- Open a new tab.
- Type “chrome://flags/#enable-tabbed-navigation” into the address bar and hit return.
- A list of options will appear, including “tabbed browsing”, “tabbed content”, and “tabbed history”.
- Choose one of the options and press enter.
- The tab will open in a new window or tab, depending on your browser settings.
- To close the tab, select it from the list of open tabs and hit the Escape key or click the X in the top left corner of the window to close it permanently.
- If you want to reopen a closed tab later, just type “chrome://flags/#enable-tabbed-navigation” into the address bar again and hit return; your old opened tabs will be restored automatically!
These Work in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari and More
All web browsers have tabs in some way or another. For the most part, they all work generally the same, too. A lot of browsers have “Tab Groups” for organization now, which is a great tool if you frequently have dozens of tabs open.
RELATED: Why You Should Use Tab Groups in Your Web Browser
We’re going to take a step back with something a little more old school: Good old-fashioned keyboard shortcuts. Save yourself some time by getting to know these shortcuts.
Windows Keyboard Shortcuts for Browser Tabs
On a PC running Windows 11, Windows 10, or any other version of Windows, try the following shortcuts. They work on Chromebooks and Linux PCs, too:
Open a New Tab: Ctrl+T
Switch to the Next Tab: Ctrl+Tab
Switch to the Previous Tab: Ctrl+Shift+Tab
Close Current Tab: Ctrl+W
Go to a Specific Tab: Ctrl+1-8 (Use “1” for the leftmost tab, “2” for the second-from-the-left tab, and so on.)
Open the Last Closed Tab: Ctrl+Shift+T
Open Incognito/Private Window: Ctrl+Shift+N
Open a New Browser Window: Ctrl+N
Open Link in New Tab: Ctrl+click link
Close the Window: Alt+F4
Mac Keyboard Shortcuts for Browser Tabs
On a Mac, the shortcuts are a little different. Here are the web browser keyboard shortcuts you need for macOS:
Open a New Tab: Command+T
Switch to the Next Tab: Ctrl+Tab
Switch to the Previous Tab: Ctrl+Shift+Tab
Close Current Tab: Command+W
Go to a Specific Tab: Command+1-8 (The number “1” selects the leftmost tab, “2” selects the second tab from the left, and so on.)
Open the Last Closed Tab: Ctrl+Shift+T
Open Incognito/Private Window: Command+Shift+N
Open a New Browser Window: Command+N
Open Link in New Tab: Command+click link
Close the Window: Command+Shift+W
Keyboard shortcuts are sort of a forgotten part of navigating around a computer. Diehards love keyboard shortcuts, but they can be useful for everyone. Take some time to learn a few of these and you’ll be browsing the web even more efficiently.
RELATED: 47 Keyboard Shortcuts That Work in All Web Browsers
