Safari does not display GMail/Google Reader unread counts in tab titles

To reproduce this, do the following:
1. Create a bookmark for either GMail or Google Reader
2. Click on the bookmark under Safari to load either site (make sure it has at least on unread item)

The text in the tab title will not display the unread count. Instead, it displays either "GMail" or "Google Reader". Firefox displays the unread counts for both sites in the tab's title text as follows: "Gmail - Inbox(2) - <email addr>", "Google Reader (2)".

This is the one of the main reasons why I will continue to use Firefox over Safari. Displaying the unread counts in the tab titles allows me quickly glance at the browser's window with both sites loaded in separate tabs to see if there are any unread items.

MacBook Pro 17" 2010 Intel Core i7, Mac OS X (10.6.6), Safari Version 5.0.3 (6533.19.4)

Posted on Jan 20, 2011 11:25 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Mar 1, 2011 9:45 AM

I had the same problem and was able to find a workaround. The key insight actually came from another one of your (jkwuc89) posts where you mentioned:
Loading GMail or Google Reader from a Safari bookmark appears to behave differently when compared to loading either site from a link on another page.

The solution is to change the address of your bookmark so that it is similar to loading the site from a link on another page. When you bookmark Gmail, it's address will read:
https://mail.google.com/mail/#inbox

However, edit the address of this bookmark to:
javascript:window.location=' https://mail.google.com/mail/#inbox '

This Javascript snippet will trick Safari to open Gmail as if you had clicked a link on another page and the tab will display the correct page title including unread count. You can follow a similar pattern with Google Reader or other sites that exhibit a similar problem.
3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Mar 1, 2011 9:45 AM in response to jkwuc89

I had the same problem and was able to find a workaround. The key insight actually came from another one of your (jkwuc89) posts where you mentioned:
Loading GMail or Google Reader from a Safari bookmark appears to behave differently when compared to loading either site from a link on another page.

The solution is to change the address of your bookmark so that it is similar to loading the site from a link on another page. When you bookmark Gmail, it's address will read:
https://mail.google.com/mail/#inbox

However, edit the address of this bookmark to:
javascript:window.location=' https://mail.google.com/mail/#inbox '

This Javascript snippet will trick Safari to open Gmail as if you had clicked a link on another page and the tab will display the correct page title including unread count. You can follow a similar pattern with Google Reader or other sites that exhibit a similar problem.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Safari does not display GMail/Google Reader unread counts in tab titles

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.