277643 - Tab memory or history

Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 144207

(Firefox :: Tabbed Browser, defect)

Description

[baris]

Firefox does not remember which tab created the new tab. When you mid-click the
link it opens a new tab, then when you close that tab it goes back to the
rightmost tab. However it would be alot better for firefox to go back the tab
that opened new tab. 

To repeat the bug: 
1- Open more than two tabs (say 2 tabs)
2- Right click on the first tab (or second but there must be more than one tab
between new tab and parent tab to understand behaviour)
3- Close the new tab

Behavior:
 - Tab focus goes to the second tab

Expected Behavior:
 - Tab focus should go to the first tab (parent tab)

Comment 1

[Jo Hermans]

*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 144207 ***

Comment 2

[Ben Fowler]

I was caught by this yesterday. You have (reasonably) dup'ed this to
the voluminous "core" bug, but there is a Firefox version: 
Bug 217563 "When closing a tab, activate the previously visited tab instead of
the rightmost one"

(There are other very similar bugs)

Note that there is an extension, "Focus Last Selected Tab"which may interest
the OP http://extensionroom.mozdev.org/more-info/flst

The HCI issue could be considerably alleviated if Firefox had a 'detach tab'
operation ...

Comment 3

[Ben Fowler]

My comment was misleading (and maybe completely wrong) See

Bug 217563 "When closing a tab, activate the previously visited tab instead of
the rightmost one"

Bug 144207 "After closing a tab, focus should shift to the most recently focused
tab"

Some people who disfavour the current (simple, spatial, semi-random) behaviour
want last focussed/most recently viewed and others want parent/opened from.