hello, apparently this option has been removed intentionally in preparation for a redesign of the browser which will land in firefox later this year. you can use the following extension to work around the issue though: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/hide-tab-bar-with-one-tab/

The following might not be the only or most efficient way to get the display you want, but it's what I've seen recommended so far.

You can banish the tab bar entirely, or when only multiple tabs are open, using a setting in the Tab Mix Plus extension.

Please see this reply for more information: https://support.mozilla.org/questions/963676#answer-464257

Tab Mix Plus extension: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/tab-mix-plus/

That solved it. Thanks. I look forward to slightly and mostly fear a whole new redesign...

See this for the motivation behind this decision:

• bug 855370 - Remove the ability to not "Always show the tab bar"

Please DO NOT comment in bug reports: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/page.cgi?id=etiquette.html

I read the motivation - I agree with some of the other people who posted in that forum: tabs are not a necessity / surety, and I prefer FF because I have the flexibility to modify the FF UX to my tastes. I worked in IBM's lab back when it was called UI, from 1995-2001, so I believe my opinion about UI / UX carries at least a little weight. I shall be sorely upset if I'm forced to have a tab strip on a single tab page in updates from this point onwards.

I just want to add that as someone who has a very small laptop screen every pixel of screen space is valuable.

Removing the tab bar with a simple option was an easy way to get a relatively large amount of vertical space back.

It's somewhat incomprehensible to me that I now have to go and install some add-one just to get the function of that one simple checkbox back.

Ditto on the small screen issue. My netbook is an 8.9" screen and I could use every mili-inch available.

I have read Bug 855370 at https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=855370 and also the article http://limi.net/checkboxes-that-kill/. Hiding the tab bar when only one tab exists clearly does NOT rise to the level of a checkbox that kills.

Bugfix 855370 is itself a bug, which needs to be fixed. An add-on is not an acceptable workaround for a bug which was introduced in the development process.

This feature, to hide the tab bar when only one tab exists, is essential for smaller screens, such as netbooks. I am going to try to find FF 22, which does not contain this bug.

Hi u52983, assuming you are aware of the security-related reasons not to run Firefox 22 (security flaws), you can find an official link in this article: Install an older version of Firefox. People should avoid unofficial sources of software for obvious reasons.