Firefox "TABS"?

Chip Fossa · Post by **Chip Fossa** » 14 May 2006 12:07 pm

In TOOLS/OPTIONS/TABS could someone explain just what tabs are, and some of the options on this TAB menu?

I tried looking around for a simple definition for PC TABS, but it got to be a real bog-down.
Too many other definitions for "tab".

Dave Potter · Post by **Dave Potter** » 14 May 2006 1:35 pm

I googled firefox+tabs and got a plethora of hits, the first one being this.

I use Netscape 7.2, which also features tabbed windows. I wouldn't use any browser that didn't have this feature. It's *that* much better.[This message was edited by Dave Potter on 14 May 2006 at 02:36 PM.]

Chip Fossa · Post by **Chip Fossa** » 14 May 2006 1:43 pm

Thanks Dave. I went in and checked off a couple of options that were not checked, and now have that toolbar with "tabs" in it. I'll have to let time pass to see what it's all about.

Thanks again.

Dave Potter · Post by **Dave Potter** » 14 May 2006 2:33 pm

Chip, I think once you get used to using tabbed windows, you'll like it. You don't have to open a new window for each site you visit, and that's useful when you're doing something where each site is related to what you're interested in.

You'll also have the capability to bookmark all the tabs you have in a window, as a "Group of Tabs", titled with whatever title you want to give them.

I really enjoy tabbed browsing, as you can tell.

Chip Fossa · Post by **Chip Fossa** » 14 May 2006 4:54 pm

Dave,

I guess I'm not clear yet on TABS. I thought when you were on a website, say the Forum, and went somewhere else, that another tab would be placed in the tab toolbar indicating where you went. This doesn't seem to be happening. Only 1 tab has been up there in the toolbar, since I changed some things in OPTIONS.

BUT......let me see if I got this right. All the windows I bring up can be re-reached simply by clicking on the green left arrow. But, you have to go thru every web page to get to where you want to get to.
So does the tab toolbar function allow you to jump to THAT page?

Just a bit confused here.

Thanks for your help.[This message was edited by CHIP FOSSA on 14 May 2006 at 05:57 PM.]

sonbone · Post by **sonbone** » 15 May 2006 1:03 am

If the link would normally open in the same window, then it will open in the same tab. You can force a link to open in a new tab by clicking the link with your middle mouse button, instead of the left. Also, you can force a link to open in a new tab by right clicking the link and choosing "Open Link In New Tab" from the context menu.

You can open a new blank tab from the File menu and then open web sites in the new tab independently. In this case the green buttons also work in conjunction with each seperate tab maintaining a history list for each.

Sonny

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Don Poland · Post by **Don Poland** » 15 May 2006 1:06 am

Chip, let me see if I can help. I use FireFox also and use the tabs all the time. The thing I find most beneficial is the ability to hit the Ctrl key when selecting a link and have it open in a seperate tab. As an example when I peruse the SGF, I go thru the main menu and select each section and then look at the new links in each section. When I find one that interest me, I simply hold down the Ctrl key and select the link just like I normally would. This allows the link to open in another tab for viewing later. Once I have gone thru all the sections, (steel players, pedal steel, etc....) I then go to each tab and select the post to view them. If you try the tabbed browsing, and give yourself some time to get used to it, I bet you will never want to go without it

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If you ain't steelin' it, you ain't feelin' it !!

www.steelin4fun.com

donpoland@steelin4fundotcom

Dave Potter · Post by **Dave Potter** » 15 May 2006 4:21 am

Chip -

I guess I'm not clear yet on TABS. I thought when you were on a website, say the Forum, and went somewhere else, that another tab would be placed in the tab toolbar indicating where you went. This doesn't seem to be happening. Only 1 tab has been up there in the toolbar, since I changed some things in OPTIONS.

I think I know what's happening. Using tabbed browsing isn't controlled by the "tab toolbar". It's a function that's available to you anytime. But you have to tell the browser to do it.

If you just keep opening different pages by left-clicking on the link, they will keep opening in the same tab, and you'll keep seeing just the one tab you're seeing.

You have to tell the browser when you want to open a new tab. When you want to keep the current tab(s) open, and go to a new link (url) in a new tab, you can either hold Ctrl and left-click the link, OR, right-click the link, and pick "Open in New Tab" from the drop-down menu.

All the tabs you open will appear across the bottom edge of the greyed area at the top of your screen where the toolbars are. But you don't have to use anything on the toolbars to open a new tab.

So, with a tab-capable browser, you can have multiple windows open, and they'll show up across the bottom edge of your screen, as they always have before, and any tabs you have opened inside each of those windows, across the top edge of the viewable area of the screen.

let me see if I got this right. All the windows I bring up can be re-reached simply by clicking on the green left arrow. But, you have to go thru every web page to get to where you want to get to.

The green arrows do the same thing as the "Back" and "Forward" items in the "GO" item in the top level browser command bar. They just go forward or backward within your current session, for a window or a tab. They do not relate to the process of opening a new tab in the current window.

Try opening the main SGF page, then right-click on some of the sections, and pick "Open in New Tab" from the drop-down. You should see each new tab showing up at the top of your screen. Left-click any of them to open it.

As you know, there are some options you can play with under the "Tools" menu item. But you can open new tabs anytime, without changing anything there.[This message was edited by Dave Potter on 15 May 2006 at 05:22 AM.]

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 15 May 2006 7:24 am

Another awesome feature of Firefox 1.x series is that you can drag tabs to any position on the tab-bar when you have multiple tabs open. As I open links in a new tab I sometimes drag them next to a similar group that might be on the left side of the browser's tab-bar (new tabs open to the right of all other tabs).

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or my computer troubleshooting website: Wizcrafts Computer Services,
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Chip Fossa · Post by **Chip Fossa** » 15 May 2006 11:46 am

Thanks Sonny, Don, Wiz, and Dave once again.

I appreciate all your tips. I'm getting the hang of it now, I think. I've been doing the right click "open in new tab", and now there are a couple up in the toolbar.

So close, yet, so far away. I'll just have to keep playing around with it more to really get the hang of it. It does look like a cool option.

Firefox is way better than IE, I think. I have no popups at all now. That's the way it should be.

Thanks again fellas for your time and expertise.

Chip

Dave Potter · Post by **Dave Potter** » 15 May 2006 3:30 pm

And, thanks, Chip, for bringing up the Firefox question. I've been using Netscape a while now, which also features tabbed browsing, but I see a few things about Firefox I like better, on first impression.

Keep playing around with it. You won't break anything.

Chip Fossa · Post by **Chip Fossa** » 15 May 2006 8:17 pm

Just love the Forum.

And thank you, yet again, Uncle b0b.