Tip #71

Open Settings in a Tab instead of separate window.

By default, Vivaldi Settings open in a new window. If you would prefer Settings to open in a Tab like web pages and other internal pages:

  1. Go to Settings > Appearance.
  2. Enable Open Settings in a Tab.

Then, the next time you open Settings, they’ll be in a tab instead of window.

Tip #70

Make the page of your choice Vivaldi Forum’s homepage.

If there’s a page you visit often on the Forum, consider making it your Forum homepage. Then, while logged in, whenever you click Home on the Forum menu or go to forum.vivaldi.net, you’ll be shown your chosen homepage.

To set a homepage:

  1. Log in to your Vivaldi account on forum.vivaldi.net.
  2. Go to forum.vivaldi.net/me/settings.
    Alternatively, click on your avatar in the top right corner and select Settings from the menu.
  3. In the Select a Homepage section, click on the dropdown menu and select your preferred page or set a custom one.
Forum homepage setting.

Tip #69

Curate your Start Page with custom Speed Dial thumbnails.

Start Page is likely one of the most visited pages in your browser. So, it makes sense to put in some effort to make it look great.

One way to customize the Start Page is to select custom thumbnail images for each of your Speed Dial bookmarks. To add a custom thumbnail:

  1. Open your Start Page.
  2. Hover over one of the Speed Dials.
  3. Click on Select Custom Thumbnail in the top left corner.
    Alternatively, right-click on the Speed Dial and choose Select Custom Thumbnail from the context menu.
  4. Locate the file in your File Manage/Finder and click Open.

The recommended image size is 440×360px and most image formats are supported, including animated GIFs.

Tip #68

Adjust tracker and ad blocking level per site from the Address Bar.

Let’s say you block all ads and trackers by default, but want to make an exception for a specific website that you trust or, maybe, the site behaves strangely, so you want to check whether disabling the content blocker will solve the issue. In that case, while the website you want to change the blocking level for is open in the active tab:

  1. Click on the  Content Blocker button on the left side of the Address field.
  2. Choose between:
    • No Blocking,
    • Block Trackers, or
    • Block Trackers and Ads.

You can view and manage all websites you’ve set a separate blocking level for in Settings > Privacy and Security > Tracker and Ad Blocking > Exceptions.

Tip #67

Hold down the right mouse button and draw an L shape to close the active tab.

To close a tab, hold down the right mouse button and swipe down and right, making an L shape.

Keep doing that to close multiple tabs one after another. It’s a great and fast option, when you want to see what’s on the page before closing it.

In case you accidentally closed a tab or changed your mind, you can reopen recently closed tabs by holding down the right mouse button and swiping up and right.

You can discover more gestures and customize them in Settings > Mouse > Gesture Mapping.

Tip #65

On Android, move the Address Bar to the bottom for easier one-handed access.

With smart phones’ screens still increasing in size, reaching the top of the screen while simultaneously holding the phone with the same hand can get cumbersome. That’s why in Vivaldi you can move the Address and Tab Bars to the bottom of the screen for easier access.

To move the Address Bar (and Tab Bar) to the bottom of the screen on Android:

  1. Go to Vivaldi menu > Settings > Appearance.
  2. Toggle on Address Bar at Bottom.
Address Bar at the top vs at the bottom

Tip #64

Enable “Show Selected Text Translate Button” to see translations in a pop up.

With Vivaldi Translate, you can translate full web pages and, in the Translate Panel, you can translate your own text or snippets copied from a web page. But you can also translate highlighted text with a click of a button and see the translation in a pop up.

To enable the Translate Button:

  1. Go to Settings > Webpages.
  2. Enable “Show Selected Text Translate Button

Once the button has been enabled:

  1. On a web page, highlight the text you want to translate.
  2. When a small translate button appears near the selected text, click on it.

The original text and the translation will be displayed in a pop up. You can also change the source and output languages as needed.

Tip #63

Drag text and links instead of copy-pasting.

Instead of the multi-click copy > locate and focus on destination > paste action you can just drag the highlighted text to the relevant location. Highlighting can be skipped for links.

Places you can drag text to:

  • Address and Search fields on the Address Bar to start a new search (press Enter to execute the search).
  • New Tab button on the Tab Bar to automatically search with the default Search Engine.
  • Notes Panel button to create a new note.
  • Text fields in the same or different tab* and panels.
  • To all of the above in other windows and even applications (both need to be simultaneously visible on your screen).

In addition to the above, you can drag links also to:

  • A tab on the Tab Bar to go to the link in that tab.
  • Add Web Panel button to add the website as a new Web Panel.
  • Bookmarks Bar to create a new bookmark.

In case links can easily be dragged up or down, but not left or right, try disabling Allow Text Selection in Links in Settings > Webpages and reload the page.


*To drag text or links to a different tab:

  1. Highlight the text and start dragging it.
  2. Hover the mouse over the destination tab and wait for the tab to switch.
  3. Drag the text/link to it’s destination in the new tab.

Tip #62

Create a new event from highlighted text on a web page or in a Mail message.

One of the great things about the Calendar being integrated in the browser is that you can skip a bunch of steps when creating a new event. Say you’re browsing the web or reading your emails and want to create an event or a task from what you see. All you need to do is:

  1. Highlight the text you want as the event title.
  2. Right-click on the selected text to open the context menu.
  3. Click on Add as Calendar Event.
  4. Fill in the rest of the event’s information.
  5. Click Add Event.

Now you have a new event in your calendar in no time and you can just carry on what you were doing.

Tip #61

Save open tabs as a session to access the same set of tabs any time in the future.

Vivaldi allows you to save your current open tabs as a named session, so you can open the tabs whenever you need them.

To save all open tabs in one or all windows as a session:

  1. Either, go to the Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi menu > File > Save All Tabs as Session or type “Save All Tabs as Session” in Quick Commands.
  2. Give the session a name.
  3. Decide whether you want to save tabs in the current window only or from all windows.
  4. Click Save.

To save only some tabs as a session:

  1. Use the Ctrl / ⌘ / Shift key to select the tabs you want to save as one session.
  2. Then, either right-click on one of the selected tabs and select Save # Selected Tabs as a Session from the context menu or type “Save Selected Tabs as Session” in Quick Commands.
  3. Give the session a name.
  4. Click Save.

To open a saved session:

  1. Either, go to the Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi menu > File > Open Saved Session or type “Open Saved Sessions” in Quick Commands.
  2. Select the saved session you want to open.
  3. Decide whether to open the session in a new or current window.
  4. Click Open.

Tip #60

Use the built-in alarm and timer to keep track of time.

Vivaldi’s Clock feature, in addition to showing you the current time, allows you to set alarms and do countdowns. For example, set an alarm for the next meeting or start the Pomodoro timer to focus on your tasks.

To set an alarm:

  1. Click on the Clock on the Status Bar (or wherever you’ve moved it to).
  2. Select Alarm.
  3. Choose from preset alarms or create a new one by setting the time and giving it a name.
  4. Click Start.

To set a timer:

  1. Click on the Clock on the Status Bar.
  2. Select Countdown.
  3. Choose from preset timers or create a new one by setting the time and giving it a name.
  4. Click Start.

Tip #59

Enable “Download Messages for Offline Viewing and Searching” to access your mail without internet connection.

When you open a message in Vivaldi Mail it’s downloaded and a file for the message is created in your browser’s profile. Then you can open the email whether you have an internet connection or not. In addition, when searching, the downloaded message’s body is included in the searched content, improving search results.

To be able to view messages offline and include all message content in search even before you’ve opened the email, you only need to tick one box in Mail Settings.

To enable the setting:

  1. Go to Settings > Mail.
  2. Select an account you’ve added to Vivaldi Mail.
  3. In the Identity section, enable “Download Messages for Offline Viewing and Searching“.
Vivaldi Settings window, with focus on "Download Messages for Offline Viewing and Searching" setting.

Tip #58

Press F2 / ⌘E to open Quick Commands.

Quick Commands in Vivaldi is a powerful universal search, wrapped in a minimal, command line interface. From Quick Commands you can execute commands, search for open and recently closed tabs, open bookmarks and a lot more.

The fastest way to open Quick Commands is to use the Keyboard shortcut F2 / ⌘ E, but you can also open it from  Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi menu > Tools > Quick Commands or create a Mouse Gesture for the action.

Then just start typing what you’re looking for, select the correct item on the list and press Enter (or click on the item).

Vivaldi browser with Quick Commands open on the Start Page.
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