When it comes to web browsers, Vivaldi has a special place in my heart. The browser is not my main driver, but I use it regularly. What I like most about Vivaldi is that it is feature-rich and probably the browser with the highest amount of native customization options.
Vivaldi is a Chromium-based browser. It offers the same web compatibility as Google Chrome and works really well out of the box.
Users who dive deep into the browser’s settings may find features there that hardly anyone has heard of.
You find ten of those listed below. Please let me know in the comments if you knew about them and whether they are also available in other browsers.
Themes Editor
All browsers come with a selection of themes that you can activate. Additional themes may be available in an add-ons store, but barely any browser includes a theme editor.
Vivaldi does. You may create new themes or edit existing ones. The available options range from changing colors and backgrounds to replacing icons.
Tabs at the bottom or sides
Vivaldi supports four tab bar positions. Besides the default top placement, it also supports placing the tab bar at the bottom or to the sides.
Tab Stacks
Vivaldi supports tab stacks. While the feature may look very similar to the tab grouping feature of other browsers, it is more powerful than that.
Tab stacks can use a compact, two-level or accordion design. Compact comes closest to the tab groups feature of other browsers. Two levels displays a second tab row that contains all tabs of the selected tab.
Accordion collapses and expands tab stacks either manually on activation or automatically, if desired.
Other Tab customizations
You find a wealth of tab customization options in the Settings. Here are my favorites:
- Select the new tab position. When you open a new tab, define where it opens.
- Select which tab gets activated when you close atab.
- Enable double-click to close tabs.
- Change the minimum width of the active tab.
Lazy Loading
Vivaldi uses lazy loading when restoring tabs to improve performance. Pinned tabs do get loaded automatically though. Most browsers support the feature.
Vivaldi lets you control it in the Settings. You may disable lazy loading there entirely, or prevent pinned tabs from loading automatically.
Customize what Vivaldi returns when you type in the address bar
Vivaldi has options to prioritize and customize what the browser returns when you type in the address bar. All browsers display a menu when you type. This menu may include items from the browsing history, open tabs or bookmarks.
In Vivaldi, you can enable or disable all data sources individually, and prioritize them. Don’t want search suggestions or typed history results? Want to make bookmarks the highest priority or synced tabs? All of this and more is possible.
Quick Commands
Use the keyboard shortcut F2 or Ctrl-E to display the quick commands window. This window lists most commands that the browser supports. You may select them using the mouse or keyboard. A search field is available to find a command quickly.
To name a few commands: Exit the browser, switch to the next theme, check for updates, open about page and dozens more.
Command Chains
Command Chains allow you to execute multiple actions automatically, e.g. to toggle fullscreen and reader mode, or open multiple links at once. These can be created in the Settings and may be invoked via Quick Commands, keyboard shortcuts or mouse gestures.
Impressive Keyboard shortcuts
Vivaldi’s keyboard shortcut editor gives you (almost) full control over all browser features. You can change keyboards using the keyboard shortcut editor and map shortcuts to new actions to use them.
Menu Customizations
Vivaldi gives you full control over browser menus. You can add, edit, move or remove items from menus. This includes the Vivaldi Menu, right-click context menus, address bar menus, and basically any other menu that you encounter.
Now You: do you find any of these features useful?