Unexpected Behavior When Opening New Tab (CTRL + T) During YouTube Fullscreen Video

[mennigju]

Captchas

• I have read the instructions.
• I have searched existing issues and avoided creating duplicates.
• I am not filing an enhancement request.
• I have checked that this issue cannot be reproduced on Mozilla Firefox.
• I have checked that this issue can be reproduced once I removed all my Mods and Custom CSS.

What happened?

Problem Description

When watching a YouTube video in fullscreen mode in Zen Browser and pressing CTRL + T to open a new tab, the browser does not behave as expected. Instead of either exiting fullscreen mode (like Arc) or showing a new tab overlay (like Firefox), the URL/search input field opens in the background while the video remains in fullscreen. This requires manually exiting fullscreen mode to access the new tab, which disrupts the user experience.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open any YouTube video in Zen Browser
2. Enter fullscreen mode (using YouTube’s fullscreen button)
3. Press CTRL + T to open a new tab
4. The URL/search input appears in the background, but the video stays fullscreen
5. You must manually exit fullscreen ( ESC) to access the new tab

Expected Behavior

When pressing CTRL + T during fullscreen video playback, the browser should either:

• Automatically exit fullscreen and then open a new tab (like Arc Browser), or
• Display the new tab overlaying the fullscreen video (like Firefox)

Possible Relation to Existing Issues

This issue appears similar to:

• New Tab Menu Not Displayed During Fullscreen Video Playback #5229 ("New Tab Menu Not Displayed During Fullscreen Video Playback")
• Bug in zen.urlbar.replace-newtab (wierd behavior in fullscreen) #5225 ("Bug in zen.urlbar.replace-newtab (weird behavior in fullscreen)")

Suggested Solution

Consider adjusting the CTRL + T behavior in fullscreen mode to match that of Firefox or Arc. Alternatively, add a user setting to control whether CTRL + T should exit fullscreen.
It may also be related to the zen.urlbar.replace-newtab setting in about:config. Clear documentation of this setting and its effect on fullscreen behavior would be helpful.

Reproducibility

This issue occurs consistently every time CTRL + T is used during fullscreen YouTube playback.

I am happy to provide more information or assist with testing if needed.

Version

1.11.3b

What platform are you seeing the problem on?

Windows - x64

What component is this issue related to?

URL Bar

Relevant log output if applicable

[mennigju]

Issue also occurs in current (1.11.4t) Twilight version.

[eduardoleolim]

References

#6996 this was closed as fixed

#7665 this was opened yesterday