Trigger HN: Browser Tab Switching

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44779189

by Toby1VC • 12 months ago

1 5 12 months ago

news.ycombinator.com

Firefox needs better alt+tab controls to go back and cycle the tabs. Is there a good reason to neglect tab switching in a browser?

southwindcg2• 12 months ago

Ctrl+Tab cycles forward, Ctrl+Shift+Tab cycles back. You can also change the behavior with the about:config preference `browser.ctrlTab.sortByRecentlyUsed` for either tab strip order or recently used order...

What are you proposing?

Toby1VC3• 12 months ago

Well I would suggest implementing at least at the level of modern desktops, and make it easy to find and use it, not just alt+tab shortcut. Ideally it should be spawned and allow the user to filter to find tabs instead of having to hold and release a key. My point being, a simple forward/backward cycle is definitely on the lower side of effort when it comes to window management (tab management), which to be honest is not a problem to me personally, but I find the gap left there on purpose bizarre and makes me question it. I don't think browsers should consider themselves just rendering frames since it is the interface that users use, it's not a component, and it should be (very) ambitious when it comes to advanced features, especially with something as fundamental to them as tab switching.

Toby1VC3• 12 months ago

And while we're at it, I want to focus the fact that browsers never evolved beyond maximized tabs instead of venturing into windows. At least the modern ones.

southwindcg2• 12 months ago

Just to make sure you're aware, there's the Firefox View feature which lists Open and Recently Closed tabs, sorted by parent window, with a search box for filtering. Navigate this page with mouse or keyboard (Tab and arrow keys). It also lists History by date or domain.

There's also the List All Tabs feature, which has been available a long time. Either or both of these can be added to your toolbar from the Customize Toolbar page.

I guess anything more sophisticated could be done via add-ons.

Is there a browser you feel does a better job of tab switching?

Trigger HN: Browser Tab Switching

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