In response to a post inviting suggestions for improvement at FDL, several commented they would like to know how to find their way back to the site quickly after following a link off site. One commenter offered a solution, viz., tab browsing.
The ability to browse the web without ever leaving your home has been possible from the beginning. For the longest time this was possible only by opening a link in a new window. When contextual menus were introduced to Netscape, you’d right click the link and select new window on the menu that popped up. The page requested would download in the new window. The advantage in taking this route is the original page is still open. To go back you just switch back using Alt/Command-Tab or click the other window to pick up where you left off. In effect, you can visit 2 or more sites at the same time.
With advent of tab browsing, it became a lot easier to go to multiple sites without ever leaving previously visited ports of call. The browser tabs are like file folder tabs which open in the same window. Instead of switching windows, you switch between pages open in the same window by clicking on the tabs.
There are a couple of ways to open a new tab in a browser window using Firefox. In Windows, you can open a new tab by right-clicking a link and selecting Open Link in New Tab in the contextual menu. In Mac, you can open a contextual menu by clicking on a link while holding down the Control key. The same option appears on the menu to open the link in a new tab.
Another way to tab browse requires an initial set-up for it to work in Mac or Windows. In Windows, go to the Tools menu, select Internet Options and click on Tabs. Click the radio button that makes new pages open in tabs. (There are other tab options here one might want to consider.) In the Mac environment, the same tab options are found in Preferences > Tabs under the Firefox menu. Once the option is set, you can open new tabs in Windows by clicking on a link while holding down the Control key. To do the same thing on the Mac, you would click on the link while holding down the Command (Apple) key.
Happy tab browsing.
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nice post
it would be nice if we had a box like exhalon that gives the option to open links in either a new page or a new tab
anyway, thanx for the post, let me add something I think you missed
in windows you can set the middle click on your mouse to “open new tabs”
each mouse hardware is differant and I don’t know exactly how to do it on every driver but if you open your mouse properties you can usually figure out how to set your middle click
Thanks, Alank, just what I needed to learn. Your instructions are clear and simply stated.
I opened the DIGG and recommended.
Nice indeed
Might I add a personal recomendation for Google Chrome.
I have been using it as my everyday browser (at home) for over 2 months with nary a crash, lockup or hiccup.
This is because each new tab opens in it’s own process, so if one of the dozen tabs I have open has a problem it doesn’t affect the others.
I habitually try every new browser offering, and this is the first one that has consistantly shown greater compatability and stability than a current version of IE for some time.
Of course, when it comes out of beta it will probably suck.
It’s the basics that kill you every time.
Educators,librarians and journalists have been at special pains to disseminate instructions to help people find their way around online. Even the New York Times and such have special sections outlining ‘Tricks of the Trade’.
Firefox has built-in options like FoxSave for storing information and online storage is available at Furl…that’s only one option.
I flog Del.icio.us tagging for my own use – partly because it’s independent of Firefox and also because I was using it first. Del.icio.us also blog tips on using it.
I’m not going to replicate here all the tips I’ve collected on my Links page, but showing people around is an often missed part of online collaboration.
Good article.
perris — I’m not familiar with that feature. I do know that in the links section of Wordpress there is the option to select open link in new window (choosing the “blank” option). If you have your browser set-up to open new windows in tabs, just clicking on that link will open a new tab. The extra keypress is not required.
acquarius74 — Glad to hear it was clear enough to be of help. My exposition on ‘tech’ topics like this often leave the reader bewildered.
mack — I haven’t tried GoogleChrome. Thanks for the report. Sounds promising. I chose Firefox, btw, just as an example. Things are done a bit differently on other browers, to accomplish the same thing. The documentation on each browser should help. Just press the Help key (this suggestion is meant for anyone who has a question about other browsers they might be using at the moment).
opit — Thanks for the further tips. I can’t recall trying the service you mentioned. But it’s part of a long line of bookmarking, links page services that go way back. Whether you’re using Del.icio.us or Google, one has to consider how they use the data provided by you to activate and use their service. My isp recently switched their email servers over to Google apps. I’m now relying on a third party service I’ve been using for years to host email accounts to send all outgoing emails. Google, especially, is always cooking up ways to collect data for their clients.
have a look here, very first item;
forgot the link
http://www.eschatonblog.com/
Right, I see it now. It’s the aforementioned dashboard option moved to the front page. Very nice!
May I suggest you take a look at Opera? One of the first Tabbed Browsers, it has all the features that the other browsers play catch up with. I routinely run ten tabs with no problems and rarely reboot my system or close the browser.
It also has a very good tutorial. There is a thriving on line community which can provide help with many problems.
for a while opera being “the fastest browser on the planet” was nothing but hype
however now it really is faster then the other browsers…me, I like what I learn and I learned ie, I cannot get used to the opera skins so ie is what I use
for alternative browsers to me opera is far and away the best
I started using it out of curiosity at v3.2 and never stopped. It is now all the way up v9.62. I really like all the configurability options that you have in tools. They are always advertising jobs in Norway and Sweden, I wish I had the CV to scarf one! Alas, they have they have nothing for “Surly knave”.
Opera is great. I use a Mac version in web site testing. Very nice. I like the feature that gives you quick access to web sites. All the popular browsers have come a long way, IE bringing up the rear, the windows version only now reaching an acceptable level of W3 compliance. Tantek’s contribution to IE for Mac was Microsoft’s special contribution to the browser world. It’s a shame the mothership killed his project.