Safari - I can't delete tabs

Ruadh2 wrote:

Next steps....

Unfortunately, the frozen tabs problem persists. I'll try with Support again, but I'm fearing that it's a full hard disk wipe and start again!

And so it turned out to be. We tried a few other things, like clearing cache in Safari (which was sure not to work, since the problem was systemic across other applications). However, in the end, all that was left was a full delete of the hard disk, reinstall, and loading data from TimeMachine https://support.apple.com/en-au/guide/mac-help/mh27921/mac, but with Computer & Network Settings tick box unticked (I actually opened the submenu and ticked Printer settings, which we figured would not be related to this problem).

After an hour or so, as the computer was setting up, I got some network extensions warnings (which I just clicked okay to, ignoring the advice to change settings, which apparently can't be done). Then there was a fair bit of tedious work resetting Security for some apps and downloading software updates, reloading my mail, and do on. My Word app seems to be pointing at some folders that I haven't used in months.

Everything seemed to came back okay, and I seemed to still have some settings - for example, I had two of my previous pinned tabs in Safari still there (which worried me!). However, a quick setup of some random tabs and unpinning and deleting one of the pinned tabs, and then quit Safari and reopen, and it was clear that my tabs were now being saved correctly! Then I check Preview preferences, and these changes are now sticking. And so on with other apps. So, problem solved, by the nuclear option.

It would still be interesting to find anyone who has this problem who found a specific solution, rather than to lose all your computer settings. I've had a series of Macs, but never had a breakdown of settings like this until Catalina.

Next steps....

On support advice, I've now tried the following steps for the Safari issue:

1. Moved the Safari plist files to desktop ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Safari.plist.xxxxxx and rebooted. I had eight of these files (with different random numbers and letters where the xxxxx are shown). On rebooting, no new plist files were created. I had done this previously, so at some point these files must be recreated, but on neither occasion did it fix my tabs problem.
2. Reset the NVRAM https://support.apple.com/en-au/guidehttps://support.apple. No change.
3. Reset permissions of Home folder. Although Apple support advise people do this procedure, Apple has removed the support page for for it: https://support.apple.com/HT203538. Others have documented it here: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251304255
4. Reinstall macOS (also explained in the previous link). No change.

Unfortunately, the frozen tabs problem persists. I'll try with Support again, but I'm fearing that it's a full hard disk wipe and start again!

Let me add some context.

I'm having general problems with saved settings and with recent files lists in my apps.

This may, or may not be related to my Safari problem. My History menu in Safari is working, so I though the failure to update my tabs in my Safari window might be unrelated.

The saved settings problem:

• In Preview, changed preferences will not stick. For instance, Preview won't allow:

If select Open Each File in its own Window, the setting will only hold until I quit, then it reverts to Open Groups of Files in the Same Window.

• Again, in Preview, the recent files list doesn't update. I've tried deleting relevant plists (eg. Finder, Recentfiles, etc) but it still won't update.

There seems to be general conflict between some of my old settings on High Sierra when they were transferred to Catalina with my new Mac.

So, taking this one step further.

Preview, to take one app, is not updating the list of files in the Window menu. The Window menu shows a list of open PDF files, ten in all. Like with my Safari tabs, I delete the files that I no longer need to read, and leave a couple that I'm actively using. I then Quit and reopen the app, or reboot and on opening all ten files are back in the Window menu list, and are, just as that shows, open, even though they were closed. I seem to be having a bad episode of Groundhog Day, in all my apps!

When I look at the Open Recent.... list in the File menu in Preview, it shows the files that I closed. I think this is behaving correctly. When I open a new pdf file, it also appears in this list. When I close the app and reopen, the new pdf file still shows in that list, though it disappears from the Window menu list (ie. it closes without me closing it). The Window menu list goes back to the Groundhog day list of the ten open files. That new file also shows up in Finder's Recent Folder, which is set to "Raw Query""=(kMDItemLastUsedDate = "*") &&. It doesn't show up as the most recent file used though.

Following advice here: how to clear recent items from Preview's menu in Dock

I moved com.apple.Preview.LSSharedFileList.plist" from ~/Library/Preferences to the Trash and rebooted. Note that the Preview recent items list in Dock, shows the same recent files that I see in the Recent folder in Finder and in the File>>Open Recent... list in Preview. In any case. the plist file was not recreated, and the behaviour did not change. I suspect that in Preview at least, my problem is not Recent Files, but the Open Files and the Preferences updating. So, my action was pointless, but made out of desperation! If there is another plist file that I should be recreating to fix this, please advise?

Anybody have any further ideas on why the Safari tabs are not staying deleted please? I can show that there is similar behaviour happening across a range of apps, such as Preview's failure to update the Open files list in the Window menu, so this is possibly something systemic.

Ruadh2 wrote:

Next steps....

I omitted a Safe Boot test that happened before the four steps listed. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262 Again, had no effect. I also added a test account, and tested the browser within that account, again without effect.

Is this a new "feature" of Safari 14.0, or of Catalina?

In Safari 12.1.2 running on my MBP with Mac OS Sierra 10.12.6 with Safari preferences General set to "Safari opens with": All windows from last session only open tabs at quit are open on reopening. Deleted tabs do not open.

I was thinking that this problem could be a plist corruption, but if it is a Feature, I'd like this confirmed. Ta.

Just to bump this again, in the hope that somebody has some thoughts ...

I'm also having a problem within applications with the "Recent places" list that comes up.

So, to be specific, in MS Excel, when you click on the Open command on the File menu, you then get the file interface. If you click on the folder at the top of that window you then get the folders in hierarchical order to your current file location and below that, five "Recent places", meant to be the five folders most recently used by the system. This recent place list is frozen in time at a couple of weeks ago, not long after I upgraded my computer, and like the Safari tabs, is not updating. Note that if I instead click on the "Open recent" command in the file menu, that that list of recent files last used by the app are correct. So, the recent files within the app are correct, but when I try to use the system interface, the recent folders are not up to date.

Any thoughts on this or my original problem, and if they related, are welcome!

Ruadh2 wrote:

...

I'm also having a problem within applications with the "Recent places" list that comes up.

...

This recent place list is frozen in time at a couple of weeks ago, not long after I upgraded my computer, and like the Safari tabs, is not updating.

Just a small update. On closer inspection, the "Recent places" list from clicking the Folder icon at the top of the file interface in the Open command in Applications (such as Excel, or Preview), does update within a session. That is, before you quit the application, it will list the last folder from which you opened a file. However, as soon as you quit and reopen, it goes from showing that recently used folder to the frozen in time list. Again, it's a kind of groundhog day, where things do change during the "day", but everything goes back to previous set point in time once the "day" is over.

Again, any assistance appreciated with these numerous "frozen" settings, which I think must be connected in some way to my Safari tabs problem.

shehroze210 wrote:

I am also facing the same issue.

Thank goodness! I thought I was going crazy!

A further clarification. The Recent Places list can fall back to the “Groundhog Day” list, even within a session, that is, before I quit or shutdown. Not sure what prompts this though.