Tab Mix Plus is a very popular extension for the Mozilla Firefox® browser that enhances Firefox’s® tab browsing abilities. It includes such features as duplicating tabs, controlling tab focus, tab clicking options, undo closed tabs and windows, plus much more. It also includes a Session Manager with crash recovery that can save and restore combinations of opened tabs and windows.

Tab Mix Plus comes with Options window that includes all of its preferences as well as adding user interface to important Firefox hidden preferences. It is recommended that you make all change to the preference in the options window. The options window is available from the Add-ons Manager or from the Tools menu (unless you turn this option off).

All preferences that are set by Tab Mix Plus are stored in the prefs.js file in the user profile directory. These preferences can also be accessed and changed by entering “about:config” in the URL bar and “extensions.tabmix” in the filter box to narrow down the results from the search.

• Enter “about:config” in the URL box and press <Enter>
• Enter “extensions.tabmix” in the filter box to limit the results to Tab Mix Plus entries

Download & Install Tab Mix Plus

Important

If you are downloading Tab Mix Plus for the first time, please follow the Installation Guide.
Download xpi file from our download page to your local computer.
All Tab Mix Plus downloads are also located here and here

Since all Tab Mix Plus preferences are stored in the ‘prefs.js’ file, Tab Mix Plus has the ability to extract these preferences and store them in a separate file. The ‘Preferences’ button is located at the bottom of the options window.
Click it to open a popup menu that will display the following options to choose from:

• Restore Defaults – will reset all preferences to the Tab Mix Plus default preferences
• Import Preferences – you can import Tab Mix Plus preferences from a file (usually from another configuration or PC)
• Export Preferences – you can export your preferences to be saved or applied to another PC, the default file name is TMPpref.txt.
• Sync Preferences – Enable to add Tabmix preferences to the data Firefox sync. For more help about sync, read the article How do I set up Firefox Sync from Mozilla support.

Controls what actions are taken when a link is clicked in the browser window or another application

First three options are Firefox’s hidden settings, more help available by clicking on the links below:

• Open links that open in a new window in (select one): browser.link.open_newwindow
  • New window – opens a new browser window
  • New tab – creates a new tab in the current browser window
  • Current tab – replaces existing URL page in the current browser tab with the link contents
• Open links from other applications in (select one): browser.link.open_newwindow.override.external
  This preference overrides browser.link.open_newwindow for external links. Set it only if you need different destination for external links.
  • New window – opens a new browser window
  • New tab – creates a new tab in the current browser window
  • Current tab – replaces existing URL page in the current browser tab with the link contents
• JavaScript popups (select one): browser.link.open_newwindow.restriction
  • Allows resized popups – this option allows only sized window to be open as popup
  • Allows all popups
  • Open all popups in tabs

JavaScript & Popup restriction as well as Open links that open in a new window in and Open links from other applications in, are all Firefox build-in options. Tab mix only provides user interface to control these options instead of using about:config entries.

These options control where link that uses window.open() JavaScript command should be open. Assuming that you set Open links that open in a new window in to be diverted to tab (new one or current), then using Open all popups in tabs will instruct Firefox to open all such links in tabs. When you are using the option Allows resize popups you allow Firefox to open new window when the link uses JavaScript command that call window.open() function with the “features” parameter (size, position, scrollbars, etc.).

File Type Editor

• Prevent blank tabs when downloading files
  Certain links, when clicked, download files automatically and open in new tabs. To prevent this, enable this option. You can also manage which file types won’t open in new tabs by using the “File Type Editor”. When enabled, this option prevents blank tab opening from a link that contains one of the file types in this list and automatically closes most blank tabs that open for other file types. (There are some exceptions, links from Google Drive for example). This option doesn’t change the way Firefox downloads files and the place the files are saved to. Open the editor by clicking “Edit”. There, you can view the existing list of file extensions, add new ones, remove unwanted ones, or modify the list as needed. The “Restore Defaults” button resets only the file type preference extensions.tabmix.filetype, not other preferences. File type can be simple file extensions or regular expression.
  Post a question to our discussions if you need help regarding special file type or download link.

• Force to open in new tab (select one):
  • Nothing
  • All Links
  • Links to other sites
• Open links with a target attribute in current tab
• Open links with target to existing frame in the current tab If checked, the current tab contents will be replaced with the link contents. When these options are not checked, links with target attribute will open according to user settings.
• Enable Single Window Mode – This option will force links to open new tabs within the current browser window

Controls which URL loads in New Tab and location of newly opened tabs.

New Tabs

• Load on New Tabs (select one): You can open New Tab from:
  • New Tab Page
  • Menu Bar: File > New Tab
  • Tab context menu: New Tab
  • Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl/Cmd + T
  See next sections about the preference that control all other tabs opening
  • New Tab Page (about:newtab) – see more details in Firefox Help
  • Blank Page (about:blank)
  • Home Page (to select your Home Page, you must specify a Home Page in the Firefox Options/General)
  • Current Page (whatever page is currently displayed in your browser)
  • Duplicate Tab with history (copy the current tab with history)
• Focus content when loading non blank page, (when not checked, focus is on the address bar)
• Open New Tab next to current one

Other Tabs

• Open other tabs next to current one
  • Only if related to current tab
  • Change opening order – tabs will open to the right of the most recently opened. Please refer to the example below. Example of changing opening order[a][b][c] are the current opened tabs with [a] being the current tab.
    [1][2][3] are the new tabs opened in that order.
    [a][b][c][1][2][3] -> [a][3][2][1][b][c], this is how tabs open without Change opening order.
    [a][b][c][1][2][3] -> [a][1][2][3][b][c], this is how tabs open with Change opening order option checked. :::
• Open duplicated tabs next to original
• Move tab from ‘Switch to tab’ next to current one When using ‘Switch to tab’ from address bar popup, move the tab you switching to next to the currently selected tab.
  This only applied when the tab you switching to is in the same window.

Groups of bookmarks/history

When opening many tabs from bookmarks group or history loading time for all tabs can be long, especially when multi-process (aka E10s, Electrolysis) is enabled.
It is recommended to enable these options when opening many tabs.

• Load tabs progressively – load tabs no more than 3 tabs at a time.
• Don’t load tabs until selected – all background tabs remain unloaded until selected.

For both options you can set the amount of tabs that serve as a threshold to enable the option.

Lock tabs

• Lock New tabs
• Lock App tabs
• Apply changes to open tabs

You can set Tab Mix Plus to lock every new tab and every new App tab. If “Apply changes to open tabs” is enabled, any change to Lock New tabs or

Lock Apps tabs preferences change the lock status of open tabs accordingly. :::

More about Protected Locked and Frozen Tabs

Protected tab

A tab that is prevented from closing. You can load other sites in the tab and browse to other URLs in that tab. Notice that the close button is missing, so you cannot close the tab. If you try to close Firefox®, you will get a warning message about closing a protected tab.

Locked tab

A tab that is prevented from navigating to another page or URL. Your tab is locked on the current page or URL. Nothing new can load in the tab, but you can refresh the same page. All links will open in a new tab (link, history, bookmark, etc.). Notice that the close button is available, so you can close a locked tab.

Frozen tab

A tab that is both locked and protected. It will not close and nothing new can be loaded in it. You will not be able to navigate away from the current page. All links will open in a new tab (link, history, bookmark, etc.) Notice that the close button is missing, so you cannot close the tab. If you try to close Firefox®, you will get a warning message about closing a protected tab.

Lock New tabs
You can set Tab Mix Plus to lock every new tab and every new App tab. If “Apply changes to open tabs” is enabled, any change to Lock New tabs or Lock Apps tabs preferences changes the lock status of open tabs accordingly.

Change single tab Protected, Locked or Frozen status
You can change single tab Protected, Locked or Frozen status from tab context menu or browser main context menu. To enable these options in the context menu, go to Tab Mix Plus Option window > Menu panel and set the options you need for each menu.

Control what action will open new tab, and if the new tab get the focus (select)

• Middle-click new tab button to open URLs or search for text from clipboard new since Firefox 115

Open tabs from

• Bookmarks
• Groups of bookmarks When checked “Open All in Tabs” will open the bookmarks in new tabs, when unchecked the bookmarks will replace all tabs that are not locked or protected.
• History
• Address bar
• Search bar

Alt+Enter reverse these preferences.
For example when the preference to open new tab from Address bar is on, Enter will open the address in new tab while Alt+Enter will open the address in current tab. When the preference is off, the command is reversed and Alt+Enter will open the address in new tab.

• Middle-click or Control-click opens items in current tab.
  Only for bookmarks, history, links forced to open in new tab

Focus/Select tabs that open by these action

• Links
• Diverted windows
• Other applications
• New tab commands
• Duplicate Tab
• Address bar
• Search bar
• Context menu search for
• Bookmarks/History
• Groups of bookmarks

Inverse Middle-click or Control-click focus for tabs opened by these action

• Links
• Bookmarks/History, Address bar, Search bar

Controls tab closing, when warnings will appear and where to set focus when a tab is closed

Warning

• Warn me when closing multiple tabs
• Warn me when closing window with multiple tabs
• Warn me when closing window with protected tabs

Closing last tab

• Do not close window when closing the last tab (closing the last tab will also close the browser window)
• Prevent last tab from closing
• When I close the last tab replace it with (select one):
  • New Tab Page – see more details on Firefox Help
  • Blank Page
  • Home Page (to select your Home Page you must specify a Home Page in the Firefox Options/General)
  • Current Page (whatever page is currently displayed in your browser)
  • Duplicate Tab with history (copy the current tab with history)
• Focus content when loading non blank page, (when not checked – focus is on the address bar)

Closing current tab

• When closing the current tab, focus (select one):
  • First tab
  • Left tab
  • Right tab
  • Last tab
  • Last selected tab
  • Opener/Right tab (the tab containing the link that opened this tab or the tab to the right)
  • Last opened tab

Controls the display of Tab Bar

Show on Tab Bar

• New Tab Button (select one) – the new tab button will be displayed on the tab bar at the specified location
  • Left side
  • Right side
  • After last tab
  The New Tab button can be dragged out of the Customize Toolbar window and placed on any toolbar. But in order to be able to use its placement option in Tab Mix Plus (left/right/after last tab), it needs to be placed on the tabbar.
  If you don’t see the New Tab button in the Customize window, check your toolbars to see if its already there and drag it to the tabbar.Click on Customize… and drag the New Tab Button to the tabbar. When Vertical Tabs installed you must set this preference to Left or Right side.
• Close tab button – the Close tab button will be displayed at the right end of the tab bar
• All tabs button (All tabs button will be displayed and when clicked it will display a list of all open tabs)
• Show tab previews (Show tab previews will display a window with tab previews instead of a list. This option is not available in all Firefox® versions)
• Extra space on both sides (when checked extra space will be placed on both sides of the tab bar)

• Hide the tab bar (select one) – Hide/show the tab bar based on the selected rule
  • Never
  • When I have only one tab
  • Always
• Position (select one) – Select the location for the tab bar
  • Top
  • Bottom
• When tabs don’t fit width (select one):
  • Scrollable without buttons – scroll tabs using mouse wheel or keyboard arrow keys
  • Scrollable with buttons on left and right side (displays left and right scrolling arrows at each end of the tab bar)
  • Scrollable with buttons on right side (displays both, left and right scrolling arrows at the right end of the tab bar) -Multi-row (allows tabs to be displayed in multiple rows)
  • Scroll tabs when dragged to top/bottom New in version 1.28
    When dragging a tab to the top or bottom of the tab bar, the tab bar will automatically scroll up or down to reveal the previous or next row of tabs, if the option is enabled.
  • Theme background style New in version 1.28
    When using a theme with a background image, the image height may not match the tab-bar height, especially with multi-row tabs. This option allows you to adjust the background style to fit the tab-bar height. You can choose from the following options:
    • Repeat: Repeats the background image to cover the entire tab bar height.
    • Cover: Scales the background image to cover the entire tab bar height, while maintaining its aspect ratio.
    • Theme Default: Uses the default background style set by the theme.
• Max number of rows to display – default 3 – for Multi-row option The number controls the max number of rows to display – When tabs are spread on more rows than the selected max number of rows to display, scroll arrows will appear on the right side of the tabs.
• Allow pinned tabs to scroll – for Multi-row option By default, pin tabs are stick to the first row and stay visible all the time, enable this options if you don’t want pinned tabs to stick to the first row.
  You must use this option if you have more than one row of pinned tabs.
  • Enable smooth scroll – scroll the tab-bar smoothly
  • Scroll Delay (time between scroll repetition 150 milliseconds is default) specify the delay time in milliseconds to scroll when smooth scroll disabled

Controls the display of tab color, font, highlighting, optional icons, tab width and tab title

Styles

Highlight (select one or more options) – customized style will be applied to the designated tabs

• Current tab
• Unread tabs
  • set tab as unread after reload
• Unloaded tabs
• Other tabs (tabs that have been viewed)
• Disable custom background colors Disable all custom background colors in one click, for the case you are using non-supported theme or extension.
• Apply background color for squared tabs Apply this preference when your theme or other extension provides non Australis squared tabs.

Read Customize Styles section below for instruction how to customize tabs style.

Tabs background colors may not display properly when TreeStyleTabs is installed.

Show on tab – Icons for

• Locked
• Protected
• Auto-Reload
• Hide on pinned tabs – check to hide all icons on pinned tabs
• Show Progress meter on tabs
  Read Customize Styles section below for instruction how to customize Progress meter color.
• Show on tab – Close tab button Select which tab(s) rules are to be applied (select one):
  • on all
  • on all tabs wider than (set size)
  • on current
  • on pointed for
  • on current and pointed for
  • Place on left side

Tab width

• Tab width (specify range) default: 100 to 250 pixels:
• Tab width fits to tab title (the tab will be sized to fit the title – not recommended for tabs under 100 pixels)
• Tab width fills rows on overflow, available only when Tab width fits to tab title is disabled, tabs in multiple rows will be sized to fill all empty space in the row
• Use bookmark name as tab title (the bookmark name will be used for the tab title)

Customize Styles

Click on Customize Styles button to open Customize Styles editor in a separate dialog. The dialog contains five panels: Current tab, Unread tabs, Unloaded tabs, Other tabs and Progress meter on tabs.

• Use this style – enable/disable specific style, same as changing one of the appropriate options (listed above) in the main dialog window
• Italic
• Bold
• Underline
• Text Color: select color and specify opacity (100%)
• Background Color: select color and specify opacity (100%)
• Restore Defaults (resets specific style to default)

You can control tab title bold, italic and underline style as well as the title color and opacity. For the tab background, you can control color and opacity, set different colors and opacity on tab bottom and top to get nice gradient effect of the color.

Each color control has five parts:

• button with predefined colors
• three fields for user-defined color (color range 0-255)
• opacity field for defined the opacity level of the color (range 0%-100%)

• Select tab pointed for ___ msec
  
  • Specify time in milliseconds, 250 milliseconds is default.
• Switch to last selected tab when clicking current one
  clicking the current tab will make the last selected tab take focus and become the current tab after the specified time delay
  • Use time delay of ___ msec specify time in milliseconds, 250 milliseconds is default
• Mouse click (down and release) to select a tab
• Remove Tab Mix Plus menu list entries using middle-click applies to:
  • Tabs in menus opened from Tab Mix Plus Opened Tabs list button or context menu: middle-click on tab entry in the list removes the tab itself, not just the entry in the list.
  • Sessions in Tab Mix Plus sessions menu: middle-click on session entry in the list removes the session.
  • Closed tabs in the Closed tabs list: middle-click on tab entry in the list removes the tab from the closed tabs list, removed tab cannot be restored anymore.
  • Closed windows in the Closed windows list: middle-click on window entry in the list removes the window from the closed windows list, removed window cannot be restored anymore.
• When closing a tab, other tabs should not resize until cursor leaves toolbar region applies only if tabs closed with the tab Close button. This option allows user to close more than one tab without moving the mouse.

• When dragging a tab move it directly – (applies only when tabs are in single row). This option is not about the drop indicator, it’s about moving a tab when you drag it. When this option is on, and tabs are on one row, the tab starts to move when you start dragging it. When tabs are in multi-row or when this options is off, the tab is not moving when you drag it. You see a drop indicator and the tab will move to its new place when you stop dragging it and release the mouse button.
• Drop indicator (select one):
  • Native Style (single down arrow)
  • Built-in style (left and right arrows)

• When scrolling over the tab-bar:
  Hold Shift while scrolling to switch between these options
  • Scroll to change selected tab – scrolling down selects the next tab
  • Scroll all tabs – scrolling moves visible tabs on the tab-bar (when scroll buttons are visible)
  • Inverse scroll direction – change the direction in which tabs are selected or tab-bar is moved
  • Enable Scroll by Tabs: Scroll by n tabs: Control the amount of horizontal scroll when tabs are in single-row and the preference Scroll all tabs is on.

Choose command to perform when clicking on the tab or tabbar – Choose a click action, then specify the action from the list to be applied for tabs and tabbar.

Select which action is to be applied for each of the five mouse click events

• Double-click
• Middle-click
• Ctrl-click
• Shift-click
• Alt-click

You can enable Firefox default or let other extensions get control for specific mouse click event by unchecking the box next to specific action.

• Prevent clicking on Tab-bar from dragging the window.
• Prevent double click on Tab-bar from changing window size.

Controls which items will be displayed in the Tab Context Menu

• Show Tab Context Menu on tabbar By default, Firefox uses the toolbar context menu for the tabbar

Show in Tab Context Menu

Put a check mark ( √ ) next to all items you want displayed in the Tab Context Menu All checked items will appear in the Tab Context Menu

Controls which items will be displayed in the Main Context Menu

Show in Main Context Menu

Put a check mark ( √ ) next to all items you want displayed in the Main Context Menu All checked items will appear in the Main Context Menu

Controls which items will be displayed in the Tools Menu

Show in Tools Menu

Put a check mark ( √ ) next to all items you want displayed in the Tools Menu All checked items will appear in the Tools Menu

If you are reading this page, you have probably encountered a problem with Tab Mix Plus. While it can be some unknown bug, most issues reported in the forum usually end up being extensions or theme conflicts.

In order to identify and solve the problem there are several things you can do.

Install latest development version

First, install the latest development version to see if the problem might have been fixed (look for the latest test build at our Downloads page). You can reinstall the latest official version in place of the development version later if you wish.

If the latest development version still has the problem then the place to post about it is in the discussions section of our repository, but before you post there are a few more things to try.

Create new testing profile

Create a new profile (Creating new profile is safe and doesn’t have any effect on your current profile, which you can return to using once you complete testing the new profile), install Tab Mix Plus and import your preferences from the problematic profile. If you don’t see the problem, it’s most likely a conflict with another extension. Install your extensions one by one restarting in between until the issue reappears (once you isolate the conflicting extension(s), you don’t have to use the new profile unless you want to).

Disable other extensions

If you prefer not to create a new profile for testing, you can try disabling your other extensions in the current profile instead. Then enable each extension one by one and test for the problem.

Note: This is not as good as creating a clean profile because the conflict may be an option choice or another customization made in the browser and not another extension.

If you have a high number of extensions, a way to expedite this troubleshooting is to disable half of the installed extensions at a time. If the problem disappears, then you know that the conflicting extension is one of those you just disabled.

If this is still a high number of extensions, you can enable half of those extensions and check for the problem. If and when you get to a more manageable number of extensions, you can then enable/disable extensions one at a time until you isolate the one conflicting with Tab Mix Plus.

Reset your profile

Finally, if nothing else works you can reset your profile, read the article Reset Firefox – easily fix most problems from Mozilla support.

Report your finding

When you finish your testing, we encourage you to report about your findings, whether you find the culprit or not, to our forum, so other users can benefit from your findings and to help Tab Mix Plus developers to solve the issue you have. (Read How to post about a problem). In the case the conflict is another extension or theme, please report about it to the developer of the conflicting extension or theme also so that they can work it out as well.

Sometimes people complain about a Tab Mix Plus development version (or a release) being incompatible. You are welcome to try other, older builds but keep in mind that Tab Mix Plus is always compatible and always working, even with Beta, Aurora and Nightly, despite Firefox incompatibility warning you might be seeing.

Although older version may work for you without a problem it is very important that you report about any problem.

The problem you encounter can be incompatibility with other extensions or a bug in Tab Mix Plus that only reveals itself in a specific Firefox and Extensions combination. Installing old version will not fix the problem.

If you haven’t read How to post about a problem, read it now.

If you are testing pre-release Firefox versions, you really should install Disable Add-ons Compatibility Check, Add-on Compatibility Reporter, or simply search AMO for something similar, there’s a whole bunch available now. While it may not eliminate the warning, it will allow you to install and use add-ons with pre-release Firefox versions.

Remember to always use the latest development version available with latest Firefox pre-release versions, let it be Beta, Aurora or Nightly.

If the Error button in the Tab Mix Plus Options is visible, some of your extensions are incompatible with Tab Mix Plus. It is recommended you disable or uninstall the extensions in the list. Click the “Show List…” button to do that.

Conflicts have been reported with Ubuntu Firefox Modifications extension, so if you use Ubuntu, disable that one (you can read more here).

Conflicts with BarTab, Colorful Tabs and Tree Style Tab have been reported. Since all these extensions manipulate tabs, shouldn’t be surprising. Don’t panic, these conflicts are usually solved rather quickly, especially if good information is given (like errors in console, screenshots, steps to recreate, etc.). Feel free to post and provide as much info as possible.

Most issues reported in Tab Mix Plus forum usually end up to be extensions or theme conflicts.

When posting, please, always include your OS (Operating System), Firefox and Tab Mix Plus versions. A list of your extensions could also be useful as somebody might spot a troublesome extension which can lead to a faster resolution.

You can set your OS, Firefox and Tab Mix Plus information in the signature field in your profile (link to the User Control Panel is at the top of every page of the Forum). This way, you will not have to type it every time. Just remember to update it with Firefox and/or Tab Mix Plus update!

It is very helpful if you can post the steps to reproduce your problem and if you experience an issue with a specific page, include a link(-s).

Add attachment to your post

Follow these steps to attach a file or a screenshot to your post to the Forum:

1. In your thread, click Full Editor button under the quick reply box.
2. Locate Filename and Browse buttons, click and navigate to the file you just saved.
3. Click Add File and Submit. Your file will be attached to your post.

Save Troubleshooting Information from Firefox

Use Firefox Troubleshooting Information page to help us fix issues with Tab Mix Plus. Use Copy text to clipboard button on the Troubleshooting page and save the data to a text file. There are also a few extensions to help you with posting such info in forums, like Infolister and Extensions List Dumper.

Save Tab Mix Plus Preferences

You may be asked to post your Tab Mix Plus preferences. To do that, follow these steps:

1. Open Tab Mix Plus Options and click the ‘Preferences’ button at the bottom left corner.
2. Choose ‘Export Preferences’ and save the file to a location on your hard drive.

Save Browser Console log

The Browser Console is a tool provided by Firefox to log errors, warnings and messages for all content tabs, for add-ons, and for the browser’s own code.

The content of the Browser Console can provide important information about your problem. To get this information, open the Browser Console (Tools > Web Developer > Browser console) when you encounter the problem you want to report about, right click anywhere in the console and click select all. Copy everything and paste it to a text file.

If your problem happens when Firefox starts, open the Browser Console immediately after Firefox starts and copy/paste its content to a text file, then clear the content and open new window and copy/paste the Browser Console content to another file.

Where to post

To help the developers and users to track issues and get better search results, please remember to post all your issues to our Github repository.

Thank you for your cooperation and Good Luck!

A screen shot can help to explain details of a problem.

• To create a screen shot of your entire desktop, press the “Ctrl-PrtScn” buttons on your keyboard.  This will capture an image of your screen to your PC memory.  Then launch some graphics program such as “MSPaint” (comes with all Windows O/S) and paste the captured image into “MSPaint”.  That file may then be saved as a .jpg or .png image to be posted.
• A better alternative – To create a screen shot of a single window, dialog box, error message, etc., select the window to make that window have focus.  Then press the “Alt-PrtScn” buttons to capture the image to your PC memory.  Paste the captured image into “MSPaint” and save the file as a .jpg or .png image to be posted.

Follow these steps to attach the screen shot to your post in the Forum:

1. In your thread, click Full Editor button under the quick reply box.
2. Locate Filename and Browse buttons, click and navigate to the screen shot you just saved.
3. Click Add File and Submit. Your file will be attached to your post.
4. You can make the screen shot visible in the post by adding attachment tag with the file name you saved [attachment=1]FILE.NAME[/attachment]. If you attach more than one file, refer to each one with its number: attachment=1, attachment=2… .

Alternatively, you may post the image file you saved to a public server like Imgur or some other free image hosting website. Visit their sites for more details on how to get link to the image to post in the forum.

Controls which URL loads in New Tab and location of newly opened tabs.

New Tabs

• Load on New Tabs (select one): You can open New Tab from:
  • New Tab Page
  • Menu Bar: File > New Tab
  • Tab context menu: New Tab
  • Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl/Cmd + T
  See next sections about the preference that control all other tabs opening
  • New Tab Page (about:newtab) – see more details in Firefox Help
  • Blank Page (about:blank)
  • Home Page (to select your Home Page, you must specify a Home Page in the Firefox Options/General)
  • Current Page (whatever page is currently displayed in your browser)
  • Duplicate Tab with history (copy the current tab with history)
• Focus content when loading non blank page, (when not checked, focus is on the address bar)
• Open New Tab next to current one

Other Tabs

• Open other tabs next to current one
  • Only if related to current tab
  • Change opening order – tabs will open to the right of the most recently opened. Please refer to the example below. Example of changing opening order[a][b][c] are the current opened tabs with [a] being the current tab.
    [1][2][3] are the new tabs opened in that order.
    [a][b][c][1][2][3] -> [a][3][2][1][b][c], this is how tabs open without Change opening order.
    [a][b][c][1][2][3] -> [a][1][2][3][b][c], this is how tabs open with Change opening order option checked. :::
• Open duplicated tabs next to original
• Move tab from ‘Switch to tab’ next to current one When using ‘Switch to tab’ from address bar popup, move the tab you switching to next to the currently selected tab.
  This only applied when the tab you switching to is in the same window.

Groups of bookmarks/history

When opening many tabs from bookmarks group or history loading time for all tabs can be long, especially when multi-process (aka E10s, Electrolysis) is enabled.
It is recommended to enable these options when opening many tabs.

• Load tabs progressively – load tabs no more than 3 tabs at a time.
• Don’t load tabs until selected – all background tabs remain unloaded until selected.

For both options you can set the amount of tabs that serve as a threshold to enable the option.

Lock tabs

• Lock New tabs
• Lock App tabs
• Apply changes to open tabs

You can set Tab Mix Plus to lock every new tab and every new App tab. If “Apply changes to open tabs” is enabled, any change to Lock New tabs or

Lock Apps tabs preferences change the lock status of open tabs accordingly. :::

More about Protected Locked and Frozen Tabs

Protected tab

A tab that is prevented from closing. You can load other sites in the tab and browse to other URLs in that tab. Notice that the close button is missing, so you cannot close the tab. If you try to close Firefox®, you will get a warning message about closing a protected tab.

Locked tab

A tab that is prevented from navigating to another page or URL. Your tab is locked on the current page or URL. Nothing new can load in the tab, but you can refresh the same page. All links will open in a new tab (link, history, bookmark, etc.). Notice that the close button is available, so you can close a locked tab.

Frozen tab

A tab that is both locked and protected. It will not close and nothing new can be loaded in it. You will not be able to navigate away from the current page. All links will open in a new tab (link, history, bookmark, etc.) Notice that the close button is missing, so you cannot close the tab. If you try to close Firefox®, you will get a warning message about closing a protected tab.

Lock New tabs
You can set Tab Mix Plus to lock every new tab and every new App tab. If “Apply changes to open tabs” is enabled, any change to Lock New tabs or Lock Apps tabs preferences changes the lock status of open tabs accordingly.

Change single tab Protected, Locked or Frozen status
You can change single tab Protected, Locked or Frozen status from tab context menu or browser main context menu. To enable these options in the context menu, go to Tab Mix Plus Option window > Menu panel and set the options you need for each menu.

Control what action will open new tab, and if the new tab get the focus (select)

• Middle-click new tab button to open URLs or search for text from clipboard new since Firefox 115

Open tabs from

• Bookmarks
• Groups of bookmarks When checked “Open All in Tabs” will open the bookmarks in new tabs, when unchecked the bookmarks will replace all tabs that are not locked or protected.
• History
• Address bar
• Search bar

Alt+Enter reverse these preferences.
For example when the preference to open new tab from Address bar is on, Enter will open the address in new tab while Alt+Enter will open the address in current tab. When the preference is off, the command is reversed and Alt+Enter will open the address in new tab.

• Middle-click or Control-click opens items in current tab.
  Only for bookmarks, history, links forced to open in new tab

Focus/Select tabs that open by these action

• Links
• Diverted windows
• Other applications
• New tab commands
• Duplicate Tab
• Address bar
• Search bar
• Context menu search for
• Bookmarks/History
• Groups of bookmarks

Inverse Middle-click or Control-click focus for tabs opened by these action

• Links
• Bookmarks/History, Address bar, Search bar

Controls tab closing, when warnings will appear and where to set focus when a tab is closed

Warning

• Warn me when closing multiple tabs
• Warn me when closing window with multiple tabs
• Warn me when closing window with protected tabs

Closing last tab

• Do not close window when closing the last tab (closing the last tab will also close the browser window)
• Prevent last tab from closing
• When I close the last tab replace it with (select one):
  • New Tab Page – see more details on Firefox Help
  • Blank Page
  • Home Page (to select your Home Page you must specify a Home Page in the Firefox Options/General)
  • Current Page (whatever page is currently displayed in your browser)
  • Duplicate Tab with history (copy the current tab with history)
• Focus content when loading non blank page, (when not checked – focus is on the address bar)

Closing current tab

• When closing the current tab, focus (select one):
  • First tab
  • Left tab
  • Right tab
  • Last tab
  • Last selected tab
  • Opener/Right tab (the tab containing the link that opened this tab or the tab to the right)
  • Last opened tab

Controls the display of Tab Bar

Show on Tab Bar

• New Tab Button (select one) – the new tab button will be displayed on the tab bar at the specified location
  • Left side
  • Right side
  • After last tab
  The New Tab button can be dragged out of the Customize Toolbar window and placed on any toolbar. But in order to be able to use its placement option in Tab Mix Plus (left/right/after last tab), it needs to be placed on the tabbar.
  If you don’t see the New Tab button in the Customize window, check your toolbars to see if its already there and drag it to the tabbar.Click on Customize… and drag the New Tab Button to the tabbar. When Vertical Tabs installed you must set this preference to Left or Right side.
• Close tab button – the Close tab button will be displayed at the right end of the tab bar
• All tabs button (All tabs button will be displayed and when clicked it will display a list of all open tabs)
• Show tab previews (Show tab previews will display a window with tab previews instead of a list. This option is not available in all Firefox® versions)
• Extra space on both sides (when checked extra space will be placed on both sides of the tab bar)

• Hide the tab bar (select one) – Hide/show the tab bar based on the selected rule
  • Never
  • When I have only one tab
  • Always
• Position (select one) – Select the location for the tab bar
  • Top
  • Bottom
• When tabs don’t fit width (select one):
  • Scrollable without buttons – scroll tabs using mouse wheel or keyboard arrow keys
  • Scrollable with buttons on left and right side (displays left and right scrolling arrows at each end of the tab bar)
  • Scrollable with buttons on right side (displays both, left and right scrolling arrows at the right end of the tab bar) -Multi-row (allows tabs to be displayed in multiple rows)
  • Scroll tabs when dragged to top/bottom New in version 1.28
    When dragging a tab to the top or bottom of the tab bar, the tab bar will automatically scroll up or down to reveal the previous or next row of tabs, if the option is enabled.
  • Theme background style New in version 1.28
    When using a theme with a background image, the image height may not match the tab-bar height, especially with multi-row tabs. This option allows you to adjust the background style to fit the tab-bar height. You can choose from the following options:
    • Repeat: Repeats the background image to cover the entire tab bar height.
    • Cover: Scales the background image to cover the entire tab bar height, while maintaining its aspect ratio.
    • Theme Default: Uses the default background style set by the theme.
• Max number of rows to display – default 3 – for Multi-row option The number controls the max number of rows to display – When tabs are spread on more rows than the selected max number of rows to display, scroll arrows will appear on the right side of the tabs.
• Allow pinned tabs to scroll – for Multi-row option By default, pin tabs are stick to the first row and stay visible all the time, enable this options if you don’t want pinned tabs to stick to the first row.
  You must use this option if you have more than one row of pinned tabs.
  • Enable smooth scroll – scroll the tab-bar smoothly
  • Scroll Delay (time between scroll repetition 150 milliseconds is default) specify the delay time in milliseconds to scroll when smooth scroll disabled

Controls the display of tab color, font, highlighting, optional icons, tab width and tab title

Styles

Highlight (select one or more options) – customized style will be applied to the designated tabs

• Current tab
• Unread tabs
  • set tab as unread after reload
• Unloaded tabs
• Other tabs (tabs that have been viewed)
• Disable custom background colors Disable all custom background colors in one click, for the case you are using non-supported theme or extension.
• Apply background color for squared tabs Apply this preference when your theme or other extension provides non Australis squared tabs.

Read Customize Styles section below for instruction how to customize tabs style.

Tabs background colors may not display properly when TreeStyleTabs is installed.

Show on tab – Icons for

• Locked
• Protected
• Auto-Reload
• Hide on pinned tabs – check to hide all icons on pinned tabs
• Show Progress meter on tabs
  Read Customize Styles section below for instruction how to customize Progress meter color.
• Show on tab – Close tab button Select which tab(s) rules are to be applied (select one):
  • on all
  • on all tabs wider than (set size)
  • on current
  • on pointed for
  • on current and pointed for
  • Place on left side

Tab width

• Tab width (specify range) default: 100 to 250 pixels:
• Tab width fits to tab title (the tab will be sized to fit the title – not recommended for tabs under 100 pixels)
• Tab width fills rows on overflow, available only when Tab width fits to tab title is disabled, tabs in multiple rows will be sized to fill all empty space in the row
• Use bookmark name as tab title (the bookmark name will be used for the tab title)

Customize Styles

Click on Customize Styles button to open Customize Styles editor in a separate dialog. The dialog contains five panels: Current tab, Unread tabs, Unloaded tabs, Other tabs and Progress meter on tabs.

• Use this style – enable/disable specific style, same as changing one of the appropriate options (listed above) in the main dialog window
• Italic
• Bold
• Underline
• Text Color: select color and specify opacity (100%)
• Background Color: select color and specify opacity (100%)
• Restore Defaults (resets specific style to default)

You can control tab title bold, italic and underline style as well as the title color and opacity. For the tab background, you can control color and opacity, set different colors and opacity on tab bottom and top to get nice gradient effect of the color.

Each color control has five parts:

• button with predefined colors
• three fields for user-defined color (color range 0-255)
• opacity field for defined the opacity level of the color (range 0%-100%)

Tab Mix Plus is a very popular extension for the Mozilla Firefox® browser that enhances Firefox’s® tab browsing abilities. It includes such features as duplicating tabs, controlling tab focus, tab clicking options, undo closed tabs and windows, plus much more. It also includes a Session Manager with crash recovery that can save and restore combinations of opened tabs and windows.

Tab Mix Plus comes with Options window that includes all of its preferences as well as adding user interface to important Firefox hidden preferences. It is recommended that you make all change to the preference in the options window. The options window is available from the Add-ons Manager or from the Tools menu (unless you turn this option off).

All preferences that are set by Tab Mix Plus are stored in the prefs.js file in the user profile directory. These preferences can also be accessed and changed by entering “about:config” in the URL bar and “extensions.tabmix” in the filter box to narrow down the results from the search.

• Enter “about:config” in the URL box and press <Enter>
• Enter “extensions.tabmix” in the filter box to limit the results to Tab Mix Plus entries

Download & Install Tab Mix Plus

Important

If you are downloading Tab Mix Plus for the first time, please follow the Installation Guide.
Download xpi file from our download page to your local computer.
All Tab Mix Plus downloads are also located here and here

Since all Tab Mix Plus preferences are stored in the ‘prefs.js’ file, Tab Mix Plus has the ability to extract these preferences and store them in a separate file. The ‘Preferences’ button is located at the bottom of the options window.
Click it to open a popup menu that will display the following options to choose from:

• Restore Defaults – will reset all preferences to the Tab Mix Plus default preferences
• Import Preferences – you can import Tab Mix Plus preferences from a file (usually from another configuration or PC)
• Export Preferences – you can export your preferences to be saved or applied to another PC, the default file name is TMPpref.txt.
• Sync Preferences – Enable to add Tabmix preferences to the data Firefox sync. For more help about sync, read the article How do I set up Firefox Sync from Mozilla support.

Controls what actions are taken when a link is clicked in the browser window or another application

First three options are Firefox’s hidden settings, more help available by clicking on the links below:

• Open links that open in a new window in (select one): browser.link.open_newwindow
  • New window – opens a new browser window
  • New tab – creates a new tab in the current browser window
  • Current tab – replaces existing URL page in the current browser tab with the link contents
• Open links from other applications in (select one): browser.link.open_newwindow.override.external
  This preference overrides browser.link.open_newwindow for external links. Set it only if you need different destination for external links.
  • New window – opens a new browser window
  • New tab – creates a new tab in the current browser window
  • Current tab – replaces existing URL page in the current browser tab with the link contents
• JavaScript popups (select one): browser.link.open_newwindow.restriction
  • Allows resized popups – this option allows only sized window to be open as popup
  • Allows all popups
  • Open all popups in tabs

JavaScript & Popup restriction as well as Open links that open in a new window in and Open links from other applications in, are all Firefox build-in options. Tab mix only provides user interface to control these options instead of using about:config entries.

These options control where link that uses window.open() JavaScript command should be open. Assuming that you set Open links that open in a new window in to be diverted to tab (new one or current), then using Open all popups in tabs will instruct Firefox to open all such links in tabs. When you are using the option Allows resize popups you allow Firefox to open new window when the link uses JavaScript command that call window.open() function with the “features” parameter (size, position, scrollbars, etc.).

File Type Editor

• Prevent blank tabs when downloading files
  Certain links, when clicked, download files automatically and open in new tabs. To prevent this, enable this option. You can also manage which file types won’t open in new tabs by using the “File Type Editor”. When enabled, this option prevents blank tab opening from a link that contains one of the file types in this list and automatically closes most blank tabs that open for other file types. (There are some exceptions, links from Google Drive for example). This option doesn’t change the way Firefox downloads files and the place the files are saved to. Open the editor by clicking “Edit”. There, you can view the existing list of file extensions, add new ones, remove unwanted ones, or modify the list as needed. The “Restore Defaults” button resets only the file type preference extensions.tabmix.filetype, not other preferences. File type can be simple file extensions or regular expression.
  Post a question to our discussions if you need help regarding special file type or download link.

• Force to open in new tab (select one):
  • Nothing
  • All Links
  • Links to other sites
• Open links with a target attribute in current tab
• Open links with target to existing frame in the current tab If checked, the current tab contents will be replaced with the link contents. When these options are not checked, links with target attribute will open according to user settings.
• Enable Single Window Mode – This option will force links to open new tabs within the current browser window

• Select tab pointed for ___ msec
  
  • Specify time in milliseconds, 250 milliseconds is default.
• Switch to last selected tab when clicking current one
  clicking the current tab will make the last selected tab take focus and become the current tab after the specified time delay
  • Use time delay of ___ msec specify time in milliseconds, 250 milliseconds is default
• Mouse click (down and release) to select a tab
• Remove Tab Mix Plus menu list entries using middle-click applies to:
  • Tabs in menus opened from Tab Mix Plus Opened Tabs list button or context menu: middle-click on tab entry in the list removes the tab itself, not just the entry in the list.
  • Sessions in Tab Mix Plus sessions menu: middle-click on session entry in the list removes the session.
  • Closed tabs in the Closed tabs list: middle-click on tab entry in the list removes the tab from the closed tabs list, removed tab cannot be restored anymore.
  • Closed windows in the Closed windows list: middle-click on window entry in the list removes the window from the closed windows list, removed window cannot be restored anymore.
• When closing a tab, other tabs should not resize until cursor leaves toolbar region applies only if tabs closed with the tab Close button. This option allows user to close more than one tab without moving the mouse.

• When dragging a tab move it directly – (applies only when tabs are in single row). This option is not about the drop indicator, it’s about moving a tab when you drag it. When this option is on, and tabs are on one row, the tab starts to move when you start dragging it. When tabs are in multi-row or when this options is off, the tab is not moving when you drag it. You see a drop indicator and the tab will move to its new place when you stop dragging it and release the mouse button.
• Drop indicator (select one):
  • Native Style (single down arrow)
  • Built-in style (left and right arrows)

• When scrolling over the tab-bar:
  Hold Shift while scrolling to switch between these options
  • Scroll to change selected tab – scrolling down selects the next tab
  • Scroll all tabs – scrolling moves visible tabs on the tab-bar (when scroll buttons are visible)
  • Inverse scroll direction – change the direction in which tabs are selected or tab-bar is moved
  • Enable Scroll by Tabs: Scroll by n tabs: Control the amount of horizontal scroll when tabs are in single-row and the preference Scroll all tabs is on.

Choose command to perform when clicking on the tab or tabbar – Choose a click action, then specify the action from the list to be applied for tabs and tabbar.

Select which action is to be applied for each of the five mouse click events

• Double-click
• Middle-click
• Ctrl-click
• Shift-click
• Alt-click

You can enable Firefox default or let other extensions get control for specific mouse click event by unchecking the box next to specific action.

• Prevent clicking on Tab-bar from dragging the window.
• Prevent double click on Tab-bar from changing window size.

Controls which items will be displayed in the Tab Context Menu

• Show Tab Context Menu on tabbar By default, Firefox uses the toolbar context menu for the tabbar

Show in Tab Context Menu

Put a check mark ( √ ) next to all items you want displayed in the Tab Context Menu All checked items will appear in the Tab Context Menu

Controls which items will be displayed in the Main Context Menu

Show in Main Context Menu

Put a check mark ( √ ) next to all items you want displayed in the Main Context Menu All checked items will appear in the Main Context Menu

Controls which items will be displayed in the Tools Menu

Show in Tools Menu

Put a check mark ( √ ) next to all items you want displayed in the Tools Menu All checked items will appear in the Tools Menu

If you are reading this page, you have probably encountered a problem with Tab Mix Plus. While it can be some unknown bug, most issues reported in the forum usually end up being extensions or theme conflicts.

In order to identify and solve the problem there are several things you can do.

Install latest development version

First, install the latest development version to see if the problem might have been fixed (look for the latest test build at our Downloads page). You can reinstall the latest official version in place of the development version later if you wish.

If the latest development version still has the problem then the place to post about it is in the discussions section of our repository, but before you post there are a few more things to try.

Create new testing profile

Create a new profile (Creating new profile is safe and doesn’t have any effect on your current profile, which you can return to using once you complete testing the new profile), install Tab Mix Plus and import your preferences from the problematic profile. If you don’t see the problem, it’s most likely a conflict with another extension. Install your extensions one by one restarting in between until the issue reappears (once you isolate the conflicting extension(s), you don’t have to use the new profile unless you want to).

Disable other extensions

If you prefer not to create a new profile for testing, you can try disabling your other extensions in the current profile instead. Then enable each extension one by one and test for the problem.

Note: This is not as good as creating a clean profile because the conflict may be an option choice or another customization made in the browser and not another extension.

If you have a high number of extensions, a way to expedite this troubleshooting is to disable half of the installed extensions at a time. If the problem disappears, then you know that the conflicting extension is one of those you just disabled.

If this is still a high number of extensions, you can enable half of those extensions and check for the problem. If and when you get to a more manageable number of extensions, you can then enable/disable extensions one at a time until you isolate the one conflicting with Tab Mix Plus.

Reset your profile

Finally, if nothing else works you can reset your profile, read the article Reset Firefox – easily fix most problems from Mozilla support.

Report your finding

When you finish your testing, we encourage you to report about your findings, whether you find the culprit or not, to our forum, so other users can benefit from your findings and to help Tab Mix Plus developers to solve the issue you have. (Read How to post about a problem). In the case the conflict is another extension or theme, please report about it to the developer of the conflicting extension or theme also so that they can work it out as well.

Sometimes people complain about a Tab Mix Plus development version (or a release) being incompatible. You are welcome to try other, older builds but keep in mind that Tab Mix Plus is always compatible and always working, even with Beta, Aurora and Nightly, despite Firefox incompatibility warning you might be seeing.

Although older version may work for you without a problem it is very important that you report about any problem.

The problem you encounter can be incompatibility with other extensions or a bug in Tab Mix Plus that only reveals itself in a specific Firefox and Extensions combination. Installing old version will not fix the problem.

If you haven’t read How to post about a problem, read it now.

If you are testing pre-release Firefox versions, you really should install Disable Add-ons Compatibility Check, Add-on Compatibility Reporter, or simply search AMO for something similar, there’s a whole bunch available now. While it may not eliminate the warning, it will allow you to install and use add-ons with pre-release Firefox versions.

Remember to always use the latest development version available with latest Firefox pre-release versions, let it be Beta, Aurora or Nightly.

If the Error button in the Tab Mix Plus Options is visible, some of your extensions are incompatible with Tab Mix Plus. It is recommended you disable or uninstall the extensions in the list. Click the “Show List…” button to do that.

Conflicts have been reported with Ubuntu Firefox Modifications extension, so if you use Ubuntu, disable that one (you can read more here).

Conflicts with BarTab, Colorful Tabs and Tree Style Tab have been reported. Since all these extensions manipulate tabs, shouldn’t be surprising. Don’t panic, these conflicts are usually solved rather quickly, especially if good information is given (like errors in console, screenshots, steps to recreate, etc.). Feel free to post and provide as much info as possible.

Most issues reported in Tab Mix Plus forum usually end up to be extensions or theme conflicts.

When posting, please, always include your OS (Operating System), Firefox and Tab Mix Plus versions. A list of your extensions could also be useful as somebody might spot a troublesome extension which can lead to a faster resolution.

You can set your OS, Firefox and Tab Mix Plus information in the signature field in your profile (link to the User Control Panel is at the top of every page of the Forum). This way, you will not have to type it every time. Just remember to update it with Firefox and/or Tab Mix Plus update!

It is very helpful if you can post the steps to reproduce your problem and if you experience an issue with a specific page, include a link(-s).

Add attachment to your post

Follow these steps to attach a file or a screenshot to your post to the Forum:

1. In your thread, click Full Editor button under the quick reply box.
2. Locate Filename and Browse buttons, click and navigate to the file you just saved.
3. Click Add File and Submit. Your file will be attached to your post.

Save Troubleshooting Information from Firefox

Use Firefox Troubleshooting Information page to help us fix issues with Tab Mix Plus. Use Copy text to clipboard button on the Troubleshooting page and save the data to a text file. There are also a few extensions to help you with posting such info in forums, like Infolister and Extensions List Dumper.

Save Tab Mix Plus Preferences

You may be asked to post your Tab Mix Plus preferences. To do that, follow these steps:

1. Open Tab Mix Plus Options and click the ‘Preferences’ button at the bottom left corner.
2. Choose ‘Export Preferences’ and save the file to a location on your hard drive.

Save Browser Console log

The Browser Console is a tool provided by Firefox to log errors, warnings and messages for all content tabs, for add-ons, and for the browser’s own code.

The content of the Browser Console can provide important information about your problem. To get this information, open the Browser Console (Tools > Web Developer > Browser console) when you encounter the problem you want to report about, right click anywhere in the console and click select all. Copy everything and paste it to a text file.

If your problem happens when Firefox starts, open the Browser Console immediately after Firefox starts and copy/paste its content to a text file, then clear the content and open new window and copy/paste the Browser Console content to another file.

Where to post

To help the developers and users to track issues and get better search results, please remember to post all your issues to our Github repository.

Thank you for your cooperation and Good Luck!

A screen shot can help to explain details of a problem.

• To create a screen shot of your entire desktop, press the “Ctrl-PrtScn” buttons on your keyboard.  This will capture an image of your screen to your PC memory.  Then launch some graphics program such as “MSPaint” (comes with all Windows O/S) and paste the captured image into “MSPaint”.  That file may then be saved as a .jpg or .png image to be posted.
• A better alternative – To create a screen shot of a single window, dialog box, error message, etc., select the window to make that window have focus.  Then press the “Alt-PrtScn” buttons to capture the image to your PC memory.  Paste the captured image into “MSPaint” and save the file as a .jpg or .png image to be posted.

Follow these steps to attach the screen shot to your post in the Forum:

1. In your thread, click Full Editor button under the quick reply box.
2. Locate Filename and Browse buttons, click and navigate to the screen shot you just saved.
3. Click Add File and Submit. Your file will be attached to your post.
4. You can make the screen shot visible in the post by adding attachment tag with the file name you saved [attachment=1]FILE.NAME[/attachment]. If you attach more than one file, refer to each one with its number: attachment=1, attachment=2… .

Alternatively, you may post the image file you saved to a public server like Imgur or some other free image hosting website. Visit their sites for more details on how to get link to the image to post in the forum.