Can I change the keyboard shortcuts for tab switching in Firefox?

Question

How do I reassign the keyboard shortcuts for Firefox? I want to use ctrl+right/left to switch tabs. Is there a plugin for this, if Firefox doesn’t natively support this?

Answer 1

Here is what worked for me in March 2016 (Firefox 45):

1. Install the keyconfig addon from the keyconfig download page and restart.

   The addon file is unsigned, so to be able to install it, I first had to enter about:config in the address bar and set xpinstall.signatures.required to false.

2. Go to Addons -> keyconfig -> Preferences.

3. There are no "Previous Tab" and "Next Tab" entries by default, but you can add them by clicking Add a new key and using the following code snippets (thanks to the author). The "Global" checkbox can be left unchecked.

   • Next Tab: gBrowser.mTabContainer.advanceSelectedTab(1,true);
   • Previous Tab: gBrowser.mTabContainer.advanceSelectedTab(-1,true);

4. Assign whatever keys to the "Next Tab" and "Previous Tab" actions.

(The Customizable Shortcuts addon didn't work for me, as it didn't have entries for Next Tab and Previous Tab.)

Answer 2

AutoHotkey is the answer. I tried those Firefox extensions, but they can't handle all the actions I wanted. AutoHotkey can. Try something like this in a .ahk file:

#IfWinActive ahk_class MozillaWindowClass
{
   ^Left::Send ^{PgUp}
   ^Right::Send ^{PgDn}
}

Answer 3

The Keyconfig add-on for Firefox allows you to program most tab-selection keyboard binding.

Answer 4

The SwiftTabs addon even lets you assign single key shortcut for tab switching

Answer 5

On OS X, you can switch tabs to the left or right using option+command+left/right. Command+{/} and ctrl+page up/down do the same thing.

I don't know if comparable shortcut keys exist on Windows, though I would guess that ctrl+page up/down work.

Source: http://support.mozilla.com/en-us/kb/keyboard+shortcuts

Answer 6

Keybinder Addon worked best first for me. More easily than the currently most popular answer.

It trivially mapped ctrl-arrowleft and ctrl-arrowright to switch between tabs left and right (on linux with firefox 45.01).

It seems good to do any keystroke I want.

I will note that, under gnome-linux, the alt key is bound to the desktop (for popping up the command dialog). You can work around that by carefully hitting Shift, then Alt; rather than the Alt first.

Answer 7

The Menu Wizard extension worked best for me. Simple and intuitive UI support. You can follow this link for a how to.

Answer 8

Since I had trouble with all the already mentioned plugins I've had to search for another way to do this. I found another Plugin that allows you to customize shortcuts that did worke: The dorando-keyconfig plugin.

1. Install it from https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/dorando-keyconfig/ and restart Firefox.
2. Go into about:addons (or open Addons Settings via the menus) and then into the Dorando Keyconfig Preferences.

3. For each of the below, press [Add a new key], add the values and check the Global box:

   Name: tab_next
   Value: gBrowser.mTabContainer.advanceSelectedTab(1,true);

   Name: tab_prev
   Value: gBrowser.mTabContainer.advanceSelectedTab(-1,true);

4. Now you can add a shortcut of your choosing to the keys.

I found those functions in the description of the plugin, which referenced the original Mozilla Forum post which has a link to some Examples.