Tab management can become overwhelming when browsing multiple websites at once. However, popular web browsers such as Chrome, Edge, Safari, and Firefox offer various tools to organize and declutter your browsing space. Here, we will focus on tips and tricks for Chrome.
Chrome has a feature called “tab groups” that allows users to cluster multiple tabs together, label them, and color-code them for better organization. Users can create a new group or add tabs to an existing group by right-clicking on a tab and selecting “Add a tab to the group.” They can also click and drag a tab into or out of a group. Users can change the name and color of a group, ungroup all tabs, close the group, or move it to a new window. If a tab group is accidentally closed, it can be restored from the Chrome menu by hovering over “History” and clicking “Restore group.”
Users can also search through their open tabs using the “Search tabs” button or by typing “@tabs” in the address bar. They can order their tabs by putting them in different windows and giving each window a custom name for better
organization. Users can bookmark all open tabs or bookmark selected tabs by right-clicking on the empty space next to the new tab icon and selecting “Bookmark all tabs.”
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On Android devices, users can create tab groups by holding and dragging a particular tab over to another tab. On iPhones and iPads, users can search through open tabs and bookmark one or more open tabs from the “Switch tabs” menu.
Overall, Chrome offers several built-in tools to help users organize their tabs and improve their browsing experience.
How to organize tabs in Edge
Microsoft Edge, like Google Chrome, shares the same codebase, so it is no surprise that the tab management features in Edge are similar to Chrome. Edge also offers a tab grouping feature that works similarly to Chrome. To create a tab group in Edge, you can right-click on one or more tabs and select “Add tab(s) to group.” You can also customize the group name and color and collapse or expand the tabs in each group by clicking on the label. Like Chrome, you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + A to access the tab search menu in Edge, which shows your current and recently closed tabs and media-playing tabs.
Although Edge doesn’t have the “@tabs” address bar shortcut that Chrome has, you can assign custom names to windows. Additionally, Edge has a dedicated
“tab actions” icon in the top left corner that provides access to tab-related tools. To enable the tab actions menu, you need to click on Edge’s three-dot menu button, go to Settings > Appearance > Customize toolbar,
and activate the “Show tab actions menu” toggle. The tab actions menu offers the tab search menu, a list of recently closed tabs, and a list of Edge tabs open on other devices.
Edge’s tab actions menu also lets you switch to the “vertical tabs” mode. In this mode, the tabs move from their usual position above the address bar to the
left side of the window. This view may not suit everyone, but it provides a wider space to identify which tabs are open. You can switch between the standard and vertical tabs views on Windows by pressing Ctrl + Shift +, (Comma). Overall, Edge offers a similar tab management experience to Chrome, with its own unique features and customization options.
How to organize tabs in Safari
Safari, Apple’s web browser, provides users with the ability to organize their tabs into separate groups. To set up tab groups, users can click on the downward-facing arrow in the top left corner of the toolbar and choose “New Empty Tab Group” or “New Tab Group with # Tabs,” which will group all open tabs into their own group. Users can also access these options from the File menu or by two-finger clicking any open tab. Once a group is created, users can give it a custom name and manage it in the Sidebar by clicking the Show Sidebar button in the top right corner. The Sidebar allows users to rename, delete, and rearrange their tab groups as needed. Users can copy links from a tab group by two-finger clicking on the group’s name in the Sidebar and selecting “Copy Links.” This creates a neatly formatted list of all the links within the group that can be pasted into a document or chat. To create a new tab group, users can click on the icon at the top of the Sidebar that looks like two overlapping squares with a plus symbol. Tabs can be
moved between groups by two-finger clicking on the tab and selecting “Move Tab Group,” or by dragging the tab directly into the group in the Sidebar. To quickly switch between tab groups, users can click on the current group’s name in the top left corner and select the desired group from the dropdown menu. These tab collections will sync across multiple Apple devices if they are connected to
the same iCloud account. The Sidebar can function similarly to the vertical tabs view in Microsoft Edge, allowing users to see a list of nested tabs by hovering over the group name and clicking the rightward-facing arrow.
Safari does not allow users to hide the horizontal tab bar like Edge, and selecting and dragging multiple tabs at once from the tab bar can feel clunky. However, users
can easily sort their tabs by two-finger clicking on a tab and selecting “Arrange Tabs By,” then choosing to sort by page title or website.
To view all open tabs in a grid of large thumbnails, users can click on the Tab Overview icon in the top right corner or select “View > Show Tab Overview.” This screen includes a search bar to find specific tabs within the current group. Users can bookmark a tab by hitting Cmd + D or going to Bookmarks > Add Bookmark, and
multiple open tabs can be bookmarked by selecting “Bookmarks > Add Bookmarks for These # Tabs.” These features are also available on Safari for iPhone and iPad. To create a tab group on a mobile device, users can hit
the Tab Overview button, touch and hold a tab, or long-press the address bar while viewing a web page. The Tab Overview screen on mobile devices also allows
users to browse through their tab groups and add all open tabs to a group.
How to organize tabs in Firefox
Mozilla’s Firefox browser may not be as popular as it once was, but it still offers a number of advantages for users who prioritize data privacy, customization, and independence from large tech companies. However, Firefox’s native tab management tools are not as powerful as those found in Chrome, Edge, or Safari. Nonetheless, there are several extensions that can help close the gap.
By default, Firefox does not offer tab grouping, custom window names, or vertical tabs
mode. But users can view a list of each window’s tabs by clicking the “List all tabs” button, which is a downward-facing arrow in the top right corner. Above the list, there is also a tab search function. Alternatively, typing a relevant keyword in the address bar will display any
open tabs related to that keyword at the bottom of the dropdown list that
appears. Users can also limit their search to only their currently active tabs by putting a % symbol before or after a keyword search in the address bar. Like other
browsers, Firefox allows users to pin tabs, create bookmarks, close several tabs at once, and drag multiple tabs into new windows simultaneously. Users can
also put all their current tabs into a bookmark folder by right-clicking on any tab, selecting “Select All Tabs,” right-clicking again, and choosing “Bookmark Tabs.” To open all bookmarked tabs in a folder, users can
go to their bookmark’s menu or bookmarks toolbar, right-click, then select “Open All Bookmarks.” Users can also search for a specific bookmark by putting a * symbol before or after a keyword query in the address bar to limit the search to their bookmarks.
For a little extra organization, Firefox allows users to assign custom tags to their bookmarks. These tags can be added in the menu that appears when the star icon for a specific web page is clicked, or by using the Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + O shortcut to access the full bookmarks library and add tags as needed. Users can also access the bookmarks library by clicking the three-line menu button on the right side, selecting Bookmarks, and then choosing “Manage Bookmarks.” After setting up custom tags, users can search for bookmarks by typing out the tag(s) in the address bar. To limit the search to bookmarks that have been tagged, users can add a + symbol.
Firefox also offers a clean-looking list of several recently closed tabs on the Firefox View page. This list can be accessed by clicking the little Firefox logo pinned in
the top left corner. Users can also reopen their last closed tab using the Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + T shortcut. Finally,
Firefox has a feature called “Containers” that is aimed at privacy rather than reducing tab clutter. This feature allows users to separate browser cookies between different clusters of tabs, which can be useful for logging
into multiple accounts for one website in the same window or preventing a site from seeing any information about tabs outside of its specific container. Containers are distinguished by different color codes, which adds some
organizational value. To use this feature, users need to install an extension on macOS. Once installed, users can add one or more tabs to a container by right-clicking
a tab, selecting “Open in New Container Tab,” and choosing the desired container. There are four presets by default, but users can create a new container by clicking the three-line menu button, selecting Settings, and
then clicking the “Settings…” button next to “Enable Container Tabs.” From there, users can click “Add New Container” and choose a name, color, and icon for the new container.
