TekRevue

The Most Frustrating Change in OS X Mavericks

By on at • @mggjim

Do you frequently use mouse or trackpad actions to open links in new Safari tabs or windows in OS X? If so, you may feel like you’re losing your mind after upgrading to OS X Mavericks. After exploring the Developer Preview of Apple’s next major version of the OS X operating system, we encountered one of the most frustrating changes: repositioned actions in Safari’s right-click menu.

In OS X, users who right-click (or secondary-click if using a trackpad) on a link in Safari are given the choice to open the link in a new window or a new tab. In Mountain Lion, “New Window” was the first listed choice. In Mavericks, “New Tab” tops the list.

This change is positive overall, as it brings menu parity with other popular browsers like Google Chrome, but it can cause a bit of a headache for those who are accustomed to browsing with Safari in Mountain Lion. After using one option or the other thousands of times, muscle memory has taken over, and even after several days with Mavericks, we still find links opening in new Safari windows when we wanted tabs, and new tabs when we wanted windows.

Thankfully for those who prefer keyboard shortcuts, nothing has changed. Users can bypass the right-click menu entirely with the following shortcuts, pressed while clicking on a link:

Command: holding the command key while clicking on a link will open the link in a new tab in the background.

Shift+Command: adding the Shift key to the command above opens a link in a new tab and makes it active.

Command+Option: holding both the Command and Option keys while clicking on a link will open the link in a new Safari window in the background.

Shift+Command+Option: adding Shift to the previous command will open the link in a new Safari window and make it active.

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  • PeterBlood

    For me the worst change in Safari a little while back was the inability to change the screen font in Safari and also still no way to easily alphabetize the bookmarks list. I HATE Times Roman as a screen font and prefer the much easier to read Verdana. C’mon Apple bring font change back and add alphabetizing. How hard can that be?

    • SmarterThanSome

      Trying to bookmark within Safari [cmnd+d] is MADDENING! The folders should remain collapsed. It’s a constant search to locate the correct folder. If it wasn’t for syncing between iPhone/iPad I would have switched browsers years ago.

      • PeterBlood

        I tried to switch to Firefox but it mangles some Discus related response searches but still allows the user to pick his own screen font (what a concept!) and overall I’m just too used to Safari and any advantages elsewhere not immediately apparent to my uses. Just a few changes with Apple’s browser would make me a very happy camper too.

    • Schwaxdoc

      You can use a little preference panel called “secrets” to change the fonts to whatever you like. http://secrets.blacktree.com

      • gyffes

        Love me that Secrets…

  • douglas aalseth

    FWIW New Tab First is how it comes up in FireFox.

  • Chris Cooper

    Finally! You’re complaining about this change? I welcome it. Chrome and Firefox have ‘Open Link in New Tab’ as first choice. Welcome to 2013 Safari.

    • Not complaining, just pointing out that it has changed after many years. Muscle memory is a powerful thing to overcome!

    • Wildboer

      I just updated today and I’ve opened a new window when I meant to open a new tab over 50 times, I know I’ll get used to it, but it’s a tad frustrating at first. I actually was starting to think I was going crazy and googled to make sure it actually was switched.

  • bregalad

    Being able to specify a font for unstyled pages is definitely something I miss, but I welcome the repositioning of Open in New Tab. It’s always my first choice and I want it to be the easiest to hit.

  • Viswakarma

    The change is more LOGICAL!!!

    When one is in a WINDOW, one looks for info in the TABS associated with that Window. If the info is not available in that WINDOW, then one switches to another WINDOW.

    Contextually it is WINDOWTAB, and not WINDOWWINDOW.

  • josef nelson

    you white people and your problems,sheesh…

  • Gregory Lasky

    People are starving in Africa and we are complaining that someone switched the order of the right click selection.

    • Please update us on your efforts to cure starvation in Africa and how we can help.

    • Drake Barron

      Have some learning, compliments of the internet: http://i.imgur.com/FG99j14.png

      Pay special attention to the example.

  • Michael Kliehm

    With yesterday’s new Safari 6.1 update, Mac users can now be bothered by this awesome feature in OS X 10.7. and 10.8 too!!! Hate it, I opened and closed a million new windows today 🙁

    • Don’t worry. I had the same experience but got used to it after a few days. 🙂

  • Twitwater

    Sure there are alternative ways to open a new tab or window…but when you have been conditioned to do it one particular way and then they go and change it on you it is extremely annoying. I have been opening new windows (not my preference) all day and have to close them and try again because my brain is like a robot and has been doing it the old way for what? over a decade!!???!!!? BTW…the change is in Safari…I didn’t upgrade to Maverick..and I don’t think I want to…but I did update Safari to version 6.1 and noticed the change in the right-click feature right away. I am beginning to hate Apple after my love affair of the past 14 years. I bet Steve Jobs is rolling over in his grave.

    • mavalos88

      I have the same issue. We’ll get used to it after a few days I hope!

  • mavalos88

    I thought I was alone in this! I’ve found myself opening stuff in new windows for the past 5 days. It’s something i’ve done automatically for the past 5 years, this change will be horrible until I get used to it again!.

  • SimpleFix

    You can simply revert this by going to Preferences > Tabs > Uncheck ⌘-click opens a link in a new tab.

  • Shaolin Dave

    The worse change for me is that when I right-click a link in my bookmarks it opens the link in the same window/tab, the menu doesn’t show up at all anymore.

  • gyffes

    I think the worst thing about Safari has been the worst thing about it from the introduction of tabbed browsing: COMMAND-# should take me to that specific tab (ala Firefox), NOT open whatever bookmark happens to be in that spot. Foolishness and that I can’t change it means I rarely use Safari.