Fifefox macro and restore session questions

February 8, 2007 11:11 AM

FIREFOX QUESTIONS: I need a simple-to-understand macro program that would allow me to right-click on a web link and open it directly in a new tab. Also, I keep having a problem--every time I boot up the machine and click on FIREFOX (Windows version) I keep getting the message "Do you want to restore old session or start new session." How do I stop this message from appearing (I can't seem to find anything in the tools section to prevent it).
posted by quintno to computers & internet (13 comments total)

Ctrl-clicking opens a link in a new tab.
posted by dendrite at 11:22 AM on February 8, 2007

If you close the Firefox window before you shut down (as opposed to leaving it running), that message won't appear. Restoring the session is meant to bring back all of the tabs you had up when Firefox or your computer froze, so if you don't close out the application, it appears.

Also, I know this doesn't answer your question directly, but if you have a clickable scroll wheel on your mouse, you can click links with that and they will open in a new tab.
posted by almostmanda at 11:25 AM on February 8, 2007

Middle click opens links in a new tab.

You shouldnt be getting this message unless firefox thinks it crashed instead of being shut down properly. From the mozilla site

The Session Restore feature restores windows, tabs, text typed in forms, and in-progress downloads from the last user session. It will be activated automatically when installing an application update or extension, and users will be asked if they want to resume their previous session after a system crash.

posted by damn dirty ape at 11:26 AM on February 8, 2007

Nth the middle Click.
posted by magikker at 11:36 AM on February 8, 2007

I once had the problem that Firefox kept asking to restore my tab session even though I'd closed it normally (this was an earlier version). I kept saying "No", but finally I just told it "Yes", and it was satisfied and went back to only asking me after crashes and such.

Also, re: middle clicking, if your problem is that you don't have a middle wheel, then on one of my laptops, an HP Pavilion, clicking left and right simultaneously on the buttons for the track pad will act like a middle click. Doesn't work on my Gateway though.
posted by solotoro at 11:41 AM on February 8, 2007

I actually set up Firefox to automatically show me this message every time. (I know, I know ... I'm a freak).

The first thing I'd check is Tools > Options > Main tab > and make sure you have When Firefox Starts ... set to something other than "Show my windows and tabs from last time". If that is the selected value, then you'll get that message every single time regardless of how you ended your last session.
posted by julen at 12:00 PM on February 8, 2007

thanks so much for all of the help. Yes, the middle click wheel does open link in new tab. However, I am still getting the SESSION RESTORE question even when I shut down normally (but only if I am starting computer up again). Any help there?
posted by quintno at 12:50 PM on February 8, 2007

Yeah, if you have a clickable mouse wheel, then clicking it will open a window in a new tab.
posted by delmoi at 12:52 PM on February 8, 2007

the restore session thing was covered recently here.
posted by sergeant sandwich at 2:59 PM on February 8, 2007

Just to be clear: shutting Windows down normally, with Firefox still running, makes Windows summarily kill the Firefox process; Firefox has no way to distinguish this kind of sudden death from any other kind of crash.

But if you close Firefox with File->Exit before you shut Windows down, Firefox will know it hasn't crashed, and will not offer to restore your session when you next start it up.
posted by flabdablet at 3:54 PM on February 8, 2007

Just wanted to give a shout out to mouse gestures, an FF addon I can't live without. It allows you to program mouse gestures to do things like opening links in a new tab - useful if you don't have a scroll wheel, for example, or just to make navigating easier.

Have you tried to create a new user profile to see if it also has this problem of restoring sessions all the time? That's usually my first step to troubleshoot any weird behavior in FF. Tools>switch user or Run "firefox.exe -profilemanager".
posted by gemmy at 4:58 PM on February 8, 2007

For extended control over Firefox tab behavior, try Tab Mix Plus.
posted by Area Control at 6:34 PM on February 8, 2007

You may want to read this.

If you open a new Firefox window and enter "about:config" (without the quotes) into the URL, you will be taken to Firefox's master configuration table. I haven't tried playing with this particular option, but according to the link above, the browser.sessionstore.resume_session_once field may be related to your question. Try setting to true (or false) and see what happens.

The linked page also has a list of related config options at the bottom.
posted by speedo at 9:51 AM on February 9, 2007