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Too Many Tabs? Firefox Add-ons to manage a TAB JAM

makeuseof.com — Every Firefox user spends a lot of time dealing with tabs. Thus, improving the tabs directly adds to the browsing experience. You can make them better, faster, beautiful and lot less ovewhelming. So here you go, 6 powerful addons to improve your tabbed browsing.

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  • camelot2302, on 02/03/2008, -5/+48The Vertigo extension is just SWEET! It's now MUCH easier to manage my tabs when they are stacked vertically.
    • EnderWalcott, on 02/03/2008, -7/+20It seems odd to me that this sort of thing should require an extension. People often complain that Opera isn't extensible, but it's a very simple matter to stack the tabs vertically in Opera - no extension required. Don't get me wrong, I love how Firefox is changing the browser market, and I always install it on public computers and for my less computer-savvy friends. I'm just disappointed that Opera isn't more popular when it has so many features built-in that Firefox lacks (and therefore requires extensions).
      • awhiteflame, on 02/03/2008, -7/+24Why is something being "built-in" better?
        • specz, on 02/03/2008, -20/+3he never said built-in = better. Try reading his last sentence, that's where ppl usually write their conclusions about something.
        • homeagain1, on 02/03/2008, -1/+9Because that often means it's less buggy, causes less overhead and is more consistent with the rest of the GUI.
          On the other hand, extensions are usually more advanced in features. Each to their own I guess.
        • themoose, on 02/03/2008, -0/+7It's written by the developer so you know it's going to be pretty secure (unlike some random's work) - this also means it'll be less buggy, like homeagain said, more consistent with the GUI. It also cuts down on RAM a ton - the amount of extentions you need to slap ontop of firefox to be like opera will be in the tens, the amount of extra RAM usage this'll be is huge.
        • int19h, on 02/04/2008, -0/+2I've only had good experiences with the Firefox extensions.
      • dbr_onix, on 02/03/2008, -0/+12Opera isn't more extensible, it just has more configuration options.
        With Firefox, I imagine they will want to keep the number of configuration down to the important ones, and let extensions and about:config deal with the rest (as people who will need those options know how to install extensions)

        Personally, I don't like or dislike Opera because of it's built-in features. I don't use it because I dislike the UI. I've tried many new versions of it, but could never get used to how the UI handles things.
      • javaroast, on 02/03/2008, -0/+9That is Opera's BIGGEST issue. The lack of a extensibility is the Achilles heal for me. There are certain extensions that I have to have at this point and Opera doesn't have them. Adblock plus and noscript for example. Oh and I know you can block ads and scripts in Opera... Opera's solutions aren't nearly as seamless and easy to use as the extensions are. If Opera had extensibility to the same level and as open as Firefox we'd have something to talk about.
        • Jarasmen, on 02/03/2008, -5/+1If Opera had extensibility to the same level and as open as Firefox I wouldn't use it, because that would be Firefox. What you call Opera's biggest issue is the biggest asset for me :)
          • hobo05, on 02/04/2008, -0/+1...that doesn't make any sense at all, no one is forcing you to install extensions, or are you downloading a version of firefox that has pre-installed extensions? kazaa gold anyone?
    • deadmantalkin, on 02/03/2008, -0/+1vertigo is just what i was looking for!
    • domokunt, on 02/03/2008, -2/+1Someones got a tab fetish!
    • themoose, on 02/03/2008, -1/+4Opera users, right click by the tabs, click customize, ensure the tab section is highlighted and use the dropdown to change from "top" to "left" or "right". Your tabs will now be virtically aligned.
    • xonahuia, on 03/22/2008, -0/+1The only drawback with Vertigo is that it only appears as a column on the left side of my browser. I wish that I could customize it and have it appear on the right side of the browser since I'm right handed and this would make it easier to navigate. But if you're left handed, then this is a good addon to use
  • esengulov, on 02/03/2008, -27/+4@ camelot: Same here, Vertigo rocks.
  • aydoubleyou, on 02/03/2008, -5/+69220? Somehow I don't think you reallllly used all those tabs.
  • minnymoo, on 02/03/2008, -3/+113at 220 tabs, it's an OCD...
    • 10thdiggaccount, on 02/03/2008, -1/+12I am currently at 197 tabs in the first window + 143 in a second one and going up. And in case you were wondering, YES, I have a severe case of OCD! Oh and firefox.exe is using 970mb of memory (1,300mb of virtual memory). So I guess this add-ons might come handy.
      Tabs: http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/8021/sc1wl0.jpg
      Memory: http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/3623/sc2uz4.jpg
      • wafflez, on 02/03/2008, -0/+14I'm curious...what do you have open in all of those tabs!?
      • 10thdiggaccount, on 02/03/2008, -2/+3I should add that Firefox is still running smoothly even though I have just 1gb of RAM (I have gone up to 400 tabs without any visible problem). So if you are a compulsive tab opener, you should stick to Firefox. IE7 starts freezing at 15 tabs.
        • posure, on 02/03/2008, -0/+1Firefox will start freezing with 3 tabs if you keep them open long enough. Getting to 400 with 1gb without a crash is pretty impressive.
      • minigamer1896, on 02/03/2008, -0/+1Sooo... How's your HDD handling all of the swap usage? (BTW, this is the best handling of the swap that I've seen come out of XP)
      • jsaya, on 02/03/2008, -1/+1Whew I'm not the only one! - 259 Tabs... before it crashed: http://i29.tinypic.com/euotc2.png
        Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 @ 3.3GHz w/Coolermaster RR-CCH-L9U1-GP Hyper TX
        EVGA nForce 680i SE SLI (TR Version)
        4GB Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR2-800 PC2-6400 4-4-4-12
        Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB SATA x 2
        Western Digital Raptor 150 GB SATA 10,000 RPM
      • poxonyou, on 02/03/2008, -0/+1I thought I was crazy/lazy with my 51 tabs, haha.
        Yeah, IE7 is awful with tabs.
        Anyone else have a problem with flash video not playing for more than 3 seconds after about 40 tabs are open? It's happened to me with multiple installs of XP and Vista.
        • jsaya, on 02/03/2008, -0/+1Yes I have that exact problem... Needs to be fixed...
    • Wargasmic, on 02/03/2008, -0/+1Maybe firefox should get into pharmaceuticals?
    • asdfuiop, on 02/03/2008, -0/+5Ah, The OC Disorder... don't call it that
      But yeah, I have like 10 folders of saved tabbed bookmarks, before my computer would crash around the 150 mark
      • Mike89, on 02/03/2008, -0/+1Good to see A.D. quotes leaking into other story comments.
    • technoredneck, on 02/03/2008, -0/+1No, at 220 tabs, it's ADD.
  • nico623, on 02/03/2008, -26/+10Tabs are only good for porn.
    • Aidje, on 02/03/2008, -2/+11They're good for a lot of stuff, Digg being a very good example.
      • hugeposuer, on 02/03/2008, -1/+2Brown noser. :P
      • Bilabrin, on 02/03/2008, -0/+3Yeah but........220 tabs? Let's face it thats porn surfing and you know it!
        • Aidje, on 02/03/2008, -0/+2It's about:blank for a demo and you know it.
  • krystal7, on 02/03/2008, -20/+2Who the hell needs so many tabs?
    • thumperings, on 02/03/2008, -0/+9you obviously don't use digg or reddit much.
  • bossm4n, on 02/03/2008, -5/+39Hi, my name is bossm4n and I'm a tabaholic. Some very useful extension there. I've been using Permatabs and Faviconize for a few months and love them.
  • rey1867, on 02/03/2008, -1/+96at 220 tabs, your computer has probably run out of memory ;)
    • ihate2regist, on 02/03/2008, -1/+20220 tabs 117,000k. 218 were about:blank.
  • megadan76, on 02/03/2008, -2/+45I love tabs. None of those seem that useful to me; the newest firefox tab features are good enough for me.

    Handy tip: Ctrl-1 - 9 selects your first nine tabs. Ctrl-0 selects your last tab (as in, furthest to the right).
    • quentinmcalmott, on 02/03/2008, -0/+11Huh, really? For me, Ctrl-0 does nothing, and Ctrl-9 selects the last tab. I'm running ff 2.0.
      • Aidje, on 02/03/2008, -0/+6Same on a Mac (replacing ctrl with command).
      • megadan76, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1Hey, you're right! That's weird. Maybe it changed from 2.0 --> 3.0
        Or not.
    • riah, on 02/03/2008, -7/+5Also, the scroll wheel of the mouse scrolls through tabs if you hover over the tab bar.
      • nastajus, on 02/04/2008, -0/+1WTH is this truthful tidbit being dugg down?!
    • wafflez, on 02/03/2008, -0/+6also, clicking ctrl+shift+t brings up your last closed tab, followed by the previous to that, and so on.
      • raklos, on 02/03/2008, -0/+0also, middle clicking an empty area on the tab bar brings back the last closed tab
  • doshindude, on 02/03/2008, -3/+4Tab Renamizer? Simple yet effective.
    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/298 ...
  • daxsymbiont, on 02/03/2008, -1/+6it should have categories of tabs.
    • kweli, on 02/03/2008, -1/+2like porn and digg
    • duality, on 02/03/2008, -0/+3Actually, yes. I've been looking for something that allows Firefox to group tabs in much the same way that Windows XP groups programs in its taskbar. I envision grouping them either by favicon or by URL (i.e. pages and directories that are located on the same domain would go together). Has anybody found anything like this?
  • Whaines, on 02/03/2008, -3/+11Did anyone else try to close the "Confirm Close"dialog box even not using Vista?
    • EXreaction, on 02/03/2008, -1/+4nvm
    • Aidje, on 02/03/2008, -6/+1What? Grammar? (No offense, but maybe some more punctuation or something would help. Or maybe I'm just being dense.)
    • Whaines, on 02/03/2008, -0/+4That's why I edited it, which for some reason it made it a new post below...
      • Aidje, on 02/03/2008, -1/+2Oh, ok. I guess I should've read more of the comments. Sorry about that.
  • macampelli, on 02/03/2008, -2/+8yucketh... Vertigo makes me want to barf. Nice article though.
  • Verdanic, on 02/03/2008, -9/+4I hate that Firefox is as crappy as it is on OS X. Two of those addons alone are listed as incompatible with OS X (although not necessarily Firefox's fault). I've been using TabMix Plus for ages, and when I got my Macbook Pro a few months ago I found that I absolutely cannot get the keyboard shortcut for 'duplicate tab' (which I used to use all the time) to work - it just doesn't do anything.

    Why is ColorfulTabs only FF3.0 compatible? That's odd.. given it's only in beta at this point.
  • Whaines, on 02/03/2008, -9/+1Did anyone else attempt to close the "Confirm Close" dialog box on the website? I'm not even using Vista and I tried to close it!
  • rory096, on 02/03/2008, -1/+2Sweet! I have 32 tabs and 5 windows open right now (with no relevant extensions or knowledge of keyboard shortcuts), so these could be helpful...
  • chungmaster, on 02/03/2008, -0/+58Thank you. Opening 50 porn tabs slows my computer down so much I can't close the window when my parents walk in
  • Alex2, on 02/03/2008, -25/+2Or you could run IE7 which is cool with tabs.

    I just clicked the 'add new tab' tab twenty times just now, and it was cool with that.
    • TerrorByteX, on 02/03/2008, -2/+7IE? Go with Firefox man. All the cool people are doing it anyways.
    • ydt89, on 02/03/2008, -0/+14Well I just clicked the new tab button in firefox 40 times :P and it was cool with that.
      Plus with my colorful tabs extension it was really pretty.
    • DrCyclops, on 02/03/2008, -0/+1620 blank tabs! Amazing! Push it to the limit!
    • minigamer1896, on 02/03/2008, -0/+1F***! I just opened ~50+ tabs within Opera and it is taking forever to remove 'em all!
  • Verdanic, on 02/03/2008, -8/+2I hate that Firefox is as crappy as it is on OS X. Two of those addons alone are listed as incompatible with OS X (although not necessarily Firefox's fault). I've been using TabMix Plus for ages, and when I got my Macbook Pro a few months ago I found that I absolutely cannot get the keyboard shortcut for 'duplicate tab' (which I used to use all the time) to work - it just doesn't do anything.

    Why is ColorfulTabs 3 only FF3.0 compatible? That's odd.. given it's only in beta at this point.
    • Verdanic, on 02/03/2008, -0/+3What.... the *****? my comment was duped 4 comments later. I don't understand this ***** comment system.
    • dbr_onix, on 02/03/2008, -0/+1Because all the Extension-to-Firefox stuff it uses is probably very similar to Fx v2?

      I'd recommend trying out either Camino ( www.caminobrowser.org ) or Safari on OS X. I use Camino with FireTabs (http://pimpmycamino.com/parts/firetabs - Remaps cmd+[1-9] to switch tabs, instead of the annoying "Open bookmarks" behaviour it and Safari use by default)

      I still have Firefox around with Firebug/LiveHTTPHeaders/Stylish for creating userStyles.css themes, but for most browsing, I've found Camino does everything I need it to.
  • diggdiggerid, on 02/03/2008, -4/+40Am I the only one who closes firefox by killing firefox.exe so I can use "restore session" to keep all my tabs?
    • TerrorByteX, on 02/03/2008, -1/+4I used to do that. There's a plugin for it now. Restart Firefox.

      Here's the link: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/124 ...

    • MaddogMonty, on 02/03/2008, -0/+29Why the heck do you do that? Tools, Options, Main, "When Firefox Starts", Choose: Show my windows and tabs from last time.
      ;)
      • empty521, on 02/03/2008, -1/+1killall firefox-bin was a bit nasty :>
      • diggdiggerid, on 02/03/2008, -1/+6heh, I knew there had to be a better way. Thanks :)
      • minigamer1896, on 02/03/2008, -0/+5Downside to that is if you have some stuff open that is not wished to be seen by others accidentally in the next session.
      • drewlew, on 02/03/2008, -0/+1You sir are awesome. Thanks.
    • Sixotoo, on 02/03/2008, -0/+2I used to do that but then noticed if I saved my homepage in the tools menu it saved ALL the open pages. Now I just open all the pages I like to always have open, save as my homepage and thats it. When I start FF I get all the stuff I want.
    • SniperZero, on 02/03/2008, -0/+3Just set your homepage to open all previous tabs :S.
    • megaton, on 02/03/2008, -0/+2Check out the SessionFix addon. When you have multiple tabs open and try to close Firefox, it adds another option "Save Session" so next time you open Firefox, your session is reloaded exactly as you left it. (Including page-scroll positions!)

      Very cool! :)
      • duality, on 02/03/2008, -0/+1That's exactly what I use, and it's perfect for me. Sometimes you definitely want to save your tabs, and sometimes you definitely don't. It's good to be asked.
    • Lewie, on 02/03/2008, -0/+8FF3 now asks you if you want to save your tabs for the next startup if you close the window.
    • Chris4, on 02/04/2008, -0/+1Session Manager is the best job for this.
      http://sessionmanager.mozdev.org/
  • scabbers, on 02/03/2008, -0/+3Adderall not found!
  • glitchbit, on 02/03/2008, -3/+4Google Cached: http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:ZXv9r3VrNlUJ: ...
  • Zdax, on 02/03/2008, -2/+4Lol, Digg effect.
  • ray42, on 02/03/2008, -0/+27They should make tabs for your tabs, now that would be some trippy stuff.
  • D3koy, on 02/03/2008, -1/+6I never have more than about 15 tabs open..usually only about 3...
    • Verdanic, on 02/03/2008, -0/+5Depends on your browsing style, I guess.. I like to have every site I use more than a couple times throughout the day open all the time. That's about 15 all the time plus anything else I'm interested in or using that day.
  • thumperings, on 02/03/2008, -0/+2what i would like is a way to highlight multiple tabs while holding control... so i can close them as a bunch. any ideas? (not that I'll ever see a reply anyhow, since there is no email notification here which sucks$#%).
    • Pixelpaws, on 02/03/2008, -0/+2Just middle-click on the tabs to close them.
  • kahranx, on 02/03/2008, -9/+11You can already do most of this in Opera, which I believe started the whole tabbed browsing craze. Opera fo' life, suckas.
  • supasurg, on 02/03/2008, -5/+1mirror: http://www.savetable.com/mirror/tabs.html
  • JARSInc, on 02/03/2008, -3/+34(1) Vertigo
    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/134 ...
    This awesome extension moves your tab bar to the left side of the browser window and stacks tabs vertically. Highly recommended for people with 20 and above inch screens. You can add a splitter to resize the tab bar to any width you want.

    (2) ColorfulTabs
    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/136 ...
    Colors tabs into different colors and makes it easier to distinguish and navigate between multiple tabs. Simple yet very useful. Alternatively you may consider numbering the tabs.

    (3) Tab Scope
    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/488 ...
    Quickly preview tab contents by hoovering your mouse cursor over tab. Preview window shows a mini version of the page and a bunch of navigation buttons (Back/Forward/Reload/Stop). Extremely convenient. Although, I wouldn’t recommend using together with Vertigo. Both of them are great addons, but they just don’t go well together. (Note: Tab Scope doesn’t work on Mac OS X.)
    Highlights include:
    * Real-time preview of tab contents.
    * Scroll pages using a mouse wheel.
    * Click links or buttons directly in preview.

    (4) Tab Mix Plus
    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/112 ...
    Extremely useful extension that adds lots new features to Firefox’s tab browsing capabilities. Some of the better features include undo closed tabs/windows, line tabs in multiple rows, show tabs at the bottom and crash recovery. (Needs some settings adjustments when used together with above mentioned Vertigo.)

    (5) Faviconize Tab
    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/378 ...
    This extension adds a “FaviconizeTab” option to the tab context menu. When it is clicked, the width of the tab becomes small up to the size of the favicon (tiny logo icon). When clicked again, the tab window is back to normal.

    (6) PermaTabs
    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/255 ...
    This can turn tabs of your choice into permanent tabs. Permanent tabs don’t have close option so can’t be closed accidentaly. Even if you close you tabs accidentally they will reapper in the next Firefox startup. Tabs can be set to (and removed from) permanent mode via right click menu. (Again, may not work on Mac OS X.)
    • specz, on 02/03/2008, -7/+0sorry but opera already does all that.
      Plus it's way faster and I liked the new kimi ga nozomu eien ova :)
  • hamobu, on 02/03/2008, -1/+3This will come in handy when surfing for porn.
  • sarixe, on 02/03/2008, -2/+1mirror?
  • Pixelpaws, on 02/03/2008, -0/+3Meh, TabMixPlus has been posted everywhere; most of the others just aren't that useful, are incompatible with one another, or are inferior copies of other extensions.
  • bonds, on 02/03/2008, -0/+5Tabbed browsing created to deal with too many windows open, now a program created to deal with excessive tabs......how long until we have a separate window for less frequently used tabs, eventually leading to........too many windows open?? Omg no wai

    Do sober folks get stuff like this, because I ***** stumped myself.
    • Alex2, on 02/03/2008, -0/+5I think we need an addon to deal with all these excessive addons.
      • bonds, on 02/03/2008, -0/+4Now that's thinking out of the box. You're a true visionary. When can we expect an alpha version?
      • minigamer1896, on 02/03/2008, -0/+1Might need a seperate progr... Wait a second! This might work! *Puts it on the 20 pg todo list*
    • CATSCEO, on 02/03/2008, -0/+4We need tabs for our tabs.
    • macampelli, on 02/03/2008, -0/+1windowed browsing!
  • cbroz91, on 02/03/2008, -2/+12Too Many Tabs? Close some Tabs!
  • blackrave, on 02/03/2008, -6/+6Of course, this wouldn't be a problem at all using Opera. Why people can't see Opera is an overall better web browser than Firefox is beyond me.
    • kweli, on 02/03/2008, -0/+3i think that firefox is more widespread
    • evildeadguy, on 02/03/2008, -0/+5Because people would rather use 3rd party extensions instead of experimenting and exploiting options already available in a browser.

      Quite funny that all the mentioned extensions are already well documented and incorporated in Opera
    • 35263526, on 02/03/2008, -0/+2AdBlock Plus is the only reason I use Firefox over other browsers, really. Manually blocking the offending content as you have to do in Opera isn't good enough.
  • booshack, on 02/03/2008, -1/+3Fisheye is totally awesome, and i love that it puts close button on the right side al a firefox 1.0
  • antdude, on 02/03/2008, -0/+1Warning for those who use SeaMonkey, the newer ColorTabs don't work in it.
  • DieselGrunge, on 02/03/2008, -0/+0The article missed Tab Overflow Scrollbar. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/372 ...
  • atypicallemur, on 02/03/2008, -0/+0FishEye tabs is sweet if you don't like the vertigo tabs option.
  • rkuchiki, on 02/03/2008, -0/+3Regarding Vertigo: Tried it, didn't like it, removed it. Now the "x" to close the original Firefox tabs are gone. Beware.
    • transfix, on 02/03/2008, -0/+1Yeah, me too. Did you find a way to fix it?
    • byrdgang, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1Go into Vertigo's preferences and enable the close button! It's right there in its preferences!
  • B3nno, on 02/03/2008, -0/+1On Faviconize's Add-on page, it say's it works when you [Ctrl,Shift,Alt] + Click or Double click on the tab.

    Is this not working for anyone else?
  • carbonetc, on 02/03/2008, -2/+2Here's a tip. You don't have to open every single friggin website you visit in a day in its own tab.
  • bowe, on 02/03/2008, -0/+1My favorite is showcase https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/181 ...
    I use that and hide the tab bar completely to maximize my screen space.
  • sherifffruitfly, on 02/03/2008, -0/+0I like the vertical tabs.
  • cawfee, on 02/03/2008, -0/+0I really wish ColorfulTabs would use the same colors for the same domain.
  • fatas, on 02/03/2008, -6/+1can you do this on Opera or IE assholes
    • palta38, on 02/03/2008, -0/+4don't know about IE but in opera you can try this:

      right click on the tab bar-> customize and select where you want your tab bar
      the previews when you hover the mouse over a tab is standard in opera
      to lock a tab so it cant be closed just right click on the tab -> lock tab
      for extra control just use the "windows" side panel it has a handy search function so you can apply some filters to the open tabs
  • yourmartdotnet, on 02/03/2008, -6/+2opera had tabs 1st
    • NeueRegel, on 02/03/2008, -1/+0Actually, I think netcaptor was the first browser with tabs.
    • Chris4, on 02/04/2008, -0/+1eg : Opera was the first browser with tabs
      NO ! Despite common belief, Opera was not the first web browser to support tabbed pages. The first known web browser with tab support was InternetWorks, back in 1994.
      http://www.winvistaclub.com/etc.html
  • achill3z, on 02/03/2008, -0/+7ironically, clicking on the story link opened yet another tab...
  • blankoboy, on 02/03/2008, -0/+1Seeing that screenshot makes me feel better. I often have ~190-240 tabs open. *blush*
  • Saea, on 02/03/2008, -0/+10Anyone else find themselves with 20 or 30 tabs when on Wikipedia? I just click all the links to things I don't know...

    ocd
    • Chris4, on 02/04/2008, -1/+1Why? When you can just normally browse through Wikipedia in the same tab? Why would you need them all open? They are all just a few clicks away with the back button.
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