Safari new tab position

[Tagbert]

I often use either CMD-click or the context menu to open links in a new tab. I had been using Firefox but when I got my new MacBook Air I decided to give Safari a try.

In Firefox, the new tab appear immediately to the right of the current tab. When you close that tab, you are back in the parent tab.

In Safari, it's a guessing game to see where the new tab will appear. Sometimes it appear to the right of the current tab. Often it appears between other tabs 2 or 3 positions to the right. sometime it appears in the middle of a bunch of other tabs. Why is it so inconstant and arbitrary? Close the new tab and you are put into the tab to the left of the new tab which is never the parent tab. Its like Safari is playing a little joke on me.

 

[casperes1996]

It's very consistent to me. Always placed immediately to the right, and closing it always brings me to the "next", not previous. Which is exactly what I want, if I cmd-click loads of MacRumors threads, read and react/reply, close it and move on to the next. But I never use the right click menu and basically never open tabs that aren't links from other sites (usually new window instead in that case), so I dunno - maybe it's about matching links from the same page or something?

 

[gilby101]

Why is it so inconstant and arbitrary?

It is certainly not inconsistent. You just need to work out the rules by which it works. Something like this:

If you open one link in a new tab it will be to the right of the current page.

If you open many links in new tabs (without going to the new tabs), each one will be to the right of the previous one.

 

[Tagbert]

My experience is that the new tab rarely opens to the immediate right of the page. it opens 2,3,4 our more positions to the right. I'm not sure why it acts this way. I'm using Mac OS 11.4, but it has been this way at least since Big Sur, and I think longer than that.

I do keep about 5-10 tabs open semi-permanently and those are the ones I use most frequently. perhaps Safari gets confused about their position over time? I'll have to clear everything, start over and see if I can find a pattern.