How to open Firefox Google searches in a new tab

I'm always using the built-in Google search box in Firefox to do my research. I used to click the 'New Tab' button (or CTRL-T) to open a fresh tab, then type in the box and hit return to open the results in my newly created tab.

I then found that it will open in a new tab automatically if you use Ctrl-Return rather than just Return when searching. That was a great improvement but if I forgot to hold down Ctrl I would wipe out my current tab with the Google search results.

Well I've found the ultimate solution from an 'Hacking Firefox' article on Computer World found via the excellent LifeHacker blog. It's an about:config value that makes the search results open in a new tab (in the same way that Ctrl-Return did).

To enable it, enter about:config in the location bar. Enter browser.search.openintab in the "Filter" text box and then double click the listed browser.search.openintab to change it's value from false to true:



Oh, and if you want the results to open in the current tab rather than a new tab for a particular search then you simply use Ctrl-Return instead of just Return! Joy!

Technorati Tags: Tab, Search, Configuration, Firefox, LifeHacker, Andrew Beacock