[Firefox Tip] Disable Tabs Drag-n-Drop Feature to Move to New Window

This article will help you in disabling or removing tab detaching or tab tearing feature in Mozilla Firefox web browser which allows users to drag-n-drop a tab from the tab bar to move it to a new Firefox window.

In Firefox, if you have more than one tab running, you can click and hold on a tab and then drag-n-drop the tab anywhere on screen to immediately move the tab to a new Firefox window. It helps users in separating a particular tab from other running tabs.

Following image shows the tab tearing or tab detaching feature in Firefox live in action:

Many times users may face problems due to this feature. Sometimes if a user is using touchpad on laptop or other touch enabled devices, a tab might get mistakenly detached from Firefox window due to a slight movement on the touchpad. It might annoy the user if it happens frequently.

To help such users, Mozilla has implemented a hidden preference/flag in newer versions of Firefox web browser to turn off tab detaching or tab tearing feature.

Now you can disable drag-n-drop a tab to create a new Firefox window for the tab by modifying this hidden preference.

Following steps will help you in disabling tab tearing or tab detaching feature in Firefox to disallow users to drag-n-drop a tab to move to new Firefox window:

1. Open Mozilla Firefox and type about:config in the addressbar and press Enter. It’ll show you a warning message, click on “Accept the Risk and Continue” button. It’ll open Firefox’s hidden secret advanced configuration page i.e. about:config page.

2. Now type tabdetach in Search filter box and look for following preference in the window:

The preference value is set to true by default, which means the tab tearing or tab detaching feature is enabled in Firefox and users can drag-n-drop tabs to move them to new window.

3. To deactivate and disable tab detaching or tab tearing feature, double-click on browser.tabs.allowTabDetach preference and set it to false. Alternatively, you can click on the Toggle icon given next to the preference name.

That’s it. It’ll immediately disable tab tearing or tab detaching feature in Firefox. Now try to drag-n-drop a tab and Firefox will no longer move it to new window.

PS: If you decide to re-enable or restore tab detaching in future, reset the value of above mentioned preference to true.

Also Check:

[Tip] Enable Opera Style “Tab Manager Menu” in Mozilla Firefox Tab Bar