Know your keyboard shortcuts

Like any good browser, Google Chrome has several dozen keyboard shortcuts that help improve your productivity. Below are a few of our top favorites.

Ctrl+1 - 8 = Pressing Ctrl and any number key 1 through 8 moves to the corresponding tab in your tab bar. Ctrl+9 = Switch to the last tab. Ctrl+H = Show history. Ctrl+J = Open Downloads window. Ctrl+K = Move the cursor to the omnibox (address bar). Ctrl+T = Open a new tab. Ctrl+Shift+T = Undo any closed tab.

  • Full listing of Google Chrome shortcut keys.

The Google omnibox does more than displaying the URL and allowing you to search. It’s also capable of performing mathematical calculations (pictured) and answering questions such as “how many cups are in 2 liters?” Try adding any math calculation now in the omnibox without pressing Enter to have the results shown.

Sync Chrome with your Google account

Chrome lets you sync your settings, passwords, and bookmarks to your Google account. If you switch computers a lot (e.g., work computer and home computer), sync lets you access all your bookmarks and account settings from any device. You can log into your Google Account and adjust your sync settings by going into Settings under the Google Chrome menu icon.

Pin your frequently used tabs

Pin your favorite tabs to save space on your tab bar without losing quick access to your favorite pages. In the picture above, you can see we have eight pinned tabs, which would have normally consumed our tab bar.

To Pin a tab, right-click any open tab and select Pin Tab.

Use the autofill feature

Use the Chrome autofill feature for automatically filling out any online form with common fields such as your name, e-mail, address, etc. To enter the autofill values follow the steps below.

You can also click-and-drag a pinned tab to the position of your choice.

  • Click the Customize and control Google Chrome icon in the upper-right corner of the browser window.
  • Click Settings.
  • At the bottom of Settings, click Show advanced settings.
  • Click Manage Autofill settings under Passwords and forms.
  • In the Autofill settings window, click the Add new street address button.
  • Fill out all address settings you want to be saved and click OK.
  • Once complete, try out your autofill using the form below. To enter the values, click any of the fields below and select the name of your autofill.

Resize text boxes

Chrome gives you the ability to resize any text field, which is useful for when you’re filling out a form that doesn’t seem big enough for all the information you’re entering. To resize the text field click-and-drag the bottom right corner of the box. Below is a text field that can be used as an example.

First name: Last name: Address: City: State: Zip: Phone number: E-mail:

Use the Chrome Task Manager

Since each open tab runs it its own sandbox to help with browser stability, it can be difficult to see the overall system resources being used. For example, in the Windows Task Manager you will see multiple instances of Google Chrome running for each open tab.

Use the Chrome Task Manager to show you how much memory and CPU resources each open tab and extension you have installed uses. To open the Task Manager, press Shift+Esc or click the Google Chrome menu icon in the top-right corner of the window, select Tools, and then Task Manager. If you want to get real geeky, click the stats for nerds link at the bottom of the Task Manager.

Quickly close a tab

Any tab can be closed by clicking the x on the tab. However, there are quicker ways to close a tab. For example, if you have a mouse with a wheel pushing in on the wheel anywhere on the tab closes the tab. The shortcut keys Ctrl+W or Ctrl+F4 also close the current open tab.

Use Chrome commands

Use the chrome:// commands to access many hidden features of Chrome. There is a few dozen of these commands available that lets you do everything from viewing DNS information, GPU information, look for conflicts, setting flags, and more. A listing of these commands can be accessed by typing chrome://chrome-urls in the omnibox.

Middle-clicking any link also opens that link in a new tab.

Install extensions

No Internet browser has every feature you want, therefore we suggest visiting the Google Chrome Webstore to install free extensions for your browser. Today, there are thousands of available extensions, games, and other add-ons that can be installed into your browser.

  • Top 10 tips
  • See our Chrome definition for further information and related links on this term.