Google Chrome is one of the most popular web browsers in the world, but it’s actually much more feature-rich than just web browsing.
Chrome is an almost stand-alone operating system with its own applications and management framework. In fact, when it comes to Chromebooks, it literally works like an operating system.
Thus, you will be forgiven for missing out on some of the deeper and more advanced features the software has to offer. Here are five advanced features of Google Chrome that you don’t know how you lived without.
Profiling is good
When getting a profile is a good thing
Operating systems like Windows (and apps like Netflix) have user profiles. This means that multiple people can use the same device or application without having the same history of actions, settings, etc.
Chrome offers exactly the same functionality, but for some reason it seems that most people either don’t realize it or don’t see the point. Of course, people are less likely to share devices, but this does not mean that Chrome profiles are not used for other purposes.
One great way to use profiles is to use one for work and one for personal use. This will prevent your personal internet habits from contaminating your work computer and will allow you to have separate login details for services that can appear in both settings. For example, you might have a work or personal Office 365 subscription.
Accessing your profiles couldn’t be easier. Just click the three-dot menu button in the upper-right corner of the Chrome window and select Preferences.
Now click on “Manage Other People”.
In the window that appears, click “Add person”.
Give your profile a name and hit Add and you will have a shiny new profile! You can switch profiles by clicking the profile avatar icon in the upper right corner of the browser window and selecting the profile you want.
By the power of omnibox!
Through the power of the omnibox!
Most of us think of the address bar as the place where you put URLs, but Google’s address bar isn’t really an address bar! Its own name is Omnibox and it is a direct interface to the Google search engine.
You’ve probably already noticed that you can just type your search terms into the omnibox and go straight to Google results, but many people don’t know that you can do things like math, transformations, weather search, etc. Omnibox without even going to the actual search page to see the answer.
Omnibox is much more than that, but it deserves its own article if you want to really master it.
Don’t worry about the password
Manage stress on your password
Passwords, passwords are everywhere, and we can’t remember them!
Yes, passwords are a painful reality. Weak passwords are easy to remember, strong passwords are hard to remember, and nobody really likes to deal with them. The best solution is to use a good password manager, but most people don’t bother and then they develop bad habits such as using the same passwords across multiple services.
Google came to the rescue and now includes a corresponding password manager in Chrome itself. You can easily view and search for usernames and passwords that have been saved in Chrome, which is handy if you need to recover a password you forgot.
The latest version of Chrome now also offers to generate strong passwords for you when you register or change your password on a website. These passwords are also synced to the cloud, so they will follow you wherever you sign into Chrome.
To access the Chrome Password Manager, simply click the menu button, click Settings, and then click Passwords.
This is where you can search for your passwords, enable or disable the ability for Chrome to suggest saving your passwords, and quickly see which sites you have saved passwords for. You can also turn on auto-signature to sign in to the site without having to enter anything manually.
Moving multiple tabs will change your life
Moving multiple tabs will change your life
Tabbed browsing was an absolute revolution, but managing tabs can be a real chore. Especially when you drag and drop them one at a time to the desired windows.
It turns out there has never been a need to painstakingly move each tab individually to another Chrome window. If you just hold Ctrl while clicking on the tabs, you can move them around in groups. Yes, we also felt stupid when we found out.
Disable sites to keep your sanity
Mute websites to keep your sanity
The internet is full of media riches, but it can also be a maddening cacophony. Pop-up ads and other unwanted noise sources can be frustrating and distracting. Worse, finding the culprit can be a problem among all open tabs.
This is where Chrome helps you in two ways. First of all, sites that play audio have a small speaker icon in the tab header. This way you can quickly see who is transmitting something through the speakers. To quickly curb the noise, simply right-click the tab and select Disable Site.
Just remember that all tabs open on this site will now be disabled, so if you really want to hear audio, you can simply cancel the process.
More than just a shiny name
More than just a brilliant name
The list of Chrome features that users should know about is quite long, and we’re sure we don’t know all of them. Once you delve deeper into advanced omnibox commands, the rabbit hole journey really gets stressful, but that’s history for another day. Enjoy!
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