FAQ Frequently asked questions

This can be done by the feature "Custom Scripts". Add a new item from the sample Quote Selection as HTML.

This can be done by the feature "Custom Scripts". Add a new item from the sample Create Link to the Current Page.

Select all, and go View Selection Source.

This problem might be caused by Mozilla itself. Delete the XUL cache (XUL.mfl, XUL FastLoad File, or XUL.mfasl) in the profile directory.

Update to the latest version. This bug is fixed in v.2.3.20020510.

New shortcuts are available after restart.

If you cannot use the shortcut anymore, it has been overwritten by the fixed shortcuts (Ctrl-A, Ctrl-N, etc.). In this case you have to change the shortcut.

If you've updated this extension without uninstalling, the registry of installed files is maybe broken. This extension will fail to initialize in this case. You have to uninstall this extension manually before update.

This extension maybe failed to initialize itself if you see these problems. Post details to the forum, please.

Ver.2.7 (or later) works only with Netscape 7 or later. Don't install to Netscape 6.

Outline, Style Sheets, Navigations and some features need initializing and it makes the context menu slow. To skip this expensive operation, you should hide menu items Bookmarks, Outline, Go to Next(Previous) Heading, Navigations, Style Sheets, and so on.

By default, this extension initializes the outline and navigations information of webpages, in the background. This maybe makes Mozilla slow. If you don't use these features, you should disable the background operations. Enable the expert prefs mode and turn off some checkboxes in General(1) > Misc and Navigations.

See samples in the preferences dialog. You will find out how to search selection terms by favorite engines (Google, AcronymFinder, and so on). And, for example, you can use this feature to find location in the map.

Copy one location of one of following links and paste it to the Path: textbox of new items.

• Find location names by MapFan (Charcode: EUC-JP)
• Find zip codes by MapFan (Charcode: EUC-JP)
• Find station names by MapFan (Charcode: EUC-JP)
• Find location names by Mapion (Charcode: Shift_JIS)
• Find transfer station tables from the location by Yahoo! (Charcode: EUC-JP)
• Find transfer station tables to the location by Yahoo! (Charcode: EUC-JP)
• Find books by Amazon (Charcode: UTF-8)

These samples are made by Shimotsuki.

You can keep user settings. Manual uninstallation doesn't delete data files. If you choose OK to keep settings, in the dialog of uninstallation process called from the preferences dialog, settings are saved.

This problem has been fixed in the ver.1.7.2003050701 or later. You should update to the new version.

There is a way to do it but you shouldn't use the method in public webpages. Because, your webpage may be read by people without this extension, and the method doesn't work on other tabbed browsers (ex, NetCaptor). OK?

The method window.openBrowserTab(aURI, aName) opens a new tab. You can use this instead of window.open(). This new method is added by this extension. It returns a reference to the window object of the page opened in a new tab, not to the xul:tab element node.

TBE cannot do it alone, but an add-on module for this wish is available. Install it after TBE.

TBE has no feature to do it but you can do it with the userChrome.css. Add following CSS rules to your userChrome.css. (But it also moves the "close tab" button to the left.)

tabbrowser tabs,
tabbrowser [tabid="scroll-buttons-container"]
{
  direction: rtl;
}
tabbrowser tabs>hbox,
tabbrowser [tabid="scroll-buttons"]
{
  direction: ltr;
}

It may require being customized for each theme.

TBE has no feature to do it but you can customize appearances of selected tabs with the userChrome.css. For example, I'm using following rules.

tabbrowser tab[selected="true"] {
  -moz-appearance: none !important; /* sometimes requiered to apply "background-color" */
  background-color: ThreeDHighlight !important;
}

/* If you want background tabs to be dark, add this too. */
tabbrowser tab:not([selected="true"]) {
  -moz-appearance: none !important;
  background-color: ThreeDShadow !important;
}

TBE has no feature to do it but you can do with the userChrome.css. Add following CSS rules to your userChrome.css.

/* hide tab icons */
tabbrowser tab .tab-icon {
    display: none !important;
}

/* adjust height of tabs */
tabbrowser tab {
    height: 100px !important;
}

See the TabGroup category in the preferences dialog. Some versions of TBE has no checkbox to change the behavior, so, then you have to add a line user_pref("browser.tabs.extensions.group.auto_color", false); to the "prefs.js" in you profile directory.

TBE has no feature to do it but you can do with the userChrome.css. Add following CSS rules to your userChrome.css.

/* cancel default appearance */
tabbrowser tab progressmeter {
  -moz-appearance: none !important;
}

/* cancel default appearance and change the color */
tabbrowser tab .progress-bar {
  -moz-appearance: none !important;
  background-color: green !important;
}

Did you install "Tab Session Management" module when you install TBE itself? Id you did it, didn't you disable the add-on module too?

If the module is available, you'll see the Startup item in the categories tree of the setting dialog. You can turn on in the panel.

This problem never appear on TBE 1.11 or later.

Even if TBE is not installed, Mozilla 1.4 or later can customize the default page of tabs. See Navigator > Display on: New Tab. So, on these systems TBE hides the menu like this in the preferences dialog of itself, because it is already unnecessary.

If you cannot see the menu in both TBE's dialog and Firefox'es even if you are with Firefox, you have to correct preference settings manually.

1. Type about:config into the location bar, and hit Enter.
2. Input browser.tabs.loadOnNewTab to the Filter box.
3. Reset the found row. (Right click on the row and choose Reset.)

These steps will get the lost menu back.

Go to the setting panel General and set the option Tabbed Browsing Mode to Exit automatically when only one tab is open. It will get back the default behavior of the tab bar.

On Linux or some platform, these menus are disabled by default because Mozilla hooks middle click for another feature.

Mozilla has a feature to load an URL copied into the clipboard by middle click. If it is available, you cannot bind tab actions for the middle click. Go to about:config and turn the row middlemouse.contentLoadURL to false, or add a line user_pref("middlemouse.contentLoadURL", false); to the prefs.js in your profile directory.

The feature Open in Active Tab is for the purpose: to open links or bookmarks in new active tab manually when they are usually loaded in the background tab by your setting. So if you wish to use the feature, you have to set links or bookmarks to be loaded in background tabs always.

The feature Open in This Tab is for the purpose: to open links or bookmarks in the current tab manually when they are usually loaded in new tabs by your setting or the link itself (with TARGET attribute). So if you wish to use the feature, you have to open the context menu on special links which will be opened in new tab/windows. Or you have to set any link or bookmark to be loaded into new tab.

Did you use multi-row tab bar for too many tabs? If the feature is enabled, you cannot rearrange or control tabs' orders anymore. This is not a bug but a restriction. (Because, Mozilla absolutely crashes when you rearrange tabs in the multi-row tab bar. Now I dare to restrict those features to work only exclusively each other.)

These problems might be caused by the data file which is broken and too enlarged. After you exit Mozilla completely, find "tabextensions.rdf" out from the profile directory. If the size of it is larger than 100KB, you should remove it.

This problem (enlarged data file) is based on unknown conditions. I couldn't know why this extension fails to clear disused entries... so I'm tracking on this bug still now.

Sometimes the broken data file "tabextensions.rdf" in the profile directory may cause errors. Retry after deleting the file (of course, you may backup it), please.

This behavior is not a bug. TBE regards requests to open new browser windows from other applications as requests to open new tabs, even if the application is the shell program of the system. (e.g. Explorer of Windows, Finder of MacOS, etc.) To open new browser window, please use commands in windows of Netscape/Mozilla.

If links in browser are set to be opened in the current tab, in the setting panel Use Tab > Links, it is a correct behavior. Set the option to the Normal if you wish "target" links are opened in new tab instead of the current tab.

Set external liks from other applications to be opened in new tabs, in the setting panel Use Tab > External Links.

Set external liks from other applications to be opened in the current tab, in the setting panel Use Tab > External Links.

This problem may appear when you set Mozilla and TBE to use new tab instead of new windows called by other applications.

If you already have set Mozilla as the default browser of the platform, you may have to set other applications to call Mozilla directly too. For example, about katjusha, Options > Browser > disable Use default browser and set Mozilla to the Specified browser textbox.

On Firefox 0.9 or later, a secret preference "docshell.frameloadcheck.disabled" possibly solves this problem. Set it to true with about:config (you will have to create a new entry) or other way. (But this modification will make a critical security hole. If you agree, do it at own risk.)

It is for debugging and appears only with Ver.1.6.2003030601. The cause of this error is fixed in the 1.6.2003031501, so you should update to the new version.

There is no universal solution, because this conflict is based on conflict of their XBL codes. But the patch for MacOS X can resolve this problem.

This problem is related to a change in MozillaFirebird toolkit. You must uninstall the extension manually, delete the XUL cache (XUL.mfl, XUL FastLoad File, XUL.mfasl, or others), and install the latest TBE (later than ver.1.10.20040211) again.

This problem appears on cases like following:

• TBE 1.10.2004020801 (or older) on Firefox 0.8 or later
• TBE 1.9.x (or older) on Firebird 0.7+/Firefox 0.8 (built after 2003/11/19 or later)
• When the system "TBE 1.9.x on Firebird 0.7" is updated to Firebird 0.7+/Firefox 0.8 without uninstallation of older version
• When the system "TBE 1.9.x on Firebird 0.7" is updated to Firebird 0.7+/Firefox 0.8 without uninstallation of older version, and TBE is also updated to the version 1.10 or later without uninstallation of older one
• When TBE is installed into the profile directory and the profile is shared by Firebird 0.7 and 0.7+/Firefox 0.8 or later
• When TBE is installed into the profile directory and the profile is shared by Firebird 0.7 and Mozilla(Seamonkey)/Firefox 0.8

TBE 1.10 or later installs proper files for each Firefox version on the installation. If you update TBE without uninstallation of the older, bad files are left on your installation info. You have to uninstall old TBE completely (including "chrome.rdf" and "overlayinfo") before installation of the latest.

If you cannot remove the error with updating to the latest TBE, didn't you uninstall old version of TBE completely? If wrong information made by old release exists in Mozilla registory (chrome.rdf), the XBL error doesn't disappear.

Manually, the following steps resolves the error:

1. Find "chrome.rdf" in your profile directory or the directory Mozilla is installed in.
2. Open it with notepad, wordpad, or another program which can edit Unicode text.
3. Find the string tabextensionsWidgets. (If you couldn't find out in the file, you've opened wrong file.)
4. Replace it to tabextensionsBindings.

Ver.1.10 or later save status of tabs (like "Locked", "Auto Reload", or others) to bookmarks as their descriptions. This specification is for sharing the bookmarks with other profiles or applications.

The problem, which button icon is replaced to a large image which includes icons of all toolbar-buttons , is a bug of ver.1.10.20040122 or older. This has been fixed in ver.1.10.20040130 or later.

It is not a bug, but a correct behavior of TBE. Don't mind, please.

Now, we cannot stop the request to open new window of the browser from other applications. So, TBE intrudes into the initializing process of a new window, opens a new tab into the existing window, and closes the new window automatically. "The small blank window" is the window which waits to be closed automatically.

The native-tabbed-browsing feature of Firefox 1.0 or later is based on a change in native codes which allows us to interrupt the operation, and it doesn't require tricky methods like TBE. We never experience the comfort with older Firefox or Mozilla Suite, because they don't include the change in their native codes. (Of course, TBE also works smoother than now, with reusing the native-tabbed-browsing feature in Firefox 1.0.)

The broken "signons.txt" in your profile directory may causes this problem. Delete the file after you back it up.

If the way above doesn't resolve the problem, it may be a problem of TBE. Please tell me the URL of the page you can see the problem in, or the form part of HTML source codes.

This problem appears without TBE (confirmed on Windows 2000). It seems to be a bug of Mozilla itself.

If you disable JavaScript with native features of the browser (ex. policy settings), TBE cannot enable JavaScript anymore. You have to use the checkbox in the Features category of TBE settings.

Or, if you uses old versions of TBE and you see this problem when you load bookmarks with customized tab settings, maybe it's a bug. The bug has been fixed in the latest TBE.

TBE ver1.10.2004052701 or older change the setting of the home page automatically when you set to restore the last visited tab-session instead of the home page.

If you update TBE to ver.1.10.2004052701 or later, or some problem occurs, you've lost the way to get back the default setting from the auto-changed. Then you have to correct preference settings manually with the following way:

1. Type about:config into the location bar, and hit Enter.
2. Input browser.startup.page to the Filter box.
3. Reset the found row. (Right click on the row and choose Reset.)

That will get back your home page.

If you see the problem on some webpages, you have to give up. This behavior is by design now. But, following operations are available for you to install themes or extensions:

If you can download "*.jar" file of the theme...

Right-click on the link. Choose Save Link As... Drag the downloaded "jar" file and drop it into the "Theme" dialog; it can be shown from Tools > Themes.

If you can download "*.xpi" file of the theme or the extension...

Right-click on the link. Choose Save Link As... Drag the downloaded "xpi" file and drop it into the browser window.

There is a technical note about the problem following.

Like this website, if "xpi" files are linked from simple HTML links, you can install extensions (or themes) normally. When the webpage uses installation JavaScript includes InstallTrigger.installChrome(), like, Mozilla Update, you cannot do.

Some authors use a JavaScript technic, "the event handler which returns FALSE, cancels loading of links." For example;

• If the browser can process JavaScript, the "onclick" event handler opens a new window by window.open() and returns FALSE, so the link is not loaded.
• If the browser cannot process JavaScript, a new window is opened by "target" attribute of the link itself.

On the other hand, TBE has features to open new tabs instead of new windows.

• For JavaScript popups, TBE overrides the window.open() method and opens new tab instead of window.
• For "target" attribute of links, TBE opens a new tab and cancels the loading of the link, because Mozilla opens new windows only with loading of the link.

Though, TBE opens duplicated tabs wrongly for links like above. Why?

1. You click the link.
2. Mozilla handles the action. If the link has "target" attribute, TBE opens a first new tab and cancels the loading.
3. Mozilla processes the "onclick" event handler of the link.
4. In the event handler, window.open() is called. TBE opens a second new tab by this request.
5. The event handler returns FALSE. (But it's too late.)

So, I improved TBE with a tricky technic like following:

1. You click the link.
2. Mozilla handles the action. If the link has an event handler, TBE pauses this handling process with a timer, until the event handler is completely processed.
3. Mozilla processes the "onclick" event handler of the link. In this process, TBE gets the returned value of the event handler, FALSE.
4. TBE resumes the handling process above. If the returned value is FALSE, TBE cancels the process. If TRUE or UNDEFINED, continues the process.

But this improvement caused another issue. When TBE gets the returned value of the event handler, Mozilla causes an fatal error. Because, the event handler is processed in the context of internal process of Mozilla. It have to be done in the context of the web page.

Consequently I modified the code with an timer. Timers let event handlers work in the context of web pages. This is the internal process of the latest TBE.

1. You click the link.
2. Mozilla handles the action. If the link has an event handler, TBE pauses this handling process with a timer, until the event handler is completely processed.
3. Mozilla processes the "onclick" event handler of the link. In this process, TBE starts an timer instead of the original event handler.
4. After some delay, TBE processes the original handler. TBE gets the returned value of the event handler, FALSE.
5. TBE resumes the handling process above. If the returned value is FALSE, TBE cancels the process. If TRUE or UNDEFINED, continues the process.

Going back to the problem that you cannot install themes (or extensions). Mozilla ignores delayed InstallTrigger.installChrome() in a timer, because it seems dangerous like attacking.

So, there are only two solutions about this problem, with my poor skill and knowledge:

• Put the InstallTrigger.installChrome() problem ahead of the duplicated tabs problem. Duplicated tabs are opened from some webpages, but you can install extensions.
• Put the duplicated tabs problem ahead of the InstallTrigger.installChrome() problem. You can get only one tab for popups, but you cannot install extensions from some webpages. (However you can install themes and extensions by other ways I told at the start of this topic.)

If someone who has high skill helps me, this problem will be resolved...

It's an unavoidable problem. Because tabextensions works on natural context menu of tabs, tabextensions fails to initialize with modified menus.

Tabextensions includes the feature Close Other Tabs as an function, so you should not use these extensions together.

*The clipboard feature has been removed from the version 1.10.20040331. This entry is for old versions.

There is no solution. You should use the New Tab and Go extension instad of TBE's clipboard observation.

TBE overall depends on XPCOM of Mozilla and unfortunately there is no way to know changes (of status or contents) of the clipboard via XPCOM. So, TBE forcibly reads the content of the clipboard every 500 msec (by default) automatically even if another application locks the clipboard via the clipboard viewer feature of the platform.

This problem cannot be resolved, because both implementations use a same method to do their feature.

You should install only one extension to use multi-row tab bar, TBE ver.1.10.20040509(or later) or Clav's Flowing Tabs. TBE 1.10 has the multi-row tab bar feature which is based on Clav's.

At first, I planned to extend the tabbrowser widget of XUL, not the browser application (Mozilla Navigator). The name Tabbrowser Extensions is a vestige of the plan.

I don't adhere to this name, but I think I should not rename it easily. When I release a next major version, I maybe rename it Tabbed Browsing Extensions.