How to increase the number of tabs Firefox displays

One of my (very few) frustrations with Firefox is that by default, you can only open a handful of tabs before you have to use the scroll button to access them. Using this quick about:config change you can alter the size (width) of your Firefox tabs, allowing for more to display before you have to start scrolling.

1. Start by entering about:config in the address bar. If you’re using Firefox 3, click the I’ll be careful, I promise! button


click to enlarge

2. In the Filter: section, enter browser.tabs.tabMinWidth



3. The browser.tabs.tabMinWidth entry should now appear. Double-click it.



4. The default value is 100 (pixels). Change it to a lower number (60 works well for me) and then click OK.



5. Confirm that the Value changed to 60 (or whatever number you entered).



6. Restart Firefox. Now you can open more tabs before the scroll button appears and you have to scroll to access tabs. As you open more and more tabs their width will shrink, down to 60 pixels (again, assuming you used 60).