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Super User*Hidden* features of Google Chrome
[+40] [16] in.spite
[2009-07-24 08:06:01]
[ google-chrome tips-and-tricks hidden-features ]
[ http://superuser.com/questions/11977]

I love Google Chrome, it's fast, it works.

For me life without Incognito Windows (Ctrl+Shift+N) and Task Manager (Shift+Esc) seems pretty glum.

What other Chrome tips have you got?

(2) Task Manager is Ctrl+Shift+Esc - Beaner
(13) Google Chrome's task manager is accessed by pressing shift+esc - MarkM
@MarkM : In Mac OS neither ctrl+shift+esc nor shift+esc seems to do anything. - Nerian
(2) @Nerian On OSX, it's in the Window menu. - squircle
[+25] [2009-07-27 18:46:22] Andrija

About pages [1]. Type in address bar:

[1] http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2008/09/google-chromes-about-pages.html
[2] http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2008/09/google-chromes-about-pages.html

(1) And about:internets if you're on XP. - DisgruntledGoat
(1) ChromeAccess extension has shortcuts to these. - hyperslug
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[+20] [2009-07-24 08:13:41] jtbandes

The WebKit Web Inspector [1] (accessed via right-clicking on an element and choosing Inspect Element) is great. I use it in Safari all the time.

Web Inspector

[1] http://webkit.org/blog/197/web-inspector-redesign/

(1) Is this really a hidden feature in Chrome? How do you get to it? - T Pops
(3) @T Pops: Right click (Option-click for Mac?) on the web page and select "Inspect Element". - Dennis Williamson
@Dennis, Macs have right click too. With an old one-button mouse, it's control-click. - jtbandes
(2) I do like this, but it's not as easy as Firebug when it comes to making changes to the DOM. - DisgruntledGoat
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[+19] [2009-07-27 18:52:52] Oscar Reyes

Specify alternate proxy settings [1] in the command line:

chrome.exe --proxy-server=foo:8080
[1] http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=266

(4) Yes! Chrome uses IE settings (which are locked out by my system administrator). - Richard Morgan
Thank a Lot. I needed this very trick. I have a strange situation in office, where my IE needs a certain proxy to connect to the intranet site, and we need to remove the proxy for accessing the Internet. I was using Firefox for that later , but now I can use Chrome, which I like better. - dev
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[+12] [2009-10-12 20:11:57] Will Eddins

Creating an "app" of a single website using the -app parameter:

chrome.exe -app="https://rememberthemilk.com/"


(1) Now you can just open the page then go to Tools > Create application shortcut. - DisgruntledGoat
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[+7] [2011-04-22 04:35:56] John

chrome://net-internals/

I wonder if there are more of these somewhere. Like a list.


(1) wow, now this is a hidden feature! - Cawas
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[+5] [2009-10-12 19:57:31] buba

If you use it in Windows try run with these parameters:

  • for bookmark menu icon:
    --bookmark-menu

  • for the icons on bottom, e.g. xmarks:
    --show-extensions-on-top

Here are the shortcuts I use constantly; they work perfectly in Linux:

  • ctrl+shift+T (undo close tab)
  • ctrl+shift+B (view/hide bookmark bar)

  • ctrl++ / ctrl+- (increase/decrease font size)

  • Search behavior can be personalized and different keywords (shortcuts) can be used for different searches. Right click the addressbar (omnibar) and choose "edit search engines". Check this page [1] out for more info if you need.

  • chrome://extensions (extension manager)

Two more tips:

  • You can pull away a tab then it becomes a new window. You can do it in opposite way too.

  • Select a text in a webpage and drag to the addressbar. It's very useful if the URL isn't clickable. Like this, try: superuser.com

[1] http://www.chromeplugins.org/tips-tricks/custom-search-engines-in-google-chrome/

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[+4] [2009-10-12 20:43:25] sYnfo

You can use Ctrl + Mouse wheel to increase/decrease font size.


(8) FYI - That also works for Firefox and IE, in fact also a lot of applications such as Excel and Word. - MrGreen
(1) Is this possible in Emacs? - RamyenHead
Sorry, I won't help you with that, for I don't own one. - sYnfo
This is the Emacs @RaymenHead was talking about - Mark Szymanski
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[+3] [2009-10-27 21:45:51] DisgruntledGoat

Extensions!

They're still not really publicised and there is no way to manage them, but they exist and install easily. In particular, AdSweep [1] is nifty. There are also a bunch more here [2].

Update: extensions are no longer a hidden feature of Google Chrome, there is now a full extensions site [3], and a management console. I guess some people might not know about them so I'll leave the answer here for posterity.

[1] http://adsweep.org/
[2] http://techpp.com/2009/09/11/22-most-popular-google-chrome-extensions/
[3] http://chrome.google.com/extensions/

(1) AdSweep seems to mess with some things. For instance, it somewhat blocks the WordPress Screen Options in the admin panel. - Nathaniel
(1) But you can manage them: chrome://extensions/ - Tobias Plutat
(1) @Tobias: Yes, now they are not hidden, but they were when I posted my answer. - DisgruntledGoat
My bad ;) - Tobias Plutat
And Google Chrome has Greasemonkey! Hooray for UserScripts! - new123456
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[+2] [2009-11-08 18:00:57] Sylvain

The ability to dock tabs around the screen is something very cool. It replace aerosnap. You just have to drag the tabs at some pre-defined locations on the screen (sides, top, and near an other Chrome Window). See here for more information [1] (go to the Resize Tabs section).

[1] http://www.google.com/support/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=95622

What OS are you using? - ScottCher
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[+2] [2011-01-16 18:41:15] Moab

Don't forget about:flags for experimental features.

about:about shows all the about functions.

My favorite extensions:

[1] https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/odjhifogjcknibkahlpidmdajjpkkcfn
[2] https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/efbjojhplkelaegfbieplglfidafgoka
[3] https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/aafciojnlamllgpkpdkbamkfgbofhgcj
[4] https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/nolijncfnkgaikbjbdaogikpmpbdcdef

thanks, this is precisely what I was googling for! you should have edited this into the top answer. the about:flags part that is. - Cawas
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[0] [2011-01-16 21:22:57] Nerian

Shift + CMD + touch gesture previous or next visit : Open a new tab with that page.


Interesting! You can also ctlr-click (or ctrl-shift-click) the back and forward buttons on the toolbar. - onnodb
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[0] [2009-12-05 21:44:47] nrhine1

Ctrl+W. Closes current tab, and works great for closing all but one tab that the leftmost one (you can move it there). Just hold Ctrl and tap 'W' as many times as needed.


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[0] [2011-01-16 18:20:23] Gerardo Grignoli

You can hide / disable the "Show saved passwords" button!

This is the feature request [1]. And here are the instructions [2] from Google.

But, the easiest way is to import this reg file [3] into your computer and restart Chrome!

This is the content of the reg file:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome]
"PasswordManagerAllowShowPasswords"=dword:00000000
[1] http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=49609
[2] http://dev.chromium.org/administrators/policy-list-3#PasswordManagerAllowShowPasswords
[3] http://dl.dropbox.com/u/593001/Chrome-DisableShowPasswordsByPolicy.reg

Comment by @mumu: @Gerardo Grignoli: How do you do this in linux? no regedit here... - Ivo Flipse
According to the "instructions" page, its supported on Linux. There is a preference file (I dont know where) Add a setting there called: PasswordManagerAllowShowPasswords and set to "false". - Gerardo Grignoli
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[0] [2011-04-25 23:24:09] Louis

The --user-data-dir flag. I keep Chrome's data on a different drive from my OS. Not only does Chrome use a ton of space (over 1GB so far), but it does it with thousands of files that come and go. For example:

C:\Users\You\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe --user-data-dir="Y:\Chrome"

There's also --disk-cache-size and --disk-cache-dir.

Here are some more [1] command-line switches.

[1] http://peter.sh/experiments/chromium-command-line-switches/

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[0] [2011-08-03 00:15:28] phw

Just my two cents ...

CTRL+L will always take you to the address bar.

CTRL+SHIFT+T will bring the last closed tab.


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[0] [2011-08-25 07:38:24] Vincent

"The Lord of the rings" :

chrome://chrome-urls/

Which brings this nice hidden gems list : (at least does on chrome dev channel 15.0.861)

List of Chrome URLs

  • chrome://appcache-internals
  • chrome://blob-internals
  • chrome://bookmarks
  • chrome://cache
  • chrome://chrome-urls
  • chrome://crashes
  • chrome://credits
  • chrome://dns
  • chrome://downloads
  • chrome://extensions
  • chrome://flags
  • chrome://flash
  • chrome://gpu-internals
  • chrome://histograms
  • chrome://history
  • chrome://ipc
  • chrome://media-internals
  • chrome://memory
  • chrome://net-internals
  • chrome://view-http-cache
  • chrome://newtab
  • chrome://plugins
  • chrome://print
  • chrome://quota-internals
  • chrome://sessions
  • chrome://settings
  • chrome://stats
  • chrome://sync-internals
  • chrome://tcmalloc
  • chrome://terms
  • chrome://tracing
  • chrome://version
  • chrome://workers

For Debug

The following pages are for debugging purposes only. Because they crash or hang the renderer, they're not linked directly; you can type them into the address bar if you need them.

  • chrome://crash/
  • chrome://kill/
  • chrome://hang/
  • chrome://shorthang/
  • chrome://gpuclean
  • chrome://gpucrash
  • chrome://gpuhang

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