Firefox Browser Gets Tab Groups

[MacRumors]

Mozilla recently updated the Firefox browser to add support for tab groups, a feature that Firefox users have been wanting for years. According to Mozilla, tab groups have been the most requested idea on the Mozilla Connect community platform, and it was actually the first request that Mozilla received when launching Connect in 2022.

With the Firefox tab group implementation, users are able to drag and drop tabs into organized groups and label them by name or color, with groups listed in the right side of the Firefox browser's top menu. Tab groups are available starting with Firefox version 137, and all users will see the feature by May 6.

Safari already supports tab groups, with the option to save a number of open browser tabs into a tab group that can be revisited later. It's helpful for vacation planning, comparison shopping, project research, and other tasks where it's helpful to have multiple tabs.

Mozilla is experimenting with smart tab groups, an AI option that suggests names and groups based on the tabs that are open, and that could launch in the future.

Mozilla has instructions on creating and managing tab groups in Firefox on its website.

Article Link: Firefox Browser Gets Tab Groups

 

[DocMultimedia]

Interesting. I haven't used Firefox in years, but might give it a look.

 

[F23]

the best browser gets better

 

[WilliApple]

Is their engine still slower and less power efficient?

 

[n-evo]

I wanted to check it out until I saw all those dreadful non-standard interface elements. It’s a real shame that so far not a single non-WebKit browser truly looks at home on macOS.

 

[StellarVixen]

And one more important thing, the bug where menu bar text goes greyed out after minimizing the window appears to be fixed. Great!

 

[cybertek]

I love these updates. I had been using brave because they offered vertical tabs and tab groups.

Now we just need the option to pin tab groups.

 

[arthurgd3]

Is their engine still slower and less power efficient?

I've not used it as my main browser in years. I still have it installed and will check in on it when there are new releases but compared to Chrome and Safari it seems not as fast.

 

[name99]

Can someone explain to me why tab groups make sense?
I'm not trying to be contentious here, I just don't get it. Why not just leave the tabs/windows open while you're engaged in the project, then close them? All the browsers (mostly reliably) remember your open windows and tabs across app open/close cycles.

I tried using them and to me it seemed incredibly clunky, because the relevant set of tabs keeps changing so fast as I keep opening and closing new tabs based on what I'm reading.

 

[ZipZilla]

Firefox is quite good these days

 

[iamgalt]

I'm very proud to say that this feature has absolutely zero effect on me. I've never had more than two or three tabs open at a time. Definitely never had enough to justify grouping those tabs into groups. I don't get people who have dozens of tabs open at a time, all the time.

 

[pksv]

Just a reminder:

One of the worst browser out there after this update. Avoid it.

 

[Corefile]

Just in time for Chrome based browsers that will stop working properly later this year.

 

[ignatius345]

I use Tab Groups constantly in Safari. I have like a dozen tab groups for work, each for a different project. I can keep one or two Safari windows open and just use the menu to quickly switch between projects. They work really well, and the syncing is solid between machines, so when I go into the office my groups contain exactly the same tabs as I have at home. I actually don't even use bookmarks much at this point.

 

[tmoney468]

Just a reminder:
View attachment 2506439

One of the worst browser out there after this update. Avoid it.

Mozilla added clarification which you failed to include:

We’ve seen a little confusion about the language regarding licenses, so we want to clear that up. We need a license to allow us to make some of the basic functionality of Firefox possible. Without it, we couldn’t use information typed into Firefox, for example. It does NOT give us ownership of your data or a right to use it for anything other than what is described in the Privacy Notice.

 

[kalafalas]

Can someone explain to me why tab groups make sense?
I'm not trying to be contentious here, I just don't get it. Why not just leave the tabs/windows open while you're engaged in the project, then close them? All the browsers (mostly reliably) remember your open windows and tabs across app open/close cycles.

I tried using them and to me it seemed incredibly clunky, because the relevant set of tabs keeps changing so fast as I keep opening and closing new tabs based on what I'm reading.

I use tab groups on my work computer all the time, but not so much in my personal life.

 

[splitpea]

How is this different from bookmark folders?

 

[scottishwildcat]

Tab groups aren't new to Firefox—there are a few extensions out there that recreate Firefox's original tab grouping feature, Panorama, which they canned in 2016. Simple Tab Groups is the most popular, although Panorama Tab Groups is probably closest to the original code.

 

[mazz0]

This is separate from the feature that lets you run different tabs in different browser sessions right. Cos I currently have to use a plugin to expose that functionality and colour code the effected tabs!

 

[ELman]

A browser that lets you still run uBlock Origin.

 

[pksv]

Mozilla added clarification which you failed to include:

Whatever that clarification is, it's still here:
"You give Mozilla the rights necessary to operate Firefox. This includes processing your data as we describe in the Firefox Privacy Notice. It also includes a nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license for the purpose of doing as you request with the content you input in Firefox. This does not give Mozilla any ownership in that content."

Firefox: About Your Rights

www.mozilla.org

No other browser have it. This is what you sign for, any lawyer will explain it to you. Additional "clarifications" are irrelevant, they have no legal force.

If, knowing this, you want to continue using Firefox, you have free will to do so. I just did my part and informed everyone who might not have known about it.

In my opinion, there are a lot of alternative browsers to easily abandon Firefox and not wonder what happens to your data. But everyone decides for themselves.

 

[scottishwildcat]

How is this different from bookmark folders?

Depends how you use them... bookmarks are bookmarks, tabs are tabs. Tabs have their own browsing history, tabs can be cycled through and switched to with a keyboard shortcut, tabs can be found and switched to using the browser search box... bookmarks don't and can't.

 

[scottishwildcat]

Whatever that clarification is, it's still here:

Well yes, it's still there because the browser would be pretty useless otherwise.

 

[pksv]

Well yes, it's still there because the browser would be pretty useless otherwise.

This is not correct. No other browser has such aggressive consents, even Chrome. Check it for yourself.

 

[splitpea]

Depends how you use them... bookmarks are bookmarks, tabs are tabs. Tabs have their own browsing history, tabs can be cycled through and switched to with a keyboard shortcut, tabs can be found and switched to using the browser search box... bookmarks don't and can't.

Yes, I'm aware of the difference between bookmarks and tabs. I'm asking what tab groups add that isn't already covered by bookmark folders.

(Btw, bookmarks can be found and opened using the browser search box if you enable that in config -- in fact, I do a big chunk of my browsing that way. They can also be searched in the bookmark manager.)

Are you saying Tab Groups preserve tab history even if you close and re-open them? What else (if anything) do they do?