Tip #317

Switch to a tab in a different Workspace swiftly with Quick Commands.

Workspaces are an excellent way to divide tabs into groups to focus on one topic at a time. There are several ways to open a different workspace and one of the tabs in it, such as via the Tab Bar or Window Panel. But another quick way of switching to a specific tab in a different workspace is using Quick Commands.

To switch tabs using Quick Commands:

  1. Open Quick Commands (F2 / ⌘ E).
  2. Start typing the web page’s name or URL.
  3. Select the tab you want to switch to.
Quick Commands open in Vivaldi Browser. Search results

Tip #316

Help us help you by adding useful information to your Forum signature.

The best place to get an answer to any of your Vivaldi questions is the Vivaldi Forum. To get a good answer, it’s useful for the ones replying to you to know about the environment you’re using Vivaldi on. For example, a Keyboard Shortcut for Windows is not very useful, if you’re on macOS, where the same command can have a different key combination.

You could include this information in each of your posts, but you can skip the repetition by adding these details to your account’s signature, which is automatically added below each of your posts.

To add a signature to your account on the Forum:

  1. Go to your profile on the Forum, either by visiting this link https://forum.vivaldi.net/me/edit or by clicking on your avatar in the Forum’s top right corner and selecting “Profile”.
  2. Fill out the Signature field.
  3. Click “Save changes”.

You should include information about your devices’ operating system and other technical specifications, also whether you’ve installed the Stable or Snapshot version of the browser. You’re more than welcome to share other information in the signature, just keep it short.

As a spam prevention measure, you need to have earned at least 2 reputation points before you can add a signature to your profile.

Vivaldi Forum profile with the Signature field highlighted.

Tip #315

Add web links to Vivaldi Browser menus.

Did you know that in addition to Bookmarks you can add links to sites you visit frequently to the browser’s menus? And we’re not just talking about the main Vivaldi menu here. You can add a link to all (context) menus Vivaldi has. Nice! 😎

To add a link to a menu:

  1. Go to Settings > Appearance > Menu > Menu customization.
  2. Select the menu you want to add the link to.
  3. From the list of Commands, drag “Open Link” to the Content column.
  4. Give the link a name.
  5. Enter the URL.
  6. Press “Enter” to create the menu item.
Vivaldi's Menu customization settings. A link to Vivaldi's Desktop Snapshot blog is being added as a new menu item.

Tip #314

View multiple timelines at the same time on Vivaldi Social.

When browsing Vivaldi Social as a web page on a larger screen, you’ll notice that there’s just one column of content and quite a lot of free space on the page. If you want, you can opt for a multi-column view instead. With the multi-column aka advanced view, you can have different timelines, hashtags, direct messages, and moredisplayed in individual columns side by side.

To enable the multi-column view:

  1. Go to Preferences > Advanced Web Interface.
  2. Tick the box for “Enable advanced web interface”.
  3. Click “Save changes”.
  4. Exit preferences.
  5. Click on the “Show settings” button on the column headers to pin or unpin them.
Vivaldi Social with advanced web interface enabled.

Tip #313

Neatly packed together or a bit more spread out? Choose your way of displaying Tab Stacks.

Tab Stacks in Vivaldi Browser are a great way to group related tabs together, but what is the best way to display your tab groups? That’s up to you to decide! We are providing you with 3 different options.

To change how your Tab Stacks are displayed on the Tab Bar:

  1. Go to Settings > Tabs > Tab Features > Tab Stacking.
  2. Choose between the following stacking options:
    • Compact,
    • Two-Level, and
    • Accordion, or
    • disable Stacks altogether.
Three Tab and Address Bars, each displaying a different way to showcase Tab Stacks.

Tip #312

Check for new messages in Vivaldi Mail at an interval that suits you.

Want to know immediately when someone has sent you a message or prefer to check for new mail on your own time? Vivaldi Mail offers you three options to choose from.

To review your mail checking frequency:

  1. Go to Settings > Mail > Mail Settings > Check For New Mail.
  2. Select whether new messages should be fetched:
    • every minute
    • every 15 minutes, or
    • manually.

Tip #311

Format your Vivaldi blog’s content beautifully and easily with Patterns.

Block Patterns are premade layouts that you can add to your Vivaldi blog‘s posts and pages. They make showing off your content super easy, as you won’t need to spend time fiddling with different blocks and their settings.

To add a pattern to your blog:

  1. Open the post or page editor.
  2. Click on “Toggle block inserter” and go to the Patterns tab. (Click on “Explore” for a bigger view.)
  3. Browse through available patterns and click on the one you want to add to your post/page.
  4. Replace the example content with your own text and images.

For an even bigger selection of Patterns, visit https://wordpress.org/patterns/.

Pattern library open in Vivaldi Community Blog's editor.

Tip #310

Open links in new (background) tabs quickly with Mouse Gestures.

Mouse Gestures are an excellent way to execute commands in the browser with little mouse movements. For example, when researching something on a web page that references many other pages, you can open these links easily in new background tabs without losing your spot on the page you’re currently on.

To open a link in a new tab using a Mouse Gesture:

  1. Hover the mouse cursor over the link you want to open.
  2. Hold down the right mouse button.
  3. Drag the mouse down and up again to open it in a new background tab or drag the mouse just down to open the link in a new foreground tab.
  4. Release the mouse button.

Explore more gestures in Settings > Mouse > Gesture Mapping.

Tip #309

Install Vivaldi Social as a Progressive Web App to use it in an independent window.

Vivaldi Social (and other Mastodon instances) can be accessed in Vivaldi through a web page in a Tab or Web Panel and you can connect to the Fediverse from Mastodon’s desktop and mobile apps. If you’d like to have something between the two, you can install Vivaldi Social as a Progressive Web App, which allows you to use Vivaldi Social with the Vivaldi Browser, but in its own dedicated window.

To install Vivaldi Social as a PWA on desktop:

  1. Open social.vivaldi.net in a tab.
  2. Right-click on the tab to open the context menu.
  3. Select “Install Vivaldi Social”.
  4. Click Install to add an icon to your desktop.

You can also create a shortcut for Vivaldi Social in Vivaldi on Android:

  1. Open social.vivaldi.net in a tab.
  2. Open the browser’s main menu.
  3. Select “Install App”.
  4. Tap on “Install”.
  5. Tap on “Add” or drag the icon to the Home screen.
Dialog in Vivaldi Browser asking to confirm the installation of Vivaldi Social as a Progressive Web App.

Tip #308

Create a copy of a theme and edit that, instead of changing the original.

Themes in the Vivaldi Browser allow you to make the browser more personal. Though there are many default themes to choose from and a huge selection on themes.vivaldi.net, the one you like might be missing that final touch that makes it perfect for you. But instead of updating the original theme, create a copy of it and update the copy. That way you can go back to the original theme or use it again to create another theme.

To copy and edit a theme:

  1. Go to Settings > Themes.
  2. Select the theme you want to use as the base.
  3. Click on “New Theme”.
  4. Make changes to the copy.
Theme Settings open in Vivaldi. Copied theme is being renamed.

Tip #307

Update Speed Dial thumbnails with one click.

If the Speed Dial thumbnail is missing or you don’t like the current one, you can update it with a new screenshot of the web page. If you prefer to choose an image for the thumbnail, follow our directions in Tip #69.

To quickly update Speed Dial thumbnails:

  1. Hover over one of the Speed Dials.
  2. Click on “Update thumbnail” in the top left corner of the Speed Dial.
Vivaldi Browser's Start Page with a Speed Dial that has no thumbnail being updated.

Tip #306

Hide the Status Bar to give more space for page content in Vivaldi on Android.

You can gain a few pixels for displaying more web content and/or hide distracting notification icons from view, by hiding Android’s Status Bar. It’s especially useful when you tend to browse more with Vivaldi in landscape mode.

To hide your mobile devices Status Bar while using the app:

  1. Go to Settings > Appearance > Status Bar Visibility.
  2. Select, whether to show or hide the Status Bar, or to show it in portrait mode, but hide it in landscape mode.
Two mobile phones with Vivaldi on Android open. One has the Status Bar visible, the other has it hidden.

Tip #305

Turn the Search Field on the Address Bar into a Search Button.

If you feel like the Search Field takes a little too much space on your Vivaldi Browser’s Address Bar, you can have it displayed as a button instead. The button is also a great option if you want to move the Search function to the vertical Panel bar.

To display Search as a button:

  1. Go to Settings > Search > Search Field Display.
  2. Select “Show as a Button”.

To search for something on the web, click on the button to show the full Search Field.

Vivaldi Browser with Search field replaced with a Search Button. The button has been clicked to show the search field.

Tip #304

Group people you follow on Vivaldi Social into Lists to create filtered timelines.

If you follow many different types of accounts on Vivaldi Social, the main Home timeline can feel like a huge smorgasbord of content. To focus on one topic or group of people at a time, divide the accounts you follow into Lists.

To create a list:

  1. Go to the Lists page.
  2. In the text box that says “New list title” give your new list a name.
  3. Click “Add list”.

To add people to Lists:

  1. Open the list.
  2. Click on “Show settings” > “Edit list”
  3. Enter the usernames of the people you want to add to the list.
  4. Click on “Add to list” next to their name.

Alternatively:

  1. Visit the user’s profile.
  2. From the account menu, select “Add or Remove from lists”.
  3. Select which lists you want to add the user to.

Lists’ timelines can be accessed from the menu column on the right side of the page.

Lists page on Vivaldi Social, with a new list about Photography being created.