Desktop Tips

Tip #263

April 25, 2023

Progressive Web Apps, or PWAs for short, are websites that are installed as independent applications and are opened from shortcuts to their own window.

To get an overview of all your PWAs, type vivaldi://apps in the Address Field and press Enter.

There, when right-clicking on the app logo, you can open the PWA, adjust settings, create a new shortcut and remove the app.

Tip #262

April 24, 2023

When you’ve set Vivaldi to open with the last session, but you tend to have a lot of tabs open, then loading all websites on startup can create a spike in your computer’s resource use. To prevent that, you can load only the active tab and load background tabs in an hibernated state, aka lazy load, and fully load other tabs only when you view them.

To lazy load background tabs during startup:

1. Go to Settings > General > Startup > Startup with.
2. Make sure “Lazy Load Restored Tabs” is enabled.

Since pinned tabs tend to be important ones, you can enable always loading them during startup.

Tip #261

April 21, 2023

Trying to rely more on Keyboard Shortcuts in Vivaldi, but keep forgetting some of the key combinations? Use the Keyboard Shortcut Cheat Sheet to quickly check the shortcuts without needing to go to browser settings.

To open the cheat sheet, on Windows and Linux, press Ctrl + F1. On macOS use the shortcut ⌘ F1.

PS! The search field in the top right corner helps to find the commands you need faster. 😉

Tip #260

April 20, 2023

Panels and Web Panels on the sidebar, navigation buttons on the Address Bar, tools on the Status Bar – in Vivaldi there are many buttons to click. To organize buttons into groups you can use Space, Flexible Space and Separator elements between them.

To add dividers:

1. Right-click on a toolbar you want to customize.
2. Select Edit > Customize Toolbar from the context menu.
3. Drag a Space, Flexible Space or Separator element from the editor window to the spot on the toolbar where you want to add it.
4. Click Done.

To remove an element, while the Toolbar Editor is open, drag the element from the toolbar and drop it on the area between toolbars and the editor.

Tip #258

April 18, 2023

Tab Stacks are a great way to group tabs by domain or topic, but Workspaces take it to another level. With Workspaces you’ll only see the tabs in the current Workspace, allowing you to focus on one thing at the time.

To create a new workspace:

1. Click the Workspaces button on the left side of the Tab Bar (top of the list on vertical Tab Bars).
2. Click on New Workspace.
3. Enter a name and select an icon for the new workspace.
4. Click Create or press Enter.

From the Workspaces menu (or using Shortcuts) you can quickly switch between the Workspaces you’ve created.

Tip #257

April 17, 2023

It’s convenient to open PDF files from web pages in a browser tab to take a quick look. If you want to use more advanced features to edit and manage PDFs you can also use your computer’s default PDF software.

To prefer dedicated PDF software when opening PDF files:

1. Go to Settings > Web Pages > Plugins.
2. Uncheck the box for Enable Internal PDF Viewer.

When the setting is disabled and you’re trying to view a PDF file, a dialog to save or open it will be displayed first.

Tip #254

April 12, 2023

Do you use Philips Hue lights at home? Did you know that you can connect them to Vivaldi and have the lights change colors together with Vivaldi Themes?

To connect Philips Hue with Vivaldi:

1. First, make sure your Hue lights are connected to the same network as the browser.
2. Then, go to Settings > Themes > Philips Hue Theme Integration and tick the box for Enable Hue.
3. Once enabled, click on Find bridge and click the button on your Bridge to confirm the connection.

The lights will be in the theme’s accent color. The color show will be more noticeable, if you have Accent Color from Active Page or Theme Scheduling with frequent switches enabled.

Don’t have Philips Hue lights, but do use Razer Chroma devices? Check Tip #183, to see how to link Razer Chroma and Vivaldi.

Tip #251

April 6, 2023

Did you know that you can use Mouse Gestures even when you don’t have a mouse at hand? Instead you can draw the gestures on your touchpad/trackpad while holding down a modifier key.

To start using Mouse Gestures with a touchpad:

1. Go to Settings > Mouse Gestures > Gestures.
2. Enable Perform Gestures with Alt Key.

Then, to perform a gesture:

1. Hold down the Alt key on your keyboard.
2. Draw the gesture on the touchpad. (You can view and edit gestures in Settings > Mouse Gestures > Gesture Mapping)
3. Release Alt key to execute the command.

Tip #250

April 5, 2023

Rather than reading something on your PC while sitting behind a desk, you might want to read it on the phone during your daily commute or from a tablet with your morning coffee. By saving web pages to the Reading List and syncing the list with Vivaldi on your other devices, you can pick up or continue reading wherever you are.

You can learn how to add a page to the Reading List on desktop and Android from Tip #161. To make sure the lists are in sync:

1. Go to Settings > Sync.
2. Log in to your Vivaldi account.
3. Sync either all data or enable the syncing of Reading Lists.

Do the same on all your devices and you’re all set.

Tip #248

April 3, 2023

Websites these days can be big and use a significant amount of resources. Closing tabs is a good way to reduce memory use, but what if you need to keep the tabs around and don’t want to close them? Hibernating tabs is a good alternative to both keep the tabs open and reduce the browser’s memory usage.

To hibernate a tab:

1. On the Tab Bar or in the Window Panel, right-click on a background tab or Tab Stack.
2. Select Hibernate Tab from the context menu.

To hibernate all background tabs:

1. Right-click on any tab on the Tab Bar.
2. Select Hibernate Background Tabs from the context menu.

Tip #245

March 29, 2023

By default the navigation menu on Start Page is only shown with your Speed Dials. But it can also be displayed when viewing Bookmarks, History, Notes, and Calendar.

To enable the menu:

1. Go to Settings > Start Page > Start Page Navigation.
2. Enable Show on Internal Pages.

Alternatively, you can hide the menu altogether by selecting Hide Titles in Start Page Navigation settings.

Tip #244

March 28, 2023

Making notes as you browse is easy in Vivaldi with the Notes feature. But did you know that you can export notes as individual text files?

To export your notes:

1. Create a folder for the notes in your File Manage/Finder.
2. In Vivaldi, open Quick Commands (F2 / ⌘E).
3. Type in “Export Notes” and press Enter.
4. In the save dialog, locate and select the folder.