There’s an App for That – disable Tab Tearing in Firefox

So for a few months (years? it seems like) now I’ve had this annoying Very Not-A-Feture bugging me in Firefox.

At various times, and against my will, based on no behaviour I can identify (but I think it is a timing issue on slower CPUs like the PI) I’ll be moving the slider to scroll down a browser window and BANG! the sucker becomes a new window.

I wait while the window paints and finishes. Then drag the tab back to the “other window” where it belongs with all the other tabs…. grumbling the whole time.

Was I the only person who hated this “mis-feature”?

Turns out, no. In fact someone else hated it so much they wrote an extension / add-on to let you turn it off!

I finally got around to doing a web search and found:

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=firefox+turn+off+tab+tearing&t=ffsb&ia=web

That search yielded may hits…

bug489729 (Disable detach and tear off tab) – Add-ons for Firefox
bug489729 (Disable detach and tear …
[Search domain addons.mozilla.org] addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/bug489729-disable-det…
Disable Tab Tearing | Firefox Extension Guru’s Blog
Disable Tab Tearing. … With Firefox 3.5 Released yesterday, … which gives you the ability to turn off the tab tearing ‘feature’. …
[Search domain blog.ffextensionguru.com] blog.ffextensionguru.com/2009/07/01/disable-tab-tearing/
Disable Tab Tearing In Firefox 3.5 | Lifehacker Australia
… there’s no easy option to enable or disable tab tearing in Firefox 3.5. … you can find sites tearing off when you … 10 Courses To Turn Into A …
[Search domain http://www.lifehacker.com.au] lifehacker.com.au/2009/07/disable-tab-tearing-in-firefox-35/
Week in Geek: The Disable Firefox 3.5 Tab Tearing Edition
… that lets you drag tabs off the bar … Firefox 3.5 release adds a new “Tab Tearing” feature that lets … in Geek: The Disable Firefox 3.5 Tab Tearing …
[Search domain http://www.howtogeek.com] howtogeek.com/howto/2082/week-in-geek-the-disable-firef…
Firefox 3.1 gets tab tearing | Mozilla Links
Tab tearing is the latest in a long list of … 61 thoughts on “Firefox 3.1 gets tab tearing … This really should be in the preferences to turn it off.
[Search domain mozillalinks.org] mozillalinks.org/2008/11/firefox-31-gets-tab-tearing/
bug489729 (Disable detach and tear off tab) – Add-ons for Firefox
bug489729 (Disable detach and tear off tab) by White Alice0775. Rated 5 out of 5 stars Average (116) … (Disable detach and tear off tab) 2.1 ] Mozilla Firefox 25.0
[Search domain addons.mozilla.org] addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/bug489729-disable-det…

From which I picked:

http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2009/07/disable-tab-tearing-in-firefox-35/

Disable Tab Tearing In Firefox 3.5
Angus Kidman
7 July 2009 11:30 AM

The ability to tear off tabs into a new window was one of the earliest planned features for Firefox 3.5, but it’s not one of those options everyone’s going to love. Here’s how to switch it off.

Perhaps figuring that only mouse-phobics (such as Lifehacker AU’s editor) and people who liked dragging tabs to create shortcuts would care, there’s no easy option to enable or disable tab tearing in Firefox 3.5. Fortunately, you can get there with the prosaically-named bug489729 extension. Install it, restart Firefox, select Disable detached tab and you’re in business.

For more Firefox 3.5 fixing tips, check what to do before installing it.

bug489729 (Disable detach and tear off tab) 1.3 [via Mozilla Links]

Thanks, Angus!

Though at 2009 date stamp, it would seem I didn’t notice this effect on faster processor machines, reinforcing my belief that it is a timing related issue / bug…

Which leads to:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/bug489729-disable-detach-and-t/


Rated 5 out of 5 stars

116 user reviews
5,092 users

bug489729 (Disable detach and tear off tab) 2.1.1-signed.1-signed
by White Alice0775

Workaround: Bug 489729 – Clicking a tab once and then moving your mouse in a downward motion causes a new window to open.

Optionally(If you want):
Disable detach tab completery, Enable to create Shortcut on the desctop/explorer.

Ah, relief at last!…

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About E.M.Smith

A technical managerial sort interested in things from Stonehenge to computer science. My present "hot buttons' are the mythology of Climate Change and ancient metrology; but things change...
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3 Responses to There’s an App for That – disable Tab Tearing in Firefox

  1. LG says:

    One would have thought that there should have been a configurable parameter in Mozilla’s about:config controlling the behaviour.
    Alas, there were none.to be be found.

  2. beng135 says:

    Never seen that behavior in Firefox or Seamonkey, tho they are inconsistent in how they open new tabs. I have them set in preferences to open links in the same tab — sometimes they do it properly, but sometimes open a new tab.

    Maybe something in the webpage coding.

  3. Gail Combs says:

    I have zero problems but my Firefox is antique. I keep getting notices to up grade but ignore them. Now I am glad I did.

Comments are closed.