Google Chrome is a free web browser available for Linux, Windows and Mac. It is quite popular, with 26% of the worldwide web browser usage share and the second most popular browser after Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, according to Stat Counter.
Users of Chrome appreciate its minimalist, clutter-free interface. This attribute, however, means that many of Google Chrome’s useful features go unnoticed by less adept users. Ahead are five handy features of Google Chrome that have been hiding under the radar.
Sync
Google Chrome makes it possible to sync data between multiple computers that have Google Chrome installed and are set up with your Google Account (you will need one in order to do this). The forms of data that can be synced between computers include apps, passwords, autofill data, preferences, settings, bookmarks, extensions and themes. You can choose to sync all of these or a selection.
To set up sync, go to the Tools menu in Google Chrome (the wrench icon in the top-right corner), choose ‘Preferences…’ or ‘Settings…’, and in the resulting screen go to ‘Personal Stuff’. Click the button that reads ‘Set Up Sync…’, enter your Google Account credentials and you’re done. Repeat this process for each computer you want to sync.
Find
A nifty little tool that is often overlooked, the Find tool allows you to search for words or phrases inside a web page. Imagine you are looking for a particular piece of info. You go to Google or your favorite search engine, find a web page that contains what you are looking for, but the page is extremely long and you need to find that nugget of information. This is where the Find tool comes in handy.
Simply go to the Tools menu (wrench icon again) and choose ‘Find…’. You now have a search box that will allow you to perform a normal keyword search on the open web page. Use the arrow buttons to move between occurrences of the word or phrase you have searched for.
Chrome Web Store
The Chrome Web Store is the place to go for themes, extensions and apps. Themes are visual styles that allow you to personalize your browser window and New Tab page. Extensions are extra features and tools that normally live on the right hand side of the toolbar, and provide additional functionality for nearly every facet of web browsing. Apps include games, utilities and links to commonly visited websites and run in the browser window.
The Chrome Web Store is accessible from the Apps section of the New Tab page.
Changing your Default Search Engine
Google Chrome allows you to perform a Google search directly from the address bar. If you are not a fan of Google Search, or do most of your searching on a particular website rather than the whole Web, it is possible to change the address bar’s default search website.
Simply right-click the address bar and choose ‘Edit Search Engines…’, bringing up a selection of popular search engines and a record of every website you have searched in Google Chrome. To make any of them the website that is searched when a phrase is typed into the address bar, click ‘Make Default’ next to that website.
Experimental Google Chrome Features
Finally, typing ‘about: flags’ into the Google Chrome address bar brings up a list of experimental features. These are not (yet) official Chrome components, but trials created by Google Chrome developers. While many of the descriptions may seem gibberish to you, some of the experimental features will prove quite useful.
Because these experimental features are just that, experiments, they are prone to bugs, glitches and security flaws, so please be wary. New pieces of Chrome code are created by the day, so it’s a good idea to check periodically for new additions.
Glenn Stringer - I am a student and part-time freelance writer. I live in Australia and write from an Australian perspective and on topics of relevance to ...
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