1958556 - Allow users to close tabs from the tab search results list in the AwesomeBar

Status: NEW

(Firefox :: Address Bar, enhancement, P3)

Description

[Simeon Vincent [:dotproto]]

Problem

As a heavy tab search user, I want a way to close tabs directly from the tab search menu to make may day-to-day workflow more efficient. I frequently find myself trying to clean up tabs after completing a task spread across multiple browser windows. The process for this is roughly as follows:

1. Press Ctrl/Cmd+L to focus the address bar. By default the address is selected.
2. Type %<space> to replace the current text in the address bar and start a tab search.
3. Type a short word directly related to the page(s) I'm interested in (e.g. bugz to quickly filter for Bugzilla tabs).
4. Use the Arrow keys to highlight the match I want and the Enter key to select it.
5. Use Ctrl/Cmd+W to close the tab.
6. Repeat steps 1-5 for each additional tab I want to close.

While this can be tedious, it's currently the fastest way I know of to close many tabs that may not be grouped in a single window's tab strip. Firefox View provides a way to search through tabs across windows, but there's currently no default key binding for view or way to jump directly to searching through open tabs. Even if you set up a keybinding to invoke Firefox View on a system that permits this, you must press Tab, Down Arrow, Tab to focus the "Search open tabs" input field.

Suggestion

I would like a way to close a tab directly from the tab search exposed in the address bar. Ideally this feature would be accessible through keyboard shortcuts, a UI button, and possibly through a context menu entry.

Currently, suggestions that appear in the "Recent Searches" list have a three-dot menu on the right edge of the entry with contextually relevant options. (Curiously, this menu has completely different option than the context menu that appears when right clicking the entry.) A similar approach could be used to either display a close button for browser tabs in the results list or to present a "Close" option in a similar three-dot menu. Using a three-dot menu or context menu would reduce the changes of uses accidentally closing tabs and allow the browser to provide other tab management features, like "Add Tab to Group" or "Move Tab".

Comment 1

[James Teow [:jteow]]

Thank you for the interesting suggestion, Simeon.

I've added it to a meta bug that involves enhancing certain address bar results with more control for the user aside from just navigating to it.