Google Chrome, according to public statistics of specialized sites, is conquering many users, both those who previously used Internet Explorer, targeted by the advertising of Chrome on the Google.it homepage, and by former Firefox users who have seen their favorite browser change without being satisfied. It is not a flawless browser, sometimes it seems to block the loading of pages, other times the Shockwave plugin crashes but, however it is, it has renewed the way you surf the internet with its minimalist simplicity and the wealth of features available in its interface.
So many are the internal features of Chrome that Google has even used it as the operating system of its Chromebook computers.
In this post we see 15 of the latest best features, the somewhat hidden ones, of Google Chrome browser that can greatly improve internet browsing, speed up repetitive tasks and definitely bring added value.
For sure, those who use Chrome for some time already know all the tricks of this browser but perhaps some features had been underestimated and forgotten.
1) Pin Tab
By clicking with the right mouse button on an open tab, you can lock the tab which is reduced in size and brought to the left.
This function allows you to always keep those sites open, such as, for example, Gmail or other web mailboxes, so that they are not closed by mistake and without being confused with the other tabs.
2) Copy, paste and search or go
This is one of the functions I like most about Chrome: to visit a website whose address is written in text form (for example navigaweb.net ), just select it with the mouse, press the right button and choose the Go to page option.
For any text that you select instead you can choose the search option to open a new tab with the search results for that or those words.
This feature is now also in Firefox but not on Internet Explorer.
3) Drag and drop the downloaded files to the desktop
When the download of a file finishes, there are two options: drag it with the mouse, keeping the left button pressed, into another folder or on the desktop or you can press the down arrow and immediately open the folder in which it was saved .
This means that you can also keep a fixed download path for all downloads, moving the file each time according to your organization.
4) The task manager
From the main menu of Google Chrome you can go, from the Tools menu, to the Task Manager to see how much computer memory occupies Chrome and each individual extension .
If Firefox and Internet Explorer are also open, from Google Chrome you can write the about: memory command on the address bar to display an extended task manager and find which browser occupies the most memory.
5) Developer tools
Those who manage websites, blogs or forums can not use the element inspection function of Chrome.
By trying to right click anywhere on this page, you can inspect the source code html, css and scripts used.
If you want you can also modify the code and preview the effect of the changes.
Furthermore, thanks to the PageSpeed function, you can see how fast a website loads and which parts are slower.
6) A calculator on the address bar
By trying to write 2 + 2 or 12 * 30 on the Chrome address bar, you get the mathematical result.
7) Resizing text boxes on a web page
A lot of times, the text boxes on the web pages are small and, after writing a few lines, a scroll bar appears that hides the previous text.
On Chrome, you can press the left button on the corner of a text box to enlarge it as is also done in the comments form on this page.
8) Site searches from the address bar
In every website there is a search box like the one above.
By right clicking on the search box, you can add the search engine to Chrome by clicking the corresponding option.
In the pop-up that opens, a keyword must be defined which, for Navigaweb.net, can be, for example, nav .
The next few times, whatever site you are visiting, you can start a search on Navigaweb.net by writing on the Nav address bar and then the word to find.
In another article, how to search a site from the browser's address bar.
9) Create links to applications and sites on the desktop
You can create applications from web pages in Chrome using the Tools -> Create application shortcuts to add as a desktop shortcut, to the Start menu or to the Windows taskbar.
This option could be used for frequently used sites or even to preset some websites for mom and dad who, typically, could not be very smart in using the internet.
10) Syncing your favorites, extensions and passwords to your Google Account .
With Google Chrome you can save all browser settings online so that, whatever the PC used, you can access your Google account via Chrome and find your favorite sites and extensions with which you are used to surfing.
This option, compared to other browsers, is much safer because with the Google account it is possible to set temporary passwords that, even if they are used on external computers (without obviously putting the "remember password for 30 days"), you can stay make sure your account won't be hacked or spied on.
To learn more about temporary passwords, read the post on Google and Gmail login and login with two-step verification
11) With Chrome you can reopen all the tabs previously closed so, if the browser crashes and closes on its own, you can always go back to where you were left to browse.
To reopen the open tabs, just right-click on a tab and choose the corresponding option.
12) About: Crash
If a card should get stuck for some reason, you can quickly "end" it by writing on the address bar of the about: crash card and then reloading it with the update button if you want to reload the web page.
13) Copy and paste Text only
If you copy and paste from a web page to a Word sheet, you also carry the formatting of the text, including bold and links.
To copy the text without formatting instead you can use the key combination Ctrl + Shift + V instead of Ctrl + V.
14) Chrome in the background
One of the latest features of Chrome is the execution of applications in the background, to be activated in the options of Chrome> Stuff from geeks, which serves to keep active those processes that send notifications and warnings.
For example, if the Gmail Notifier or X-notifier extensions for email notifications are installed on Chrome, or if you use some special application such as the Remote Desktop on Chrome, you can leave these processes active even after closing the browser window.
15) In another article, other Google Chrome tricks and hidden options for expert navigation including keyboard shortcuts.
I know that some of these functions have also been added in other browsers, especially Firefox has drawn a lot from Chrome to improve, however it is, just see the list of beta functions (write about: flags on the address bar) to understand that Google is being serious.
In another post, the best extensions for Chrome and the 20 most useful extensions
