How to bring browser to the fore when clicking on links in Thunderbird?

[daniboi]

Firefox is usually open at my end.

If I go over to read a message in Thunderbird and click on a link within, it opens a page in Firefox but the browser stays in the background.

Is there a way to have the browser come to the fore instead?

[Krovikan]

I have the same issue clicking links in Discord and Steam while Firefox is opened.

 ~/Descargas  kinfo                                                                               ✔  18:34:40 
Operating System: openSUSE Tumbleweed 20250502
KDE Plasma Version: 6.3.4
KDE Frameworks Version: 6.13.0
Qt Version: 6.9.0
Kernel Version: 6.14.4-1-default (64-bit)
Graphics Platform: Wayland
Processors: 4 × Intel® Core™ i5-6600K CPU @ 3.50GHz
Memory: 31.3 GiB of RAM
Graphics Processor: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070

Regards

[dzon]

Could you try a setting in FF. about:config. “browser.link.open_newwindow.override.external” and set to “2”. I’m not sure about the number and it’s good to remember what the setting is for now.

[Krovikan]

Works your answer, but opens a new window. Is possible that opens a new tab?

Regards

[dzon]

No idea. Like I said, wasn’t sure about the number. I’m afraid you’ll have to look it up. But if I’d had to guess…3.

[daniboi]

@dzon

browser.link.open_newwindow.override.external

3 isn’t doing it for me.

[dzon]

Well, I just looked it up https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1258193 cause I wasn’t sure

Edit: I noticed many topics also say that it doesn’t work with certain apps. Element, Signal,Obsidian…

[Krovikan]

The correct number for new window is 2.

1 for tab focused last but not goes in front of desktop.

Regards

[dzon]

Can’t check right now, but does the main FF setting “switch to new tab…something” bring FF in focus?

[M.Karrde]

You may have to ask Mozilla, Discord and Steam if they have implemented the wayland protocol ngraham mentioned here

Opening HTTP Links With Focus From Non-Browser Apps

This happens because the either the activating app or the app being activated does not implement the Wayland-specific activation protocol (xdg_activation_v1). Both need to correctly implement the protocol. It’s the same on X11, but apps have had decades to get this right; on Wayland, the protocol is still rather new and a lot of apps don’t yet have support for it. They should. So you should report this to the developers of those apps.

Can’t test because I don’t allow thunderbird to open links for security reasons, don’t use discord and steam only via the build-in interface.
But thunderbird basically doing the same, i find it always annoying that every time i get a “new mail” KDE notification clicking on that the thunderbird Window stays in the background or (most of the time) minimized and nothing happens other then that the notification disappears without a trace.

[daniboi]

2 opens and goes to new window just fine.

Would really like it to open in new tab in pre-existing opened window.

Like, bring it to the fore please.

[johnandmegh]

That’s interesting, since I use Thunderbird and Firefox as well and on my device and they do what you’re looking for - clicking on a link in an email switches the focus to Firefox, where that link is opened as a new tab.

Just to check, what setting do you have in System Settings > Window Management > Window Behavior > Focus > Focus stealing prevention?

[daniboi]

Have never messed with those options.

So, from i can see it is set to “click to focus”.

Should it be something else?

[Joseph_J_Pollock]

You can probably resolve this with settings, etc., but if you can’t get it (or almost any other GUI app) to work the way you want it to, you can usually write an AutoKey script to do it for you. It can generate a sequence of keyboard, mouse, and window events to get the behavior you want and you can set it to launch the script with a hotkey (shortcut key) combination. It currently needs to run under x11, but a version for Wayland is being tested.

[johnandmegh]

Thanks, I was actually thinking about this box a bit further down on that page:

[daniboi]

Goccha!

Same as in your screenshot.

[johnandmegh]

And, I know the tweaking before with the about:config values was likely influencing this too, but do you have “Open links in tabs instead of new windows” checked in the Firefox General settings page?

In case it matters - what packaging format (distribution repository, like .deb files, Flatpak, Snap, etc.) do you have Firefox and Thunderbird installed using? I’m just trying to think of what could be different between your system and mine, since mine works the way you’re looking for - so I don’t think there’s anything inherent in Plasma / KWin that’s preventing it

[Krovikan]

I have the same problem as @daniboi, except that I don’t have Thunderbird (but I have Discord and Steam with the same behavior), and my settings are the same of yours.

I use openSUSE repositories (rpm packages).

EDIT: Mmm. Now I remember this:

How to bring browser to the fore when clicking on links in Thunderbird?

You may have to ask Mozilla, Discord and Steam if they have implemented the wayland protocol ngraham mentioned here Can’t test because I don’t allow thunderbird to open links for security reasons, don’t use discord and steam only via the build-in interface. But thunderbird basically doing the same, i find it always annoying that every time i get a “new mail” KDE notification clicking on that the thunderbird Window stays in the background or (most of the time) minimized and nothing happens oth…

Regards

[M.Karrde]

Totally missed / not recognized these settings in detail.

For my “Thunderbird does not pop up when clicking on E-Mail notifications” it is maybe the “activation only for the same screen” checkbox because I get the Notifications not on the Monitor where Thunderbird is usually minimized.
Have to (un)check that.

Thanks.

Edit: No, did not work. (The other setting is “Low”).

[daniboi]

Firefox is the default pre-installed on KDE Neon 6.3 (presumably Ubuntu based).
Thunderbird likewise via Discover, Ubuntu based (not Snap or Flatpak).