Tip #581

Make your choice between spacious and compact user interface layouts.

Do you prefer to give the buttons on the toolbars plenty of breathing room, or do you want them packed together nice and snug next to each other? As with most things in Vivaldi, you’re in control and can decide what works best for you.

To change the UI density:

  1. Go to Settings > Appearance > Window Appearance > User Interface Density.
  2. Choose between:
    • Regular i.e. the more spacious layout, and
    • Compact layout.

Tip #408

Top or bottom? Decide where you want to have the Tab Bar and Adress Bar in Vivaldi on iOS.

Prefer your Address Bar and Tab Bar traditionally on top of the screen or at the bottom for easy one handed reach? Whatever your preference, we’ve got you covered.

To choose a location for the Tab and Address Bar:

  1. Go to Settings > Tabs.
  2. Select either Top or Bottom for the Address Bar Position.

Alternatively, long-press on the Address Bar and select “Move address bar to bottom/top” from the menu.

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 #289

Download Custom Icons for your browser from Vivaldi Themes.

Using Custom Icons with your browser theme, allows you to take the uniqueness of your Vivaldi to yet another level. You can create an icon for each toolbar button yourself or you can make use of the numerous Themes with Custom Icons the creative minds of Vivaldi Community members have shared with everyone.

To download custom icons:

  1. Go to themes.vivaldi.net.
  2. Click on, for example, “View all featured themes” to open a page with all the filtering options.
  3. In the menu on the left, tick the box for “Custom Icons”.
  4. Apply other filters, if you wish.
  5. Find a theme you like.
  6. Download it to get a preview and if you want to keep it, click Install.

To use custom icons from a different theme with your active theme:

  1. Go to Settings > Themes > Editor > Icons.
  2. Make sure “Use Icon Set from” is enabled and select a theme from the drop-down menu.
Theme

Tip #267

Press Ctrl + F11 / ⌘ F10 to hide Vivaldi Browser’s user interface.

You can hide the browser’s toolbars by enabling Full Screen view, but that maximizes the window and you’re not able to view the OS’ Task Bar or other open apps. As an alternative, you can just hide all toolbars and have the browser window as big or small as you want.

To quickly toggle Vivaldi’s user interface off and on, use the Keyboard Shortcut Ctrl+F11 / ⌘ F10.

Alternatively, use the following options:

Tip #260

Use spaces and separators to create different sections on the toolbars.

Panels and Web Panels on the sidebar, navigation buttons on the Address Bar, tools on the Status Bar – in Vivaldi there are many buttons to click. To organize buttons into groups you can use Space, Flexible Space and Separator elements between them.

To add dividers:

  1. Right-click on a toolbar you want to customize.
  2. Select Edit > Customize Toolbar from the context menu.
  3. Drag a Space, Flexible Space or Separator element from the editor window to the spot on the toolbar where you want to add it.
  4. Click Done.

To remove an element, while the Toolbar Editor is open, drag the element from the toolbar and drop it on the area between toolbars and the editor.

Tip #226

Reset toolbar customizations to start from fresh.

The level to which you can customize the toolbars on Vivaldi’s desktop version is unrivaled. But sometimes we can get carried away with our creativity, so it might help to take a step back and start again with the default configuration.

To reset the toolbars:

  1. Right-click on the toolbar you want to reset.
  2. From the menu, select Edit > Reset Toolbar to Default.
Right-click menu to reset the navigation toolbar open in Vivaldi.

Tip #126

Enable “Always Show Controls” to keep toolbars visible on Vivaldi for Android.

When you scroll down on a page in Vivaldi’s Android app, the Tab Bar, Address Bar and bottom toolbar will be hidden automatically to free up screen real estate on the mobile devices’ smaller screen. When you scroll up, the toolbars will be displayed again.

If you’d rather keep the toolbars visible at all times:

  1. Go to  Vivaldi menu > Settings > Appearance.
  2. Toggle on Always Show Controls.

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.

Tip #4

Hold down the Ctrl / ⌘ key to change the location of buttons in the browser’s user interface.

Don’t like the default order of Panels? Or you’d prefer to have some buttons currently residing on the Status Bar on the Address Bar instead. No problem, Vivaldi has got you covered. 😎

To move toolbar buttons:

  1. Press and hold down the Ctrl / ⌘ key on your keyboard.
  2. Click and drag the button you want to move.
  3. A line showing the new location will appear when the button can be dropped.
  4. Release the mouse button and keyboard key. On macOS, release the key before releasing the mouse button.
Screen capture button being moved from the right to the left side of the Status Bar.

Learn more about editing toolbars in Vivaldi.