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Question, is there a way to keep tabs out of the browser view in the current version of Opera? Because I'd love to come back to Opera.
It's a bit unclear which "current" Opera version you're trying to block tabs in... if it's the latest series of Blink Opera versions (eg: 3x.xx) it's not possible as @leog noted, but if it's the Presto series that's just been updated to 12.18, it is still possible. In the 12.18 version, to simply block the tab bar from appearing, you can follow the steps: shift+F12 (to select the Appearance panel) > Toolbars > uncheck the "Tab Bar" box > OK. Note: in that case, if you should somehow open a page in a new tab, it will appear in the current window and block the previous page's display, and you will have to be manually close the new one to return to the previous page in the window. If you want to avoid that situation, you can set new pages to open in new windows instead of tabs: ctrl+F12 > Tabs > Additional Tab Options > Open windows instead of tabs > OK > OK. All of this is unchanged in at least all the 12.xx Opera versions thru 12.18.