Quick tips: Google Chrome on Mac

Google Chrome should belong into every browser collection, and it seems that an increasing number of people acknowledge this. The recent boost in Chrome’s market share is at least partially due to the fact that Google finally released their browser for the Mac platform, and as much as I love Safari’s speed, user interface and stability, I find myself clicking on the colorful dock icon more often than ever. The main advantage I find to Chrome is that it takes up less RAM, which is important when you’re running Photoshop CS5, iTunes and Aperture at the same time. Anyway, I had time to get used to it, and compiled a little list of tips and tricks you should try out with your new browser. I wrote these with the Mac user in mind, but most of them should work on all platforms.

1. Fix Google’s annoying localization

Google is known for awesome free software, but they’re apparently unable to fix their illogical localization options. For instance, their search settings on google.com allow us to choose what language we want the interface in. So far so good, but you’ll notice that the languages in the drop down menu are all in written the current interface language, instead of being in the form of “Deutsch / Italiano / Français etc…”.
Some of these mistakes are unfortunately ported to Chrome. For instance, the URL bar, which is also a search bar, will direct Google to display search results in the language of the country you are in. Quite annoying when you’re traveling or simply prefer the international .com version. The good news is that it’s an easy fix.

Go to your preferences (⌘+,) and click on Manage next to the Default search section.
In the bottom left of the new screen, click on “+“.
Enter the following settings:
1. Name: Google International
2. Keyword: International
3. URL: option click this link and select “copy link adress”, then ⌘+V into the URL input box.
You should now have green check marks next to every input field. Click OK
In the search engines window, select your newly created profile and click make default on the bottom left next to the +/- signs.
Try it out: type a keyword in the URL bar and hit enter.

But that’s not it! Chances are your homepage is Google.com (Chrome’s speed dial is a joke compared to Safari’s), which will redirect you to your current country’s Google version. To fix this, go to the preferences panel, select Open this page in the Homepage section and put “http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en” in the input field. To try it out, just hit the home button on your toolbar and search for something on Google.

2. Use extensions

Sure, Google’s extensions won’t compete wit the Mozilla’s platform yet (which has, after all, benefited of numerous years of development), but you can still find some pretty nifty extensions out there. Here are my favorites:

If you’re using Gmail (you should!), make sure to install the Google Mail Checker for instant notifications of incoming emails.
Xmarks bookmaks sync is an awesome extension which will synchronise your bookmarks across Safari, Firefox, and Chrome. A must have for any browser nut!
Originally a Firefox extension, AdBlock will block ads. Somehow, browsing without ads has a familiar feeling to it. Oh, that’s right, it’s like browsing on an iPhone! A must have, especially combined with the AdBlock action button.
Search preview for Google: if you’re used to the thumbnail images that Glims for Safari will give you, install this extension too. Finally a way to see what page you’re about to visit!
If you use warez sites to get your (il)legal content, you must have copied dead links into JDownloader more than once. Chrome Link Checker is your solution. Not only will it show you dead links by turning them red, but links in the <code> section of forums will be clickable, a valuable time saver. It supports over 80 file hosts (Rapidshare, depositfiles, hotfile, Megaupload, Netload.in, etc..).
SpeedDial is an attempt at pimping Chrome’s default speed dial. Better than nothing, even if Safari still has the upper hand in terns of simplicity, usability and looks.

These are my favorites, but don’t hesitate to browse the many thousand extensions here. We’re seeing some real progress here, but as long as there isn’t something comparable to GreaseMonkey or Firebug, I won’t delete the other browsers from my systems.

3. Use themes

I like the default skin Chromes come in. I find it to blend well into OSX’s gorgeous desktop environment, but I know some of you must have your little flowers and cars in sight at all times. Get your Chrome themes here, or create them yourself with the help of this tutorial and this template.

4. Use shortcuts

Shortcuts take some time getting used to, especially if an other browser’s shortcuts are hard-coded into your reflexes, but fortunately, most of the common browser use similar systems. Using shortcuts will make you quicker and more efficient. Here are the major OSX shortcuts for Chrome:

Tab and window shortcuts

⌘-N	Opens a new window.
⌘-T	Opens a new tab.
⌘-Shift-N	Opens a new window in incognito mode.
⌘-B	Toggles the bookmarks bar on and off.
Press ⌘-O, then select file.	Opens a file from your computer in Google Chrome.
Press ⌘ and click a link. Or click a link with your middle mouse button (or mouse wheel).	Opens the link in a new tab in the background.
Press ⌘-Shift and click a link. Or pressShift and click a link with your middle mouse button (or mouse wheel).	Opens the link in a new tab and switches to the newly opened tab.
Press Shift and click a link.	Opens the link in a new window.
⌘-Shift-T	Reopens the last tab you’ve closed. Google Chrome remembers the last 10 tabs you’ve closed.
Drag a tab out of the tab strip.	Opens the tab in a new window.
Drag a tab out of the tab strip and into an existing window.	Opens the tab in the existing window.
Ctrl-Tab	Switches to the next tab.
Ctrl-Shift-Tab	Switches to the previous tab.
⌘-Q	Closes Google Chrome.
⌘-W	Closes the current tab or pop-up.
Click and hold either the Back or Forward arrow in the browser toolbar.	Displays your browsing history in the tab.
Delete	Goes to the previous page in your browsing history for the tab.
Shift-Delete	Goes to the next page in your browsing history for the tab.
Double-click the blank area on the tab strip.	Maximizes the window.

Address bar shortcuts

Type a search term, then press Enter.	Performs a search using your default search engine.
Type a search engine keyword, pressSpace, type a search term, and pressEnter.	Performs a search using the search engine associated with the keyword.
Begin typing a search engine URL, pressTab when prompted, type a search term, and press Enter.	Performs a search using the search engine associated with the URL.
Ctrl+Enter	Adds www. and .com to your input in the address bar and open the resulting URL.
Type a URL, then press ⌘-Enter.	Opens the URL in a new background tab.
⌘-L	Highlights the URL.
Press Option and the left arrow together.	Moves your cursor to the preceding key term in the address bar
Press Option and the right arrow together.	Moves your cursor to the next key term in the address bar
Press Shift-Option and the left arrow together.	Highlights the preceding key term in the address bar
Press Shift-Option and the right arrow together.	Highlights the next key term in the address bar
⌘-Delete	Deletes the key term that precedes your cursor in the address bar
Press Page Up or Page Down in the address bar menu.	Selects the previous or next entry in the menu.

Webpage shortcuts

⌘-P	Prints your current page.
⌘-S	Saves your current page.
⌘-R	Reloads your current page.
⌘-F	Opens the find bar.
⌘-G	Finds the next match for your input in the find bar.
⌘-Shift-G or Shift-Enter	Finds the previous match for your input in the find bar.
Press Option and click a link.	Downloads the target of the link.
Drag a link to bookmarks bar	Bookmarks the link.
⌘-D	Bookmarks your current webpage.
Space bar	Scrolls down the web page.

Text shortcuts

⌘-C	Copies highlighted content to the clipboard.
⌘-V	Pastes content from the clipboard.
⌘-X or Shift-Delete	Deletes the highlighted content and copies it to the clipboard.

5. Other useful stuff

To see what plug-ins are installed, type about:plugins into the address window.
You can also type the following commands into the Google Chrome address window: about:histograms, about:memory, about:cache, about:dns.
Type about:crash to see what a crashed tab looks like.
Edit any web page – right-click a page and select Inspect element. Now edit the HTML source code and hit return to view the changes.
To make Google Chrome your default browser, click the Tools button (in the right-hand corner of the browser window – a spanner icon). Select preferences, click the Basics tab and then click the Make Google Chrome my default browser button.
To delete cookies, go to Tools > Options > Under the Hood. Scroll down to the Security section, and click Show cookies. Now you can click Remove all or remove individual cookies.
To clear more data such as the Google Chrome browsing history and cache, click the Tools icon and select Clear browsing data.
To clear the most visited web sites that appear on your Google Chrome start page, you must clear your browsing history using the method above.
Clearing your Google Chrome browser history will also stop matches from previously browsed sites appearing as suggestions in your address bar.