Monday, February 21, 2011

Seven Peeves with Google Chrome; Here's How to Fix Them



Google Chrome has been around for a few years now, and I use it as my default browser. I enjoy Chrome for its speed and style. There are a few minor flaws, but they are easily fixed. Here I'll point out 7 of them, and their fix.


NUMBER ONE
No confirmation when closing multiple tabs


When you have multiple tabs running and you close the window, you don't get a warning. You may end up closing some tabs you didn't want to. You can install Chrome Toolbox extension, so the next time you close many tabs, you'll see this warning.




NUMBER TWO
A very basic history page


Chrome has an extension called History 2, which allows web page sorting based on day or week you visited. At one click it will allow you to delete multiple pages from history, which isn't possible by default.




NUMBER THREE
Missing image properties


Chrome has no way of allowing you to instantly display image properties. The Image Properties Context Menu extension will allow you to right-click to get information. You can see the size, location, dimensions, and more.




NUMBER FOUR
No support for feeds


Chrome doesn't recognize RSS feeds, and it will just display a page with gobbledygook. Simply install the extension RSS Subscription, and you can immediately subscribe to any feed using Google Reader, iGoogle, Bloglines or My Yahoo.




NUMBER FIVE
You can't send a web page by email


Other browsers allow this, but not Chrome. A solution for this is to create a simple javascript bookmark, which opens your default email program with the current URL. You may also install the extension Send from Gmail, which will make Gmail your default email application. It will then provide you with a button to compose through Gmail, and share the link.




NUMBER SIX
No session manager


When closing Chrome, then reopening, it doesn't restore your previously opened tabs. You can go to Options, and select 'Reopen tabs that were opened last'. You can also get advanced session saving options by installing the extension Session Buddy. This will allow you to create multiple sessions, amongst other features.




NUMBER SEVEN
You can't switch to a tab from the address bar


Firefox 4 will allow you to switch to any open tab by typing relevant words into the address bar. If you'd like to do this in Chrome, install the extension Switch to Tab. If you have numerous tabs open, you can type "sw TAB" followed by some words from the page, then using enter will switch to the tab listed as the first match.




I hope these tips have helped. I have installed many extensions, which always makes things quicker and easier to do. I really like the 'send a web page by email'. The javascript is very easy to do. I know many freeze about using code, but the instructions are very simple to follow, and the code is supplied for you.


Happy Chrome surfing my blogger friends. I just know you'll want it as your default browser.

1 comment:

Coma Girl said...

Great tips! I need the confirmation when closing tabs one - I always accidentally close a tab. I guess when you have 20 of them open... ;)