Tip #559

Create a shortcut for toggling dark mode for web pages on and off.

Through Settings > Appearance > Website Appearance, you can choose to display all websites in dark mode all the time. Even if a website hasn’t provided a dark option for their website, you can have Vivaldi create it for them by forcing dark mode to be used. But occasionally even dark mode lovers need to turn on the lights temporarily. That’s where shortcuts come in handy.

To toggle dark mode on and off with shortcuts:

Quick Commands

  1. Open Quick Commands.
  2. Type “Toggle Force a dark mode on all websites’.
  3. Press “Enter”.

For the following you first need to create the shortcut.

Keyboard Shortcuts

  1. Go to Settings > Keyboard > View.
  2. Find “Toggle Force a dark mode on all websites’.
  3. Focus on the input field next to it and press the key combination you want to use as the shortcut.

Mouse Gestures

  1. Go to Settings > Mouse > Gesture Mapping.
  2. Click on “New Gesture: and find “Toggle Force a dark mode on all websites”.
  3. Click “Next”.
  4. While holding down the left mouse buttton, draw the gesture in the red box.
  5. Click “Save Gesture”

Toolbar button

  1. Go to Settings > Quick Commands > Command Chains.
  2. Click on “Add Command Chain”.
  3. Give the chain a name.
  4. For Command 1 select “Toggle Force a dark mode on all websites”.
  5. Go to Vivaldi menu > View > Customize Toolbar.
  6. Select Command Chains from the dropdown menu.
  7. Drag the new chain to a toolbar of your choice.

Context menu

  1. Go to Settings > Appearance > Menu.
  2. Select the menu you want to add the command to. For example Web Page > Page.
  3. From the Commands menu, search for “Toggle Force a dark mode on all websites”.
  4. Drag it to the Content column on the right.

Use the newly created shortcuts whenever you want to switch between light and dark mode.

Tip #518

Move the active tab to a different Workspace using Command Chains.

You can find Keyboard Shortcuts for numerous actions in your Vivaldi browser and with Command Chains you can make many more. For example, you can create a chain for moving the active tab to a different Workspace and bind it to a Keyboard Shortcut and Mouse Gesture of your choice. You can also type the chain’s name in Quick Commands and even add a custom button on one of the toolbars to execute the chain on click.

To create a command chain for moving the active tab to a different workspace:

  1. Go to Settings > Quick Commands > Command Chains.
  2. Click on “Add Command Chain”.
  3. Give the new chain a name.
  4. Enter the following commands.
    Use the “Add Command” button in the top right corner of the first command to add the next one.
    • Focus Address Field
    • Delay (100)
    • Copy
    • Delay (1000)
    • Close Tab
    • Switch to Workspace #
    • New Tab
    • Delay (100)
    • Paste and Go
  5. Go to Settings > Keyboard > Workspaces and/or Settings > Mouse > New Gesture and find the chain you created.
  6. Give the new chain a shortcut.
  7. Go to a page you want to move and use the shortcut to test your new Command Chain.
  8. Create the chain for each Workspace you have.

Tip #483

Switch between time periods in the Vivaldi Calendar using your mouse’s scroll wheel.

While viewing and editing your events and tasks in the Vivaldi Calendar you’ll probably need to check things in the past and future.

To do that, you can use the < and > buttons on either side of the “Today” button in the top left corner of the Calendar page or you can press the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard. But there’s a new and very convenient option available in the Vivaldi Calendar – using your mouse’s scroll wheel.

Scroll up to view previous time periods and scroll down to go to the upcoming ones. It works in all Calendar views from single-day view up to the year view.

Tip #461

Drag text from a web page to the Notes Panel to create a new note.

Do you like dragging things around instead of going through context menus? There are many things you can do in Vivaldi with drag and drop, one of them is creating notes. You can drag the text from a web page you have open in Vivaldi, but also from other apps you have open on the side.

To create a new note with drag and drop:

  1. Open the Notes Panel.
  2. Highlight the text you want to create the note from.
  3. Drag it to the Notes Panel.
  4. When you see a line in your Theme‘s highlight color, drop it.

If you open one of the notes, you can also drag additional text to it.

Text being dragged to the Notes Panel in Vivaldi to create a new note.

Tip #459

Scroll back to the top of the page with Mouse Gestures.

Have you scrolled on a page for a while and now need to get back to the top? You could scroll the same amount in the opposite direction, drag the scrollbar on the side of the window, or use a keyboard shortcut. You can also use Mouse Gestures and simply draw a line anywhere on the page while holding down the right mouse button.

To create a Mouse Gesture for scrolling:

  1. Go to Settings > Mouse > Gesture Mapping.
  2. Click on + “New Gesture”.
  3. Search for “Scroll Page to Top”.
  4. Click “Next”.
  5. While holding down the left mouse button, draw the gesture you want to use for the action.
  6. Click “Save Gesture”.

Tip #418

Press “R” to fetch the latest Calendar events from online calendar accounts.

Vivaldi Calendar checks for updates from the online calendar accounts you’ve added to Vivaldi every 10 minutes. You can also trigger updates manually. When you have single-key Keyboard Shortcuts enabled, the easiest option is to just press the R key and you’ll be up to date.

In true Vivaldi fashion, there are other ways to update the calendar:

  • In the main Calendar view, open the Calendar’s menu in the top left corner and select “Refresh”.
  • Click on the Calendar button on the Status Bar, go to the Accounts tab, and click “Refresh”.
  • Type “Refresh Calendar” in Quick Commands.
  • Create a Mouse Gesture for the action.

Tip #380

Add new events without even going to the Calendar by opening the event dialog with a shortcut.

With the integrated Vivaldi Calendar, you can quickly add events and get back to what you were doing in no time by opening the new event dialog using either Quick Commands, a Keyboard Shortcut, or a Mouse Gesture.

Quick Commands

  1. Open Quick Commands (F2 / ⌘ E).
  2. Type in “Add Calendar Event (dialog)” and press Enter.
  3. Add the event.

Keyboard Shortcut

  1. First, create the shortcut in Settings > Keyboard > Window > Add Calendar Event (dialog).
  2. Use the shortcut to open the event dialog.
  3. Add the event.

Mouse Gesture

  1. First, create the gesture in Settings > Mouse > New Gesture > Add Calendar Event (dialog).
  2. Use the shortcut to open the event dialog.
  3. Add the event.
Vivaldi Calendar's event editor over a web page.

Tip #376

Create a Keyboard Shortcut or Mouse Gesture to toggle Reader View on and off faster.

Enabling Reader View when reading an article online is a great way to remove distractions and adjust the text for comfortable reading. In Tip #91, we showed you how to enable Reader View from the Address Bar and where to adjust the settings. This tip is about toggling Reader View on and off as fast as possible with shortcuts.

To create a Keyboard Shortcut:

  1. Go to Settings > Keyboard > Page.
  2. Find “Toggle Reader View” and focus on the input field.
  3. Press the key combination you want to use.

To create a Mouse Gesture:

  1. Go to Settings > Mouse > Gesture Mapping.
  2. Click on + New Gesture.
  3. Start typing “Toggle Reader View” to find the command.
  4. Click “Next”.
  5. Hold down the left mouse button and draw the gesture you want to use in the box outlined in red.
  6. Click “Save Gesture”.

Then, whenever you want to switch to Reader View, just use the shortcut you created.

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 #327

Open Panels with Keyboard Shortcuts and Mouse Gestures.

Whether to check the progress of your downloads, translate something, or check what’s next on your agenda, opening and closing Panels with shortcuts is an efficient way to take a quick look.

First, go to Settings > Keyboard > View and Settings > Mouse > Gesture Mapping to review and add shortcuts.

Then whenever you want to open one of the panels just use the shortcut for both opening and closing the panel. If you already have one open, the shortcut will switch focus to the one you need.

Keyboard Shortcut settings open at Panel shortcuts.

Tip #326

Create a new window by dragging a tab off the Tab Bar.

There are many ways you can open new windows and move tabs to them in Vivaldi, but a simple drag-and-drop is probably the fastest way to do it.

To create a new window with a tab of your choice:

  1. Click on the tab you want to move and hold down the mouse button.
  2. Drag the tab off the Tab Bar, either outside the window or onto the web page area.
  3. Release the mouse button.

If you want to create a new window with multiple tabs at once, use the Ctrl or Shift key to select multiple tabs and then drag them off the Tab Bar.

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 #280

Create custom shortcuts for switching to the next and previous Workspace.

Whether you prefer to use Keyboard Shortcuts, Mouse Gestures or Quick Commands, Vivaldi has got you covered. There are countless customizable shortcuts for commands in Vivaldi, including for Workspaces, that you can use to browse faster.

To create custom Keyboard Shortcuts for switching Workspaces:

  1. Go to Settings > Keyboard > Workspaces.
  2. Place the mouse in the input field next to “Next Workspace” or “Previous Workspace”.
  3. Press the keys you want to use for the shortcut.

To create custom Mouse Gestures for switching Workspaces:

  1. Go to Settings > Mouse > Gesture Mapping.
  2. Click on + New Gesture below the list of gestures.
  3. Type “Next Workspace” or “Previous Workspace” in the search field.
  4. Click Next.
  5. In the highlighted box, while holding down the left mouse button, draw the gesture path.
  6. Click Save Gesture.

If you like to use Quick Commands, just type “Next Workspace” or “Previous Workspace” in Quick Commands menu and press Enter to switch Workspaces.

Tip #251

Enable “Perform Gestures with Alt Key” to use Mouse Gestures with a touchpad.

Did you know that you can use Mouse Gestures even when you don’t have a mouse at hand? Instead you can draw the gestures on your touchpad/trackpad while holding down a modifier key.

To start using Mouse Gestures with a touchpad:

  1. Go to Settings > Mouse Gestures > Gestures.
  2. Enable Perform Gestures with Alt Key.

Then, to perform a gesture:

  1. Hold down the Alt key on your keyboard.
  2. Draw the gesture on the touchpad. (You can view and edit gestures in Settings > Mouse Gestures > Gesture Mapping)
  3. Release Alt key to execute the command.