It seemed to me that in the interfaces of modern browsers is not all right, so I decided to write about it and discuss my thoughts with you. I use the FireFox browser and that is why the problems and methods of solving them will primarily concern him, but this does not mean that other browsers do not have these problems. If you know how to solve them in your browser or if your browser does not have them, then write and I will add a couple of paragraphs in the text of the post.

Empty tabs

Probably everyone has long been well aware of what tabs are and why the browser without tabs has already ceased to be considered a full-fledged browser (I’m not talking about the console). But here's the thing, not everyone can use them!

Here is a simple example for you, a certain user, let's call him Leon, launches his favorite browser (any), searches for the address of his favorite site in his collection of bookmarks (favorites, etc.), selects it and the site opens in the current tab. At the moment, the tab is empty and everything is fine, but let's look further. Leon looked through the first site and went to the next.

There are two options for the development of events:
a) Lenya will open an empty tab and select a new site.
b) Lenya will choose a new site and he will replace the first one, which Lenya has not yet finished reading or, simply, did not want to close.
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Option B is naturally wrong, why replace an already open site with another, if you can open it in a tab next to it? But the variant A is wrong. Why? Yes, because Leon has opened a new tab manually!

Probably already in all modern browsers there is a button for opening a new tab, when a new tab is needed, novice users can push it, not realizing that the button is superfluous and in fact is not necessary for anyone ( O users can argue, but let wait a minute and finish reading). The point is not even that a new tab should automatically open when you double-click an empty space in the tab bar, not at all. The fact is that the user should not open a new tab on his own.

From my personal observations.

A new tab should open automatically if the user:
- chose a site from bookmarks;
- chose a site from the history;
- entered the address manually;
- entered the query into the search bar;
- when clicking on a link, I indicated to open it in a new tab.

In fact, a new tab should open for any new site. In any case, I think so. If, nevertheless, you need to load the site into the current tab, you can use the middle mouse button, which we'll talk about a little later.

How to achieve this behavior from FireFox?
To do this, install the Tab Mix Plus extension and in its settings (the “Events” tab, the first tab in this tab) check all the checkboxes. At the same time, this will solve the problem of tabbing when they are opened alternately from several sites.

I used to mention the button for opening a new tab and said that nobody needs it? This is not entirely true; this is proven by the creators of the About Pen browser. The fact is that this is the only browser in which there is no empty and useless tab at all, but all thanks to their Speed ​​Dial technology. But this is the only case I know when opening a new tab manually is justified. However, in reality this is no excuse for the useless button, double-clicking on the tab bar and the Ctrl + T hot key in Fox has not been canceled.

By the way, I consider the implementation in IE 7 to be the worst implementation option for opening a new tab; not only is it redundant, it also jumps when opening a new tab! And the best implementation in FireFox - the button exists, but is hidden by default.

To solve the “empty tab problem,” FireFox users recommend, in addition to the Tab Mix Plus mentioned earlier, to familiarize themselves with the Fast Dial ( discussion here ) and Speed ​​Dial extensions. Personally, I prefer the first, it seems to me faster and easier. In addition, the author speaks Russian, often appears on the Russian forum, listens to the ideas of users and is actively developing this extension ( and several more ).

The tragedy of the middle button

Yes, I was not mistaken, it is a tragedy. The fact is that all modern mice have a wheel, but almost no one has a middle button. Not claimed. Why? I dont know. Until recently, I myself have never used it myself, but I started it about 2 months ago ... and now I don’t understand how it can be done without it. I think almost no one uses it because on modern mice it is implemented as a click on the mouse wheel, and not a full button, but this one can and should be used.

So why this button? In the context I describe, this button is simply irreplaceable! The fact is that it allows you to perform the following actions:
- close the tab on the tab bar without targeting the close button on it, moreover, now this button can be hidden (all the same TMP for Fx users), which means that when switching to another tab you will not have a chance to close it accidentally;
- open the link in a new tab, including links from history / bookmarks;
- restores the last closed tab, if you click on an empty space in the tab bar.

Moreover, this behavior when clicking the middle button is implemented far not only in FireFox, but also in other applications that support tabbed browsing. That is why I recommend to anyone who has never used it at least to try. At first, it is unusual and even somewhat awkward to press it, but then you quickly get used to it.

UPD001: As noted in the first monIToringe response in the Maxthon browser (formerly MyIE), the tabs problem is solved ... And this is true. I have experience with it, and both with old versions, and with rather recent second version. The only pity is that with a great interface, the browser of this browser is of poor quality - the same Trident, IE engine. :(

UPD002: Antikiller wrote that in Opera you can turn off the opening of pages in the current tab with its default settings. To do this, uncheck the box at “Preferences -> Advanced -> Tabs -> Reuse current tab”. May need to restart Opera.