Follow ZDNET: Add us as a favorite source On Google.
ZDNET Highlights
- Google has started rolling out vertical tabs in Chrome.
- With vertical tabs, all your open web pages appear in a sidebar.
- You can view, manage, and work with your open tabs more easily.
Vertical tabs are one of those essential features that can help you organize all your open web pages. Both Firefox and Microsoft Edge have offered them for a long time. And now Google Chrome has officially joined the party.
Google announced vertical tabs rolling out to all Chrome users starting Tuesday in a blog post. Since the rollout has just begun, you may not see the new feature yet. But be patient, and it should arrive before long.
Plus: I gave Chrome’s AI agent permission to shop, research, and email for me — here’s how it happened
Instead of forcing you to work with all your open pages at the top of the screen, the vertical tab layout displays them in the sidebar. This means you can open and view more tabs without any shuffling. Plus, you can easily see the full title of each page and instantly switch to a specific page.
Vertical tabs also help if you use tab groups, which let you organize similar or related pages into their individual homes. Tab groups are useful, but they can waste valuable real estate when placed at the top of the browser. With vertical tabs, you can open a group of different web pages to easily view and access them.
vertical tabs in action
Next, you can control the sidebar that displays your vertical tabs. Collapse the sidebar to save space, then expand it when needed. Sort tabs vertically by order. Right-click any tab in the sidebar, and you’ll get the usual menu of commands for opening a new tab, creating a tab group, pin or unpin a tab, closing the selected tab, and closing all other tabs. You are also able to easily switch between vertical and horizontal tabs.
Vertical tabs have been available in rival browsers for a long time. Microsoft Edge unveiled them in 2021. Firefox introduced them a year ago. Other browsers with vertical tabs include Arch, Vivaldi, and Brave. Previously, you could access this feature in Chrome, but only through the Canary version of the browser, by setting a special flag, or by using a third-party extension. Now, this feature is easily available to everyone.
Also: The new feature from Vivaldi every other browser should pay attention to
To see this in action, simply right-click on any Chrome window and select “Show Tabs Vertical.” Tabs open in the left sidebar by default. From there, select a tab to switch pages. Drag and release one of the tabs to move it up or down. Move the border between the sidebar and the main screen.
Click the Collapse Tab button at the top to minimize the sidebar, then click the Expand Tab button to expand it again. Click any open tab, then select “Tabs on top” to return to the standard horizontal layout. But once you try vertical tabs, you’ll never want to go back.
But wait, there is another new twist in Chrome.
better way to read
Reading Mode is an option that displays your current web page in a plain, uncluttered format so you can read it more easily. In the past, Reading Mode seemed strange because it opened your current page in a narrow sidebar with normal web view. You will then need to adjust the border to increase the width of the sidebar.
Also: 6 Obscure Browsers That Are Better Than Chrome
Now, in reading mode, your current page opens in full-screen layout. This is a huge improvement, as it is now even easier to read the latest articles on ZDNET.
To switch to reading mode, simply right-click on a page and select “Open in reading mode” from the menu. In reading mode, you are able to adjust the font, color, line height, and other visual elements. You can also listen to the page read aloud.
