(Credit: Google)
What's the best browser? Chrome may be the most used option out there, but it actually does have some helpful features for navigating websites and managing tabs. In recent months, Google has introduced a host of new and improved options, including split-view mode, vertical tabs, and an improved reading mode.
To test out these features, you'll first want to make sure you’re running the latest version of Chrome for the desktop. Open your browser, click the three-dot icon at the upper right, move to Help, and then select About Google Chrome. The browser will automatically download and install the latest version if necessary. Just restart Chrome, and you’re good to go. Now, here's what each of these features can do.
1. View Chrome Pages in Split View
First up is the browser's split-view mode, where you can set up two pages to appear side by side within the same tab. Each page works independently, so you can still navigate them individually. You’re also able to move the vertical separation bar to control the size of each window. To check out split view mode, open two pages in Chrome, then right-click on one of the page tabs and select Add tab to split view.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)Your current page opens in a window on the left side of the screen. A window on the right side then asks which tab you wish to open. Select the page you want to see, and both pages then appear side by side. You can navigate and work with each page separately. To resize them, move the separation bar left or right, and you can change the respective widths of each page.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)You’re also able to control the split view itself. For that, right-click on the split tab and move to Arrange split view. The menu that appears allows you to remove the split view and reopen your current page in full-screen mode, close one page and display the other in full-screen, or swap the left and right pages.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)2. Use Vertical Tabs
One newer feature Google has added is vertical tabs, which let you view all your open tabs on the side of the browser window, rather than on the top. If it ever feels like the more tabs you open, the more crowded the top layout appears, then this should help you open more tabs, see the full titles of each tabbed page, and quickly switch to a specific page. To set it up, open several tabs, right-click on any Chrome window, and select Show Tabs Vertically.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)If you don’t see this option, then it may not have reached you yet. In that case, you can enable it via a Chrome flag. In the address field, type Chrome://flags. In the search field, start typing “vertical tabs.” When that option appears, click the drop-down menu next to it and change the setting to Enabled. Restart Chrome, and again open several tabs, right-click on any Chrome window, and select Show Tabs Vertically.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)The tabs open in the left sidebar. You'll be able to drag individual tabs to reorder them and adjust the border between the sidebar and the main screen. You can also select the Collapse tab button at the top to shrink the sidebar, then click the Expand tab button to expand it again. Click any open tab, then select Tabs at top to return to the standard horizontal layout.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)3. Try the Improved Reading Mode
One feature that’s been improved is reading mode. In the past, reading mode felt clumsy as it opened your current page in a narrow sidebar alongside the normal web view. You'd then need to adjust the border to increase the sidebar's width so you could view the page. Now reading mode displays your current web page in a clean, full-screen view without ads or other visual distractions. To set this up, right-click the page and then select Open in reading mode from the menu.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)In reading mode, you can adjust the page's appearance. Click the Font size button and then click the + or - key to increase or decrease the size of the font. Click the Gear icon, and you’re able to change the color theme, font, line height, line spacing, and other elements.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)To hear the page read aloud instead of reading it yourself, click the Play button on the mini player at the top. From the player, you’re able to pause and restart the playback, skip forward or backward one sentence, and change the reading speed. Click the Gear icon again, and you can change the default voice to a different one. To close reading mode, click the X after the Gear icon.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)4. Use AI Mode More Easily
Another recent addition to the browser is a redesigned AI Mode in Chrome, which lets you view search results side-by-side with your search window. In the past, if you clicked on a source in a generated response, it would open in a tab. The more sites you checked, the more tabs you had to juggle. Now, AI mode shows you the resulting website side-by-side with your search window. That means you can more easily continue the search conversation without losing track of the website you selected. For now, this option works only in Gemini.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)5. View and Annotate a PDF
One more helpful tool is an integrated PDF viewer. Beyond viewing PDFs on the web, you can annotate them and then download or save the revised versions to Google Drive. To open a PDF from your PC, open File Explorer, right-click the file, and choose Open with > Google Chrome.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)You can then click the Draw icon on the top toolbar to open a sidebar with pen, highlighter, and eraser tools. You can also highlight or annotate any area of the PDF.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)When you’re done, click the Download icon in the upper right to save the PDF to your computer. You can instead select the Google Drive icon to save the file in the cloud. You can then choose whether to save the file with or without your changes.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)