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CTRL W doesn't close a pinned tab

  • 8 replies
  • 2 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by firefox722

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CTRL + W is the keyboard shortcut to close the active tab. This works fine if the tab isn't pinned, but if I press CTRL + W on a pinned tab, it just cycles to the next tab. This isn't ideal. The shortcut should close the tab regardless of whether it is pinned (as it does in other browsers). Anyone know why Firefox does this / is it intentional behaviour?

CTRL + W is the keyboard shortcut to close the active tab. This works fine if the tab isn't pinned, but if I press CTRL + W on a pinned tab, it just cycles to the next tab. This isn't ideal. The shortcut should close the tab regardless of whether it is pinned (as it does in other browsers). Anyone know why Firefox does this / is it intentional behaviour?

Chosen solution

whalemonster said

Thank you. :)

    My pleasure !

Read this answer in context 👍 0

All Replies (8)

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whalemonster said

Anyone know why Firefox does this / is it intentional behaviour?

Hello whalemonster,

This article will explain why :

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/pinned-tabs-keep-favorite-websites-open

Just read what it says under "How are Pinned Tabs different than normal tabs?" :

"Pinned Tabs don't have a close button so you can't accidentally close them."

"You can still close them by right-clicking on them and selecting Close Tab from the menu."

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Thank you. :)

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Chosen Solution

whalemonster said

Thank you. :)

    My pleasure !

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You can still close a pinned tab via a middle-click with the mouse wheel.

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cor-el said

You can still close a pinned tab via a middle-click with the mouse wheel.

McCoy said

"You can still close them by right-clicking on them and selecting Close Tab from the menu."
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I switched from Chrome to Firefox a week ago and I'm still finding this issue frustrating. I really think there should be a way to close pinned tabs without using the mouse.

Google search suggests that others have been finding this frustrating / confusing since at least 2015...

https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&client=firefox-b-d&sxsrf=ALeKk01rnmSyF3ynB9I9IOvLMiVq61ZOSA%3A1590755909093&ei=RQLRXvmVBYP9kwWawIrQAg&q=firefox+cmd+w+close+pinned+tab&oq=firefox+cmd+w+close+pinned+tab&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQAzIECCMQJzoECAAQR1CUDViUDWD3DmgAcAF4AIABjwGIAY8BkgEDMC4xmAEAoAEBqgEHZ3dzLXdpeg&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwi5zIrHi9npAhWD_qQKHRqgAioQ4dUDCAs&uact=5

Edit: the best workaround I've seen so far: https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/367944

Modified by firefox722

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You can add the Pin icon to the page actions area to quickly unpin this tab.

You can find items like "Take a Screenshot" and the Bookmark Star and "Pin Tab" in the drop-down list that opens if you click the "Page actions" button (3-dot icon at the right end of the location/address bar).
You can right-click an item in the "Page actions" drop-down list to add its button to the location/address bar for easy access.

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Thank you cor-el, this is helpful.

I'm still quite sad that I can't find a way to do this keyboard-only.

I found this add-on which is makes it possible to do ALT+P to unpin tab and then CMD+W to close the tab: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/pinunpin-tab/

The existence of this add-on makes me think I could perhaps code an add-on to enable CMD+W to close a pinned tab. I might have a go at this sometime soon – I'll post back if I do...

Modified by firefox722