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I just installed Mac OS X Snow Leopard from scratch on my MacBook. While I'm generally a fan of Firefox, I'm taking this opportunity to give Safari another honest try. So, I would like to get Safari configured similar to the way I use Firefox.

One of my annoyances with Safari is the tab bar doesn't always show. Rather, Safari only shows it when needed. However, I'm very used to double-clicking in the empty area right of existing tabs to open a new tab. Obviously, when only one page is open, I can't do that. :-(

So, what's the easiest way to get the tab bar always showing in Safari, i.e. even when only one page is open? Is there an add-on that makes this a cinch, or do I need to edit hidden configuration files?

Thank you.

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3 Answers 3

Reset to default
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Press CommandShiftT, or go to View » Show Tab Bar.

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  • Even easier. I wonder why they don't show this in "Preferences" ! It is, after all, a preference! Anyway, I've confirmed that this does exactly the same thing under the covers as @Chealion's solution by verifying the before and after states via "defaults read com.apple.Safari AlwaysShowTabBar". That changed from 0 to 1 and stays that way when I set the tab bar to be shown and quit Safari. So this is the easiest solution, I think -- no terminal commands required.
    – Chris W. Rea
    Commented Aug 29, 2009 at 20:22
  • Completely forgot they moved it there. D'oh.
    – Chealion
    Commented Aug 29, 2009 at 23:16
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In Safari 3 the option used to be available in the Tabs section of Safari preferences. In Safari 4 it was moved to the View Menu.

Alternatively you can apply it by running the following command in your Terminal (after quitting Safari):

defaults write com.apple.Safari AlwaysShowTabBar -bool YES
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  • +1. Thanks - works like a charm, and it was simple. I was afraid I'd have to dig into hidden folders and edit configuration files. :-)
    – Chris W. Rea
    Commented Aug 29, 2009 at 17:57
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This might be a stupid solution but you can open more than one tab upon launch of Safari and this way you'll have tab bar.

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  • Actually, it wouldn't be a terrible idea, but does Safari support opening multiple home pages / tabs when it's launched?
    – Chris W. Rea
    Commented Aug 29, 2009 at 18:03
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    The closest I can find is in Safari preferences, New windows open with: Choose tabs folder…
    – Benjamin Dobson
    Commented Aug 29, 2009 at 20:07

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