9 tips to get the most out of Safari

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The built-in browser in macOS has a lot of convenient features, but not all of them are known to users. Lifehacker shares the secrets of being productive in Safari on Mac.

1. Use hotkeys

Most Safari shortcuts are similar to keyboard shortcuts in other browsers, but if you've never used one, now is the time to start. Learn and memorize the most useful ones:

• Option + arrows or "Space" - screen scrolling of pages;
• Shift + Command + - display of all open tabs;
• Shift + Command + LMB Click - opening a link in a new tab and switching to it;
• Control + Tab or Control + Shift + Tab - switching between open tabs;
• Command + 1 - Command + 9 - quick transition to the tab from the first to the ninth;
• Shift + Command + T - opening the last closed tab or window;
• Shift + Command + R - switching to reading mode.

Of course, this is just a small part of the Safari keyboard shortcuts. For a complete list, visit the Apple support page.

2. Watch the video in picture-in-picture mode

One of the most exciting features in macOS Sierra makes life easier for those who like to include video in the background while working. With the picture-in-picture mode, a YouTube video can be conveniently collapsed into a small window and not take up precious screen space.

3. Control the sound in background tabs

If you are listening to music or watching videos with many tabs open, it can be very difficult to determine which tab the sound is coming from. Safari has some very handy tricks for managing this.

• If the tab is playing sound, then a speaker icon is displayed on it and in the address bar, when you click on it, the sound is muted.
• If you click on the speaker icon while holding Option, you can mute the sound on all other tabs except the active one.
• Control-clicking the speaker icon will display a list of all audio-playing tabs.

4. Read great articles in Reader mode

Reading mode in Safari removes banners and layout from the page, leaving only content. Instapaper and Pocket do roughly the same thing, only in Safari you can read the text directly on the page, without wasting time switching to other services.

Reader mode is turned on by clicking on the characteristic formatting icon in the address bar or using a shortcut that you should have already remembered (Shift + Command + R). While reading, you can change the font, background, and other settings. Not iBooks, of course, but enough.

5. Pin your favorite sites and use your reading list

Sites that you visit daily or even several times a day are conveniently pinned to the tab bar: they will shrink to a favicon and will not take up space. To do this, call the context menu by right-clicking on the desired tab and select "Pin Tab".

Interesting articles that you don't have time to read right away are very convenient to add to your reading list. The function is analogous to Pocket and Instapaper with the only difference that you do not need to use third-party services.

You can add an article to the list via the Share menu or by pressing Shift + Command + D. The Reading List opens via the middle tab in the side menu or by pressing Control + Command + 2.

6. Customize the toolbar

As with any application, in Safari, you can customize the toolbar to your liking: add or remove icons, move them, or insert separators.

The settings menu is invoked by right-clicking on the toolbar. Icons are reordered by simple drag and drop.

7. Add useful extensions

There are not as many extensions available for Safari as for Chrome, but most of the most popular and necessary ones are still there. Among the extensions officially supported by Apple, there are many interesting ones:

• Adblock;
• 1Password;
• Pocket;
• Instapaper;
• OneNote;
• Todoist.

Extensions are installed in one click and immediately appear on the toolbar. In addition to installing extensions from the store, you can also install them manually by downloading them from the developer's site and clicking on "Install".

8. Enable the debug menu

The hidden debug menu Debug, which is usually only used by developers, contains several things that are useful for ordinary users as well. To enable the menu, copy the command to the "Terminal"

defaults write com.apple. Safari IncludeInternalDebugMenu 1

and restart Safari.

• Media Flags → Video / Audio Needs User Action - these options turn off the intrusive autoplay of media files on the page. To start an audio or video, you have to click on it.
• Reset Top Sites / Recompute Top Sites - If you are using the list of frequently visited sites, these options will allow you to reset your history when Safari does not accurately identify the top sites.

9. Customize the browser for yourself

Not all standard Safari presets are perfect, so if something doesn't work for you, just reconfigure your browser for yourself. Here are the most annoying moments and how to fix them.

• Change your default search engine. The usual Google search for most of us is not used by default in Safari, but it is easy to change it in the "Search" tab in the settings. Do not forget to put all the smart search checkboxes in the same place for more convenient work.
• Hide the sidebar and turn on the favorites bar. It is better to remove the side menu that takes place through the menu "View" → "Hide the side menu of bookmarks", and instead enable the favorites bar in the same menu, which is closer to Chrome bookmarks.
• Change the behavior of tabs and windows. By default, frequently visited sites are opened in new tabs and windows, which is far from always convenient. Both options can be changed at your discretion in the settings on the "General" tab.