1477585 - CTRL + Q with multiple tabs open should prompt user before quit but doesn't

Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 52821

(Firefox :: General, enhancement)

Description

[u552789]

It is quite easy to press the CTRL + W keyboard shortcut sometimes when doing other shortcuts so this can be especially annoying, the problem is that when the keyboard shortcut is pressed and there are multiple tabs open, unlike the behaviour of the little close "x" button, it just closes the browser window without any prompt asking you if you really want to close multiple tabs or perhaps you don't.

I am running Firefox 61.0.1 and the latest version of Arch Linux. I haven't tested this behaviour on another Operating System in a while but I would imagine that it would work better on the others and that this is just a Linux issue but that I don't know.

Comment 1

[Gérard Talbot]

This is not a Linux-only issue.
I suggest you customize the preference controlling how closing the last tab can affect the window.

In about:config , search for the property 
browser.tabs.closeWindowWithLastTab
and then set it to false

- - - - - -

browser.tabs.closeWindowWithLastTab 

"
This preference controls whether closing the last tab, closes the window.

True: Close window when closing last tab (default)

False: Do not close the window when closing last tab (pre Firefox 3.5 behavior)
Note: Changing to False prevents Firefox from closing the window when you close the last tab such as with Ctrl+W, and subsequently from closing Firefox itself when closing the last tab of the last Firefox window. 
"
http://kb.mozillazine.org/About:config_entries#Browser%2E

Comment 2

[u552789]

Right, thank you! Although this is a bit of a hacker way of doing it, any idea if there are any plans to change it? Does it work like this on purpose for some reason or just a design flaw?

Comment 3

[Gérard Talbot]

> Right, thank you! Although this is a bit of a hacker way of doing it, 

I agree. 

> any
> idea if there are any plans to change it?

No plan to change it, as far as I know.

> Does it work like this on purpose
> for some reason or just a design flaw?

I presume this is on purpose. 
I believe, probably like you, that the default should be to keep the Firefox application opened if/when closing the last tab. Opera 50+ works like this. And there are tab managing extensions for Chrome (and Chromium) that keep Chrome opened even if/when the user does Ctrl+W or clicks the [x] of the last tab in his/her browser window.

2 things you can do though:

1- search for enhancement request in bugzilla. Maybe there is a bug report proposing to change the default. If there is, then let me know in this bug report and then vote for that bug report. I would vote for changing the default behavior.

2- Allow, in your about:preferences#privacy settings, to submit data collected on interaction and settings . I see such setting in Firefox 63.0a1 nightly build. I do not know if the same setting exists in your Firefox 61

Comment 4

[Gérard Talbot]

bug 1063201 comment 2 proves this is on purpose

Many discussions in bug 236721

Also: 
Ctrl W not close app (wiki discussion, presentation of arguments pro and con)
http://wiki.mozilla.org/Ctrl_W_not_close_app

Comment 5

[Gérard Talbot]

> to submit data
> collected on interaction and settings

"
Interaction data: Firefox sends data about your interactions with Firefox to us (such as number of open tabs and windows; number of webpages visited; number and type of installed Firefox Add-ons; and session length) and Firefox features offered by Mozilla or our partners (such as interaction with Firefox search features and search partner referrals). 
"
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/privacy/firefox/#health-report

I wonder if Mozilla gets data settings of properties like browser.tabs.closeWindowWithLastTab

Comment 6

[u552789]

Ah, no, sorry actually we seem to have had a little bit of a misunderstanding, although you say is interesting, it's not quite what I meant. I meant rather that these two situations should have the same outcome:

There are multiple tabs open and someone presses the little "x" button.
And there are multiple tabs open and someone presses CTRL + W.

They should both prompt you with a little dialog saying "You are about to close X tabs. Are you sure that you want to continue?", however only the first one does, with the keyboard shortcut it just closes everything without doing the dialog and that's the nuisance. Because sometimes it gets pressed by accident, and there's no turning back.

Sorry for the misunderstanding I got a little confused.

Comment 7

[Jared Wein [:jaws] (please needinfo? me)]

Is the little "x" button you are referring to the one for the whole window? In that case the operation would close all tabs, so we show the warning (the warning appears if the number of tabs being closed is greater than 1).

However, the ctrl+w shortcut only closes one tab at a time. If you hold it down then it will eventually close all tabs, and thus thus eventually the window.

Ctrl+W will not close pinned tabs though. So if you keep one tab pinned then the window will not automatically close.

Comment 8

[u552789]

Jared,

Sorry! My fault! I've actually been meaning the CTRL + Q all this time, not W.

Comment 9

[u552789]

What I meant was that CTRL + Q closes the whole window without asking the user if they are sure about their decision and this is rather annoying as this can be done accidentally sometimes. And really there should be more constituency with the other close action (the button) whereby it prompts you as you described.

Comment 10

[Jared Wein [:jaws] (please needinfo? me)]

Oh, in that case yes we have a longstanding bug open about this.