Thursday, 24 November 2022

CHROME TIPS & TRICKS YOU MUST KNOW

 



 Quick Start

Most people in the world use a browser (the application that opens your websites) called Chrome. It’s so popular and well-made that many other companies have built their one with the same engine (its core), that’s how browsers like Microsoft Edge, Opera Browser or Brave Browser came to be.

 

So, where’s the problem?

Many people use Chrome but rarely do they master it. This article helps with some tips and tricks that no one teaches, which would improve its usage.

 

Tips & Tricks

Browse with keyboard, not mouse

If you want to master navigation, you should learn browser hotkeys: they’re keyboard shortcuts to do things without the usage of a mouse.

Because there are too many shortcuts, I can’t write all of them below, but you can easily learn the most useful from the upper-right menu of Chrome: there are all hotkeys you can use for  almost every list item (ex. New Window ➜ CTRL + N). 

 


Use the URL bar, not the search bar

Browsers are designed for URLs (google.com etc.). They are always displayed on the address bar, while the search bar is exclusive for a search engine (Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, etc.).

When looking for Amazon, you shouldn’t focus on the search bar after opening a new window (with CTRL + N) or tab (CTRL + T), but open it and just start writing A-M-A… because focusing on the address bar is by default.

If you have already opened Amazon recently, it will probably autocomplete (display what you probably were looking for) your writing, and if correct, you'll just need to press enter. You’re done! How many times did you search on Google for the same result? 


 (when saying focus, I am talking about the element focused on the page, for ex. the textbox, input).

 

Drop it

Chrome is fantastic as for drag ‘n drop (dragging something over another, then releasing it to achieve an action) and you can use it in most cases.

 If you want to open a link in a certain place, drag it! Links can be opened in any position of your tabs and you can exactly choose where. You can drag a link before the current tab, on the current tab (to replace it with the new link) and, by default, after the current tab. 



Close without the close button (really?!?!)

Yes, you can close a tab without a close button, of course, just by hitting CTRL + W, or if you are a mouse lover, by hitting the middle button of your mouse on a tab ( yes, most mouses have a middle button, you just need to press the mouse wheel).

 Actions on multiple tabs at once

Like on File Explorer you would pick more files with CTRL + click, on Chrome you can select multiple tabs with the same shortcut. So you can close all your group research tabs (with CTRL + W)  just keeping the ones you need.

Bye-Bye tabs playing audio random

Watching a YouTube video, you hear noise from another page you left. Closing it may be wrong if you need it later on and you can’t just stop the audio with some button. To fix this, right-click the tab and Mute site. 

 


 

Find the content of a page

Looking for text on a page, you're scrolling through thousands of lines. STOP doing this!

Press CTRL + F (stays for find) and search for the content you need. 

 


Open it on a mobile device

Of course, I will send you an email - What?

Sorry, a WhatsApp through WhatsApp Web - Noooooooo!!! (throwing out of a window)

You probably want to open the page from the computer to a mobile device with a snap so click the share button on the right of the address bar, then QR Code.

 


 

Reopen the wrong closed tab

If you closed a tab by mistake, don’t panic, press CTRL + Shift + T and… here it is!

 

Offline Dino… online

If you started using Chrome not so recently, you probably have seen at least once the offline page, which shows Dino, a dino-saurus. Pressing the spacebar, you can interact with it and play a little video game, waiting for the network to come back online.

What if you want to play online? You really shouldn’t disconnect from your network just for this, so you can solve it writing in the address bar (note: not the search bar) chrome://dino and hit enter!

 


 

Endings

Probably this is only the tip of the iceberg. There are (and there will be) lots and lots more tips and tricks you can find, and these are just the most useful for good Chrome management.

Anyway, if you know or find some other Chrome tip and trick, let everyone know by posting a comment below! 

Giorgio B., 4sc

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