Category: Vivaldi Tips

Tip #174

— Posted inCommunity Blogs, Community Services, Vivaldi Social, Vivaldi Tips — 2 min read

Add alternative text to images you post on Vivaldi Social and Community Blogs.

Alternative or alt text is a short description of what is shown on the image. It is shown when the image can’t be displayed and is indexed by search engines. More importantly, alt text is used by screen reader software that helps visually impaired people browse the web. To contribute to making the web accessible for everyone, it’s strongly encouraged to add proper alt text to any images accompanying your posts on Vivaldi Social, Community Blogs on Vivaldi.net and other places on the web.

To add alt text to images you post on Vivaldi Social:

  1. Add an attachment to your post.
  2. Click on Edit in the top right corner of the image preview.
  3. Enter a description.
  4. Click Apply.

To add alt text to images in your blog posts:

  1. Upload or add an image from the Media Library to your blog post.
  2. Select the image.
  3. In block settings on the right side, look for Image Settings.
  4. Enter a description in the Alt text (alternative text) section.

Keep the description brief. If the image has text, it’s good to include it in the description. There’s no need to add alt text, if the image is only decorative and not related to the content.

Media editing window on Vivaldi Social with an example image and description.
Adding a description to an image on Vivaldi Social

Tip #173

— Posted inDesktop, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Get a reality check on how many trackers and ads actually follow you on the web from Privacy Statistics.

When you have Vivaldi’s Tracker and Ad Blocker enabled, you can take a look at how many trackers and ads have been blocked while you’ve been browsing with Vivaldi.

To see how many trackers and ads have been blocked on the website you’re on, click on the Content blocker button on the left side of the Address Field.

To see overall statistics, head over to the Start Page and take a look at the Privacy Statistics bar near the top. Click on it to see details.

In case you’ve disabled Privacy Statistics, you can use Quick Settings accessible from the top right corner of Start Page to enable them again.

Tip #172

— Posted inAndroid, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Make the menu bar in Vivaldi on Android’s main menu work for you.

You can tailor the menu bar in Vivaldi’s main menu to fit your individual workflow.

To customize the menu bar:

  1. Go to Vivaldi menu > Settings > General > Main Menu.
  2. Opt for one of the two presets or select Customize layout to make your own configuration.
  3. Using drag and drop, reorder the options in the list, so the top 5 menu items are the ones you want to see on the menu bar.

Tip #171

— Posted inDesktop, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Find similar images with reverse image search.

When you come across an image on a web page or have one saved and you want to find similar images or track down the original source and author of the image, you can use reverse image search.

To search with an image:

  1. Open the web page with the image or open an image stored on your computer from Vivaldi menu > File > Open File.
  2. Right-click on the image to open the context menu.
  3. Select Search for Image.

To change the Image Search Engine:

  1. Go to Settings > Search > Image Search Engine.
  2. Select your preferred search engine from the dropdown menu.

Currently, the search can be done using either Bing’s or Google’s image search. If you know any other search engines that offer searching with an image, you can add them as a new search engine. Make sure to fill out the Image Search URL and Image Search POST Parameters info.

A web page with an image in Vivaldi Browser. Right-click context menu is opened and highlighted.

Tip #170

— Posted inCommunity Services, Vivaldi Tips, Webmail — 1 min read

Toggle between Plain Text and HTML message composer in Vivaldi Webmail with just one click.

Email 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, text alignment, images, etc.) to their message.

In Vivaldi Webmail (not to confuse with Vivaldi Mail, the browser’s mail client) it’s very easy to switch between the two editors when composing messages. Just click on the HTML button in the top left corner of the message body box. Click on Plain Text at the same spot to return to Plain Text editor.

For a more permanent switch to the HTML editor:

  1. Go to Settings > Preferences > Composing Messages.
  2. For Compose HTML messages, select between the following options:
    • Never (i.e. always compose in Plain Text),
    • On reply to HTML message,
    • On forward and reply to HTML message,
    • Always,
    • Always, except when replying to plain text.
  3. Click Save at the bottom of the page.

Tip #169

— Posted inDesktop, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Share links that point directly to the highlighted section of the page with “Copy link to highlight”.

Instead of sharing a link and asking the recipient to look for a specific section of the page themselves, you can create a link that loads the page exactly at the spot you want them to see. To share a link like that:

  1. Highlight the part of the page you’d like to share.
  2. Right-click on it and choose “Copy link to highlight”.
  3. Send that URL to anyone using a Chromium-based browser.

When opening the shared link, it’ll go to the highlighted part of the page instead of to the top of the page.👏

Some text on a web page open in Vivaldi has been highlighted and the context menu opened with the option "Copy Link to Highlight" selected.

Tip #168

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

Choose where you see Vivaldi Mail’s unseen and unread message counters and which messages should be included.

Mail counters help you see from the browser’s Panel and Status Bar, how many unseen message you have, without needing to open the Mail Panel. In addition, you have the choice to toggle on and off unread counters for messages in Trash, Spam, Archive and Draft folders in the Mail Panel.

To review Mail counters:

  1. Go to Settings > Mail > Mail Settings.
  2. In Mail Counters section adjust the options according to your preferences.
Vivaldi Settings window open on the Mail category with Mail Counters section highlighted.

Tip #167

— Posted inDesktop, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Add any web page as a Web Panel in Vivaldi the way you want to.

Web Panels are customisable Tabs which allow you to keep your favourite sites easily accessible in the side Panel of Vivaldi. Opening a Web Panel will allow you to simultaneously view its content alongside the tab(s) in your main window.

There are a few different ways you can add a new Web Panel in Vivaldi. Choose the one you like best from the list below.

  • While the web page is open in a tab, click the Add Web Panel button on the browser’s sidebar.
  • Right-click anywhere on the open web page and select Add Page to Web Panel from the menu.
  • Drag the page from the tab on the Tab Bar or from the  Site info button in the Address Field to the Add Web Panel button on the browser’s sidebar. Release the mouse button to create the Web Panel.
Vivaldi browser with Add Web Panel menu highlighted.

Tip #166

— Posted inDesktop, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

With a touch of color or monochrome? You can have Vivaldi Settings both ways.

Vivaldi 5.6 added a splash of color to Settings and divided the categories into groups for better discoverability. But as always, we’ve made it an option. If you prefer a more minimalistic look, you can disable the colors.

To return to the monochrome look:

  1. Go to Settings > Appearance > Window Appearance.
  2. Enable Use Monochrome Settings Icons.
2 Vivaldi settings windows. One with colorful category icons, the other with monochrome icons.

Tip #165

— Posted inAndroid, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Search for specific words on the open web page in Vivaldi on Android with Find in Page.

On desktop, Ctrl+F / ⌘ F is a well known Keyboard Shortcut for searching through the open web page. On mobile devices, where the screens fit even less content in the visible area, being able to just search for a keyword is even more useful.

To search in Vivaldi on Android:

  1. Open the Vivaldi menu.
  2. Select Find in Page.
  3. Enter your search keyword.

Search results will start showing as you type. Use the arrows in the top right corner to move to the ˄ previous and ˅ next results. Tap on the X, when you’re done with your search.

A web page in Vivaldi on Android with Find in Page active and search results for the entered keyword shown.

Tip #164

— Posted inDesktop, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Decrease Accent Color Saturation in Theme settings for a more pastel look on the browser interface.

Vivaldi Theme settings allow you to display your chosen color or a color of the active page on the Tab Bar or Navigation Bar (depends on your Color Overrides settings). While your chosen color is most likely perfect, colors from active pages can sometimes be too bright. If the vivid colors become too distracting, you can fix that in Theme settings.

To adjust accent color saturation:

  1. Go to Settings > Themes.
  2. Go to the Editor tab and from the drop down menu select the theme you want to update.
  3. Adjust the value of Limit Accent Color Saturation to your liking.

The smaller the value the more subdued the color will be.

Two Vivaldi Browser windows, one in front of the other. The one in the background has 100% color saturation, the one on the foreground 60% saturation.

Tip #163

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

Press N, R and F on your keyboard to start composing email messages in Vivaldi Mail.

Shortcuts help to speed up your workflow considerably. By using single key shortcuts in Vivaldi Mail, you can work with your emails with efficiency that will make others go green with envy. Move between emails, mark them read, send messages and more. In this tip, we’ll introduce you to three shortcuts that help you start composing messages.

  • N – Start composing a new message
  • R – Start composing a reply to the selected message (Shift + R to reply to all)
  • F – Start composing a message to forward the selected email

If you’d prefer to use different shortcuts, go to Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Mail and assign new shortcuts for the commands.

Tip #162

— Posted inCommunity Services, Vivaldi Social, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Share posts from Vivaldi.com and Vivaldi.net easily on Mastodon.

Vivaldi Social and other Mastodon instances are all about sharing your ideas and cool things you’d like others to know about. Vivaldi’s Team Blog as well as Blogs and Themes by our amazing Community members are definitely worth sharing.

To share content from vivaldi.com and vivaldi.net:

  1. Make sure you’re logged in to your account on Vivaldi Social or another Mastodon instance where you have an account.
  2. Open the blog post or theme you want to share.
  3. Below the blog post/theme click on Mastodon among the Share options.
  4. In the dialog that opens, enter the link of your Mastodon instance.
  5. Review and, if you wish, add something to the post.
  6. Click Publish.
Vivaldi blog post open in Vivaldi Browser with a dialog to enter one's instance's link highlighted.

Tip #161

— Posted inDesktop, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Save web pages for later by adding them to the Reading List.

Vivaldi’s Reading List feature lets you save web pages with, for example, interesting articles in a list you can access from your browser on desktop and Android. Using the Reading List prevents endless tabs from accumulating on your Tab Bar and Bookmarks from being filled with entries you only need once.

To add a page to the Reading List on desktop:

  1. Open the Reading List Panel or popup.
  2. Click on Add Current Page.

To add a page to the Reading List on Android:

  1. Go to the Vivaldi menu > Reading List.
  2. Tap on Add Current Page.
Vivaldi Browser on desktop with the Reading List panel and popup highlighted.
Reading List panel and popup on Vivaldi Browser on desktop.