Help shape the future of Tab Groups in Firefox!

[dsandoz]

Hello everyone,

My name is Devin Sandoz and I’m a product marketing manager at Mozilla. @ssmagula is the product manager. I'm posting on behalf of the Tab Groups team who are working to help you be more productive and happy when using Firefox. We want to thank you for all your helpful feedback in Mozilla Connect and invite you to help us improve Tab Groups before a wider release. 

What are Tab Groups?

Tab Groups will help you organize your tabs. Whether you keep your tab bar tidy with just a few tabs or you hoard thousands of tabs, Tab Groups will make it easier than ever to switch between and re-find tabs and tasks—all while maintaining the privacy of Firefox. Say you’re planning a vacation over spring break. A group will help you to keep all your flight searches, lodging options, local restaurants in one easy to re-find place.

Join the Firefox Tab Groups Preview

1. Download Firefox Beta — Tap the Download button, follow the instructions to install, and then launch Firefox Beta. If you already have Beta installed, update to the latest version
2. Use tab groups for all your browser tasks
3. Share your feedback, comments, questions, possible bugs, and ideas for the future in this thread. Your feedback will be valuable as we work through known issues and discover new issues.

Tab groups in action

Tab groups help you stay organized and focused

Creating groups

Once fully released, there will be a helpful call-out explaining how to create groups. To create a group drag a tab on top of another tab and pause until you see a highlighted drop area, then release it. Or right-click any tab and select Add tab to group. Next you can name it. For example, you might want to create a group called News. Add news sites by dragging them into any expanded group. When you’re done catching up on the news, select “Save and close group” so you can remove it from your tab bar and re-open the group the next day. All your groups—open and closed—are always available via the “list all tabs menu” (a downward-facing caret at the right of the tab bar)—even if you close a window or restart, no account needed. 

Known issues

Our team is working hard to make Firefox Tab Groups the best they can be, and we thank you for your help and patience as we discover and smooth out any rough edges.

Faster, better, easier

At Firefox Tab Groups are just part of a larger effort to improve browser productivity. Our designers and developers are creating new tools to improve productivity and efficiency including a sidebar with vertical tabs, better profiles. Our goal is to help you achieve more with less effort so that you can focus on your spring break vacation, and not on your tabs or the browser.

We can't wait for you to try Tab Groups so you can tell us what you think!

[Sapokong]

I would love to see a feature that automatically groups tabs from the same site into tab groups. For instance, if I open two YouTube tabs, they would be automatically grouped together. Additionally, I would like to see a stacking feature, where these grouped tabs not only appear together but also stack on top of each other. When I hover over the stack, it would display a list of the tabs within it, allowing me to easily select which one to switch to. This would free up a ton of space in tabs.

I don't think any other browser has a feature like this and I think it would be pretty useful.

[eye]

I would also love to see these features! Long time ago I used Vivaldi Browser for a little while and ever since, I wish tab stacks were available in other browsers.

[Sapokong]

I just downloaded Vivaldi to see what you meant, and yeah, this is exactly what I was talking about. I had no idea that someone had already done something like this.

So if anyone was wondering, in vivaldi you can stack tabs like so
 The 3 on the end being the amount of stabs in stack.

When you hover over that stack, you'll get a drop down menu to select tabs from with in that stack to jump to.
 

[OG]

If you go to the settings it can even do more. In your screenshot it shows the compact way to represent tab grouping/stacking

This is how all modes looks, I prefer two-level and Accordion, but I like the Accordion style in Firefox which is exactly like in Chrome.

Vivaldi also have Workspaces, which act like the old Tab grouping way in Firefox, which I badly need along Tab-grouping/stacking and profiles.

What I don't like about workspaces in Vivaldi that the work space button/name is right there on the tab bar, I wish to just have the icon, and when I click on it, I would see a list of work spaces.

I also wish to be able to save tabgroups/workspaces, Bookmakring is not a good alternative because you lose the tabs' history.

[ssmagula]

Hello @Sapokong , Thanks for writing. I'm curious to learn more about your stacking ideas.

It sounds like the goal of stacking is to make more tabs accessible in a smaller amount of screen real estate.

• Is tab stacking something you would you like turn on for certain groups, or for all groups? 
• Is this more compact way of rendering tabs something that might automatically appear to address overcrowding? I.e. When there are more than a certain number tabs in a group, compact mode turns on.

[Kvin]

Great, thank you, we've been waiting for this for a long time, it's a really convenient and necessary feature.

Now, the most missing feature is the ability to move collapsed group labels.

The ability to group tabs by simply moving the tab to the label of the collapsed groups.

And like in edge, when you hover over a group label, the preview should show tabs without expanding the group label, and show the number of tabs.

Also, an additional feature to automatically group tabs without user intervention, for example, by domain, similar to chrome extensions.

Grouping of tabs for the mobile version of Firefox.

The ability to choose a custom color for group labels.

Is any of this already in development or in the pipeline?

[ssmagula]

Hello @Kvin, Thank you so much for writing. This is valuable feedback. The Tab Groups team is hard at work to make Firefox Tab Groups better and better. As more information becomes available, we'll share it.

I'm intrigued by your comment about custom colors. Can you tell me more:

• Would you use custom colors to color code groups in ways that are not possible with the current palette? For example, would you use custom colors to represent high to low values, like: distance, cost, value, urgency?
• Would you use custom colors to represent groups by the specific hue, saturation, brightness of something contained in the group? Like a purple group for Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Finance?
• Would you want to use the same set of custom colors repeatedly instead of or in addition to the standard palette?

[Kvin]

Hi, thanks for any improvements to the tab groups!
Yes, everything you wrote is exactly what want, to choose my own different colors that I want, so for some tasks different colors, for important tabs certain colors, for less important ones other colors, also sometimes for sites that have certain colors, then the selection of similar colors, as there are few standard colors presented, and this makes confusion.
So can choose a shade and so on.
So periodically, can use a certain set of colors, you can leave a certain set of colors saved, and periodically choose another set of other colors you want.
Now, only 1 browser has implemented custom colors for tab groups, it's Edge Canary, if it appears in Firefox, it will be great and also unique.

[ssmagula]

@Kvin Regarding the "ability to move collapsed group labels" if you download Nightly you can test out the ability to reposition tab groups along the tab bar—both expanded and collapsed groups.

[aminought]

Tab groups and vertical tabs are useless for me without workspaces.

[ssmagula]

Hello @aminought , Thanks for writing. Can you tell me more about your needs and how you would like to use Firefox with workspaces?

What are the defining characteristics of a browser workspace?

Do you use Firefox today, without workspaces? How do you manage it? What is less than ideal?

What would be the ideal experience you'd like to have using workspaces with vertical tabs, and tab groups in Firefox? 

Thanks,

Stefan

[OB]

   I don't like that when I on one of the grouped tab sand collaps the group, then 1) browser switches my current tab and 2) I can't navigate inside the closed tab using Ctrl+Tab               

[ssmagula]

Hello OB, Thanks for our feedback.

Can you tell more about navigating "inside the closed tab using Ctrl+Tab"? 

• When is this most needed or valuable? 
• Would you like to be able to use CTRL+Tab to step through the tabs in a collapsed group, and select one tab? 
• If so, would you want the group to expand upon selection of the tab within the collapsed group? Or would you want the group to remain collapsed?

[qwryu]

I hope that:

• Even when there is an extremely large number of (unloaded) tabs, all basic tab operations remain smooth and lag-free.
• A flexible and practical API is provided for extensions so that, as long as the extension implementation is solid, its operational performance can match that of native tab operations.

[ssmagula]

Hello @qwryu , Maintaining smooth and lag-free tab operations is indeed an important aspect of tabs and tab groups. Please let us know if you see any ways to improve in these areas.

Stefan

[SuperMatt]

1. I'd love the ability to move the groups around. Having them stuck in place is extremely frustrating
2. The ability to hide a group would be extremely useful. That way I could group some tabs, hide them, and then come back to them at a later date when I'm ready to continue that project. I know that "save and close groups" does this, but that's a very dangerous sounding action, with no indication before using it how to recover from save.

[ssmagula]

Hello @SuperMatt Thanks for your feedback. Please keep it coming.

The ability to reposition a group along the tab bar is definitely valuable. The Tab Groups team is hard at work on making the tab group experience better and better. We will share more information as it becomes available.

Regarding the ability to hide a group and retrieve it later. This is possible right now. Right-click any group label and then select "Save and close group."  When you need to retrieve the group you can either:

1. Click on the group name under the "Recent Tab Groups" list in the "List all tabs menu" 
   1. In horizontal tab mode: this is a downward facing caret at the right of the tab bar
   2. In vertical tab mode: see the icon that looks like a rectangle with a drawer below
2. Search for the group name in the search box, then click on the group name

[ssmagula]

@SuperMatt if you download Firefox Nightly (scroll down to see Download Nightly button) you can test out the ability to reposition tab groups along the tab bar—both expanded and collapsed groups. We'd love your feedback if you have a chance to give it a try.

[fastcat]

---

All your groups—open and closed—are always available via the “list all tabs menu” (a downward-facing caret at the right of the tab bar)

---

This bit of UI isn't available if the new vertical tabs mode is enabled, which makes it annoying to get the tabs back.

[ssmagula]

Hello @fastcat , Thanks for writing.

• In vertical tab mode, you can retrieve closed tab groups via an icon that looks like a rectangle with a drawer. This icon is at the top of the window, the third icon from the right corner

[Baffle7529]

Are workspaces coming to Firefox as well?

[ssmagula]

Hello @Baffle7529 Thank you so much for writing. Can you tell me more about workspaces? 

• What defines a workspace from your point of view?
• Why are workspaces valuable to you?
• How do you manage your work today in Firefox, and what about that experience is less than optimal?
• What would be the ideal experience?

[myspace]

Yes finally! I'm liking it so far. But I do have a request: to be able to share groups.  

[ssmagula]

Hello@myspace Thank you for your comment and your request for a way to share tab groups with other people.

Can you tell me a bit more about what being able to share tab groups would mean to you?

• What is a common scenario that describes when, with whom, and why you'd like to be able to share a tab group?
• How many people would you anticipate sharing with most often: just one person, a group, or anyone with the link?
• Once you have shared a tab group, what would you expect?
• Would some people have the right to customize the shared group?
• Would you desire or expect to be able to collaborate on the tabs in the group? What types of collaboration would be most valuable?

[Steeltent]

Please add two things to make this perfect:

1. The option to keep one tab visible when the group is minimized.

2. The option to collapse and expand the group by double-clicking the active tab of the group.

Pretty please with sugar on top. Even if just as a config flag. Please. Nobody has to know. It will be our little secret.

Okay, sorry for being weird. I really, really want these two features. Please make it happen.

[ssmagula]

Hello @Steeltent , Thanks for your ideas. Please keep them coming.

So that I am sure I understand #1: when you collapse a group with the active tab in it, you'd like to collapse the group and save space, except the tab that is active and inside the group would remain visible? And perhaps it would be visibly associated with the collapsed group?

[Steeltent]

That's right. I imagine it would look like a group with just one tab in it.

This would be perfect for a group of videos for example. You can just watch one video anyway (well, except when you use PiP) so I just need to see one tab of that group at a time.

Thanks for taking the time and interacting here!

[ssmagula]

Hi, I think I see your scenario of use more clearly now: when you have a tab that receives the majority of your attention for a good amount of time ("You can just watch one video anyway") it's useful to expose this tab without exposing all the others in the group. It's a bit like temporarily ungrouping the tab.

Please keep the ideas coming.

[Steeltent]

Yeah, you may want to have a group of videos, watching one of them and still switch to other tabs or groups. You'd have to choose between keeping the video group expanded, which negates the space saving aspect of the feature or you'd have to expand and collapse the group all the time which is impractical imo. 

While I have you: I encourage you guys to please take a few minutes and check out the tab stacking feature of Opera 12.18. Ten years old now and their Tab Stacking still feels absolutely fantastic and fresh. Not the worst source for inspiration imo. 

[chairmanbrando]

I've just switched to using vertical tabs with tab groups in v136 with the requisite config options enabled. Seems like a pretty good setup so far. One thing I want already, though, is a button to add a new tab to a group. I know you can do it with a right-click, but it'd be cool to have it doable with one action. Alternatively or in addition, being able to Cmd-T a new tab in the current group would be nice. Maybe it could be a config option or a slightly different T-based key combo. If this functionality happens to already exist, let me know!

[s_hentzschel]

Thank you for working on tab groups! I don't have that many requirements for such a feature. Only one thing is essential for me: I use a lot of tabs and my way of working involves moving tabs around a lot. And that's exactly what I want to do with tab groups as well. I need certain structures to work with and at the same time I need the flexibility to be able to adapt these structures at any time. Unfortunately, moving groups is not (yet?) possible. As soon as this is possible, I will definitely use tab groups. Unfortunately, without this option, I can't use it yet.

[Paul-E]

What will the migration story be for users of existing tab group extensions? Eg I use Panorma Tab Groups.

[Lemon1284]

I'm mostly focusing on the vertical tabs feature + tab groups. It's a bit weird trying to create tab group with the mouse. I'm wondering if yall could change it to be more like Sidebery's implementation. I have vids to show the weird behavior vs how it's done in Sidebery.

[ssmagula]

Hello @Lemon1284 Thanks for taking the time to create this helpful video. I really appreciate it.

Today, when you drag a tab over another tab with the intent of creating a group, you must pause momentarily in order to trigger the highlighted drop area.

Stefan

[2mustange]

Will we be getting an extension API once MVP is done?

[Synchro]

Can I collapse all my groups? Or do I have to have at least one group expanded (or a tab outside of the groups)?

Sometimes clicking a coulor groups's square collapses a group and sometimes opens a new empty tab inside this group - do I miss a logic of this action? Maybe should be different actions to open new tab inside the group and outside of any groups?

[eschatos]

Curious timing, hmmm

[Tuki_Tuki]

As i already suggested in original thread we need some form of autogrouping. Maybe semi-auto by clicking on specific button. But grouping by domain (like in Vivaldi f.e.) or even better by set set of rules is essential in my opinion. For work related issues possibility to open new tab from bug tracker f.e. in specified group tab for specific work environment and not in same group tab from where it was opened would be great. If we could set rules (akin filter rules for mail in Thunderbird) for where to move new tab upon opening it - even better.

[Nico4]

I would like the tab groups are always visible and restored in the tab bar if I close the browser. Having to restore them every time I open the browser is anoying. I work with many groups and need to have them organized in the tab bar always so I can have fast access.