Summary
Firefox is minimized on my laptop right now, but two of its pages are still floating above everything else, including the Google Docs document I’m typing in. That’s Mini Window, a Firefox feature that keeps a webpage visible while I work in another app. It’s a little like Picture-in-Picture mode, except it works with regular webpages instead of just videos. I’ve started thinking of it as an extra tab I can take anywhere. Pages that stay with me Two tabs I can carry into any app The biggest change is that my reference pages no longer have to stay inside Firefox. I can turn a tab into a Mini Window, minimize Firefox, open any other apps on my PC, and the page stays floating on top. I’ve tried it with several apps, and clicking around underneath doesn’t push the Mini Window behind them. It changes how I arrange my screen. I don’t need Windows Snap Layouts to give Firefox half my screen anymore. I can open the app I need and keep my references within reach. A regular tab can’t do that. It stays inside its browser window, so reaching it means bringing the whole browser forward. A Mini Window is a tab I can take with me and Firefox even lets me open more than one. I can shrink, stack, move, or adjust them as needed, all without opening Firefox. To create one, right-click a tab, click Move Tab → Move to Mini Window. The page opens in a small, movable window that floats above everything else. The tab disappears from the tab strip when it moves. Mini Window is part of Firefox 160, which Mozilla says reaches everyone on November 10. If you don’t see it on your right-click menu yet, go to about:config in the address bar, search for browser.mini-window.enabled and set it to true. That’s how I turned it on. Writing and researching The points I need are right next to what I’m reading I’ve noticed the biggest difference when researching. I often come across points I want to revisit while reading. Before, I’d leave the source on another page, and sometimes, I’d have to flip through tabs just to find it again. Now, I move the page into a Mini Window and just carry on. It stays in view so I can just glance at it when I need to. Sometimes, just seeing the page is enough to remind me there’s a point I still want to explore. The same applies when I’m writing. I open my document and keep the source floating above it. I don’t have to keep switching between apps, and the points stay connected to what I’m working on. My split-screen setup and trading I can follow a discussion and watch the numbers I also use the Mini Window for trading. I split my screen in Firefox, keeping charts and live market information on each side, then put live news and the trading subreddit in Mini Windows above them. I can read what people are saying, follow the news, and watch the chart at the same time. I used to rely on Floorp for split-screen work because it splits the screen four ways. That setup often freezes on my laptop, which I suspect is down to my laptop’s hardware. So, Firefox’s split view with a Mini Window floating above it has worked without a freeze so far. The two features complement each other. Split view gives me separate panes inside Firefox, while Mini Window floats above them. So nothing underneath has to shrink to make room. Limits so far A few things I’d change Closing Firefox closes every Mini Window with it. Minimizing the browser doesn’t, so I keep Firefox in the background and never close it while I work. I also set Firefox to restore my previous session. However, when I closed it and reopened it to check, the Mini Window didn’t come back. Neither the Mini Window nor its original tab returned. I had to reopen the page and move it into a Mini Window again. That’s inconvenient, especially after arranging my work and references. Mozilla describes Mini Window as an early version of the feature. It also says a moved tab can’t be reached from the regular window until you send it back, so I send a page back whenever I want it in my main window. Windows has another way to keep things on top. PowerToys can pin any window with Always On Top, which is useful for apps Firefox may not handle well. However, it requires an extra installation and pins the entire window. Mini Window, however, comes with Firefox and holds only the pages I want in view. For the webpages I want to keep nearby, that’s all I need. Move one page into Mini Window The missing restore after a restart is the one thing I’d like Mozilla to fix. Otherwise, Mini Window has earned a place in my workflow. I keep useful pages within my reach without keeping Firefox in front of everything else.