Google Chrome Browser

INFO:

Settings/Preferences/Profile - Location

Chrome's settings are stored in a user's profile in:

Linux

.config/google-chrome/Default/Preferences

Windows 7, 8.1 and 10

C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default

macOS

Users/<username>/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default

Replace <username> with the name of your user.

For more information covering multiple Chrome profiles (as opposed to user profiles) see this article.

Site Engagement

The Site Engagement Service provides information about how engaged a user is with a site. The primary signal is the amount of active time the user spends on the site, but various other signals may be incorporated (e.g. whether a site is added to the home screen).

For a full explanation, click here.

Restart

Paste the following in to the address bar and then press return:

chrome://restart

Discards Performance and Memory Saver

chrome://discards

and

chrome://settings/performance

Memory Saver

When enabled, Chrome frees up memory from inactive tabs. This gives active tabs and other apps more computer resources and keeps Chrome fast. Your inactive tabs automatically become active again when you go back to them.

About Flags

chrome://about/

Experiments

chrome://flags

Extension Keyboard Shortcuts

chrome://extensions/shortcuts

HOW TO: GENERAL:

Reload All Google Chrome Browser Tabs

1. Click the first tab
2. Click the last tab
3. Right Click
4. Reload

Start Google Chrome with a specific Profile

google-chrome --profile-directory=Default
google-chrome --profile-directory=Profile 2

Clear or flush the DNS cache

https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/google-chrome-clear-or-flush-the-dns-cache

Clear Browsing Data Cache

Windows

iOS

Chrome > ... > Settings > Privacy > Clear Browsing Data

HOW TO: ENABLE

Default Handler for Mail To Links

You may have to remove the current mailto link handler...

chrome://settings/handlers

Then reload your Gmail page and click the diamond shapes in the address bar and Allow

Display https:// & www. In Address Bar

NEW

• Paste in the address bar: chrome://omnibox/
• Tick 'Show all details'
• Restart Chrome

OLD

• Paste in the address bar: chrome://flags/
• Locate the entry: Omnibox UI Hide Steady-State URL Scheme
• Set the state to "Disabled"

Thanks to How To Geek

Reader Mode

1. chrome://flags
2. Search for Reader Mode
3. Change Default to Enabled
4. Press Relaunch

To use, look in the address bar that looks similar to an open book, hovering over it should show the legend 'Enter reader mode'. Click on the icon to display a simplified version of the page.

Hidden Simplified Reader Text Only Mode

Sick of adverts and popups?

1. Go to chrome://flags
2. Search for Reader Mode Triggering and change default to Always

Now press 'Show simplified View' at the bottom of the screen and the page will reload with no images and just text.

HOW TO: DISABLE

Tab Hover Card Images

Enable this feature ...

chrome://flags/#temporary-unexpire-flags-m110

... and restart the browser ...

chrome://restart

... then disable this setting ...

chrome://flags/#tab-hover-card-images

...and restart again.

Notifications

"Sites can ask to send notifications" > OFF

chrome://settings/content/notifications

https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/3220216?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en

Autoplay of Videos

chrome://flags/#autoplay-policy

Memory Saver For Specific Sites

chrome://settings/performance

• Click the Add button
• Fill in the site details, then click the Add button
• Rinse and repeat for any other required sites

Mute Picture-in-Picture

In the Omnibox (address bar) paste & go to: chrome://flags/#enable-experimental-web-platform-features

Set the option to "Enabled"

RC4 Insecure Cipher

See Ghacks page.

Thanks to Ghacks

Web Occlusion

WebContents Occlusion, the new feature, suspends Chrome tabs whenever you move any window on your machine over the top of the web browser. It is designed to free-up resources, since you've placed a window in-front of Chrome, Google assumes you're working on something else.

Yeah, well, that breaks a lot of things for people and stops them from working. Undertake the following chrome flag changes:

chrome://flags/#web-contents-occlusion
chrome://flags/#calculate-native-win-occlusion

Set both the above to Disable, then press Relaunch.

HOW TO: GPO

How to install Chrome policy templates on Windows machines

http://www.ghacks.net/2015/04/01/how-to-install-chrome-policy-templates-on-windows-machines/

Turn off Google Chrome automatic updates on Windows using Group Policy

http://www.ghacks.net/2013/07/10/turn-off-google-chrome-automatic-updates-on-windows-using-group-policy/

HOWTO | BACKUP | BOOKMARKS

• Menu button to right of address bar
• Bookmarks | Bookmarks Manager
• Organize | Export bookmarks to HTML file...
• Select your download location

Bookmarks Location - Manual Backup

https://www.techjunkie.com/where-are-google-chrome-bookmarks-stored/

https://www.solveyourtech.com/where-are-google-chrome-bookmarks-stored/

HOWTO: LAUNCH: BBC Home Page Webapp

chromium --app=http://www.bbc.co.uk/ --app-window-size=500,500

or

chromium --user-agent="Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8H7 Safari/6533.18.5" --app=http://www.bbc.co.uk/ --app-window-size=500,500

HOWTO: LAUNCH: Last Browsing Session

If you have not changed Chrome's settings save tabs on exit there is a a way to launch the last session:

Terminal:~$

google-chrome --restore-last-session

HOWTO: SETTINGS: Alter Tab Behaviour

Default: Settings --> On start-up --> Open the New Tab page

Alter: Continue where you left off

List of Chromium Command Line Switches

http://peter.sh/experiments/chromium-command-line-switches/

HOWTO: INSTALL: Chromium in Ubuntu Linux

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:a-v-shkop/chromium

HOW TO: FIX:

Small Code Font On Media Wiki Sites

http://wiki.indie-it.com/index.php?title=MediaWiki:Common.css

HOWTO: DOWNLOAD: Windows .msi Installer

To install Chrome Browser for all users you need to use the .msi (not .exe) version found here.

HOWTO: DOWNLOAD: Third Party Software Removal Tool (Windows Only)

If you are suffering problems with Chrome which you think may be linked to third party software, help is at hand.

Google have released a tool to reset Chrome and remove any third party software from interacting with it, it can be downloaded here.

This tool resets Chrome back to its default setting be sure to back up your data beforehand (bookmarks etc).

Thanks go to ghacks.net for their article on the matter.

Android App

Close All Tabs

On an open tab press and hold the close cross, then click the resulting 'Close all tabs' pop-up.