My Top Google Chrome Tips

We have recently been talking with a lot of my customers about cool ways to better use Google Chrome. You may not yet use it, but it is the most popular browser for your average punter and rock solid. So below are my top tips to help you use Chrome better.  

Chrome Keyboard Shortcuts

Like any good browser, Google Chrome has several keyboard shortcuts that help improve your productivity. Below are a few of our top favourites.

• Ctrl+1 - 8 = Pressing Ctrl and any number key 1 through 8 moves to the corresponding tab in your tab bar.
• Ctrl+H = Show history.
• Ctrl+J = Open Downloads window.
• Ctrl+K = Move the cursor to the address bar.
• Ctrl+T = Open a new tab.
• Ctrl+Shift+T = Undo any closed tab.

King IT offers lessons for those who need a bit more help and want to find out about more of Google Chrome shortcut keys.

Use the Address Bar To Do More Than Search

The Google address bar does more than displaying the URL and allowing you to search. It's also capable of performing mathematical calculations and conversions such as "how many cups are in 2 litres?" Try adding any math calculation now in the address bar without pressing Enter to have the results shown.

Sync Chrome with your Google Account

Chrome allows you to sync your settings, passwords, and bookmarks to your Google account. If you switch computers a lot (e.g., work computer and home computer), sync allows you to access all your bookmarks and account settings from any device. You can log into your Google Account and adjust your sync settings by going into Settings under the Google Chrome menu icon. If you need help with this we can give you a hand in-store. 

Pin your Frequently Used Tabs

Pin your favourite tabs to save space on your tab bar without losing quick access to your favourite pages. In the picture above, you can see we have eight pinned tabs, which would have normally consumed our tab bar. To Pin a tab, right-click any open tab and select Pin Tab. You can also click-and-drag a pinned tab to the position of your choice.

Use the Autofill Feature

Great for Covid Check-Ins! Use the Chrome autofill feature for automatically filling out any online form with common fields such as your name, e-mail, address, etc. To enter the autofill values, click the hamburger menu icon in the upper-right corner of the browser window and click settings. At the bottom of Settings, click Show advanced settings. Click Manage Autofill settings under Passwords and forms. In the Autofill settings window, fill out all address settings you want to be saved and click OK.

Once complete, try out your autofill using the form below. To enter the values, click any of the fields below and select the name of your autofill.
If you need extra help pop in and I can set this up for you. 

Resize Text Boxes

Chrome gives you the ability to resize any text field, which is useful for when you're filling out a form that doesn't seem big enough for all the information you're entering. To resize the text field click-and-drag the bottom right corner of the box. 

Use the Chrome Task Manager

Each open tab runs its own environment to help with browser stability. This can make it difficult to see the overall system resources being used. Use the Chrome Task Manager to show you how much memory and CPU resources each open tab and extension you have installed is using. To open the Task Manager, press Shift+Esc.

Quickly Close a Tab

Any tab can be closed by clicking the x on the tab. However, there are quicker ways to close a tab. For example, if you have a mouse with a wheel pushing in on the wheel anywhere on the tab closes the tab. The shortcut keys Ctrl+W or Ctrl+F4 also close the currently open tab. Middle-clicking on any link also opens that link in a new tab.

Hopefully, all these tips have helped you find some new tricks that will help you use Chrome better.