No duplicate tabs

A schedule that opens a website normally adds a new tab every time it runs. With Refresh tab if URL is already open, Tab Scheduler first checks whether the website is already open. If it is, that tab is reloaded instead, so you get fresh content without a pile of copies. It helps most with schedules that repeat often.

How refreshing a tab that is already open works

At the scheduled time, Tab Scheduler looks through your open tabs for the website in your Website Link.

• If it finds a match, it reloads that tab. If the website is open in several tabs, all of them are reloaded.
• If it finds no match, it opens the website as usual, in a new tab, or in a new window if you ticked Open URL In New Window.
• When Auto Focus Tab is on, the first matching tab is selected and its window comes to the front after the refresh.

When you enter only the website name, such as github.com, any open tab on that website counts as a match, whatever page it shows.

How to refresh an open tab instead of opening a copy

1. Click the Tab Scheduler icon in your browser toolbar and choose Settings.
2. Enter the website in Website Link, for example github.com.
3. Choose how often it should run in Select Frequency, such as Every 30 Minute.
4. Set Schedule Type to Open a website or Open, then close.
5. Fill in the open fields your frequency needs, such as Open Time.
6. Under More options, tick Refresh tab if URL is already open.
7. Click Save Schedule.

When to use refreshing a tab that is already open

• A status page every 30 minutes. Without this option, Every 30 Minute adds two new tabs an hour. With it, the same tab is simply reloaded.
• Your morning dashboard. Open dashboard.example.com at 8:30 with Every Day. If you left it open yesterday, it is refreshed with today's numbers instead of opening twice.
• Lunchtime news. Open news.example.com at 12:30 on weekdays. If the site is already open, you get the latest headlines in the tab you already have.

Good to know about refreshing a tab that is already open

• For a reliable match, enter just the website, such as github.com, without a page path or a slash at the end.
• This option cannot be used with Open URL in Background. Ticking that option switches this one off.
• With Open in incognito mode, Tab Scheduler looks only in private windows and refreshes the first tab with the same address. If there is none, a new private tab opens.
• A refresh reloads the page, so anything you typed on it and did not save may be lost.
• Each refresh is listed as Refresh on the History page.
• Your computer must be awake and the browser must be running at the scheduled time. Power Mode keeps the computer awake.