the home button, go into options and set your home page to about:newtab. That isn't a workaround,t hat's the way to do it. You are over-complicating things

I do NOT want the newtab page to appear when I press the Home button. Please read the whole thread and the linked thread I provided in the OP. I want Firefox to START on the newtab page, how many more times do I have to say it. When I click on the Home button I want to go to my ISP's page as it's set at the moment!!

Oh, just to mention, that the work-around, whilst it works, is not a professional solution. If one installs FF from scratch, there may be shortcuts in the QuickLaunch bar, the Start Menu and the Desktop. Apart from the fact that a non-techie user shouldn't have to edit one, to have to do all 3 is really OTT.

That is not possible. You can open about:newtab before you close Firefox, have Firefox set to how your windows and tabs from last time, and then you'll get that page when you re-open Firefox. But it isn't possible to have a different page appear as your home page than your home page.

You just aren't listening, it's not a 2nd Home page as you put it! but thanks for telling me it's not possible (currently). Please also see my edit to the previous post. Note: to be crystal clear -

>Tools >Options >General >Startup When Firefox starts: choice

• Show my homepage
• Show a blank page
• Show my windows and tabs from last time

I want to add a 4th choice:

• Show the newtab page

And from the post I linked in the OP, I'm clearly not the only one!

Yes, I understand you. That is not possible at this time, and to be able to do that would require creating an extension to add that option.

Um, why should it require creating an extension? That might be another workaround for the time being if someone can do it. This obsession by Mozilla, with extensions/add-ons that seem to have evolved recently, just to get basic functionality is really unprofessional. eg. Removing the TabsonTop function (although it's in about:config it's been disabled in FF29) and having to use an add-on just to get it back!

Mozilla created the newtab page as it currently is, and they should have added it to those start-up choices a long time ago. it must be obvious that people might want the newtab page at Startup, not just when they open a new tab.

So the chosen workaround solution at present must be - Locate the shortcut(s) that you most frequently use for starting Firefox. Select properties for each, and edit the Target: to add a space followed by about:newtab then click OK (windows) eg. x86 windows the Target would become - "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" about:newtab

Hope that helps anyone else that wants this, meanwhile I'll have to put the "suggestion" in Feedback!

There are over 30 About: pages in Firefox, are you saying we should have all of them as an option? There needs to be a balance between features that everyone users and those used by a small minority of our user base. This is something that most users likely won't use, but its very suited for an extension.

I'm resolving this thread.

I've already resolved it with my previous post, and I think your last comment on 30 About: pages is just not relevant. How many of those as used in "normal" usage by a non-techie user (which I'm not btw). The answer AFAIK is only the about:newtab by default when opening a new tab.

Easiest to start Firefox with a specific page like about:newtab is to create a copy of the Firefox desktop shortcut and add this URL to the target line and use this shortcut to start Firefox.

• https://developer.mozilla.org/Command_Line_Options

Thanks for the response cor-el. That link is one of the many (no doubt) useful pages of info I haven't yet discovered ;)

PS. I suppose I should have included a mention of about:home and about:blank in my previous reply. I expect there may be another one or two that I don't know.

How about about:about