Author: Vivaldi Tips

Tip #135

— Posted inCommunity Blogs, Community Services, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Customize your Vivaldi blog’s editor to support your writing habits.

It’s not just the Vivaldi browser that’s highly customizable. You can also tweak many settings in the WordPress based blogging platform.

To customize your Vivaldi blog’s editor:

  1. Go to blogs.vivaldi.net and log in to your account.
  2. Click on Write a new post below your profile picture in the top right corner.
  3. In the post editor, click on Options in the top right corner to open the menu with some useful options.
  4. To customize the editor’s look and available components, click on the last item on the menu – Preferences.

In Preferences you can change settings for:

  • Publishing,
  • Appearance,
  • Block Interactions,
  • Visible Blocks,
  • Document Settings,
  • and more.
Vivaldi blog post editor with Preferences window open on the Blocks section.

Tip #134

— Posted inDesktop, Mail, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Mail list on the left and message on the right? Or mail list on top and message at the bottom? The choice is yours!

Vivaldi Mail offers 3 layouts for you to choose from. Opt for the one that supports your workflow best.

To switch layouts:

  1. Go to Settings > Mail > Mail Settings > Mail View Layout;
  2. Select between:
    1. Vertical,
    2. Vertical Wide, and
    3. Horizontal.

Alternatively, click on the Toggle View button in the top right corner of the Mail tab.

Vertical Mail View Layout
Vertical Wide Mail View Layout
Horizontal Mail View Layout

Tip #133

— Posted inDesktop, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Adjust User Interface and Tab zoom for more comfortable browsing.

There’s no need to strain your eyes with Vivaldi. If the buttons on the toolbars are too small and text uncomfortable to read, increase the zoom levels to see them better. If you’d like to make the user interface and webpages smaller, you can do that too.

To adjust user interface zoom:

  1. Go to Settings > Appearance > Window Appearance > User Interface Zoom.
  2. Use the slider or + and – buttons to change the zoom level.

To also change the size of the content on web pages.

  1. Go to Settings > Webpages > Default Webpage Zoom.
  2. Use the slider or + and – buttons to change the zoom level.

Take a look at the Help page about Zoom options in Vivaldi to learn about other zooming methods.

Vivaldi window with user interface and tab zoom at 100%.
Vivaldi window with user interface and tab zoom at 200%.

Tip #132

— Posted inDesktop, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Choose the most relevant output for screen captures.

Vivaldi’s Capture tool is a convenient way to take screenshots of either full web pages or of sections of the page. On Desktop you also have the option to store the capture in your preferred format.

To capture a screenshot:

  1. Click on Capture Page on the Status Bar or use your preferred shortcut.
  2. Select whether you want to capture a small area or the whole page.
  3. Then select the output format:
    • Save as JPG,
    • Save as PNG,
    • Save to clipboard,
    • Create a new note from the capture.
  4. If you chose to capture a selection, define the capture area.
  5. Click Capture.

The first two output options will save the file automatically in the location defined in Settings > Web Pages > Image Capture > Capture Store Location. Saving to clipboard allows you to paste the screenshot in a document, chat, etc. without needing to take additional steps. Creating a note will attach the screenshot to a new untitled note, which you can view and edit in the Notes Panel or Notes Manager.

Bottom right corner of the Vivaldi Browser window with Capture tool's menu open. Output dropdown menu has been opened to show the selection of output options.

Tip #131

— Posted inDesktop, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Use Shift + arrow keys to navigate between links and elements on web pages.

To focus on the next and previous elements on a web page, you can use the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, respectively. Depending on your goal, that might result in having to press the same key or key combination many, many times.

You can navigate faster through the whole page with just the keyboard using Spatial Navigation. While holding down the Shift key press the arrow keys to move to elements left, right, above and below the currently highlighted element (has an orange border around it). When you’ve focused, for example, on a link on the page, press Enter to open it.

Tip #130

— Posted inDesktop, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Hide lesser used Extensions to declutter the Address Bar.

Vivaldi has an abundance of features that help you rely less on third-party Extensions, but you may still wish to use some extensions. You can declutter the Address Bar by hiding extensions you don’t use very often or don’t need to interact with via their button on the Address Bar.

To hide an extension:

  1. Right-click on the extension button on the Address Bar.
  2. Select Hide Button from the context menu.

To show/hide hidden extensions, click on the Extensions button.

By default hidden extensions are displayed on the Address Bar. If you wish to see them in a drop-down menu like on the screenshot below, go to Settings > Address Bar > Extension Visibility and enable Expand Hidden Extensions to Drop-Down Menu.

Vivaldi browser window, with the top right corner magnified to show extensions displayed on the Address Bar and others hidden in a drop down menu.

Tip #129

— Posted inCalendar, Desktop, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Change the visible hours in Vivaldi Calendar to match your average day length.

If you’re an early bird you might want to your days in the Calendar to start earlier too or vice versa, later, if you’re a night owl.

To change the start and end hours and thus also the length of the day:

  1. Go to to Settings > Calendar > Calendar Display > Visible Day Hours.
  2. Choose the hours the day starts and ends with.

Then, in Day and Week views, the day starts and ends with your chosen hours. For example, at 4:00 in the morning as on the screenshot below. All hours outside your day will be collapsed. To show collapsed hours as well, untick the box for Collapse Excluded Hours in Visible Day Hours setting.

Vivaldi Calendar with changed Visible hours.

Tip #128

— Posted inDesktop, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Enable Tab Thumbnails to get a visual preview of the Tab’s content.

With a visual preview of tabs on the Tab Bar, it’s easier to find the tab you’re looking for, as you can rely on recognizing the page content in addition to reading tab titles.

To enable Tab Thumbnails:

  1. Go to Settings > Tabs > Tab Options.
  2. Enable Show Tab Thumbnails.

In case you have too many tabs open or only sometimes want to see the thumbnails, create a Keyboard Shortcut or a Mouse Gesture to quickly toggle the thumbnails on and off. Alternatively, you can rely on Popup Thumbnails that appear when you hover over a tab.

Vivaldi Window with a vertical Tab Bar and visible Tab Thumbnails.
Tab Thumbnails enabled on a vertical Tab Bar.

Tip #127

— Posted inDesktop, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Add empty space to the Address Bar to resize the Address Field.

Address Field takes up all available space that’s left over from buttons and other components on the Address Bar. On a larger screen the Address Field can get quite long. You can resize and center the Address Field by adding empty space on both sides, thus making the Address Field easier to access and the overall look a bit cleaner.

To add space to the Address Bar:

  1. Go to Vivaldi menu > View > Customize Toolbar.
  2. Make sure Navigation Toolbar is selected in the editor.
  3. Find the Flexible Space component and drag it to both sides of the Address Field.
  4. When you’re done, click outside the editor window to exit.
Vivaldi window, highlighting the customized Address Bar that has space on both sides of the address field.

Tip #126

— Posted inAndroid, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Enable “Always Show Controls” to keep toolbars visible on Vivaldi for Android.

When you scroll down on a page in Vivaldi’s Android app, the Tab Bar, Address Bar and bottom toolbar will be hidden automatically to free up screen real estate on the mobile devices’ smaller screen. When you scroll up, the toolbars will be displayed again.

If you’d rather keep the toolbars visible at all times:

  1. Go to  Vivaldi menu > Settings > Appearance.
  2. Toggle on Always Show Controls.

Tip #125

— Posted inDesktop, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Choose how to display bookmarks and bookmark folders on the Bookmark Bar.

One of the fastest ways to access your favorite bookmarks is to display them on the Bookmark Bar. How much is shown about a bookmark is up to you to decide. For example, if you have a lot of bookmarks on the Bookmark Bar, you can save space by not displaying the bookmark name and rely only on the website’s logo to find the one you need.

To change how bookmarks are displayed on the Bookmark Bar:

  1. Go to Settings > Bookmarks > Bookmark Bar and make sure Show Bookmark Bar is enabled.
  2. Then, from Bookmark Bar Display setting, select one of the following options:
    • Text and Icon – Both the website’s logo and name is shown.
    • Text Only – Only the website’s name is displayed.
    • Icon Only – Only the logo is shown.
    • Bookmark Icon Only – Bookmark folders are displayed with both name and logo, but bookmarks only show the logo.
Top left corner of Vivaldi browser shown 4 times. Each showing a different way to display bookmarks and bookmark folders on the Bookmark Bar.

Tip #124

— Posted inDesktop, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Make menus more fun and colorful with emojis.

In addition to adding, removing and reordering menu items in Vivaldi, you can also rename them. Giving you the perfect opportunity to, not only name actions in a way that makes sense to you, but also add a little fun to them with emojis. 😎

To rename a menu item:

  1. Go to Settings > Appearance > Menu > Menu customization.
  2. From the drop-down menu select the menu you want to update.
  3. Right-click on the item or folder you want to edit and select Rename.
  4. While renaming the menu item, use your OS’s emoji keyboard (Win + . / ⌃ ⌘ Space) to find and add an emoji.
  5. Press Enter or focus elsewhere on the page to save the changes.

Tip #123

— Posted inDesktop, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Run multiple actions in one go using Command Chains.

If you regularly use the same commands one after the other, you could create a Command Chain from them, which will execute your chosen commands in a sequence after a single action from you.

To create a Command Chain:

  1. Go to Settings > Quick Commands > Command Chains.
  2. Click on Add Command Chain.
  3. Give the new chain a name.
  4. Change Command 1 to an action you want to execute first.
  5. Click on Add Command on the right side to add the next command in the sequence.
  6. When you’re done adding the commands, click Test Chain to confirm that it works as expected.

Now you can trigger a chain from Quick Commands, assign it a custom Keyboard Shortcut or a Mouse Gesture, or add a button to one of the Toolbars. 

Take a look at example Command Chains from Vivaldi Community members on https://forum.vivaldi.net/topic/63828/command-chain-recipes.

Tip #122

— Posted inDesktop, Mail, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Switch between displaying Mail messages in HTML and Plain Text view.

Mail messages can come in either Plain text or HTML formatting. As the name indicates, messages sent in Plain Text display the email with just text without any additional formatting. Senders of HTML messages, on the other hand, can add all sorts of formatting (fonts, colors, images, etc.) to their message.

For HTML messages, Vivaldi Mail has an option to display them in Plain Text as well, removing all formatting and leaving only the core text.

To toggle the message view, either:

  • Click on the  /  Show Messages as Text/HTML button in the top right corner of the window.
  • Go to Settings > Mail > Mail Settings > Mail Rendering and choose your preferred view.
Vivaldi Mail with a message open in a tab and content displayed in HTML.
Message in HTML
Vivaldi Mail with a message open in a tab and content displayed in plain text.
Message in Plain Text