Lost X to Close Safari tab

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Level 1

148 points

Lost X to Close Safari tab

Although this issue has been discussed before, none of the proposed solutions have resolved it, and I believe my context for it isn't quite the same as others.

I am supporting 4 Macs: two 10.6.8 iMacs, one 10.7.5 MBP, and a 10.7.5 MacBook.

The iMacs have Safari 5.1.10 and the *Books have 6.1.6. As of earlier today, all four systems lost the "x" on all Safari tabs that is used to (or at least is one way of doing so) to close the tab. I am aware that cmd-w can be used to close a tab and I often use that in various apps; however, I am really looking for that lost X.

I have tried all the so-called fixes here; none work. Although I recently ran "periodic" (D/W/M) on all four systems, that was 2 days prior and in any case, previous deployments of "periodic" have not caused any visible issues.

Some commenters here thought that NOT seeing the X until the cursor is over the tab is normal behavior. If that is true, then what I have been seeing for quite some time on different systems running different OSs and different Safaris—seeing the "closing X" universally—is not normal behavior.

This issue was reported to me earlier today (08/02/2015) although I cannot establish when it first occurred, other than that it was fine yesterday. All four systems are on the same LAN and WAN, but other than that I cannot think of any commonality. No Trojans et al. have been found.

What I'd ask of anyone reading this:

* Well, of course, I'd like to revert to having the X, if there is any new info about that! I'm pretty familiar with UNIX, if that helps.

* Could anyone definitively show that the X should or should not be there normally?

Thanks very much—sorry to revisit the issue, but I am really stumped.

Posted on Aug 2, 2015 7:16 PM

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Answer 1

Aug 2, 2015 7:26 PM in response to Bruce Smith2

"all four systems are on the same LAN and WAN"

The X only shows on a tab when the cursor is right over the tab. And yes it does work 🙂

Since this is happening on multple Macs, can you restart the router?

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Answer 2

Bruce Smith2 Author

Level 1

148 points

Aug 2, 2015 9:33 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

Thanks, Carolyn.

First, I have asked someone external to my network to try the same thing and see what the tabs look like. I am awaiting those results.

The thing that I don't understand is why this would happen suddenly and concurrently on all four systems.

I may have an opportunity in the next day or two to restart both the WiFi router and the cable router, if I think that may help.

Yes, the X does work—it's not seeing it all the time that is bugging me.

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Answer 3

Bruce Smith2 Author

Level 1

148 points

Aug 3, 2015 7:27 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

Hi Carolyn,

I just wanted to follow up. I did have an external source test this situation in 10.6.8 using Safari 5.1.10.

Here is the response I got:

"I had to mouse over to see the x. I have observed this many times before and found it somewhat annoying."

I now am convinced this behavior is normal and not worth further consideration as a bug or problem. Either many of us just "saw what we wanted to see"—that is, an x on the tab without mousing over—or...I don't know what else would explain it. I may look for some kind of "fix," but as a spare-time project if at all. Thanks again for your response.

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