Tip #531

Go for a minimalistic and cleaner look with transparent background tabs.

Some of the adjustments you can make to your Vivaldi Theme are more subtle than others. One such customization option is removing the faint background from the tabs you have open in the background.

To make background tabs transparent:

  1. Go to Settings > Themes > Editor > Settings.
  2. Enable “Transparent Background Tabs”.
2 Vivaldi Browser's Tab Bars. Top one with Transparent Background Tabs disabled, the bottom one with the setting enabled.

Tip #526

Open links in Vivaldi on iOS without interrupting your current browsing session.

Notice something interesting while browsing or remember something you need to get on next, but want to finish checking out the current web page first? Opening links in new background tabs is just what you need.

To open links in the background:

  1. Long-press on a link on a website, a bookmark / Speed Dial, a Reading List item, or a History entry.
  2. From the context menu select “Open in New Background Tab”
Bookmark context menu highlighting the option to open it in a new background tab in Vivaldi on iOS.

Tip #521

Close all inactive tabs in Vivaldi on iOS with one tap.

You know you have a lot of open tabs in Vivaldi on iOS, when instead of a number on the Tab Switcher button you see :D. To keep the number of open tabs manageable, clear the unused ones regularly.

To close all inactive tabs:

  1. Open the Tab Switcher.
  2. Find and open the Inactive Tabs folder above all your active tabs.
  3. Tap on “Close All Inactive” at the bottom of the page.

By default, a tab will be set to inactive if you haven’t used it in the last 21 days, but you can select the interval for when a tab should be moved to Inactive from Settings > Tabs > Inactive Tabs.

Inactive Tabs list in Vivaldi on iOS with an arrow pointing at the button to close all inactive tabs.

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 #514

Switch to an existing tab that already has the link open, instead of opening it in a new tab.

It’s easy to end up with more open tabs than you can keep track of. That’s why, when you type a link in the Address Field, Vivaldi will point out that you already have the same URL open in another tab, allowing you to switch to that tab instead of opening a duplicate tab.

To switch to an open tab:

  1. Enter the link in the Address Field.
  2. Instead of just pressing “Enter”, use an arrow key to select the “Switch to this tab” suggestion in the Address Field Drop-Down Menu and then press Enter. Alternatively, click on the suggestion.
Vivaldi browser with the Address Field in focus. A link has been entered that is already open in another tab and there's an entry in the drop-down menu suggesting switching to that tab.

Tip #512

View tabs’ real-time memory usage from their thumbnail previews.

When you feel like the browser is getting a little sluggish, it’s likely that one or more of the tabs is using a lot of resources. In that case, it might be a good idea to close or at least hibernate the tab(s). To find the resource hogs, simply hover over a tab on the Tab Bar to view their memory usage.

If you don’t see Tab Thumbnails on hover, go to Settings > Tabs > Tab Display > Tab Options and make sure “Show Popup Thumbnails” has been enabled.

Active tab's tab thumbnail showing its current memory use.

Tip #509

Open Web Panels in new tabs from the panel’s context menu.

Web Panels are great for taking a quick glance at a website, but occasionally the mobile-sized view may not be enough. In that case, you can open the current page you have open in the Web Panel in a tab instead.

To open a Web Panel in a tab:

  1. Right-click on the Web Panel’s icon on the sidebar.
  2. From the menu, select “Open In” and where you want to open the tab:
    • New Tab,
    • Background Tab,
    • Current Tab,
    • New Window,
    • New Private Window.
Vivaldi browser window with Web Panel's context window open.

Tip #508

Open Vivaldi on iOS with an immediate focus on the Address Field from the app icon on the home screen.

If adding a search widget to your Home Screen on iOS (see Tip #389) is not to your liking, you can still open Vivaldi with a new tab ready to type in a search keyword or a web address.

To open a new tab with focus on the Address Field:

  1. Long-press on Vivaldi’s app icon.
  2. Select “New Search” or “Private Search” from the menu.
  3. Start typing your search term or link.
Vivaldi's app context menu on iOS' home screen.

Tip #505

Discover the two ways you can reopen recently closed tabs in Vivaldi on Android.

Vivaldi keeps the most recent tabs, you either unintentionally closed or have changed your mind about closing, available in a list, from where you can easily reopen them.

To open a recently closed tab in the active tab:

  1. Open the Vivaldi menu and select “Recent tabs”.
  2. Tap on the link you want to reopen.

To open a recently closed tab in a new tab:

  1. Open the Tab Switcher.
  2. Navigate to the  Closed Tabs tab.
  3. Tap on the link you want to reopen.
Recently closed tabs menu in Vivaldi on Android.

Tip #504

Hover over the Workspaces menu and scroll to switch Workspaces.

If you have “Switch Tabs By Scrolling” enabled in Settings (see Tip #184), you can switch tabs by using the scroll wheel on your mouse. But did you know, that you can also switch Workspaces like that?

To switch Workspaces:

  1. Hover the mouse cursor over the Workspaces menu on the Tab Bar (or wherever you’ve moved it to).
  2. Use the scroll wheel to move to the next or previous Workspace.

Tip #497

Merge multiple Tab Stacks into one by dragging one stack over the other.

Grouping tabs into Tab Stacks is an excellent way to keep your tabs well-organized. If you want to turn multiple stacks into one, you can do that using drag-and-drop on the Tab Bar or Windows Panel.

To merge Tab Stacks:

  1. Click on and start dragging one of the stacks towards the other.
  2. When the bottom tab stack changes color, release your mouse button to “drop” one stack onto the other.

If drag-and-drop doesn’t seem to work, go to Settings > Tabs > Tab Features > Tab Stack Options and make sure “Allow Stacking by Drag and Drop” is enabled.

Vivaldi Tab Bar in focus showing two stacks being merged.

Tip #488

Create a new Workspace from a selection of tabs.

Have you cumulated a set of tabs that you would now like to move to a new workspace? Instead of first creating a new workspace and then moving the tabs, you can also create a new space while you moving tabs.

To create a new workspace from open tabs:

  1. Select the tabs you want to put in the workspace.
  2. Right-click on one of the selected tabs to open the context menu.
  3. Select Move # Tabs > Workspace > Create Workspace with Selected Tabs.
  4. Give the new workspace a name and select an icon for it.
  5. Click “Create”.

Tip #486

Boost Vivaldi’s performance by enabling the Memory Saver.

Reduce memory usage by automatically hibernating tabs that haven’t been used in a while. This way, active tabs, such as those used for gaming or streaming, can run more smoothly.

To enable the Memory Saver:

  1. Go to Settings > Tabs > Memory Saver.
  2. Select your preferred option:
    • Disabled
    • Automatic (recommended)
    • After 1 Hour Idle
    • After 2 Hours Idle
    • After 3 Hours Idle
    • After 6 Hours Idle

Tip #481

Cycle through Tabs either in recently used order or in the order they’re listed on the Tab Bar.

Cycling through tabs using Keyboard Shortcuts or the scroll wheel of your mouse while holding down the right mouse button is a convenient way to switch tabs. In Vivaldi, you have the power to choose in which order the tabs are cycled through.

To make your choice:

  1. Go to Settings > Tabs > Tab Features > Tab Cycling.
  2. Choose between “Cycle in Recently Used Order” or “Cycle in Tab Order”.

Bonus! See how to enable the visual Tab Cycler in Tip #267.