How to Customize Google Chrome Hotkeys

Google Chrome has a variety of hotkeys, otherwise known as keyboard shortcuts, you can press to quickly select options. Although the browser only has limited built-in hotkey customization options, there are a few extensions you can add to Chrome to further configure its keyboard shortcuts with.

How to Change Chrome Keyboard Shortcuts in Settings

If you’re looking for simple keyboard shortcut customization, then check out chrome://extensions/shortcuts, just type it into the browser and hit Enter.

The shortcut Page should look like this.

There are options available to close and open tabs, scroll through pages, open new windows, and much more. Check it out before downloading any extensions, you might find just what you need.

Chrome Extensions for Changing and Creating Hotkeys and Shortcuts

Shortkeys

A popular chrome extension for customizing hotkeys is Shortkeys. You can check out and download it at the Shortkeys extension page. If you like what you see, you can add it to the browser by clicking the Add to Chrome button.

Then, you’ll find a Shortkeys button on the toolbar as shown in the snapshot below.

 

Now, press the Manage Extensions button or type chrome://extensions into your browser and hit Enter. You should see a page that looks similar to this.

 

Next, click the Details button for the Shortkeys extension, you’ll be taken to this page.

Scroll down the page until you see Extension Options, click on it and a new window will open.

The Shortkeys extension page includes a list of all your saved Shortkeys keyboard shortcuts and the ability to create new ones or import and export keyboard shortcuts.

Before pressing the Add Shortcut button, enter the desired keyboard shortcut, such as ctrl+s. From there, click inside the Label text box to name the shortcut. Next, click the dropdown menu to open a list of potential options for your hotkey, as shown below. Select an option from there, such as Open Settings Page. Press the Add Shortcut button to add the hotkey and then Save Shortcuts, to save it.

 

With your new shortcut saved, you can try the hotkey out in your page tabs. Note that you’ll need to refresh page tabs already open in the browser for the hotkeys to work in them. Also, note that a hotkey might not work if it’s the same as a default Chrome keyboard shortcut. You can delete any customized hotkey by pressing the Delete button beside them on the Shortkeys Options tab.

So, with the Shortkeys extension you can now quickly set up customized hotkeys for a variety of Google Chrome options.

AutoControl Shortcut Manager

The AutoControl Shortcut Manager is also another extension for Google Chrome that you can use to customize the browser’s hotkeys. Similar to the above extension, this one allows for all kinds of hotkey and mouse customization. Select the Add to Chrome button to download the extension. As a warning, some anti-virus programs flag this as a harmful program, check out the reviews and decide for yourself.

 

The process for adding new shortcuts is similar to the one described above, so I won’t cover it. If you’re looking for almost total control of your  browser shortcuts, this is an extension you’ll want to have.

 

You don’t have to be a programmer to modify and improve your browser settings and efficiency when it comes to hotkeys. Regardless of how you want to customize your Google Chrome hotkeys, there’s an option available for you. Check out your browser settings or Google Chrome extensions to get started.