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2 Quick Google Chrome Hacks!

Google Chrome extensions provide so much extra function and efficiency!  They make a powerful case for Chrome being your preferred browser!  Here are a couple of small things you can do with Google Chrome to make your life easier:

Want a few tabs always open? Use Pin Tabs!

Do you open the same tabs every morning (like Gmail, Drive, Calendar) and keep them open all day long?  You can have Google Chrome automatically open them for you!  

By pinning your tabs, these tabs look smaller and are set to the left side of your browser window where they stay.  If you restart Chrome, they will automatically set themselves up again!




How do you pin your tabs?  Holding down the Option key, click on the tab that you want to stay open.  A sub menu will appear.  Click on Pin Tab, and that tab will move to the left.  If you close Chrome, it will automatically set itself up again.  Depending upon the tab, you may need to login.

I have had to reset my pinned tabs a couple of times over the past year after computer restarts.  Otherwise, they are automatically opened when I open Chrome!  (Note:  You can accomplish the same thing using Google Chrome preferences, though I found it less reliable.)


Better Battery performance if you like to have a lot of tabs open!

As you can tell by my love of Pin Tabs, I usually like to have a lot of tabs open at once!   Google Chrome is a great browser, but isn't as efficient as others in using CPU when you have a lot of tabs open.  Less efficiency, more drain on your battery!  But, there's an extension for that!  




The Great Suspender is a Google Chrome extension designed to suspend a browser tab after a specified period of time that you determine.  The tab is 'suspended', creating less demand on your CPU, resulting in better battery life!







Want to use the tab again?  Just click on the tab, and you will see the webpage is hidden by this blue page:


 
Click anywhere on the blue, and your webpage appears without you having to navigate back to it! 

To add any Google Chrome extension, click on Chrome>Preferences>Extensions and go to the bottom. 
 


At the bottom, click Get more Extensions.  

Once taken to the Chrome webstore, search for The Great Suspender, and add it to Chrome!  Now, any open tabs that haven't been used after the time you set will be suspended, helping your battery life.  But, it is so much easier to access them when needed later, rather than typing in the URL or finding and clicking on a bookmark!


Do you have a favorite Google Chrome hack you would like to share?  Feel free to add it as a comment!
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