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Use Picture-in-Picture (PiP) for a video. Use Firefox Mini Window when you need an entire tab or a selected part of a webpage—such as a document, chat, form, image or reference page—to remain visible and interactive above other windows.
Both features create floating, always-on-top views, but they solve different problems. PiP is a compact video player. Mini Window is a reduced Firefox page view that can contain almost any webpage content. Mini Window is still an early feature: Mozilla announced it for Nightly on 19 October 2026, with Firefox 160 release-channel availability planned for 10 November 2026.
The difference in one sentence
Picture-in-Picture detaches an HTML video from a webpage; Mini Window detaches either a complete Firefox tab or a selected webpage section. That distinction determines what you can keep visible, what controls appear, and whether the floating view remains a general browser surface or becomes a video-only player.
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Mozilla describes Mini Window as an early feature in Firefox 160 that moves a tab, or a selected section of a page, into a compact Firefox window that stays on top of other windows while you browse. Firefox’s source documentation describes an always-on-top window with a simplified toolbar.
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Full-tab mode
Full-tab mode moves the complete tab into the floating window. This is useful when the thing you need is not a single media element but a whole working surface: a document, webmail conversation, reference page, chat, form or web application. Links, fields and other page controls remain part of the page view rather than being reduced to playback controls.
Selected-fragment mode
Fragment mode lets you choose one section of a busy webpage. The selected fragment is shown in the Mini Window, scales as you resize the window, and can be panned and interacted with like the page. This is the mode to choose when a page contains a small dashboard, timetable, image, chat panel or reference block that must remain visible while the rest of the page is out of the way.
What happens to the original tab
After a tab or section is moved, it is no longer accessible in the regular Firefox window until you send it back. Closing the Mini Window closes that floating view. The window also provides audio mute and unmute controls when the moved content produces sound.
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What Firefox Picture-in-Picture is
Firefox Help defines PiP as popping a video out of a webpage into a floating window while you work in other tabs. Mozilla’s product description says the video remains pinned while you move to another tab or outside Firefox, and that you can repeat the process for multiple PiP videos; behavior for multiple windows can vary by release and should be checked in the Firefox version you use.
A video-focused window
PiP is built around a video element. Its controls are playback-oriented, and the W3C Picture-in-Picture model treats the floating content as a separate miniature video window that remains on top even when the browser itself is not visible. The window’s aspect ratio follows the video’s dimensions rather than the layout of the surrounding webpage.
PiP does not detach the page around a video
When PiP is active, the floating view is the video player, not the article, comments, form or controls around it. If you need to click a webpage control, read nearby text or keep a non-video panel visible, Mini Window is the more appropriate feature when available.
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Mini Window and PiP compared
| Question | Mini Window | Picture-in-Picture |
|---|---|---|
| What can it float? | A complete Firefox tab or a selected section of a webpage. | A video from a webpage. |
| Best for | Documents, chats, forms, images, reference material, web applications and selected page regions. | Lectures, meetings, tutorials, streams and other video playback. |
| Can you interact with page content? | Yes. A selected fragment can be panned and interacted with like the page; full-tab mode retains the page view. | The floating view is centered on video playback controls. |
| Window behavior | An always-on-top Firefox window with a simplified toolbar. | An always-on-top miniature video window whose proportions follow the video. |
| How it starts | Use a tab or page context-menu command, or add the Mini Window toolbar icon. | Use the Picture-in-Picture button over a playing video or the video’s context menu. |
| What remains in the normal browser window? | The moved tab or section is unavailable there until you send it back. | The original page remains available; PiP provides a separate view of its video. |
| Multiple floating views | The supplied Firefox documentation describes the feature’s tab and fragment modes; it does not establish a final limit for simultaneous Mini Windows. | Mozilla says the process can be repeated for multiple PiP videos; verify the exact behavior in your release. |
| Availability on 28 October 2026 | Early version available to Nightly users; Firefox 160 release-channel availability was planned for 10 November 2026. | An established Firefox feature documented in Firefox Help and Mozilla’s product material. |
How to open a Firefox Mini Window
Move an entire tab
- Right-click the tab you want to keep above your other work.
- Choose Move Tab, then Move to Mini Window.
- Continue working in the compact window. The tab is no longer available in the regular Firefox window while it is moved.
This route preserves the whole tab, so it is the better choice when you need to navigate within the page, use several controls or switch between parts of an application.
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Move one section of a page
- Right-click the page content containing the region you want to keep visible.
- Choose Move Section to Mini Window.
- Select the section when Firefox prompts you to do so.
- Resize the Mini Window as needed. The selected content scales with the window; pan within it when the region is larger than the visible area.
Section mode avoids carrying the rest of a crowded page into the floating view. It is useful for keeping one panel visible while you work in another application or browser tab.
Add the toolbar button
If you prefer a toolbar control, open Firefox’s toolbar customization interface and add the Mini Window icon. The available command labels and icon placement are part of the early Firefox 160 implementation, so they may change before release-channel rollout.
Return or close the view
Use the Mini Window’s available command to send the tab or section back when you need it in the regular browser window. You can also close the Mini Window. If the moved content is playing audio, use the window’s mute or unmute control rather than changing the volume of unrelated applications.
How to open and control Picture-in-Picture
Use the video overlay
- Start playing a video on a webpage.
- Move the pointer over the video and click Firefox’s Picture-in-Picture button.
- Continue browsing in another tab or outside Firefox while the video remains in the floating window.
The overlay button is the most visible route when a site exposes Firefox’s PiP control on the video.
Use the context menu
- Right-click the video.
- Choose the Picture-in-Picture command.
This route is useful when the hover controls are hidden or difficult to reach. Firefox Settings can hide the hover controls, but disabling them does not remove right-click activation.
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Understand the available controls
PiP controls are designed for playback rather than page interaction. Expect controls associated with watching the video, while the surrounding webpage remains in its original tab. The floating window’s shape follows the video’s aspect ratio, so resizing changes its dimensions without turning it into a general-purpose page panel.
Which feature fits common tasks?
Watching a lecture while taking notes
Choose PiP. The video can remain pinned while your notes, outline or research stay in another tab or application. You do not need the lecture page’s surrounding controls in the floating view.
Following a video call while filling a form
Choose PiP for the call video when the call is delivered as a video element and you only need to watch it. Choose Mini Window for the form if the form itself must stay visible or interactive. The two features address different parts of that workflow rather than competing for the same content.
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Choose Mini Window in full-tab mode when the conversation needs scrolling, links, buttons or text entry. PiP cannot substitute for a general chat page because its floating content is the video element.
Keeping one dashboard panel visible
Choose Mini Window’s selected-fragment mode. It is intended for isolating a region of a busy page, and the fragment can be resized, panned and interacted with.
Watching more than one video
PiP is the relevant feature. Mozilla’s product page says the process can be repeated for multiple PiP videos, although the number of windows and exact behavior should be confirmed in the Firefox release and operating-system combination you are using.
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Keeping an image or reference page visible
Choose Mini Window. Full-tab mode preserves the page around the image or reference, while fragment mode can isolate the relevant region when the rest of the page is distracting.
A practical decision framework
Ask these questions in order:
- Is the content a video element? If yes, PiP provides the purpose-built floating player.
- Do you need controls, links, text entry or scrolling from the page? If yes, use Mini Window when the feature is available.
- Do you need only one region of a large page? Select Mini Window fragment mode instead of moving the complete tab.
- Do you need the original tab to remain in the normal window? PiP leaves the page there while exposing a separate video view. Mini Window moves the tab or section, so it is unavailable in the regular window until returned.
- Is Mini Window missing? Check the Firefox channel and version before changing your workflow; its release-channel rollout was still planned rather than completed on 28 October 2026.
What “always on top” means here
Both features create a floating view intended to remain above other windows. PiP’s definition is explicit: the miniature video window remains visible even when the browser is not visible. Mini Window is likewise described by Mozilla as staying on top of other windows while you browse.
Always-on-top does not mean the two windows have identical behavior. Mini Window remains a Firefox page surface with a simplified toolbar, and selected content can be panned and interacted with. PiP is a video surface with playback-oriented controls and video-based sizing. Choose based on the content and interaction you need, not simply on the fact that both windows float.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Availability and rollout timing
Mozilla employee Ania announced the early Mini Window feature on 19 October 2026. The announcement said Nightly users could try it and that release-channel availability was planned for Firefox 160 on 10 November 2026. On 28 October 2026, that release date was still in the future, so menu labels, shortcuts, platform behavior and accessibility details should be treated as provisional until Firefox 160 ships.
PiP is already documented in Firefox Help and Mozilla’s product material. Its web-platform model is also described by the W3C, whose document is a 2025 working draft. That specification explains the video-centered API and window behavior; it is not a complete reference for every Firefox menu, shortcut or platform detail.
If you are using Firefox Nightly
Nightly is the channel identified in Mozilla’s announcement for trying Mini Window before the planned release-channel date. Because the feature is early, expect implementation details to change. If a menu item or toolbar icon differs from the labels above, follow the labels shown by your installed Nightly build rather than assuming the final Firefox 160 interface.
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If you are using release Firefox
Before 10 November 2026, the release channel may not contain Mini Window even though documentation and announcements describe it. PiP remains the established option for floating videos. After Firefox 160 becomes available, check the version’s release notes and menus for the final Mini Window behavior.
Common problems and fixes
The Mini Window command is not present
- Confirm which Firefox channel and version you are running. Nightly was the channel named for early access, while release-channel availability was planned for Firefox 160 on 10 November 2026.
- For a full tab, open the tab’s context menu and look under Move Tab.
- For a fragment, right-click page content rather than the tab itself and look for Move Section to Mini Window.
- If you want a toolbar route, use Customize toolbar and look for the Mini Window icon.
The original tab seems to have disappeared
That is expected after moving a tab or section: the moved content is not accessible in the regular Firefox window until you send it back. Look for the open Mini Window rather than opening another copy of the page.
The PiP button is missing
- Start playback and move the pointer over the video so Firefox can display its overlay control.
- If hover controls are hidden in Firefox Settings, use the video’s right-click menu instead; hiding the overlay does not disable right-click activation.
- Make sure you are invoking the menu on the video itself, not on surrounding page text.
The floating view is the wrong shape
PiP follows the video’s aspect ratio by design. A video with a wide or vertical format will produce a correspondingly shaped player. Mini Window fragment mode scales the selected page region as the window is resized; pan within the fragment when its content extends beyond the visible area.
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The available material does not establish final Mini Window shortcuts, platform-specific behavior or accessibility details. Those details may change during the early rollout, so consult the documentation for the Firefox version you are actually using instead of relying on an unverified shortcut.
Technical context: why the controls differ
The W3C Picture-in-Picture specification models PiP around HTML video elements. Sites can request or exit PiP, observe when a video enters or leaves the floating state, and observe changes to the PiP window size. This model explains why PiP offers playback controls and why its proportions are tied to video dimensions.
Mini Window extends the floating-window pattern beyond video. Mozilla’s description covers a whole tab and a selected page fragment, so the content remains a browser page rather than being reduced to a media surface. The result is a different interaction model: page controls and selected-region interaction are central, while media playback is only one possible use.
Bottom line
Pick PiP when the thing you want to watch is a video and you want a compact playback window while working elsewhere. Pick Mini Window when the thing you need floating is a webpage, a tab or a selected page section that must remain usable. As of 28 October 2026, Mini Window is an early Nightly feature with Firefox 160 release availability planned for 10 November; PiP is the established choice until Mini Window reaches the channel and platform you use.
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