Forcing Safari to open new links in a new tab

Question

Forcing Safari to open new links in a new tab

Without sounding cynical, I love Safari but have been using Chrome for several years because it behaves like "I" want...not like "Apple" wants. I keep hoping Apple will fix the remaining two quirks (for me anyway) that keep me from using it full time. One of them I can live without...the other I can't, but perhaps there's a way around it that someone here might know about.

1. I want EVERY link on which I click to always open in a new tab (or at least in a new window if it's coded to do that). Safari insists on opening almost every link in the same window I'm already in, forcing me to page back to get to where I started. I have the Tab Preferences set to "Open pages in tabs instead of windows AUTOMATICALLY" which is supposed to use the tabs, except where the link is coded to open a child window. BUT...this simply does not happen. I could change this preference to ALWAYS instead of AUTOMATICALLY but then I lose the child windows when they're supposed to open. Chrome does this perfectly...why can't Safari?

2. The only other thing is not fixable yet, but perhaps someday Apple will realize it (I've submitted it as a Safari suggestion already). When I open a page in Safari, why must I have to move my cursor to the address window? It's so amazing how Chrome as always opened with the cursor already positioned in the address window already...where else would you want it if you're going to open the browser and type something?

Anyway, it's the first item that really irks me, but perhaps it's just something I'm doing wrong. Thanks for any help.

MacBook Air, OS X Mountain Lion, + 24-inch LED Cinema Display

Posted on Nov 23, 2012 1:32 PM

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Answer 1

Feb 28, 2016 2:32 PM in response to Larry McJunkin

Hi Larry

In Safari Preferences, where it has "open pages in tabs instead of windows" put Never in the box and it opens a new tab and leaves any existing ones open intact each time you click on a new link. 🙂

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Answer 2

Mar 13, 2013 4:16 AM in response to Larry McJunkin

I fixed this by going to Safari-Preferences- Tabs- and choosing NEVER for *-click opens a link in a new Tab.

This worked for me and now any Link I open , opens in a new Window.

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Answer 3

22danR

Level 1

14 points

Jun 12, 2017 8:00 AM in response to Larry McJunkin

Buzz is correct. This isn't simply a Safari parameter alone. You have probably been signed into Google all the time and/or had a Google cookie, that has been lost or corrupted, with the setting:

Where results open

√ Open each selected result in a new browser window

checked.

You have fix both the Safari and the Google setting, the former to open in new tab: always, and the latter as shown above. If the Google setting's already checked, uncheck and save, and re-check and save. It may take a few tries or minutes before the setting kicks in, so be patient and/or look over the settings in both again.

Google will force a new window, and then Safari will override the window parameter and force it to be a tab instead.

Hope this helps, because it sounds exactly like my problem: years and years of links always opening in a new (active) tab. Then today... gone. I've just upgraded to Sierra and decided to start from a completely clean Safari slate: Except for favourites imported, clean as the new driven snow. And clean of that Google search setting as well.

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Answer 4

Nov 23, 2012 1:49 PM in response to dominic23

@dominic23: As I said in my original message..."I have the Tab Preferences set to "Open pages in tabs instead of windows AUTOMATICALLY" which is supposed to use the tabs, except where the link is coded to open a child window. BUT...this simply does not happen."

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Answer 5

Jun 11, 2013 2:34 PM in response to Larry McJunkin

Start by opening a Terminal window (Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal). Enter the following command:

defaults write com.apple.Safari TargetedClicksCreateTabs -bool true

Restart Safari.

If you decide you want to change back, just re-enter the command but replace true at the end of the command with false.

Via http://www.switchingtomac.com/tutorials/how-to-force-safari-4-to-open-links-in-a -new-tab-instead-of-a-new-window/

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Answer 6

Aug 23, 2015 8:41 AM in response to dominic23

My issue using Safari 7.0.6 is my search results don't persist, meaning:

I do a Google search > Google results page > click a link and the page of the link becomes active, but the Google results page is over taken by the new linked to page. Meaning: I don't see a tab for the Google results page, I only have the new page with an active Back button to I have to click to get back to the Google results page.

If I Command + Click a link, a new active tab opens to the right of the page the link I just clicked is on. That's the way I somehow had Safari set for years and can't seem to get that back. Command Clicking links isn't the end of the world of course, but I'm so used to Safari treating the clicking of links as if I Command + Clicked them, It's an old dog, new tricks thing.

Is there a way to set this behavior any more? Or is it only available with Cmd + Click?

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Answer 7

dominic23

Level 10

84,018 points

Nov 23, 2012 4:15 PM in response to Larry McJunkin

Open webpages in tabs?

I tried control clicking a link and selected the option "Open link in New Tab" from the contextual menu.

The link opened in a new tab. This worked for link to article from Apple site.

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11921

Best.

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Answer 8

dominic23

Level 10

84,018 points

Nov 23, 2012 1:47 PM in response to Larry McJunkin

Sfari > Preferences >Tabs

Open pages in tabs instead of windows: " Automatically"

That is the option available at present.

Best.

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Answer 9

Nov 23, 2012 8:56 PM in response to dominic23

@dominic23: I know I can "Control-Click" to open a new tab...but I shouldn't have to. Simply clicking on the link should open the URL in a tab if I want it to...again, not what Apple wants, though. I think Linc Davis found the answer with a Safari extension. I'll try it.

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Answer 10

May 29, 2013 10:20 AM in response to kroq

No offense, kroq...but I know how to do that. The fact that Safari can't deal with tabs the way the "user" wants is yet another reason I'll keep using Chrome. Not to mention Chrome has so many more useful extensions.

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Answer 11

Skyzyx

Level 1

14 points

Dec 7, 2013 10:01 PM in response to Larry McJunkin

Webpage authors determine whether a link opens in the same viewport (i.e., generic word for a tab or window) or a new viewport.

The setting you selected means: "For links that the webpage author wants to open in a new viewport, always open as a tab" (or a window, depending on your preference).

If you *always* want to open *every* link in a new viewport, you simply hold down the Command key while you click on it.

This is Tab Management 101. Every browser supports this key-click combination.

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Answer 12

buzz802

Level 1

4 points

Feb 2, 2014 7:13 PM in response to Larry McJunkin

i discoverd on one of my macs that it opens clicked links in a new tab but my other mac did not. After comparing the two I discovered the difference is actually in the Google settings. If you are using Google as your seach engine then there is a setting in Google to open the results in a new window which Safari will then force to open in a new tab since you have that setting enabled in the Safari preferences.

The only annoyance is that after clicking a link, the new tab becomes the active tab instead of staying on the search results page. The only way I've found to force it to remain on the search results page is to cmd-click the link so I just got in the habit of cmd-clicking links.

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Answer 13

jonnek

Level 1

8 points

Apr 5, 2014 4:25 AM in response to Eucharistal

It seems that almost everyone in this thread has an understanding issue.

That WASN'T the initial problem, Eucharistal, the guy doesn't want to open a tab instead of a window but a new tab (or a window) instead of the SAME window where he is already in.

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Answer 14

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Nov 23, 2012 3:53 PM in response to Larry McJunkin

LinkThing - Canisbos

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Answer 15

Nov 23, 2012 8:53 PM in response to Linc Davis

Thanks, Linc! I'll try it and let you know...but it sounds like the fix I need.

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