![](https://webcf.waybackmachine.org/web/20201001214947im_/https://help.apple.com/assets/5E3B08A8680CE23167211EB9/5E3B08AB680CE23167211EC0/en_US/4236b540374dd23e0ba9e00d84f328ac.png)
Use tabs for webpages in Safari on Mac
When you’re surfing the web or researching a subject, avoid cluttering your desktop with multiple windows. You can instead view multiple webpages in a single Safari window by using tabs.
![The Safari window with several tabs open, with the pointer over a tab showing a preview of the webpage.](https://webcf.waybackmachine.org/web/20201001214947im_/https://help.apple.com/assets/5E3B08A8680CE23167211EB9/5E3B08AB680CE23167211EC0/en_US/647346339b1255981dc7e09cad07202d.png)
Preview a tab
In the Safari app
on your Mac, move the pointer over a tab.
Open a new tab
In the Safari app
on your Mac, click the New Tab button
near the top-right corner (or use the Touch Bar).
To change the page that opens in new tabs, choose Safari > Preferences, click General, click the “New tabs open with” pop-up menu, then choose an option. See Change General preferences.
Open a page or PDF in a new tab
In the Safari app on your Mac, do any of the following:
Command-click a link on a page or a Favorites icon.
Command-click the Back button
or Forward button
to open the previous or next page in a new tab.
Type in the Smart Search field, then Command-click an item in the search suggestions, or press Command-Return.
Tip: To use these Command-key shortcuts to open pages in new windows instead of new tabs, choose Safari > Preferences, click Tabs, then deselect “⌘-click opens a link in a new tab.” See Change Tabs preferences.
Open a page in a new tab from the bookmarks sidebar
In the Safari app on your Mac, do any of the following:
Control-click a bookmark, then choose Open in New Tab from the shortcut menu.
Control-click a bookmarks folder, then choose Open in New Tabs.
Each bookmark in the folder opens in a new tab.
To open the bookmarks sidebar, click the Sidebar button in the toolbar, then click the Bookmarks button
.
Open a tab in another window
In the Safari app
on your Mac, drag the tab over the desktop or choose Window > Move Tab to New Window.
You can also drag the tab of one Safari window to the tab bar of another.
Note: Tabs in Private Browsing windows can only be moved to other Private Browsing windows. Non-Private Browsing tabs can only be moved to non-Private Browsing windows.
Automatically open pages in tabs
In the Safari app
on your Mac, choose Safari > Preferences, then click Tabs.
Click the “Open pages in tabs instead of windows” pop-up menu, then choose an option:
Never: Links designed to open in new windows open in new windows.
Automatically: Links designed to open in new windows open in new tabs.
Always: All links designed to open in new windows open in new tabs, including links designed to open in specially formatted separate windows.
Reopen a recently closed tab
In the Safari app
on your Mac, choose History > Recently Closed, then choose the webpage you want to reopen.
You can also reopen a closed tab or window.