Get the most out of Google Chrome

Get the most out of Google Chrome

Let’s face it, the light-and-fast Google Chrome browser is the only way to surf the web—no question. But whether you’re new to the browser or an old veteran, we’ve got some tricks to improve your mileage. Our Google Chrome Optimization Guide will show you which Google Chrome extensions to download and ways to tweak settings you didn't even know were there.

Take a Shortcut

Before we dive in to Chrome's many hidden gems, let's start with some basics (run before you walk, as they say). Just like in Windows, shortcuts can save you a ton of time in Chrome, as well as having to constantly reach for the mouse to perform menial tasks such as opening new tabs. Memorize these handy shortcuts and you'll be well on your way to mastering Chrome:

• Ctrl+N: Opens a new window.
• Ctrl+T: Opens a new tab.
• Ctrl+Shift+N: Opens a new window in incognito mode so you can, uh, shop birthday gifts on the sly. Yeah, that's what this is used for, right?
• Ctrl+Shift+T: Resurrects the last tab you just sent to the graveyard. You can reopen the last 10 tabs you closed.
• Alt+F or Alt+E: Opens the Chrome menu.
• Ctrl+Shift+B: Toggles the bookmarks bar on and off.
• Ctrl+H: Opens the History page.
• Ctrl+J: Opens the Downloads page.
• Shift+Esc: Opens Chrome's Task Manager, so you can see which tabs are using the most resources, potentially slowing down performance.

These are just some of the many, many Window keyboard, Google Chrome feature, address bar, webpage, and text shortcuts available in Chrome. If you spend a few minutes each day learning a couple of new shortcuts, it won't be long until you've committed them all to memory.

Now, onto the fun stuff...

Enable Chrome's Gold Icon

Vinyl decals won't make your Honda Civic go any faster than it's already capable of going, and by that same token, replacing Chrome's icon with the hidden Gold version doesn't offer anything other than an aesthetic change. Be that as it may, it's super easy to add a little bling:

1. Right-click Google Chrome's shortcut and select Properties
2. Select the Shortcut tab and click Chance Icon...
3. Choose the Gold icon and press OK, then Apply the change

After you swap the icon, sit back and languish in the jealousy of your co-workers!

Get Freaky with Favicons!

One reason to use Chrome is because it offers a clean and clutter-free interface, a fact that's not lost on competing browser makers who've attempted to emulate the look and feel of Chrome. Even still, there's room for improvement. One way to simplify Chrome's interface even further is to only use Favicons in the bookmarks bar.

First, make sure the bookmarks bar is enabled. If it isn't, press Ctrl+Shift+B to toggle it on, or press the Menu button denoted by three lines in the upper right-hand corner (previously the Wrench icon), expand the Bookmarks option, and select Show bookmarks bar.

Now that you can see the Bookmarks bar, go through your bookmarks and delete the text of existing ones, and do the same when adding a new bookmark. What you'll be left with is a bunch of Favicons, which not only looks cleaner, but it saves space too. Pretty neat, isn't it?

Home Sweet Homepages

Why settle for a single homepage when you can own two, three, or even a dozen? Or more! We're creatures of habit, and if you're like us, you have a selection of websites you visit every time you fire up your browser. In Chrome, it's easy to configure multiple homepages. Just go to Menu > Settings and select the 'Open a specific page or set of pages' radio button. Click the Set pages hyperlink and start typing in your go-to websites.

Fool Your Friends with Fake Edits

It's not nice to prank your friends and family, but it can be hilarious, not to mention incredibly easy in Google Chrome. Let's say you want to convince your co-worker that AMD just purchased Intel for a mere $35 million (as if!). Load up a reliable website for tech news, like MaximumPC.com, right-click an article's headline, and select Inspect Element. This will bring up a developer console in the lower portion of the browser where you can edit the webpage locally. Change the headline, and if you want to go all out, do the same for the thumbnail image and even the article text. Close out the developer console and all that's left is a fake news story on a legitimate website!

Of course, there are practical uses for the developer console that don't include pranking your buddies. It's a neat way to inspect various web code and analyze HTML parse errors to ensure a clean website.

Command Chrome Like a Boss

Google Chrome is a constant work in progress, and often times the developers will disable certain functions that might not be ready for prime time for one reason or another. If you want to see what they are, and even enable them, type Chrome://flags in the address bar (Omnibar) and hit Enter. Bear in mind that they've all been disabled for a reason, and enabling one could break your browser.

Another one of our favorite commands is Chrome://memory, which shows not only how much memory Chrome is consuming, but also other browsers running on your system.

There are lots of other commands to play around with. Type Chrome://about to see a list of them.