Just like launching the Tab Manager within Chrome, there’s also a swipe gesture to switch between tabs that you should know about.
Earlier this week I showed you a swipe gesture for Chrome that let you launch the Tab Manager without needing to tap on the Square icon button to the right of the Address Bar. That one isn’t much of a time saver, but it’s nice to know about nonetheless. Today though, I want to show you a swipe gesture for Chrome that actually can save you time. Granted, it doesn’t take that long to switch between tabs in Chrome.
But still, one swipe gesture is much better than two taps. This gesture probably won’t be useful for those who keep dozens of tabs open though. But if you keep your stuff organized, and only have a few open at a time, then you will likely switch to this swipe gesture when you use Chrome. I’m still getting myself into the habit of using it, so it’s not second nature to me yet, but it is still very useful and very satisfying to do.
Switching Between Tabs in Chrome
- Visit a website in Chrome
- Open another tab within Chrome and go to a second website
- Then do a left/right swipe gesture on top of the Address Bar
Explanation
Just like the swipe gesture to launch the Tab Manager in Chrome, this gesture is also done right on top of the Address Bar. It will also work on the New Tab page, but it’s easier to demonstrate, and show off, when switching between two different websites. This lets you have actually swipe across the Address Bar so you get an idea as to where you need to swipe. Instead of swiping down those, the idea is to swipe to the left or right to bring up the other tab.
So if you have two tabs open within Chrome, and you’re looking at the first website, swiping your thumb or finger to the left will bring up the second tab you have open. If you have a third tab open, then swiping left again will take you to that next tab. You can go back and forth here by swiping to the left and right as Chrome keeps these tabs in order. If you have a small number of tabs open, then this method can be faster than tapping on the Square icon and then tapping on the tab you want to see.
It can take some time to get into the habit of actually swiping across the Address Bar. I know, for me, my instinct is to tap on it when my finger or thumb goes in that direction. Over time though, it’s become easier to actually swipe between them. When that happens, it is very satisfying and much faster than tapping, waiting for the animation, finding the tab, and then tapping again.
Let me know what you think about this swipe gesture for Chrome. Is it something you use often, do you forget about it, or are you happy just tapping to switch tabs?
