Safari switching to specific Tab group

Tech Support
1

I have my Work Focus-mode set to switch on when I arrive at work. This means amongst other things Safari using the Work tab group.

But if I switch off the Work Focus-mode and just leave it off, then Safari on my Mac will STILL switch to the Work tab group at that location, which is extremely annoying.

It happens if I’m working with the Focus mode off and then I switch to another app on the Mac and then back to Safari and then I’m back in the Work tab group even though I had another tab group open before switching apps.

Anyone else experiencing this?

2

This seems to be the default behaviour. There is no action to either move back to the default set of tabs or to the previous setting when you exit a focus mode. This is contrary to every other use of focus mode filtering.

Drafts did the same initially, but then changed to it goes back to the default when exiting a focus mode.

3

I am not using the Focus-Modes with Safari yet, so I am not sure, if this will work, but maybe you could create a „Not-working-anymore“-Focus Mode, with no assignment for a Safari Tab, to switch towards this Mode, after using your Work-Mode.

4

If you’re going to do that, it’s less work just to change which Tab Group you’re working in, in Safari

5

To the surprise of nobody, I’ve just checked Safari’s AppleScript dictionary, and it’s not been updated.

Normally, at this point my solution would be to use either Keyboard Maestro or BetterTouchTool’s Shortcuts action for triggering a menu item, but for some reason (a bug, I guess), Safari’s Bookmarks > Tab Group Favourites lists my groups, but apparently without any item inside them, nor clicking the group name opens it.

At the moment, I don’t really see a way to automate this :frowning:

6

Why should this be more work?
If you switch to an other focus, without an assigned Tabgroup, the automation to switch to a certain group from the Work-Focus is stopped, and the problem solved, until you switch on the Work-Focus again.

7

Interestingly enough, iOS 16 brought an Open Tab Group action to Shortcuts (What’s new in Shortcuts - Apple Support), but that’s still missing on macOS… this is worth keeping an eye on, as a future macOS update could bring parity and therefore allow using Shortcuts to switch groups depending on context.

1 Like
8

Thanks for your comments. I still can’t fathom how it’s not a bug somehow that must be made away with. The idea that the location of a focus mode, when the focus mode is not on, will force Safari to switch to that tab group constantly is to me a very strange priority.

Well guess what, I’m switching to Chrome, when the work focus mode is not on at work!

9

Or just turn the Safari Focus filter off.

10

Or you took my way, I tested it today, it worked the way I described it.

1 Like
11

that’s the problem. When I do, if it is location based, then it will keep switching on to that particular Safari Tab Group

12

It should only trigger when you “break” the geofence (i.e enter the area). Not keep checking while you’re there.