Tip #346

Search copied text in a new tab with a single shortcut.

Combining actions often used one after another into a single Command Chain can help you streamline your browsing. One of the many Command Chains you can create is searching for text you have copied to the clipboard in a new tab. That way you can skip opening a new tab, focusing on the address field, pasting your search term in it, and executing the search. It’s all done with the use of a single shortcut or click of a button.

To create the Command Chain:

  1. Go to Settings > Quick Commands > Command Chains.
  2. Click on “Add Command Chain” below the list of existing chains.
  3. Give the new chain a name
  4. Add the following commands:
    1. New Tab,
    2. Delay (with the parameter value, for example, 100),
    3. Focus Address Field,
    4. Paste and Go.
  5. Go to Settings > Keyboard and/or Settings > Mouse, look for the new chain in the list of commands, and create a shortcut for it.
    In addition, you can open the Toolbar Editor and add the new chain as a button on one of the browser toolbars.
Command Chain settings

Tip #281

Duplicate the active tab and tile both in one step with Command Chains.

Do you regularly find yourself needing to work with content on the same page side by side? Normally you’d duplicate the tab first and then tile them, but with Vivaldi’s Command Chains, you can get to the tiled view much faster.

To set up this Command Chain:

  1. Go to Settings > Quick Commands > Command Chains.
  2. Add a new Command Chain.
  3. Add the following commands to the chain:
    1. Command 1 – Duplicate Selected Tabs.
    2. Command 2 – Tile Vertically/Horizontally.
  4. Create a Keyboard Shortcut, Mouse Gestures and/or add a custom button to a toolbar for executing the chain.
    Straight out of the box, you can type the chain’s name in Quick Commands.

Tip originally shared by our community member Pesala on the Vivaldi Forum.

Tip #266

Switch Workspaces with one click with the aid of Command Chains, Toolbar Editor and Custom Icons.

There are some unique ways you can use different Vivaldi features together to make the browser behave the way you want it. For example, with the help of Command Chains, Toolbar Editor and Custom Icons you can take Workspaces to the next level. Here’s how:

Step 1 – Create Command Chains for switching Workspaces.

  1. Go to Settings > Quick Commands > Command Chains.
  2. Create a new chain and give it a name.
  3. Replace the placeholder command with “Switch to Workspace #”. The number corresponds to the order in which you created your Workspaces.

Create a chain for every workspace. In each chain, you can also add other commands that will be executed at the same time. For example, add the command “Switch to theme” to make workspaces visually more different.

Step 2 – Add Command Chain buttons to a toolbar.

  1. Open the Toolbar Editor.
  2. Select the Command Chains section.
  3. Drag the buttons you made for Workspaces to a toolbar of your choice.

Step 3 – Add Custom Icons.

By default all Command Chain buttons looks the same, but you can add Custom Icons to make each button stand out.

  1. Go to Settings > Themes > Editor > Icons.
  2. In the list of icons, find the Command Chains you created.
  3. Select one and replace the default icon with one you’ve created.

For a more in depth description of this feature combination and final results, take a look at our blog post and video here.

One section of Vivaldi Browser's window, showing half of the Address and Panel bars. The latter includes Command Chains with custom icons above other Panel buttons.

Tip #123

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 #102

Customize browser toolbars from Vivaldi menu > View > Customize Toolbar.

In Tip #4 we told you how to move buttons around on the browser Toolbars. That method still works, but since then we’ve added even more flexibility to customizing Toolbars, giving you full control of your toolbar layouts. You can add, move and remove any of the components on the Navigation Toolbar, Status Bar, Mail Toolbar, Mail Composer Toolbar and Mail Message Toolbar. You can even add your custom Command Chains as buttons on the toolbars.

To customize the toolbars:

  1. Go to Vivaldi menu > View > Customize Toolbar.
    Alternatively, right-click on one of the buttons on a toolbar and select Edit > Customize Toolbar.
  2. While the Toolbar Editor window is open:
    • Click and drag new components to the toolbars,
    • Move components around without the need to hold down the Ctrl / ⌘ key,
    • Drag and drop components you want to remove on the background area (area that isn’t a toolbar, nor the editor window).
  3. Click on the background area to close the Toolbar Editor.

Feel free to mix and match components from various toolbars. For example, you can add the Compose New Mail button to the Navigation Bar and Extensions to Mail toolbars.