How many browser tabs do you have open right now?

[dryoldlime]

Interesting posts #14, 15.
I have Firefox open right now. Three tabs. I wonder what happens if I try to open one more Firefox instance...

Yes! One fresh instance of Firefox at its default home page, with the Search field ready, and the current instance with the three tabs still available for when I am ready.

[hadaso]

Originally Posted by dryoldlime

...One fresh instance of Firefox ...

How do you open a new instance, that is not just a new window of the instance already running?

[JeremyNicoll]

Originally Posted by hadaso

You don't need to run multiple instances of a modern browser to have zillions of open tabs. The browser manages them for you. Open tabs don't need to be in memory when you don't use them.

Is that configurable? - eg how many days some or all of the date for a page is retained before FF just remembers the URL?

I don't think my (old) version of FF is as sophisticated as yours in memory management - it isn't limited by RAM exhaustion but IS limited when I run out of pagefile (commit charge) too. I'll look forward to something more intelligent ... though it might not matter - my new but as-yet un-set-up laptop has LOTS more memory.

Originally Posted by hadaso

And you can search open tabs.

NB: I'm using: Firefox 115.35.2esr (64-bit) which is a bit old ...

Search: I do sometimes; I get at that function from the downward-pointing-arrow icon at the rh end of the tab bar. When clicked it initially just lists the tabs open in that window but shows much more of their page titles than the tabs themselves do. To search across all windows you have to start typing in the top field in the list.

Originally Posted by hadaso

In Firefox ctrl+tab shows the number of tabs and allows navigating between them, listing them and searching them.

Not here; behaviour depends on whether in Settings - General - Tabs you have "Ctrl+Tab cycles through tabs in recently used order" turned on or not. In my version of FF this option's legend is misleading.

With it turned off - which is what I had set - Ctrl-Tab & Ctrl-Shift-Tab (ie Ctrl-Backtab) DO move focus back & forth betweeen tabs (though only on THIS window). I was unaware you could do that.

With the option turned on - they still do that ... but I also get a sort of preview showing a thumbnail image of some of this window's tabs' contents - I see 7 of them. Under that there's a button saying: "List All 12 Tabs". If I click that it takes me to the list of tab titles that I also get with the Search down-arrow icon.

Nothing tells me the total number of tabs across all FF windows.

[JeremyNicoll]

Originally Posted by hadaso

How do you open a new instance, that is not just a new window of the instance already running?

https://wiki.mozilla.org/Firefox/CommandLineOptions


Oh! Note also that (in Windows) there's TWO places where Profile data is kept:

- sys stuff: C:\Users\--me--\AppData\Local\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\prof-internal-name
(antiphish, caches, updates)

- user stuff: C:\Users\--me--\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\prof-internal-name


There's also some non-profile stuff (eg crash reports) in

C:\Users\--me--\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox

[JeremyNicoll]

Originally Posted by dryoldlime

Interesting posts #14, 15.
I have Firefox open right now. Three tabs. I wonder what happens if I try to open one more Firefox instance...

Yes! One fresh instance of Firefox at its default home page, with the Search field ready, and the current instance with the three tabs still available for when I am ready.

NO ... not unless you've specifically set up FF to allow multiple instances.

That's just a different window under the control of your existing instance. It's the same as if you'd r-clicked on a tab and chosen "Move to new window" or r-clicked a bookmark or link on a page & chosen "Open in new window". Or even just dragged a tab out of a FF window to an empty bit of desktop.

With my 70 tabs across 19 windows I keep tabs for related things in separate windows; usually there's only two or three windows not-minimised (on two screens) at a time. You can drag tabs between windows (as well as along the tab bar in one window) to group them how you want.

[Bamb0]

I have 3 open now

[JeremyNicoll]

Originally Posted by Bamb0

I have 3 open now

That's ambiguous: 3 what? tabs? windows? instances?

[dryoldlime]

Originally Posted by hadaso

How do you open a new instance, that is not just a new window of the instance already running?

That's it, just as I said. Like this:

Open Firefox, visit EMD site, sign in, and visit to one of the topics, like this one. Two tabs are open, only 1 browser instance. Tab for EMD while signed in, second tab for this current topic on EMD.

Double-click the desktop icon for Firefox. There then opens Firefox again, as its second instance. Default home page is displayed in this second instance.

I can go back and forth among the two instances of firefox, and a helpful display for the choice is given in the taskbar for ease of use.

I do not know if this more-than-one-instance for a browser is configurable or not.

[dryoldlime]

JeremyNicol

NO ... not unless you've specifically set up FF to allow multiple instances.

Never! I never did make such a settings adjustment. Firefox, and I believe other browsers work this way, too. Maybe this is a default setting which I have not noticed or too easily overlooked when the occasions of viewing browser settings.

[JeremyNicoll]

Originally Posted by dryoldlime

JeremyNicol
Never! I never did make such a settings adjustment. Firefox, and I believe other browsers work this way, too. Maybe this is a default setting which I have not noticed or too easily overlooked when the occasions of viewing browser settings.

A new window IS NOT a "new instance".

New (or separate) instances are not often needed by "ordinary users". They are typically used by people doing things like: running different versions of FF at the same time; or running one version with & without certain plugins; or testing plugins; or keeping test versions separate from the version(s) they use for their personal browsing.

People doing this would normally be programmers (of FF or its plugins) trying to find the cause of a problem - or website developers testing a version of FF with different settings from usual to see if that affects the look & feel & behaviour of a specific website.

There's hundreds of (mostly obscure) settings not visible in / controlled by "Tools - Settings". One typically only finds out about them by reading Mozilla's bug tracker or support pages (some of which are not fully uptodate).

[JeremyNicoll]

Originally Posted by dryoldlime

Open Firefox, visit EMD site, sign in, and visit to one of the topics, like this one. Two tabs are open, only 1 browser instance. Tab for EMD while signed in, second tab for this current topic on EMD.

Double-click the desktop icon for Firefox. There then opens Firefox again, as its second instance.

NO IT DOES NOT. It opens a new window under the first (& only) instance.


When you double-click the desktop icon for FF when FF is already running it (the just-starting copy) just passes a message (saying new window needed) to the already running instance & stops.

To force a completely different copy of FF to run you have to set that up - it has its own profile & settings & history & caches & so on.

[dryoldlime]

Originally Posted by JeremyNicoll

NO IT DOES NOT. It opens a new window under the first (& only) instance.


When you double-click the desktop icon for FF when FF is already running it (the just-starting copy) just passes a message (saying new window needed) to the already running instance & stops.

To force a completely different copy of FF to run you have to set that up - it has its own profile & settings & history & caches & so on.

I am still having trouble understanding even with your trying to explain the difference.

(Instance versus New Window)

[Bamb0]

I have 1 lonely tab open...... It is crying it wants company and it will get it cause Im about to logon to anothrer site im on (hipforums.com/forum) and im sure ill have many open from there!!

[JeremyNicoll]

Originally Posted by dryoldlime

I am still having trouble understanding even with your trying to explain the difference.

(Instance versus New Window)

OK... a program like FF runs multiple processes (which you could think of as separate sections of a browser). One or two of them talk to your graphics card; some handle fetching of files from servers; some handle storing of fetched items (which might be needed on multiple pages but will only be fetched once); some manage your search history & history of pages visited etc; some handle the browser's attempts to keep you safe ... & all of that is present & running (or initialised so able to run the instant that it is needed) BEFORE any page is displayed to you in a tab

When you open a single window & its first tab for your first page display there'll be two more parts running - one for the initially-empty window & one for the first tab's contents. Each time you open another tab in the same window the browser only has to add the support process for the extra tab because it's already running all the other behind-the-scenes stuff which any/all tabs need.

If you open a new window it needs to add just the logic to support that empty window before a tab is started there.


In a new instance ALL the stuff I described in my first paragraph gets done again - but with a different set of files.



It's a bit like a restaurant: behind the scenes you have the management, chefs, kitchens, fridges, freezers, people who order stuff, staff facilities etc ... but the public probably just see the dining room & some waiters.

Suppose at the start of the day there's no tables set up. All the other stuff has to exist & be running. When a table is unfolded & gets a tablecloth ... is like an empty browser window being created. Each time a customer gets seated you need to put a seat at the table & provide cutlery & glasses ... which is like adding an empty tab. Not until a customer is served a meal does food arrive on the table in front of the seat ... which is like a page being displayed. You can set-up new tables (windows) & put new customers (tabs) around them easily.


A new instance is a new restaurant: new space (or building); new management, new chefs, new kitchens, new fridges, new freezers, new people who order stuff, new staff facilities etc. New dining room & new stock of tables & chairs etc. Once it's all in place you can welcome the restaurant's first customer. From the customer point of view there's not much difference: they arrive & get seated & order & a meal arrives.

[Bamb0]

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