How to make it convenient to work with a large number of tabs in the browser

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

Browsers are an integral part of our computer experience. We have to open many tabs, and it is very easy to get confused where which tab is open and how to find the right one at the moment. The solution to this problem is simple: follow our simple tips and you will become a true master of working with a large number of tabs.

For most of us, the browser is the most popular and most frequently launched program on the computer. We use it to listen to music, watch movies, check mail, and so on. And although browsers are updated almost every week,. One of them is not the most convenient work with a large number of tabs.

In fact, working with tabs is like that joke about cats. Don't like cats? You just don't know how to cook them. You just need to learn how to work with tabs and use the appropriate browser functions for this. And you will not be able to understand how you lived before.

Keyboard shortcuts (hotkeys)

Hotkeys are a very convenient way to manage tabs. Especially when the tabs get so tiny that it's even awkward to click on them.

Ctrl + Tab - switching between tabs to the right.
Ctrl + Shift + Tab - switching between tabs to the left.
Ctrl + W / Cmd + W on Mac - close the active tab.

These are just a few combinations that will allow you to quickly switch between tabs. There are many more keyboard shortcuts. And some of them might force you to use your keyboard instead of your mouse to control your tabs.

Remembering open tabs

When you are constantly switching between your browser and another program, chances are that you could accidentally close the browser, and then you have to reopen everything. And it is good if you remember what you had revealed. All this headache can be saved by the function of the browser, which allows you to remember which tabs were open before closing it.

Enable this feature and thereby free yourself from unnecessary work in the future:

Google Chrome: Settings → Start group → Continue from the same place.
Firefox: Preferences -> General -> When Firefox starts -> Show windows and tabs opened last time.
Apple Safari: Preferences → General → Safari opens at startup → All windows from last session.

Adding tabs to favorites

Another quick way to save open tabs to work with later is to add them to a separate folder in your bookmarks. To do this, right-click on the tab and select "Add tabs to favorites". The item name may differ in different browsers, but it is easy to understand that this is the item you are looking for. As a result, a folder with the site addresses you need will appear in your bookmarks. Next, right-click on this folder, select "Open all bookmarks" - all the tabs are in front of us again.

Sorting tabs by individual browser windows

Who said that all tabs should be in the same browser window? You can sort your tabs into different windows. For example, you can move all tabs that relate to one project to one browser window, and everything related to entertainment to another, and so on. Just drag a tab to an empty spot on your desktop and a new window will open. Another way is to right-click on a link or bookmark and select "Open in new window" from the list.

Selecting multiple tabs at once

You can perform various actions not with one tab, but with several at once. But for this, you first need to select these same tabs. Hold down the Ctrl key (or Cmd on a Mac) and select the tabs you currently need. That's it, now you can close them, reload them, add them to bookmarks and so on.

Pinning tabs

Modern browsers from good developers have a great "Pin Tab" feature. This is very convenient if you keep one or another tab open at all times. For example, it could be a tab with Gmail or a music service. Once you pin a tab, it will be harder to close and take up less space on the tab bar. Just right-click on the tab and select the desired item from the list.

Restoring a closed tab

Sometimes it turns out that you accidentally close a tab that you didn't want to close at all. The hand twitched or changed its mind at the moment of closing - anything can happen. To reopen this tab, you can, of course, go to your browser history and find this site. Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + T (or Cmd + Shift + T on Mac in Chrome and Firefox and Cmd + Z in Safari) to bring this tab back. Also, right-clicking on any tab in your browser can help you.

Tab groups in Firefox

Almost five years ago, developers added a tab group, or Panorama, to the Firefox browser. She practically does the trick described above. It's about using different browser windows for tabs. Only here all this is done more beautifully, and you do not need to produce many windows. A couple of clicks, and you have already switched to work with another project or, conversely, have fun after work. To launch tab groups, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + E or Cmd + Shift + E on a Mac.

Hopefully your work with a lot of browser tabs now becomes a little easier.