Test drive Google's new web browser

Using an existing web browser, such as Internet Explorer or Firefox, pay a visit to the Google Chrome website at www.google.com/chrome. Click the Download Google Chrome button followed by ‘Accept and Install’. While it is possible to save the executable file to the Desktop, the installation file is very small so it is safe to opt to Run or Open the program by clicking the relevant button in the window that appears. If a pop-up window is not displayed, click the first ‘Click here’ link. The installer will then run and download all the required files – this will only take a moment or two.

Once the download is complete, the option to launch Google Chrome will appear. By clicking the ‘Customise these settings’ link it is possible to perform a few extra configuration steps before getting started with the new web browser. Chrome can automatically import bookmarks, passwords and browsing history from your existing web browser – ensure that the ‘Import settings from’ option is selected and select a browser from the dropdown menu. Use the other boxes to indicate whether Chrome should become the default browser and where shortcuts should be created. Close any browser windows and click OK.

The first time Chrome is launched, the option to change the default search engine will be displayed. This setting will have been imported from the browser that was previously in use, and clicking the first button will retain this setting. To choose a different one, click the ‘Change search engine’ button, make a new selection from the ‘Default search’ menu and click Close. If the desired search engine is not listed, click the Manage button followed by Add. You are then free to enter the details of any search engine and opt to set it to be the default.

Unlike some other web browsers, Chrome does not have a separate Address/Location bar and search bar. Instead, the two components have been combined into a single bar. Start to type a website address, or a search term, and Chrome will make use of a feature called Google Suggest to guess the site you are trying to visit or the search term you are entering. To perform a search, simply type and then press Enter, or make a selection from the dropdown menu that appears. Similarly, websites can be selected from the list.

To make it easier to access sites that are visited on a regular basis, bookmarks can be created. Chrome does not have menus or side panels like other browsers, and bookmarks are instead stored in a toolbar – display this by clicking the spanner icon in the upper right of the program windows and make sure that the ‘Always show bookmarks bar’ option is selected. To bookmark a site, click the star to the left of the address bar, enter a name and choose whether the link should be displayed on the main toolbar or in the ‘Other bookmarks’ subfolder.

Tabs have become a standard feature of web browsers, and Chrome is no different. On a technical level, Chrome’s tabs run completely independently from each other. So, in theory at least, if one website should crash, it will not affect the rest of the browser or any other sites that are loaded. To open a new tab click the + button to the right of the tab bar or press Ctrl and T. New tabs open showing thumbnails of the sites that have been visited most often along with sites that have been recently bookmarked.

Open tabs can be easily rearranged as required by simply dragging and dropping them to a new position in the tab area. Drop a tab away from this area – anywhere else on screen – and that tab will be converted into its own browser window. Conversely, if two browser windows are open, they can be combined using the same method. For easy access to sites such as webmail services, click the button to the immediate right of the address bar and select ‘Create application shortcuts’ before choosing where shortcuts should be created.

When using a shared computer, privacy can be a problem and you may prefer to keep which sites you have visited confidential. Rather than having to remember to manually clear out the viewing history and temporary internet files and so forth, Chrome includes a special ‘incognito’ mode. In this mode, no information about online activity will be stored making it ideal for keeping things a secret. Press Ctrl and Shift and N simultaneously, or click the Tools button followed by ‘New incognito window’ to enter this special mode – the darker border and private detective icon make it easy to identify.

When using Chrome in normal rather than incognito mode, the browser will store information about the sites that have been visited and files that have been downloaded. Click the spanner button and select either History or Downloads to view this information. A search bar is displayed to make it easier to trawl through the list. Stored data can be deleted for individual days by clicking the relevant link on the page that appears, or everything can be wiped by selecting the ‘Clear browsing data’ option from the menu instead.

As well as simply viewing web pages, browsers are also used to download files from the internet. Chrome includes a download manager that can make things much easier. When downloading a file, a bar appears at the bottom of the screen showing the progress of the file transfer – click the small arrow to the right of this to open the containing folder or to opt to open the file automatically when the download completes. Click the link labelled ‘Show all downloads’ to view all downloading files in a separate tab complete with the option to pause individual downloads.

Many websites require visitors to log in to access personalised information and Chrome can save passwords so they do not have to be manually entered on each visit. After entering the relevant username and password to log into a site, a panel will appear at the top of the page. This provides the option to save the password for the current site or to opt not to be asked again. Select the save option and the password will be automatically entered in future.

Chrome can be configured in a variety of ways, and these settings can be accessed by clicking the spanner icon and selecting Options. On the Basics tab, use the ‘On startup’ section to indicate whether Chrome should remember the sites that are loaded when it is closed down and to load them automatically at next launch, or whether a personal homepage should be used instead. Move to the Minor Tweaks tab and it is possible to choose where downloaded files should be stored, while the ‘Under the Hood’ tab includes more advanced options.

If designing a website of your own it can be helpful to discover how other sites have been constructed. Alternatively, you might just be curious. Click the button next to the spanner button and select Developer followed by ‘View source’ to view the code of a site. Select the Javascript Console option instead to load the site inspector. The information provided here will be of interest to web designers as it provides a full breakdown of the make-up of the site including full details of the properties of each element on the page.

Finally, should a tab become unstable, it may be necessary to force it to close. To do so, click the button next to the spanner button and select Developer followed by ‘Task manager’ – alternatively, press Shift and Esc simultaneously. A list of currently loaded tabs will be displayed and any can be closed by selecting it and clicking ‘End process’. A wealth of information about Chrome’s use of memory can be seen by clicking the ‘Stats for nerds’ link at the bottom of the Task Manager window.