6 secret settings for a smarter Chrome Android setup - Computerworld

Hey. You. Yes, you determination — the 1 with your overly moist eyeballs pointed astatine the screen. What if I were to archer you that that the browser you trust connected for each of your web-based exploring connected Android had oodles of other features — top-secret settings that'd adhd awesome powers into your mobile browsing adventures and marque wiggling your mode astir this wacky ol' web of ours meaningfully better?

Well, provided you're utilizing Google's Chrome browser for Android, that's arsenic existent arsenic existent tin be. And champion of all, it doesn't instrumentality overmuch to uncover each of Chrome's cautiously concealed treasures — if you cognize wherever to look.

The six settings connected this leafage volition marque your Android-based web browsing much powerful, much efficient, and mostly conscionable much pleasant. They're each conscionable sitting determination waiting to beryllium found, excessively — truthful really, wherefore not take vantage of what they person to offer?

Before we spelunk immoderate further, though, 1 speedy connection of warning: All of these settings are portion of Chrome's flags system, which is simply a location for under-development options that are inactive actively being worked connected and aren't technically intended for mainstream use. The flags strategy is meant for adept users and different likewise informed (and/or insane) people who privation to get an aboriginal look astatine precocious items. It besides evolves beauteous regularly, truthful it's wholly imaginable immoderate of the settings mentioned present whitethorn look antithetic from what I've described oregon adjacent beryllium gone wholly astatine immoderate constituent successful the not-so-distant future.

What's more, the flags strategy has loads of precocious options wrong it, immoderate of which could perchance origin websites to look weird, Chrome itself to go unstable, oregon adjacent your ears to commencement spewing a delightfully minty steam. (Hey, you ne'er know.) So successful different words: Proceed with caution, travel my instructions carefully, and don't messiness with thing other you brushwood successful this country of the browser unless you really recognize it and genuinely cognize what you're doing.

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Got each that? Good. Now, let's springiness your browser immoderate spiffy caller superpowers, shall we?

Chrome Android mounting No. 1: Smarter screenshots

I don't cognize astir you, but I stock an atrocious batch of screenshots with my chap phone-staring onshore mammals. And often, there'll beryllium immoderate mode of info connected the surface I privation to item — a circumstantial country connected a web page, an interface element, a pinky-nail-sized photograph of my fibula, oregon immoderate the lawsuit whitethorn be.

Android's ain autochthonal screenshot exertion makes it casual to scribble connected immoderate screenshot you seizure and adhd successful a crudely drawn enactment oregon ellipse — but "crudely drawn" is the cardinal word there. You're rather virtually conscionable scribbling with your digit connected the screen, and you tin precise overmuch archer successful the mode it ends up looking.

But, get this: You tin present make a tidy and professional-looking box, circle, oregon arrow connected apical of immoderate screenshot you seizure from close wrong Chrome, without ever interrupting your workflow. And each you've gotta bash is flip a azygous power to marque it possible.

Here's the trick:

• Type chrome:flags into your Chrome Android app's code bar.
• Type screenshots into the hunt container connected the surface that comes up.
• Tap the enactment labeled "Screenshots for Android V2" and alteration its mounting from "Disabled" to "Enabled."
• Tap the bluish Relaunch fastener astatine the bottommost of the screen.

After your browser restarts itself, unfastened up a web leafage — immoderate ol' web page. Tap the three-dot paper icon successful Chrome's upper-right corner, prime "Share," and past prime "Screenshot" successful the small sheet that pops up.

And hey — however 'bout that? There astatine the bottommost of that instrumentality is an innocuous-looking caller summation called "Shape."

JR

Tap that, and you tin past gully immoderate clean-looking box, circle, oregon arrow anyplace connected the screenshot, successful immoderate colour you want:

JR

Not excessively shabby, eh?

Chrome Android mounting No. 2: Less limiting screenshots

Speaking of screenshots, person you ever tried to seizure a screenshot of thing you're viewing successful Chrome's Incognito mode connected your phone?

If not, let maine to spoil the astonishment for you: It doesn't work. You conscionable get a blank, achromatic representation without thing disposable connected it — which is beauteous successful its simplicity, I suppose, but not each that utile erstwhile it comes to trying to stock important info.

Well, get this: Deep wrong Chrome's dankest bowels lies a elemental power that removes that screenshot-prohibiting argumentation for the browser's Incognito mode and lets you seizure thing you privation to capture, successful immoderate mode you're using.

So say, for instance, you're utilizing Chrome's Incognito mode to look astatine thing without being signed in. Or possibly you're relying connected it to cheque connected a definite hunt without having the word get connected to your Google browsing history. Or possibly you're utilizing it for, erm, definite other undisclosed purposes.

Whatever the case, determination are bound to beryllium moments erstwhile you privation to drawback a screenshot of thing successful that benignant of state. And now, you can.

Here's each determination is to it:

• Once again, benignant chrome:flags into your browser's code bar.
• Type incognito into the hunt container connected the surface that comes up.
• Find the enactment labeled "Incognito Screenshot" and alteration its mounting from "Default" to "Enabled."
• Tap the Relaunch fastener astatine the bottommost of the screen.

And that's it: You tin present seizure screenshots of Incognito windows whenever your privacy-browsing bosom desires.

Just remember: If you drawback thing accidentally astatine an (ahem) inadvertent moment, it's up to you to spell find and delete it.

Chrome Android mounting No. 3: Smarter saving

If you're thing similar maine and thin to support determination betwixt 20 and 20,000 tabs unfastened successful your Chrome Android browser astatine immoderate fixed infinitesimal — each Very Important Articles you mean to work astatine immoderate point, evidently — this adjacent hidden Chrome diagnostic is conscionable for you.

It's a smarter strategy for redeeming worldly straight successful your Android browser without each the clutter and past making definite you really retrieve to revisit it later.

And this 1 requires 2 antithetic pieces of the puzzle to beryllium activated:

• Start by typing chrome:flags into your browser's code barroom (feeling acquainted yet?).
• Next, benignant read later into the hunt box.
• Find the enactment labeled "Reading list" and alteration its mounting to "Enabled (with app paper item)."
• And past find the enactment labeled "Read aboriginal reminder notification" and alteration its mounting to "Enabled."
• Finally, pat the Relaunch fastener astatine the bottommost of the screen.

When Chrome reloads, effort opening up immoderate nonfiction connected immoderate website you like. Tap the three-dot paper icon successful Chrome's upper-right corner, and you should spot a recently added "Add to speechmaking list" enactment midway down the menu.

JR

Select that, and the leafage volition beryllium beamed implicit into a peculiar country of your browser's bookmarks reserved explicitly for worldly you privation to work aboriginal — and you'll get a reminder aft a week that you, like, truly request to work it.

If you ever privation to entree your speechmaking database connected your own, conscionable pat Chrome's three-dot paper icon again and prime "Bookmarks." You should past spot "Reading list" arsenic an enactment and beryllium capable to find everything you've saved wrong it.

And arsenic an extra-useful bonus, each those articles are automatically made disposable for offline reading, too, successful lawsuit you ever privation to drawback up whilst connected an airplane oregon successful an undisclosed underground bunker.

Chrome Android mounting No. 4: Better bookmarks

While we're reasoning astir those Chrome Android bookmarks, let's instrumentality a sec to self-apply a large interface upgrade successful that country — shall we?

The information is that it's a beauteous overdue improvement. Chrome's bookmarks country connected Android hasn't gotten overmuch emotion successful a bully agelong while, and it's looked rather blah (to usage the method term) arsenic a result. But fearfulness not, for Google hasn't forgotten astir it entirely.

You tin fast-track your Android telephone into Chrome's new-and-improved bookmarks setup by making this speedy 'n' casual tweak:

• Type chrome:flags into the browser's code bar.
• Type bookmarks into the hunt container connected the surface that comes up.
• Tap the enactment labeled "Bookmarks refresh" and alteration its mounting from "Disabled" to "Enabled (enabled w/ visuals)."
• Tap the Relaunch fastener astatine the bottommost of the screen.

After your browser restarts, pat the three-dot paper icon successful its upper-right country and again pat "Bookmarks" successful that main Chrome menu. You'll beryllium greeted with a freshened-up Android bookmark presumption that doesn't look similar it was past touched successful the prehistoric ages — and, arsenic an added perk, you'll besides announcement a caller and little ambiguous enactment for adding a tract into your bookmarks wrong that main Chrome menu.

Chrome Android mounting No. 5: A smarter Dark Theme

Android's Dark Theme is simply a bully mode to marque your virtual satellite a small easier connected your eyes, particularly successful the evening hours oregon anytime you're successful a dim mounting (like, for instance, an undisclosed underground bunker).

But oddly enough, utilizing the system-wide Dark Theme toggle doesn't really impact the web. Most sites inactive amusement up agleam arsenic time and successful a harsh opposition to the mellow dim vibes the rest of Android gives you successful that context.

Well, here's the fix:

• Type — yup, you guessed it! — chrome:flags into your browser's code bar.
• Now benignant dark into the hunt container connected the surface that comes up.
• Find the enactment that says "Darken websites checkbox successful themes setting" and alteration its mounting to "Enabled."
• Smack that splendid Relaunch fastener astatine the bottommost of the screen. (Don't worry. It likes it.)

Now propulsion up immoderate ol' website you want, and you'll spot the tract magically transformed into a acheronian taxable for your viewing pleasure.

JR

And retrieve this: If you ever privation to disable that transformation, you tin mosey your mode into the Chrome Android app's settings and prime "Theme" to find a power that'll fto you toggle it connected oregon disconnected arsenic needed.

Chrome Android mounting No. 6: Richer reactions

Last but not slightest is simply a slightly silly but inactive perchance utile Chrome Android option. And it goes manus successful manus with the archetypal 2 tricks we went implicit astatine the commencement of this saga.

Are you ready? This last hurrah of ours is an expanded strategy for browser-based screenshots — 1 that makes it delightfully casual to adhd an expressive absorption into immoderate representation you seizure for other effect.

See?

JR

Want to springiness it a whirl? Here's how:

• One past time, benignant chrome:flags into that anxious and waiting code barroom of yours.
• Type reactions into the hunt container astatine the apical of the screen.
• Find the enactment labeled "Lightweight Reactions (Android)" and alteration its mounting to "Enabled."
• Last but not slightest — let's each accidental it unneurotic now! — pat the Relaunch fastener astatine the bottommost of the screen.

When Chrome comes backmost up, conscionable gallop implicit to immoderate ol' website you like, prime the "Share" enactment successful the main Chrome menu, and look for the recently contiguous "Add emotion" possibility.

Pound that puppy, past prime the emotion you necessitate (and enactment that you tin scroll horizontally connected the database of options to uncover adjacent much symbols) — past usage your fingers to determination and resize it and adjacent duplicate it, if you're truly feeling merry.

JR

All that's near is to deed the checkmark icon successful the lower-right country of your surface and past nonstop your instauration arsenic a lively animation to immoderate workfellow you take to bless with your expressiveness.

For everyone other successful your workplace, simultaneously: You're invited — and I'm sorry.

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Contributing Editor JR Raphael serves up tasty morsels astir the quality broadside of technology. Hungry for more? Join him on Twitter oregon motion up for his play newsletter to get caller tips and penetration successful your inbox each Friday.