Opening a Tweet in a new tab without switching to it
I just made the switch from Chrome to Firefox, and I'm still trying to understand the small differences that exist between the 2 browsers.
While on Twitter, what I usually do is middle-click with my mouse on a Tweet to a new tab that I want to look into later, then continue scrolling down my timeline, then check out the Tweets I opened in the new tab(s). However, when I try to do the same thing on Firefox, it automatically opens the new tab. Because of how Twitter works, this also reloads the Home page when I opened it up, so I just lose anything I was just looking at when I opened the Tweet in a new tab.
What can I do differently here?
Chosen solution
It could be that middle-clicking the link is triggering a script that opens a popup window, which Firefox then diverts to a new tab. If you want diverted tabs to open in the background, there is a hidden setting for that. Let me describe a family of related settings:
(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button accepting the risk.
More info on about:config: Configuration Editor for Firefox. The moderators would like us to remind you that changes made through this back door aren't fully supported and aren't guaranteed to continue working in the future.
(2) In the search box in the page, type or paste inback and pause while the list is filtered
Firefox should list out several preferences for different scenarios. Here's what they do:
(A) browser.search.context.loadInBackground => this refers to when you select text in a page and choose the "Search [default engine] for [selected text] item"
(B) browser.tabs.loadBookmarksInBackground => this refers to when you click a bookmark
(C) browser.tabs.loadDivertedInBackground => this refers to links that target a new window (via attribute or script) that Firefox diverts to a new tab instead **try switching this one to true by double-clicking it**
(D) browser.tabs.loadInBackground => this is the one that has a checkbox on the Settings page
(E) services.sync.prefs.sync.browser.tabs.loadInBackground => ignore this, it controls whether to Sync #D between your different installations of Firefox
Read this answer in context 👍 2All Replies (3)
What is the 'open link' setting in "Settings -> General -> Tabs" ?
- When you open a link, image or media in a new tab, switch to it immediately
You can reverse this setting by holding the Shift key while clicking with the mouse wheel or hold control and left-click a link (Shift+Ctrl+left-click).
Chosen Solution
It could be that middle-clicking the link is triggering a script that opens a popup window, which Firefox then diverts to a new tab. If you want diverted tabs to open in the background, there is a hidden setting for that. Let me describe a family of related settings:
(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button accepting the risk.
More info on about:config: Configuration Editor for Firefox. The moderators would like us to remind you that changes made through this back door aren't fully supported and aren't guaranteed to continue working in the future.
(2) In the search box in the page, type or paste inback and pause while the list is filtered
Firefox should list out several preferences for different scenarios. Here's what they do:
(A) browser.search.context.loadInBackground => this refers to when you select text in a page and choose the "Search [default engine] for [selected text] item"
(B) browser.tabs.loadBookmarksInBackground => this refers to when you click a bookmark
(C) browser.tabs.loadDivertedInBackground => this refers to links that target a new window (via attribute or script) that Firefox diverts to a new tab instead **try switching this one to true by double-clicking it**
(D) browser.tabs.loadInBackground => this is the one that has a checkbox on the Settings page
(E) services.sync.prefs.sync.browser.tabs.loadInBackground => ignore this, it controls whether to Sync #D between your different installations of Firefox
Yes! That flag worked as I expected now, Thank you!