Switch to Tab, is a feature in Firefox and Chrome which saves your time by switching to the already existing tab which matches the URL you type in the address bar, instead of reloading the page again. Though this feature handy, sometimes people do not want to switch, for example, I would rather open the URL once again and compare to the already loaded page to see the difference. In this post, we will share how you can disable Switch to Tab in Firefox and Chrome
How to disable Switch to Tab in Firefox and Chrome
1] Manually bypass
To temporary bypass switch to Tab, press Alt + Enter or Middle Mouse Click when you type in the URL. It will load the page in the tab instead of switching to the existing TAB.
Also, you can hold down the Alt or Shift key while an entry in the drop-down list is highlighted to disable “Switch to tab” and see the URL of all entries instead.
- Alt + Enter opens the highlighted URL in a new tab.
- Shift + Enter opens the highlighted URL in the current tab.
- Cursor Right copies the highlighted URL to the location bar in case you want to edit it.
2] Disable switch in the configuration
Firefox:
- Type about:config in the address bar, and hit the return key.
- Locate the entry “Browser.urlbar.switchtabs.adoptintoactivewindow
- Double click to disable it.
Chrome
- Type chrome://flags/#omnibox-tab-switch-suggestions in the address bar of Chrome and hit enter.
- The description would say “Enable suggestions for switching to open tabs within the Omnibox. – Mac, Windows, Linux, Chrome OS”
- Change from default to disable.
3] Using an Extension
If you want to use Switch to Tab feature but still want to open the same URL again, I would suggest you use Duplicate Tab(Firefox, Chrome). This add-on adds a Duplicate Tab menu when you right-click on a tab or on a link inside a webpage.
Along with the duplication it also gives you option to merge, configure new tab to open right next to an existing tab, use mouse clicks and shortcuts and so on.
