In brief: In May, Google teased us with an upcoming Chrome browser tweak that would allow us to group similar tabs and label them. It’s been in beta since then, but it’s ready for primetime as of today.
On Tuesday, Google announced Chrome’s tab grouping feature rolled out to users, along with a few other features in Version 85.0.4183.83. It’s a nice touch for those who tend to have 20 or more pages open for various reasons (my count at the moment is 22). The devs also say tabs will load up to 10 percent faster now.
To create a group, right-click one of your tabs and select, “Add tab to new group.” A small colored dot will appear to the left of the tab. You can then drag and drop others into the group, or right-click and add them from the context menu. Left-clicking the icon will collapse and expand the group, while right-clicking gives you a context menu for changing the color, naming it, or closing the group and all of its tabs simultaneously.
For those who don’t use many tabs, the feature is probably unremarkable. However, if you have ever found yourself “old school” grouping with two or more instances of the browser open at once, you can appreciate the convenience. I know I can.
Tab groups are not all today’s Chrome update brings. Tab previews allow users to hover over a tab to view a mini window of its contents. Previews are particularly helpful in finding the right tab when you have so many open the titles are all smashed together.
Check out Google’s blog for other features included in the update. Also, keep in mind that not all browsers may have these new features due to stability issues. I can confirm that Chrome for macOS does not have them yet despite being the same version number as Windows.
Image credit: Evan Lorne