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Ctrl-tab to switch from most-to-least recently used tab #913

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bsclifton opened this issue Sep 1, 2018 · 37 comments · Fixed by brave/brave-core#4671 or brave/brave-core#5546
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@bsclifton
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Carried over from brave/browser-laptop#1753

Currently in Brave Ctrl-tab just cycle among open tabs in the order as they appear on the screen. It would be nice if instead Ctrl-tab/Shift-Ctrl-tab navigated from most-to-least recently used tab order or in reverse. This way switching between 2-3 tabs that are actively used will be possible just by using Ctrl-tab. This is similar to what is available with Alt-tab/Command-tab that switches between application in most-to-least recently used order.

@microneer
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Can I also add my support to this. As others mentioned in #1753, it's also the reason I use Firefox, as AFAIK it's the only browser to do it.

@andrewklimek
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andrewklimek commented Jan 24, 2019

@microneer Opera and Vivaldi are chromium-based browsers which have this implemented.

@rebron rebron modified the milestone: 1.x Backlog Feb 7, 2019
@MightyCreak
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As a new comer from Firefox, I would also love that, really much!

@hsjawanda
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As a new comer from Firefox, I would also love that, really much!

I think you need to thumbs-up @bsclifton's orignial post to show your support for this issue.

@ethouris
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ethouris commented Jun 5, 2019

If this is implemented in Brave, I abandon Opera forever since the next day.

@geekley
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geekley commented Jun 5, 2019

Just a note: When you implement this, keep CtrlPageUp / CtrlPageDown behavior (switch tabs LEFT/RIGHT, regardless of order of use). Also, I'd recommend to add a setting for people who might still prefer the original CtrlTab behavior, but make the default value be "by-order-of-use", since we already have the other shortcut.

@bsclifton
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cc: @rebron for prioritization 😄

@srirambv
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+1 on this. Especially useful when you have a large number of tabs. Personally miss this option on Brave even from muon days. Would like to see this one implement soon.

@geekley
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geekley commented Jun 24, 2019

Oh, btw, I really like the way Opera shows all available tabs while you hold Ctrl after a CtrlTab. Firefox does something similar, but Opera uses the space a lot better, and you can immediately see a big page preview and the expanded title of the tabs in a list, in the same order that you'll navigate through them.

This image describes everything in detail:
Opera shows a preview and list when switching tabs with Ctrl+Tab

Maybe this should be in one or more separate feature requests (because the whole experience involves many new features), but I think its too related to this, so I'll summarize and list them here anyways, in order of importance, and maybe you can discuss which of them are worth implementing, if you want:

  • Ctrl+Tab switching tabs in order recent-first (this feature request)
  • Easy-access button to reopen recently closed tabs (maybe with a list of all open tabs as well)
    • List of tabs, showing at least favicon and expanded title (maybe URL too)
    • List is also shown on Ctrl+Tab, while holding the key
    • A link to the full history inside that list would be a nice thing as well (like when you right-click the back button)
  • Immediately show a page preview (static screenshot of the page) when you're about to switch to another tab; include title and URL
    • Show on Ctrl+Tab
    • Show when hovering a tab or list item

Opera has had efficient tab switching since ever, and I'm surprised that up to this day I haven't seen the other browsers copying ideas like that. People should copy the good stuff, and use the opportunity to make their own version even better!

@srirambv
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Implementation should be, an entry under advanced settings
image

  • Enable the switch allows you to cycle between the recent tabs
  • Disable(Default setting) switches back to regular tab switch behaviour

@zehawki
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zehawki commented Jul 14, 2019

This should be a basic feature before other bells and whistles are added, since it affects usability and really isnt hard to implement. It works perfectly across FF, Opera and Vivaldi (all of which I use), and is a prime reason why I dont use rubbish Chrome. A bit shocked to see that Brave doesnt have this yet :-)

@JimBreton
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This should be a basic feature before other bells and whistles are added, since it affects usability and really isnt hard to implement. It works perfectly across FF, Opera and Vivaldi (all of which I use), and is a prime reason why I dont use rubbish Chrome. A bit shocked to see that Brave doesnt have this yet :-)

Fully agree. It would be easy for someone to assume this is just a "personal preference" issue but really, I use Firefox for personal as well as work and having this cabability is an enormous productivity aid that is very difficult to live without in other browsers. For me too, as a keyboard and "many tabs" junkie it's the 1 thing that is keeping me glued to Firefox.

@rebron rebron added the priority/P3 The next thing for us to work on. It'll ride the trains. label Jul 15, 2019
@Taariqq
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Taariqq commented Nov 6, 2019

We need that like yesterday. Brave browser speed is too good to try and go back to Firefox. Come-on guys.

@rebron
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rebron commented Nov 6, 2019

@Taariqq We'll get this feature in. I have a soft spot for Firefox since we shipped it 15 years ago (anniversary in 3 days!) but do keep using Brave as your daily driver. We have this on our board and see that it's highly requested.

@Taariqq
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Taariqq commented Nov 7, 2019

@Taariqq We'll get this feature in. I have a soft spot for Firefox since we shipped it 15 years ago (anniversary in 3 days!) but do keep using Brave as your daily driver. We have this on our board and see that it's highly requested.

This is great news! In the meantime I have found an extension that utilizes Ctrl-w and Ctrl-s to achieve the same, so that will do for now.
While we are at it, one other utility that is very helpful, "screenshot".

WOW, While I was typing this post I discovered that Ctrl-n is not tied to 'new window'! I can use my emacs keybindings better. I have been trying to decouple Ctrl-n in Firefox w/o any success.

@guifel
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guifel commented Nov 16, 2019

This bothers me a lot so I had a look. It seems that we need some deep changes in Chromium's keystroke controller. Currently, we can't differentiate a "ctrl + tab, tab" from a sequence of 2 independent ctrl+ tab. There are no ways to know if ctrl was released between 2 tabulations without in-depth changes.

@guifel
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guifel commented Nov 16, 2019

It's a wontfix on chromium issue tracker (Open in 2008 with 100+ comments..):
https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=5569

There is currently an open issue for at least letting extensions implement it properly, but it looks like it won't move forward anytime soon:
https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=482926

@rebron
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rebron commented Oct 8, 2020

Thanks @guifel and @simonhong!

@btlechowski
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btlechowski commented Oct 15, 2020

Verification passed on

Brave 1.17.32 Chromium: 86.0.4240.80 (Official Build) nightly (64-bit)
Revision 7ed88b53bda45a2d19efb4f8706dd6b6cad0d3af-refs/branch-heads/4240@{#1183}
OS Ubuntu 18.04 LTS

Verified Cycle through the most recently used tabs with Ctrl-Tab under brave://settings/appearance is turned off by default on clean profile
image
Verified turning Cycle through the most recently used tabs with Ctrl-Tab on, changes Ctrl-Tab behavior

Logged #12149 for missing translation

Verified that pressing Ctrl-Tab switches to the most recent tab

Verified that holding Ctrl and pressing Tab multiple times, switches between the tabs starting from the most recent

Verified that pressing Ctrl-Tab and then pressing Ctrl-Tab again will cycle between the two tabs

Verified that pressing Shift-Ctrl-Tab switches to the least recent tab

Verified that holding Shift+Ctrl and pressing Tab multiple times, switches between the tabs starting from the least recent

Verified for normal window, private window, private window with Tor.


Verification passed on

Brave | 1.18.2 Chromium: 86.0.4240.111 (Official Build) nightly (64-bit)
-- | --
Revision | b8c36128a06ebad76af51591bfec980224db5522-refs/branch-heads/4240@{#1290}
OS | Windows 10 OS Version 1903 (Build 18362.1139)

  • Verified Cycle through the most recently used tabs with Ctrl-Tab under brave://settings/appearance is turned off by default on clean profile
    image

  • Verified turning Cycle through the most recently used tabs with Ctrl-Tab on, changes Ctrl-Tab behavior

  • Verified turning Cycle through the most recently used tabs with Ctrl-Tab on, changes Ctrl-Tab behavior

  • Encountered Cycle through the most recently used tabs with Ctrl-Tab under brave://settings/appearance is not translated #12149

  • Verified that pressing Ctrl-Tab switches to the most recent tab

  • Verified that holding Ctrl and pressing Tab multiple times, switches between the tabs starting from the most recent

  • Verified that pressing Ctrl-Tab and then pressing Ctrl-Tab again will cycle between the two tabs

  • Verified that pressing Shift-Ctrl-Tab switches to the least recent tab

  • Verified that holding Shift+Ctrl and pressing Tab multiple times, switches between the tabs starting from the least recent

  • Verified for normal window, private window, private window with Tor.


Verified passed with

Brave	1.17.68 Chromium: 87.0.4280.49 (Official Build) (x86_64)
Revision	f77f85899646b42a1d3c8ff36794e00becab9171-refs/branch-heads/4280@{#1115}
OS	macOS Version 10.14.6 (Build 18G6032)

Verified Cycle through the most recently used tabs with Ctrl-Tab under brave://settings/appearance is turned off by default on clean profile

Setting

Verified turning Cycle through the most recently used tabs with Ctrl-Tab on, changes Ctrl-Tab behavior

Verified that pressing Ctrl-Tab switches to the most recent tab

Verified that holding Ctrl and pressing Tab multiple times, switches between the tabs starting from the most recent

Verified that pressing Ctrl-Tab and then pressing Ctrl-Tab again will cycle between the two tabs

Verified that pressing Shift-Ctrl-Tab switches to the least recent tab

Verified that holding Shift+Ctrl and pressing Tab multiple times, switches between the tabs starting from the least recent

@harshal-gawai
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The feature has been added called "Cycle through the most recently used tabs with Ctrl-Tab" in settings

@simeonackermann
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Well, thanks for this quite wanted feature!!

Just one sad thing on my side: while I would really like to use cycling through the most recent tabs with CtrlTab, I would on the other hand cycling to the left/right tabs with CtrlPageUp/CtrlPageDown, what is no longer possible with the new setting enabled.

@zehawki
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zehawki commented Mar 26, 2021

What a life-saver! THANK YOU to all the good people who've made this possible.

PS: Why not enable by default? Who wouldn't want this?

@julien-nc
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I would on the other hand cycling to the left/right tabs with Ctrl PageUp/Ctrl PageDown

@simeonackermann There is a simple solution for that. With the Keyboard Shortcuts extension you can define shortcuts for a few actions in brave://extensions/shortcuts page. Actually, using Ctrl PageUp and Ctrl PageDown there overrides their default behaviour so you can use them to go left and right while keeping the behaviour of Ctrl+Tab!

@daniellga
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daniellga commented Mar 26, 2022

Thanks for this feature. Really a game changer for people to start using this browser.

I still don't get why when I activate cycling though tabs with ctrl + tab it changes ctrl pageup and ctrl pagedown's behavior. Is it supposed to work like that? If so, why isn't it better explained in settings then?

@JimBreton
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I think it's a bug with the feature implementation unfortunately.

Personally I think this feature should be backed out, and take the bug along with it, now that we have Ctrl+Shift+A from upstream Chromium which makes this cycling feature (which I also wanted at first, before the 'Tab Search' feature landed) largely redundant.

@elektronik2k5
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Personally I think this feature should be backed out, and take the bug along with it, now that we have Ctrl+Shift+A from upstream Chromium which makes this cycling feature (which I also wanted at first, before the 'Tab Search' feature landed) largely redundant.

I disagree and want to voice my support of this feature. For me, "Search tabs" is a completely different, complementary feature and is by no means any kind replacement for MRU based tab switching. Moreover, MRU based tab switching is the only reason I use Brave as my main browser. AFAIK, Brave is the only Webkit browser which has this (in my opinion) basic feature.

Thank you to those who made it happen!

@JimBreton
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It's really not completely different, as the tab listing from the Search function is in MRU order. It does take a couple extra keystrokes so it's not 100% overlap or 100% of the convenience, but the functionality is there; and the Ctrl+Tab MRU in Brave unfortunately comes with this unintended baggage.

I would love it if the Ctrl+Tab feature were fixed and then both could be satisfied as I also prefer Ctrl+Tab for MRU switching over Search Tabs, but when one weighs developer time on these things hopefully a wise decision is reached, one way or the other.

@milkchug2015
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The feature has been added called "Cycle through the most recently used tabs with Ctrl-Tab" in settings

Amazing, thanks!
Something so simple can help me be so much more productive :)

@geekley
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geekley commented Apr 2, 2022

@elektronik2k5

AFAIK, Brave is the only Webkit browser which has this (in my opinion) basic feature.

Not really, I know Opera and Vivaldi have had it since ever. I don't know about Edge.
It's really Chrome/ium the only one who refuses to do it right.
In fact, not just browsers. Majority of multi-tab apps such as IDEs, and all kind of editors SHOULD have MRU cycling as default. To me this is as basic as "Ctrl+F4 should close the tab" and "Ctrl+S should save".

Alt+Tab is MRU, so Ctrl+Tab should be as well. It's that simple.

@onebod
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onebod commented Apr 13, 2024

I applaud adding the function to make Ctrl+Tab cycle through tabs by most recent.

The function of Ctrl+PageUp/PageDown has been broken by the implementation - it should remain
especially as the functionality is stated in several places including defining shortcuts, and no one asked for that to be changed - just for the Ctrl+Tab behaviour to be changed.

I request the function of Ctrl+PageUp/PageDown is restored to match the documentation while Ctrl+Tab is changeable.

I don't understand the following quoted workaround or why it would be suggested without acknowledging it is not the desired, expected or documented functionality.

I have only just started using Brave again so maybe the workaround extension suggested by @julien-nc is no longer relevant and now incorporated in Settings > Shortcuts where it states:
Next tab: Control Tab or Control PageDown
Previous tab: Control Shift Tab or Control PageUp

It states in support.brave.com/.../articles/...keyboard-shortcuts...
Jump to the next open tab | Ctrl + Tab or Ctrl + PgDn
Jump to the previous open tab | Ctrl + Shift + Tab or Ctrl + PgUp

This currently becomes entirely incorrect if Ctrl+Tab to cycle tabs by recently visited is enabled (also currently affecting more than just Ctrl+Tab which is misleading).

It should therefore also be considered in the changes and reference the function that allows changeable behaviour of Ctrl+Tab

  • ! NOT of Ctrl+PgUp/PgDn !

I know this is well discussed but might as well be thorough.

Thanks and good luck to whoever can make any of this happen, as I'm sure there's a good reason things aren't lining up as requested or documented and thus as expected let alone variously desired.

...
Having tried changing the entries in Settings > Shortcuts, I expect the functions of Ctrl+Tab and Ctrl+Shift+Tab
will have to be removed from Ctrl+PgUp/PgDn. Then toggling the behaviour of one (set) won't affect the other and its documentation.

I would on the other hand cycling to the left/right tabs with Ctrl PageUp/Ctrl PageDown

@simeonackermann There is a simple solution for that. With the Keyboard Shortcuts extension you can define shortcuts for a few actions in brave://extensions/shortcuts page. Actually, using Ctrl PageUp and Ctrl PageDown there overrides their default behaviour so you can use them to go left and right while keeping the behaviour of Ctrl+Tab!

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