I recently stumbled upon the Firefox add-on InstaClick which maps the “middle-click on links” functionality of the browser to the right-click button instead. That way it is possible to open links in new tabs with a right-click, which is handy for users who work with laptop touchpads for instance or two button mice.
Mapping that functionality to the right-click button comes at the expense of the context menu which can then only be opened by holding down Shift, Ctrl or Command.
The add-on speeds up the opening of links in new tabs by eliminating the need to hold down the Ctrl key to do so if no middle mouse button is available.
I would like to use this article as a guide to list all the options that Firefox users have to open links in new tabs and windows, beginning with basic mouse operations and ending with add-ons that add new options or change existing ones.
Built-In Link Opening Options
- Left-click: Opens the selected link in the active tab
- Middle-click: Opens the selected link in a new tab
- Right-click: Opens context menu with options to open link in new tab or window
- Left-click + Ctrl: Opens link in a new tab
- Left-click + Shift: Opens link in a new window
Link Opening Add-ons
- InstaClick – Maps the middle mouse button’s link opening functionality to the right mouse button. The Add-on Right-Click offers a similar functionality.
- Link Alert – Displays link information by changing the mouse cursor when hovering over links.
- Link Sidebar – Displays all links of a web page in the sidebar along with search options.
- Linky – Adds options to open all links in tabs and to copy them to the clipboard.
- Mouseless-Browsing – Browse the Internet without the mouse. Adds IDs next to all links on a page. These links are then opened by typing in the Id on the keyboard.
- Multi Links – Adds functionality to open multiple links at once in the browser. This is done by drawing a rectangle around all links that you want to open in Firefox.
- Plain Text Links – A right-click on a text link, a link that is not directly clickable, opens a context menu with an option to open that link directly. Functionality seems to be (at least partially) included in Firefox 4+. Linkification is a similar add-on.
- Playlink – Open links in external programs, for instance media players or other web browsers.
- Quick Drag – Open links by dragging and dropping them in the Firefox Internet browser. Automatically opens dragged links in new tabs in Firefox. Drag Url Link is a similar extension.
- Text Link – Open links in the web browser by double-clicking on them. Useful for links that are not displayed as HTML links so that they cannot be opened with a single mouse click.
As you can see from the list, there are lots of options to work with links in Firefox. How do you open links in Firefox?