I want to create a link on a webpage that would close the currently active tab in a browser without closing other tabs in the browser. When the user clicks the close link, an alert message should appear asking the user to confirm with two buttons, "YES" and "NO". If the user clicks "YES", close that page and If "NO", do nothing.
How can it be done? Any suggestions?
You will need Javascript to do this. Use window.close():
close();
Note: the current tab is implied. This is equivalent:
window.close();
or you can specify a different window.
So:
function close_window() {
if (confirm("Close Window?")) {
close();
}
}
with HTML:
close
or:
close
You return false here to prevent the default behavior for the event. Otherwise the browser will attempt to go to that URL (which it obviously isn't).
Now the options on the window.confirm() dialog box will be OK and Cancel (not Yes and No). If you really want Yes and No you'll need to create some kind of modal Javascript dialog box.
Note: there is browser-specific differences with the above. If you opened the window with Javascript (via window.open()) then you are allowed to close the window with javascript. Firefox disallows you from closing other windows. I believe IE will ask the user for confirmation. Other browsers may vary.
Try this
close
This method works in Chrome and IE:
<a href="blablabla" onclick="setTimeout(function(){var ww = window.open(window.location, '_self'); ww.close(); }, 1000);">
If you click on this the window will be closed after 1000ms
</a>
As far as I can tell, it no longer is possible in Chrome or FireFox. It may still be possible in IE (at least pre-Edge).
Sorry for necroposting this, but I recently implemented a locally hosted site that had needed the ability to close the current browser tab and found some interesting workarounds that are not well documented anywhere I could find, so took it on myself to do so.
Note: These workarounds were done with a locally hosted site in mind, and (with the exception of Edge) require the browser to be specifically configured, so would not be ideal for publicly hosted sites.
Context:
In the past, the jQuery script window.close() was able to close the current tab without a problem on most browsers. However, most modern browsers no longer support this script, potentially for security reasons.
Current Functionality:
window.close() will work on tabs opened by a script, or by an anchor with target="_blank" (opened in a new tab)
See #killstreet's comment on #calios's answer
Browser Specific work-arounds:
Google Chrome:
Chrome does not allow the window.close() script to be to be run and nothing happens if you try to use it. By using the Chrome plugin TamperMonkey however we can use the window.close() method if you include the // #grant window.close in the UserScript header of TamperMonkey.
For example, my script (which is triggered when a button with id = 'close_page' is clicked and if 'yes' is pressed on the browser popup) looks like:
// ==UserScript==
// #name Close Tab Script
// #namespace http://tampermonkey.net/
// #version 1.0
// #description Closes current tab when triggered
// #author Mackey Johnstone
// #match http://localhost/index.php
// #grant window.close
// #require http://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.4.1.min.js
// ==/UserScript==
(function() {
'use strict';
$("#close_page").click(function() {
var confirm_result = confirm("Are you sure you want to quit?");
if (confirm_result == true) {
window.close();
}
});
})();
Note: This solution can only close the tab if it is NOT the last tab open however. So effectively, it cannot close the tab if it would cause window to closes by being the last tab open.
Firefox:
Firefox has an advanced setting that you can enable to allow scripts to close windows, effectively enabling the window.close() method. To enable this setting go to about:config then search and find the dom.allow_scripts_to_close_windows preference and switch it from false to true.
This allows you to use the window.close() method directly in your jQuery file as you would any other script.
For example, this script works perfectly with the preference set to true:
<script>
$("#close_page").click(function() {
var confirm_result = confirm("Are you sure you want to quit?");
if (confirm_result == true) {
window.close();
}
});
</script>
This works much better than the Chrome workaround as it allows the user to close the current tab even if it is the only tab open, and doesn't require a third party plugin. The one downside however is that it also enables this script to be run by different websites (not just the one you are intending it to use on) so could potentially be a security hazard, although I cant imagine closing the current tab being particularly dangerous.
Edge:
Disappointingly Edge actually performed the best out of all 3 browsers I tried, and worked with the window.close() method without requiring any configuration. When the window.close() script is run, an additional popup alerts you that the page is trying to close the current tab and asks if you want to continue.
Edit:
This was on the old version of Edge not based on chromium. I have not tested it, but imagine it will act similarly to Chrome on chromium based versions
Final Note: The solutions for both Chrome and Firefox are workarounds for something that the browsers intentionally disabled, potentially for security reasons. They also both require the user to configure their browsers up to be compatible before hand, so would likely not be viable for sites intended for public use, but are ideal for locally hosted solutions like mine.
It is possible. I searched the whole net for this, but once when i took one of microsoft's survey, I finally got the answer.
try this:
window.top.close();
this will close the current tab for you.
The following works for me in Chrome 41:
function leave() {
var myWindow = window.open("", "_self");
myWindow.document.write("");
setTimeout (function() {myWindow.close();},1000);
}
I've tried several ideas for FF including opening an actual web-page, but nothing seems to work. As far as I understand, any browser will close a tab or window with xxx.close() if it was really opened by JS, but FF, at least, cannot be duped into closing a tab by opening new content inside that tab.
That makes sense when you think about it - a user may well not want JS closing a tab or window that has useful history.
Try this as well. Working for me on all three major browsers.
<!-- saved from url=(0014)about:internet -->
<a href="#" onclick="javascript:window.close();opener.window.focus();" >Close Window</a>
window.close() doesn't work in 2k21 because Scripts may close only the windows that were opened by them.
BUT if the tab is opened in the browser not manually, but automatically - then window.close() works.
Automatically (when close() works):
<a href="/close" target="_blank"> the browser will open address in the new tab and this tab can be closed with close()
when new browser tab is opened from another application (when you click a link in Telegram/Whatsup/Outlook etc) - OS will open new tab and it can be closed with close()
when you open the with window.open('ya.ru') - for sure it can be closed with close()
Manually (when it doesn't work):
when you open fresh browser and type in the address.
when you click (+) to open new tab and type in the address
Tested successfully in FF 18 and Chrome 24:
Insert in head:
<script>
function closeWindow() {
window.open('','_parent','');
window.close();
}
</script>
HTML:
Close Window
Credits go to Marcos J. Drake.
As for the people who are still visiting this page, you are only allowed to close a tab that is opened by a script OR by using the anchor tag of HTML with target _blank. Both those can be closed using the
<script>
window.close();
</script>
<button class="closeButton" style="cursor: pointer" onclick="window.close();">Close Window</button>
this did the work for me
a bit late but this is what i found out...
window.close() will only work (IE is an exception) if the window that you are trying to close() was opened by a script using window.open() method.
!(please see the comment of #killstreet below about anchor tag with target _blank)
TLDR: chrome & firefox allow to close them.
you will get console error:
Scripts may not close windows that were not opened by script.
as an error and nothing else.
you could add a unique parameter in the URL to know if the page was opened from a script (like time) - but its just a hack and not a native functionality and will fail in some cases.
i couldn't find any way to know if the page was opened from a open() or not,
and close will not throw and errors.
this will NOT print "test":
try{
window.close();
}
catch (e){
console.log("text");
}
you can read in MDN more about the close() function
It is guaranteed that the closing of tabs will not be tolerated in any future browsers. Using scripts like mentioned above will not work.
My solution was to use a Chrome Extension. A Chrome Extension can require tab manipulation permissions so it will be easy to handle the closing of any tab from the domain in which the extension's content script is active.
This is how the background script should look like:
chrome.runtime.onMessage.addListener(function(message, sender, sendResponse) {
console.log(sender)
console.log(message)
if(message.closeThis) {
closeTab(sender.tab.id)
}
});
const closeTab = id => {
console.log("Closing tab");
chrome.tabs.remove(id);
}
The content script should look like this:
window.addEventListener("message", (event) => {
// Only accept messages from ourselves
if (event.source !== window)
return;
if (event.data.type && (event.data.type === "APPLICATION/CLOSE")) {
console.log("Content script received APPLICATION/CLOSE event");
chrome.runtime.sendMessage({closeThis: true});
}
}, false);
Close the tab by calling this in your application (make sure the content scripts are enabled in your domain by specifying that in the manifest):
window.postMessage({ type: "APPLICATION/CLOSE" }, "*");
Be cautious when using this because Chrome Extensions' deployment can be a pain.
I just wanted to add that window.close() works in 2021, chrome 91, but not always. One of the cases when it works if there is no history in tab (you can't go back).
In my case I wanted to create self-destructing tab which closes after few seconds, but I was struggling with how to go to development server avoiding new tab, because apparently New tab is also tab and it is being saved in tab history :D I created link in about:blank tab with target=_blank attribute and it was leading to new tab where window.close() method finally worked!
This is one way of solving the same, declare a JavaScript function like this
<script>
function Exit() {
var x=confirm('Are You sure want to exit:');
if(x) window.close();
}
</script>
Add the following line to the HTML to call the function using a <button>
<button name='closeIt' onClick="Exit()" >Click to exit </Button>
You can try this solution to trick the browser to close the current window using JavaScript + HTML:
JS:
function closeWindow() {
if(window.confirm('Are you sure?')) {
window.alert('Closing window')
window.open('', '_self')
window.close()
}
else {
alert('Cancelled!')
}
}
HTML:
Some content
<button onclick='closeWindow()'>Close Current Window!</button>
More content
Due to strict browser behaviors, window.close() will only work if it's opened by window.open(...)
But I made a solution for this!
Add an empty hashtag with window.open(...) when it is NOT included
When the perfect time for closing occurs, call window.close
If 2. has returned an error, replace any hashtag or HTTP parameters with an empty hashtag and finally close the window
<button onclick="myFunction()">Close</button>
<script>
if (location.href.indexOf("#") == -1) {
window.open(location.href + "#", "_self")
}
function myFunction() {
try {
window.close()
} catch (err) {
window.open(location.href.substring(0, location.href.indexOf("?")).substring(0, location.href.indexOf("#")) + "#", "_self")
window.close()
}
}
</script>
Type close in this live demo
Here's how you would create such a link:
close
My extension opens up a series of additional windows. I want those windows to close when the user closes the main Firefox window. I know you can detect when a tab closes (and perhaps I should just look for the "final" tab close?) but I want to know when "all tabs" have been closed.
In short, how can I detect when the main Firefox window is closed from an extension?
You can listen the unload event.
If you script run on all type of windows, then check the url whether a browser window.
window.addEventListener('unload', function(event) {
if (event.target.location.href !== 'chrome://browser/content/browser.xul') {
return;
}
// do you stuff...
}, false);
I found one solution, although it doesn't actually listen for a particular event. Instead, we setup an interval to check if the tab container is still available.
setInterval(function() {
if (typeof gBrowser.mTabContainer === 'undefined') {
// Rest of your code...
}
}, 500);
If there's a cleaner way of doing this, I'd be more than happy to see it.
I have defined onbeforeprint and I modify my html code and now once I finish printing that is on select of print button I want the onafterprint to be fired but it does not.
Instead when I press the Control + Print button the onbeforeprint is fired first and then the onafterprint event and then print dialog is shown.
Is there any way I could in some way do changes to my html after the Print button is clicked?
Am using IE -9 browser and the code is as follows:
Code
<script type="text/javascript">
window.onbeforeprint = function () {
alert('Hello');
}
window.onafterprint = function () {
alert('Bye');
}
</script>
onbeforeprint fired before dialog appears and allows one to change html and so on.
onafterprint is fired just before dialog appears. It is not even possible to know, whether document was actually printed or user canceled it. Needless to say about when printing finished (if started at all).
Again: no event is available to track anything happened in print dialog, i.e. answer to your question is no.
Moreover, I hope what your need will never be implemented, cause this allows to frustrate user. He/she asks to print one document, but got something different.
I ran into this same issue trying to use the onafterprint event, even in modern browsers.
Based on one of the other answers here, I was able to come up with this solution. It let's me close the window after the print dialog is closed:
// When the new window opens, immediately launch a print command,
// then queue up a window close action that will hang while the print dialog is still open.
// So far works in every browser tested(2020-09-22): IE/Chrome/Edge/Firefox
window.print();
setTimeout(function () {
window.close(); // Replace this line with your own 'afterprint' logic.
}, 2000);
Yes, you can, no catch. I have thus implemented in a professional application.
Print in Explorer, Firefox, all
window.onload = PrintMe;
function PrintMe() {
window.print();
setTimeout(function () {
alert("OK");
// Here you code, for example __doPostBack('ReturnPrint', '');
}, 2000);
}
This question already has answers here:
Is there a way to detect if a browser window is not currently active?
(24 answers)
Closed 8 years ago.
I wish to determine using jquery or javascript that is the user has switched tab standing on the same browser?
I.e. if the user is currently standing on browser say mozilla-firefox tab no.1 , now he has opened another tab say tab no.2 , at that point a popup should appear , with the message "tab changed"
I believe you can use the window.onblur event which will fire when the current page loses focus.
window.onblur = function() {
// Your action here
};
In jQuery, you write it this way
$(window).blur(function() {
// Your action here
});
Without jQuery
window.onblur = function () {
// do some stuff after tab was changed e.g.
alert('You switched the tab');
}
with jQuery:
$('window').blur(function () {
// do some stuff after tab was changed e.g.
alert('You switched the tab');
});
Of course displaying alert is not best thing to do, because it focus current tab again :)
this might work, but will popup when the user leaves th esite in anyway not just tab changes
window.onunload = popup;
function popup() {
alert('tab changed');
}
I have a window I'm opening with a Javascript function:
function newwindow()
{
window.open('link.html','','width=,height=,resizable=no');
}
I need it that once the new window opens that the focus returns to the original window.
How can I do that?
And where do I put the code - in the new window, or the old one?
Thanks!
This is known as a 'pop-under' (and is generally frowned upon... but I digress).. It should give you plenty to google about
You probably want to do something like:
var popup = window.open(...);
popup.blur();
window.focus();
Which should set the focus back to the original window (untested - pinched from google). Some browsers might block this technique.
After calling window.open, you may try to use
window.resizeTo(0,0);
window.moveTo(0,window.screen.availHeight+10);
this way can not really open window in background, but works in similar way. Chrome works fine, did not try other browser.
If Albert's solution doesn't work for you and you actually want the window visible, but to be opened behind the current window, you can try opening a new tab in the opener window and closing it right away, this will bring the focus back to the opener window.
window.open('link.html','','width=,height=,resizable=no');
window.open().close();
However, I believe whether the second window opens in a tab or a new window depends on your browser settings.
Please don't use "pop-unders" for evil.
You can use either
"blur" or
"focus" to do that required action.
"blur"
function newwindow()
{
var myChild= window.open('link.html','','width=,height=,resizable=no');
myChild.blur();
}
"focus"
function newwindow()
{
window.open('link.html','','width=,height=,resizable=no');
window.focus();
}
Put the code in your parentWindow (i.e. the window in which you are now)
Both will work.
tl;dr - in 2022 - ctrl/cmd clicking on a button and window.open(url, "_blank") in a javascript button handler's for loop will open multiple tabs in the background in Chrome.
I'm looking for this as of 2022 and none of the answers here worked (here and everywhere else I looked). My use case is clicking a button in a (progressive) web app which opens deep links to items in a list in background tabs (i.e. not "for evil").
It never occurred to me that ctrl/cmd + clicking on the button would open tabs in the background, but it does just as if the user clicked on an anchor tag itself directly - but only in Chrome. Combined with Chrome's relatively recent tab grouping feature, this can be very useful inside PWAs.
const isMozilla =
window?.navigator?.userAgent?.toString().toLowerCase().includes('firefox') ?? false;
for (let index = 0; index < urls.length; index++) {
const url = isMozilla ? urls.reverse()[index] : urls[index];
window.open(url, "_blank");
}
Note: I reverse() the array on Mozilla to get the order of newly created tabs as the user would expect them.
You can just use '_self'. It will be stay to the same page an
window.open(url, '_self');