Tip #593

Create custom widgets for the Dashboard with the help of Webpage Widgets.

There are different widgets you can add to the Dashboard in your Vivaldi browser – Feeds, Tasks, Bookmarks, etc. The Webpage Widget offers you the most flexibility, allowing you to add any webpage to the Dashboard (preferably one that looks good in a small web view).

To add a Webpage Widget:

  1. Go to the Dashboard.
  2. Click on “Add Widget” at the bottom of the Dashboard.
  3. Select “Webpage”.
  4. Enter the link of the website you want to view from the widget.
  5. Click “Done”.

In the image below, you can see two webpage widgets on the bottom row. The widget on the left is a web page with a game and the one on the right shows the widget setup process.

Vivaldi browser's Dashboard with 2 web widgets on the bottom row. One showing a game and the other the set up process.

Tip #586

Access your most visited web pages on mobile from the Top Sites group on the Start Page.

In addition to Speed Dials, you can have an automatically generated group of your most visited web pages on the Start Page.

To enable Top Sites:

Option 1

  1. Open a new tab with the Start Page.
  2. At the bottom of the page or from the 3-dot menu in the top right corner of the Start Page, open “Customize Start Page” settings.
  3. Toggle on “Display Top Sites”.

Option 2

  1. Go to  Vivaldi Menu > Settings > Start Page.
  2. Toggle on “Display Top Sites”.
Vivaldi on Android showing Top Sites on the Start Page.

Tip #576

Add Home Screen shortcuts for your favorite web pages in Vivaldi on iOS.

When Vivaldi is your default browser on iOS, you can create web page shortcuts for the Home Screen. That way you can access your most viewed websites even faster.

To create a Home Screen shortcut:

  1. Open the web page you want to add to the Home Screen.
  2. Go to the Vivaldi menu > Share.
  3. Select “Add to Home Screen”.
  4. If needed update the shortcut name.
  5. Tap on “Add”.
Vivaldi on iOS with the Share menu open. An arrow is pointing at the "Add to Home Screen" option in the menu.

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 #557

Always know where you are by enabling full address display in Vivaldi on iOS.

By default, the Address Field only displays the domain you’re on (e.g. vivaldi.com) and you have to tap on the Address Field to see the full URL (e.g. https://vivaldi.com/blog/ios).

To see the full URL at all times:

  1. Go to Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi menu > Settings > Address Bar.
  2. Toggle on Show Full Address.
Two phones. One showing Address Bar settings page, the other a web page with the full URL visible in the Address Field.

Tip #554

Save web pages for later by adding them to the Reading List in Vivaldi on iOS.

Vivaldi’s Reading List feature lets you save web pages with, for example, interesting articles in a list you can access from Vivaldi on all your devices with the help of Sync. Using the Reading List prevents endless tabs from accumulating on your Tab Bar and Bookmarks from being filled with entries you only need once.

To add the active tab to the Reading List.

  1. Open the  Vivaldi menu.
  2. Tap on “Add to Reading List”.

To add a link on a web page to the Reading List:

  1. Long press on the link to open the context menu.
  2. Select “Add to Reading List”.

You can open and manage pages in the Reading list from the  Vivaldi menu > Reading List.

Vivaldi on iOS with the app's main menu open. An arrow points to "Add to Reading List".

Tip #549

Enable History Manager’s day picker calendar to easily jump to the day you last remember visiting the page you’re looking for.

If the only useful thing you remember about a previously visited web page is the day you visited it, then with Vivaldi’s advanced History Manager it’ll be a breeze to find it again.

To find a page based on the visited date:

  1. Open the History Manager.
  2. Enable the day picker calendar from the top left corner of the page.
  3. In the new calendar column on the left, locate the day you remember visiting the web page.
  4. Click on the date to display the list of pages you visited on that day.
    We also recommend switching to day view from the top right corner for a better view.
  5. Scroll through your history and double-click on the entry to open the web page.
Vivaldi's History Manager. An arrow is pointing at the Day Picker Calendar toggle button.

Tip #548

Review which websites you’ve given permission to send you notifications in Vivaldi on Android.

Are you randomly getting notifications from Vivaldi that look unrelated to the browser? It’s likely that a website you visited in Vivaldi on Android has asked permission to send you notifications and you’ve (un)intentionally agreed.

To update notification permissions:

  1. Head over to Settings > Web Pages > Site Settings > Permissions > Notifications.
  2. Tap on a website domain on the list to update your preference.
Notification permission settings in Vivaldi on Android.

Tip #547

Choose which websites can see your exact location.

Geolocation can be a convenient feature, but not every service provider needs to know where in the world you are. That’s why, in Vivaldi, you control which websites can access your location.

By default, every new website that wants to access your location will ask for your permission and you can either allow or block access. You can update the default setting and review which sites have requested permission in Settings > Privacy and Security > Website Permissions.

Open Street Maps open in Vivaldi Browser. The website is asking for permission to access the user's location.

Tip #540

Discover the different ways you can copy links in Vivaldi on Android.

Vivaldi on Android offers a few ways to copy the URL of the web page you’re currently on to your phone’s clipboard. Give them a try and find the one you like best.

To copy the link of the active tab:

  • Tap on the Address bar, then tap on the “Copy” button in the Address Bar drop-down menu.
  • Long-press on the highlighted URL in the Address Field and select “Copy” from the menu.
  • Open the Vivaldi menu > Share and tap the “Copy” button in the Share menu.
  • If you’ve set “Share this page” as the toolbar shortcut, tap on it and then on the “Copy” button in the Share menu.

To copy a link you’ve found on a web page, long press on it and select “Copy link address” from the context menu.

Vivaldi on Android with the Address Field drop-down menu displayed and an arrow pointing to the copy button.

Tip #537

Zoom in on web pages in Vivaldi on iOS to make text easier to read.

Even if you have 20/20 vision, there’s no need to strain your eyes unnecessarily. So, go ahead and make that text on web pages bigger.

To zoom text in Vivaldi on iOS:

  1. Open the Vivaldi menu and select “Zoom text…”.
  2. Tap on the + and – buttons to adjust the zoom level.
  3. Tap on Done, when happy with the text size.
Two iPhones. One with a page of text in its default size, the other with text made bigger. Both have the zoom menu visible on top of the screen.

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 #517

Press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open the typed link or search in a new window.

In Tip #196, we showed you how to open a link or a search you entered in the Address Field in a new tab. But using a slightly different Keyboard Shortcut, you can also open it in a new browser window.

To open a new window from the Address Field:

  1. Enter a website URL or a search term in the Address Field.
  2. Press Ctrl + Shift + Enter / ⌘ ⇧ Enter on your keyboard.

Tip #516

Request desktop versions of websites in Vivaldi on iOS by default or per tab.

Though web devs generally do a good job adopting their websites for mobile phones, occasionally you may still want to get the full desktop view of the website despite the small screen.

To switch to a desktop version of a page:

  1. When you have the webpage open in a tab, open the Vivaldi menu.
  2. Select “Request desktop site”.

To change the view globally on all sites:

  1. Go to Settings > Content settings > Default View.
  2. Select “Desktop”.
  3. Click “Done”.
Vivaldi menu on iOS with "Request desktop site" option highlighted.