12 tips and tricks for Chrome browser

Google Chrome is more and more popular because it is fast and has many plug-ins. Furthermore, Chrome only needs a small amount of computer resource for running. This post introduces some useful tips and tricks for surfing web with Chrome.

 

1. Change interface language on Mac

To change display language for Chrome on Mac, you need to change system language in System > Preferences > Language & Text. In Language tab, choose a language by moving it to the top and then restart your computer.

 

2. Open multiple pages when starting Chrome

If you want to save your time for opening websites that you use daily, let Chrome open them when it starts. To do this, click on the Tool button and choose > Preferences (or input chrome://settings in Chrome address bar). In Basic tab, choose On Startup, then click on “Open the following pages” and add your favorite websites. Restart Chrome before using.

 

3. Pin Tab

To get information faster from some important websites, you can pin the websites. To do this, right click on the tab and choose “Pin Tab” in the context menu. To unpin it, also right click and then choose “Unpin Tab”. Pined tab will be displayed at the same position each time you run Chrome.

 

4. Add Home button to toolbar

Home is a button that you may use frequently. However, Chrome hides this button in default. To show this button on toolbar, go to Basics > Toolbar and choose “Show Home button”.

 

5. Sync Chrome with Google Account
You can sync bookmarks, extensions, interface settings, passwords, apps, … with a Google Account to save time when you use Chrome with different computers. 

 

To do this, go to Settings page > Personal Stuff and click “Set up Sync” and input your Google account.

 

And then choose which you want to sync and Click OK.

This sync function also can be use with Android browser with ChromeMarks app that can be downloaded from Android Market.

 

6. Using Chrome address bar as a calculator or unit converter

The address bar of Chrome (also named OmmiBox) can be used as a calculator or unit converter tool. Simply, you can input equations and Chrome will display the results.

In the case you want to convert units, you can use formula: data + original unit + “in” + target unit. For example, to convert 50kg to pound you can use: 50kg in lbs.

 

7. Task Management

Chrome has a task management that manages all running websites and tabs. You can check RAM, CPU, or speed of each web page. To access this function, click on Chrome > Tools > Task Manager.

If you want to end a website that uses a lot of RAM, chose this website and click on “End Process”.

8. Move among Tabs faster

Press Control + a number to move among tabs faster. For example Control + 1 to move to tab 1. In Mac, use Command instead of Control. To open tabs in the opened order, press Control + Tab or Control + Shift + Tab for the inverse order.

9. Change the size of input textbox

In Chrome, to change the size of textbox, click on the icon at the right-bottom corner of the textbox and resize the textbox.

 

10. Add information to webpage using Inspect Element
You can use Inspect Element to check all information about a running webpage. To access this function, right click on the website and choose one of options: Elements, Resources, Networks etc.

 

11. Open website in Incognito mode
In Chrome, you can use Incognito mode to surf web more securely. In this mode, no information will be saved. To access this mode, choose Chrome > New Incognito Windows (or press Control/Command + Shift + N).

A fast way to open a link is to drag and drop this link into the address bar. This website will be opened immediately.

 

12. Chrome Dual View

If you want to compare 2 webpages or copy something from one webpage to another,  you can utilize the Dual View mode in Chrome. Bookmarlet Dual View displays 2 views in the same tab.

To use this function, go to

http://www.chromeplugins.org/plugins/google-chrome-dual-view/ 

and drag and drop “Chrome Dual View” into Chrome bookmark.