Reveal hidden features in Chrome and how to use them
Google Chrome is the world's most widely used web browser, controlling over 63.5% of the web browser market share across all operating systems. It offers many features that enhance the browsing experience for users, making it smoother and more efficient while helping them complete various tasks with ease. However, many of these features remain hidden to most users, especially those related to organizing and managing tabs.
If you're a frequent Google Chrome user, you'll need to know some tips to simplify the use, organization, and management of tabs to make your browsing experience more enjoyable and productive.
1. Organize tabs into groups:
If you have a lot of tabs open, you can organize them better by creating groups with related tabs on the same topic. Follow these steps:
- Open a new tab, then right-click on it to bring up a pop-up menu.
- Click "Add tab to new group".
- Once the group is created, you will see a small dot on the left side of the group. Right-click on the dot to choose a color and name for the group.
When using multiple groups, this makes it easier to organize your work, and you can add more tabs to the same group by right-clicking on the tab and selecting "Add tab to group" or by dragging the tab to the group. To remove a specific tab from a group, right-click on it and select "Remove from group" from the context menu. When you're done with a group, click its icon and choose either "Ungroup" or "Close Group" to close all tabs within it.
2. Toggle tabs in full screen:
To quickly switch between tabs while working in full-screen mode in Chrome, you can use the following keyboard shortcuts on Windows, Linux, or Chrome:
- (Ctrl + any number from 1 to 8): This shortcut allows you to switch between the first eight tabs you open, starting from the left. The number 1 is assigned to the leftmost tab.
- (Ctrl + 9): If you have more than eight tabs open, use this shortcut to switch to the rightmost tab.
For Mac users, use the following shortcuts:
- (Cmd + any number from 1 to 8): This allows you to switch between the first eight tabs you use, with the leftmost tab numbered 1.
- (Cmd + 9): You can use this shortcut to switch to the rightmost tab.
- (Cmd + Option + Right Arrow): This shortcut allows you to navigate to the tab to the left of the currently active tab.
- (Cmd + Option + Left Arrow): This shortcut allows you to go to the tab to the right of the currently active tab.
3. Easily search the tab list:
When you click the small down arrow next to the Minimize window button in Chrome, you can view a list of audio and video playback tabs, currently open tabs, and recently closed tabs. From this menu, you can quickly navigate to any of these options. If you have multiple similar open tabs, this menu lets you see the details of each, making it easy to quickly switch to the desired tab.
4. Save tabs for later use:
When you're working with a set of important tabs and want to come back to them later to continue your work, you can take advantage of the tab saving feature. Right-click on any empty space at the top of the browser window and select "Bookmark all tabs". Instead, use the shortcut Ctrl + Shift + D on Windows, Linux, or Chrome OS, or Cmd + Shift + D on your Mac.
By doing so, Chrome creates a folder with all of these tabs, which you can name before clicking the Save button. Alternatively, you can save individual tabs by clicking "Bookmark this tab" on the right side of the address bar, represented by a small star.
To find all your saved tabs, click on the three dots button in the top-left corner, then select "Bookmarks," and you'll find all the tabs you've saved.