Known for its swift performance, sleek interface, built-in malware protection, and seamless integration with Google’s suite of services, Chrome stands as the most widely utilized browser. However, beyond its surface, Chrome conceals numerous features designed to elevate productivity. Let’s delve into how these features can enable users to accomplish more in less time.
Harness the power of Tab groups
The process of navigating through a multitude of open tabs can often prove to be a cumbersome distraction while surfing the web. Fortunately, Chrome’s tab groups feature serves as a remedy to this issue. This functionality allows users to categorize tabs based on specific activities into distinct groups. By seamlessly organizing open tabs, this feature minimizes clutter and enhances productivity.
To initiate a tab group in Chrome, simply right-click on any open tab (or a blank tab) and opt for “Add Tab to a New Group.” Subsequently, assign a name to the group and hit Enter to create it.
Once you’ve established a tab group, you can seamlessly incorporate any new tab into it. Simply right-click on an open tab and choose “Add Tab to Group” > [Group Name].
To access tabs within a tab group, simply click on the group tab to expand it. When you’re finished with the tabs, clicking on the tab group once more will collapse it, neatly concealing the opened tabs from view.
Restore accidentally closed Tabs with ease
Chrome conveniently keeps track of recently closed tabs, offering a quick solution to reopen them. This feature proves invaluable if tabs are inadvertently closed, sparing users the inconvenience of manually restoring them. Simply click on the drop-down menu located in the top-left corner to access the Search Tabs menu. From here, a list of recently closed tabs is presented, allowing users to effortlessly reopen any desired tab with a single click.
The feature keeps track of recently closed tabs even if you accidentally close the browser session. However, there’s a limitation to remember: it only displays the last eight recently closed tabs. If you had more than eight tabs open when you closed your browser session, you could only reopen the last eight tabs you closed.
Preserve Tabs across sessions
If you frequently find yourself accidentally closing your browser with multiple tabs open, only to later reopen them either from the “recently closed tabs” list or by starting from scratch, consider activating the “Continue Where You Left Off” feature. This option, once enabled, keeps a record of the websites you had open in your previous browsing session and automatically restores them when you relaunch Chrome.
One noteworthy advantage of this feature is its ability to retain tabs from your prior browsing session even after shutting down or restarting your device. To enable it, click on the three vertical dots located in the top-right corner, then choose “Settings.” From there, navigate to the “On Startup” section in the left sidebar and mark the circle next to “Continue Where You Left Off.”
Utilize Chrome’s side panel
Chrome’s side panel is a convenient feature that allows you to access your reading list, bookmarks, and history, and perform web searches without leaving the current tab. This is useful for quickly looking up unfamiliar terms or concepts while reading an article, as it eliminates the need to switch between tabs.
To access the side panel in Chrome, click on the Side Panel icon located to the left of your Chrome profile’s icon. From the drop-down menu, you can choose to view your reading list, bookmarks, or history, or you can select “Search” to open a search field and browse the web without leaving your current tab.
The side panel cannot open websites within itself; they are opened in the browser tab. However, this feature can be handy for quick searches to find answers in snippets and “People also ask.”
Safeguarding Incognito Tabs
While incognito mode ensures browsing privacy, leaving laptops unattended in shared spaces poses risks. Closing the incognito window to maintain privacy also means losing the private browsing session, necessitating tab reopening.
Chrome offers a solution by enabling you to lock incognito tabs upon browser closure. This feature, however, is exclusive to Chrome for iPhone and Android.
To activate, tap the three vertical dots on Chrome for Android or horizontal dots on Chrome for iPhone, then access “Settings.” Navigate to “Privacy and Security” and toggle “Lock Incognito Tabs When You Leave (Close) Chrome.”
Afterwards, verify your identity by entering your PIN, scanning your fingerprint, or utilizing Face ID on your iPhone or iPad, and you’re all set.
Optimize performance with Chrome’s Memory Saver mode
If Chrome lags and freezes while browsing, particularly with numerous tabs open, it’s a sign that your PC is low on memory resources. Chrome offers a solution with its memory-saving feature, which puts inactive tabs to sleep to allocate more memory to the tabs you’re actively using, thus enhancing browsing speed.
To enable Memory Saver, click on the three vertical dots in the top-right corner, go to “Settings,” then select the “Performance” tab on the left, and toggle on the switch next to Memory Saver.
Seamlessly share pages across devices
Chrome facilitates effortless sharing of page links across devices, allowing you to quickly access the same content on different devices without the need for manual copy-pasting. Ensure your Google account is signed in to Chrome on all devices to utilize this feature effectively.
To share a link from a smartphone app to a desktop browser, tap the Share button, and choose “Send to Your Devices.”
Next, select the active device, and click “Send to Your Device.”
In Chrome for the web, you’ll receive a pop-up notification signalling that the page has been shared from another device. Simply click “Open” to immediately access the link.
To share a link from your laptop to your smartphone, simply right-click in the address bar, choose “Send to Your Devices,” and select your desired device. Then, access the link from your receiving device.
