Forum Discussion
MicrosoftDiscussion: Add ability to close tabs via double-click
Hey Insiders, thanks for your continued feedback to help us improve Microsoft Edge! Recently we have noticed a growing trend in requests to support double clicking on a tab to close it. Even just receiving this feedback is helpful in highlighting the importance of efficiency and ease when managing and closing tabs, and also communicates a user problem that the tab close button can sometimes be difficult to interact with quickly.
As for the best way to address this user problem, we’d like to get additional context from you on the benefits and risks of different options. While double clicking on a tab can indeed be a very easy and quick way to close a tab, it also comes with the risk that if users are quickly clicking to switch between tabs, they might accidentally close a tab unintentionally by clicking on one twice. Given accidentally closing tabs is another top pain point users have shared with us, we want to be especially careful that we aren’t making that problem worse. We also wanted to share that another existing mouse-centric method for quickly closing a tab with a single click is to middle (mouse-wheel) click on a tab, which it could be argued is easier and faster than double clicking, though of course not everyone has a mouse that supports middle (mouse-wheel) click.
Given the potential risks of double clicking and the alternative middle click solution discussed here, please let us know if and why you feel double clicking is a superior method. We're also curious to know if you have any additional solutions to the problem of easily and quickly closing a tab that haven’t been discussed and avoid some of the risks discussed here. Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions, we couldn't do this without you!
- The Microsoft Edge Team
Double clicking on tabs to close them is disastrous. It would totally ruin my browsing experience if it was a thing. imagine every time I clicked on a tab, which sometimes I do it twice, would have my tab closed, very frustrating. it's the main mouse button.
other than that, there is really no point in doubling clicking on tabs to close them.- it doesn't save time. if someone wants to double click on a tab to close it, they can already do so, not even with 2 but with 1 click, just click on the X mark! that's the most obvious thing about each tab.
- if it's about speed, double clicking is no way faster than clicking 1 time on the X mark. whoever thinks otherwise, lets record it in milliseconds and compare the results.
- There is Middle Mouse Button click on each tab to close them.
- It would very obviously be a toggle-able option, but yes, this idea is stupid and pointless.
- It isn't an obvious toggle in the mobile version and just results in tabs closing randomly when you select them.
other than that, there is really no point in doubling clicking on tabs to close them.
- it doesn't save time. if someone wants to double click on a tab to close it, they can already do so, not even with 2 but with 1 click, just click on the X mark! that's the most obvious thing about each tab.
- if it's about speed, double clicking is no way faster than clicking 1 time on the X mark. whoever thinks otherwise, lets record it in milliseconds and compare the results.
- There is Middle Mouse Button click on each tab to close them.
i don't agree at all. for more context check other comment too.
reason why 2x is usefull:
1) if you close 1000tabs in few minutes/hours your hand/fingers start to have pain after a lot of cmd w.
2) trackpad doesn't have mid bar (and all depends how you use the setting too)
3) close tab requires moving to tab bar, which is a waste of time if you open 300 tabs in batch and need to close/go to next them later...
4) see suggestion 2x + x icon near mouse, which would fix all issues.
5) we need to remember that tab size is small if 200-500 tabs are opened too. this is why i use extension, cmd v, double click etc to close them faster. (and to avoid hand pain i generally make a mix of them, first 5 minutes method 1, then method 2, then method 3).
about 3: if you need to batch click follow/like/etc. you need to keep mouse position on the same position, with x on tab you would lose that too (this mean follow action requires 2-5x more time). For users, that are not datahoarder, probably is difficult to understand what i'm saying, or why we need to do that.
EDIT: so it's all depends from your actual workflow. i still think a double click extension is much better, since you can activate and disable it much faster too.
like wrote before, 2x close should not be the default setting. the 2x is not a bad idea, but they need to implement it in a smart way.
- Spoiler
edgesuggestions wrote:other than that, there is really no point in doubling clicking on tabs to close them.
- it doesn't save time. if someone wants to double click on a tab to close it, they can already do so, not even with 2 but with 1 click, just click on the X mark! that's the most obvious thing about each tab.
- if it's about speed, double clicking is no way faster than clicking 1 time on the X mark. whoever thinks otherwise, lets record it in milliseconds and compare the results.
- There is Middle Mouse Button click on each tab to close them.
i don't agree at all. for more context check other comment too.
reason why 2x is usefull:
1) if you close 1000tabs in few minutes/hours your hand/fingers start to have pain after a lot of cmd w.
2) trackpad doesn't have mid bar (and all depends how you use the setting too)
3) close tab requires moving to tab bar, which is a waste of time if you open 300 tabs in batch and need to close/go to next them later...
4) see suggestion 2x + x icon near mouse, which would fix all issues.
5) we need to remember that tab size is small if 200-500 tabs are opened too. this is why i use extension, cmd v, double click etc to close them faster. (and to avoid hand pain i generally make a mix of them, first 5 minutes method 1, then method 2, then method 3).
about 3: if you need to batch click follow/like/etc. you need to keep mouse position on the same position, with x on tab you would lose that too (this mean follow action requires 2-5x more time). For users, that are not datahoarder, probably is difficult to understand what i'm saying, or why we need to do that.
EDIT: so it's all depends from your actual workflow. i still think a double click extension is much better, since you can activate and disable it much faster too.
like wrote before, 2x close should not be the default setting. the 2x is not a bad idea, but they need to implement it in a smart way.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5: closing 1000 tabs one by one, either by double clicking or clicking on X mark is absurd and illogical.
there are many ways to handle lots of tabs. holding CTRL button and selecting multiple tabs.
using combination of CTRL + Shift button to select for example tabs from 300-500 at once, in few seconds.
also Edge offers built in options already to manage them.
I don't know why you need cmd, Command Prompt!?! doesn't make sense.
double click close tab needed as an option!!
here is my point, first, double click is more confirmative than mid button, sometimes when I click the mid button(especially on those free spinning scroll wheel mouse), it scrolls a little bit rather than click down the button right away, not all the users are esports player.
there's also a scene when I'm using trackpad, there's no mid button at all, I have to find the small "x" button on the tab to close it, and sometimes I just don't feel like move away from my trackpad to press the ctrl+w. In addition, if I accidentally opened a background tab, and I want to close it without a mouse, I have to switch to that tab and hit ctrl+w, instead of that, I still have to find that tiny "x" button, if the browser support double click to close tab, I can easily location the wide tab area and close the background tab.
overall please add this as an optional feature to let user to choose! thanks
MissyQ I love double-click to close tab and I miss it in Edge! It is possible to double-click tab to close in Firefox and Vivaldi. It makes closing tabs easier and faster as I don't have to aim for stupid small X sign. I never accidently closed tabs by using this feature. There is no reason to be afraid of it, but you can make it an optional feature.
- What if as an accessibility feature, they offered an option to make the X mark bigger?
- Totally agree. The X is a small button within the tab the same size as the text, which some users can find hard to target. The hit area could easily be adjusted so it fills the tab from top to bottom and include the padding around the button to be within the hit area, making it easier to use and target.
- It's like double-edged sword. Need to implement very carefully with default off toggle option. Whoever wants to use this feature must enable it from settings. It should be quick double click like we used to click on desktop icons. This may be helpful for some and useless for others but I would definitely like try this feature 👍
MissyQ, I'm generally supportive of providing options to help people work the way they want. This is an exception. Double-click has a very specific meaning as a core part of the UX: Double-Click (except for a few violators) means perform the default action. Generally (not always, but should be for consistency) right-clicking provides the list of actions/verbs, with the default action bolded. Double-click performs that. This action is NEVER to close something. You double-click to open, launch, etc.
Please do NOT make double-click a close action ever, in any application. This will just lead to a splintered user experience and hurt Windows, Edge, all applications that work with a mouse, etc.
I don't mind allowing some non-standard combination, like pressing both left and right mouse buttons at the same time or a double-right-click, because (as far as I know) those do not have an existing standardized meaning, but not repurpose a standard action (double click the main mouse button) to an entirely different function.
- Personally, I have been using the middle-click to close the tab (also sometimes the Ctrl+W) for way too long and do not find the need for double click to close the tab.
If double-clicking to close the tab be implemented please by default keep it off because I am pretty sure I or someone else would accidentally close the tab if it were on by default. MissyQ The double-left-click solution is not so good for me, but still great progress.
I read all the comments so far and I want to say that this utility is necessary and essential.
I usually use the laptop with my mouse but sometimes I can only use the touchpad when I'm in a lecture. When I have my mouse, it is not a big deal to find a small 'x' on the tab, although it costs my patience. However, when I have to use the touchpad, the problem begins to show. God knows how exhausted it is to click all those 'x'.
For your concern, I have a solution. Using single-right-click is the best for me because I never use the right-click on tab, the original right-click function can be fulfilled by Shift+right-click or Ctrl+right-click. And I suppose no one will misapply the right-click as the left-click.
Nevertheless, the solution above may need to change the user habit, which may not be your preference, so maybe we can close the tab via Shift+right-click or Ctrl+right-click and keep the right-click as it was.
Thanks for reading.
Great to see this being brought up. I have proposed this feature previously and I'll share why it can be useful:
- Surely, it will be an opt-in toggle, like strict tracking prevention. Have many genuinely wanted it to be the default? Making it an opt-in toggle will remove most of the risks & drawbacks completely. It should not be the default behavior simply because it'd be so different than every other browser.
- Laptops vastly outnumber desktops these days & very few people use external mice with laptops. Thus, it's likely most Edge users' only pointing device is actually the touchpad. Closing a tab is genuinely faster and easier with a double-tap of the tab, instead of tapping the "X". The target is far larger: there is no debate whether it's easier / faster from a UX point of view. Simply how much faster and how likely / severe the risks. The speed is not simply how fast people can click, but how quickly they can reach their target.
- Of course, as seasoned browser users (e.g., posting in the Insider community) , we're all quite familiar with the "X" and we probably have much better pointer precision than the general population. I rarely ever misclick throughout the entire day.
- A middle-click is not a common UX pattern for most touchpad users, often requiring a keyboard shortcut plus a tap.
- I would appreciate this setting not synced between systems, i.e., I genuinely dislike it on desktops (as I can double-click much faster), but I far, far prefer it on laptops (where the bottleneck is precision, not double-click speed).
Enlarging the "X" button unfortunately ends up becoming a UI band-aid, which is instead a genuine UX problem:
- You can make the "X" button as large as can fit and it'll still never be as large as the tab's title.
- It creates inconsistency: should all commonly clicked buttons be enlarged? In fact, most Edge complaints about the UI argue the top chrome (URL bar, tab bar) are already too large with too much padding. Likewise, many laptop displays are already smaller than what most people would ideally prefer to use (if not for the portability of 13" to 17" displays).
- It's difficult to gauge its on/off status. "Do I have the large button or the small button?"
The double-click the tab title to close the tab feature does seem more elegant in terms of UX, but as I note initially, I actually abhor the feature on desktops and prefer it, by a large margin, on laptops.
To add onto the original post, which doesn't seem to have been addressed by the four pages here:
- Surely, it will be an opt-in toggle, like strict tracking prevention. Have many genuinely wanted it to be the default? Making it an opt-in toggle will remove most of the risks & drawbacks completely. It should not be the default behavior simply because it'd be so different than every other browser.
- Laptops vastly outnumber desktops these days & very few people use external mice with laptops. Thus, it's likely most Edge users' only pointing device is actually the touchpad. Closing a tab is genuinely faster and easier with a double-tap of the tab, instead of tapping the "X". The target is far larger: there is no debate whether it's easier / faster from a UX point of view. Simply how much faster and how likely / severe the risks. The speed is not simply how fast people can click, but how quickly they can reach their target.
- Of course, as seasoned browser users (e.g., posting in the Insider community) , we're all quite familiar with the "X" and we probably have much better pointer precision than the general population. I rarely ever misclick throughout the entire day.
- A middle-click is not a common UX pattern for most touchpad users, often requiring a keyboard shortcut plus a tap.
- I would appreciate this setting not synced between systems, i.e., I genuinely dislike it on desktops (as I can double-click much faster), but I far, far prefer it on laptops (where the bottleneck is precision, not double-click speed).
- I'd love the double-click on the title bar function to be remappable: perhaps scroll to top or usable by extensions ("Save to Pocket") for example.
- I do know some users who wanted mouse gestures, now cancelled as a first-party feature, were looking for simpler & quicker ways to close tabs.
Users claiming "you can just middle-click" or "it's not much faster!": these are misplaced conclusions, I think, for most users. No ordinary consumer knows how to middle-click on a laptop.
This is not, by any means, a critical feature: there are much more important shortcomings to be addressed in this browser. But, since the discussion is here, I'd be curious what is the genuine opposition to an opt-in feature for the apparent significant enough numbers who requested this.
I also would like this feature to be added.
It makes it so convenient.
