Chrome tips
Translate any website on Chrome for Android
Chrome for Android has Google Translate integrated, and it can be used on any website written in one of the many supported languages.
- Open Chrome.
- Go to your website of choice.
- Press the three-dot menu button.
- Select Translate.
- A bar will appear at the bottom. Hit the three-dot menu and select More languages to add the languages you know. This menu also has more options you should consider.
- Go back to the bar and select the language you want to see the website in.
Change text size on Chrome for Android
Having trouble reading tiny text? Maybe the text is too big and occupies all your screen space. Here’s how to fix the problem.
- Open Chrome.
- Tap on the 3-dot menu button on the top-right corner.
- Select Settings.
- Select Accessibility.
- Under Text scaling, drag the swiper left or right to change font size.
Request a desktop site on Chrome for Android
Mobile sites are best on Chrome for Android only when they are properly designed. Bad mobile websites are common, and many don’t offer all features available in their desktop counterparts. You can ask Chrome for Android for a desktop site at any time by following the steps below.
- Open Chrome.
- Go to your website of choice.
- Press the three-dot menu button.
- Check the box next to Desktop site.
Swipe down to refresh a website
This Chrome for Android tip may seem mundane to many, but it is a neat trick not all people know. Reloading a page can be done in multiple ways, but the simplest and fastest one is to simply perform a long swipe from top to bottom.
Move the toolbar to the bottom of the screen
We are used to seeing the home button, tab switcher, and three-dot menu button next to the address bar, but this doesn’t have to be the case. Chrome for Android makes it possible to bring those tools to the bottom of the screen, where they can be more easily reached. Because this gives the toolbar more room, they also add search and sharing buttons to the experience. It may take some of your screen real estate, but having those shortcuts handy is mighty convenient.
- Open Chrome.
- Type Chrome://flags into the address bar and press enter.
- Search for “Chrome duet”.
- When the option shows up, tap on the drop-down menu and select Enabled.
- Tap on Relaunch.
Use Chrome as notepad
You can easily turn chrome into a plain text editor. Simply enter data:text/html, <html contenteditable> in the Chrome search bar and the text editor will open up. Do keep in mind that you can’t save the text entered here, so you will have to copy and paste it somewhere safe if you want to keep it. This feature is mostly useful for striping away formatting from the copied text as the text editor only supports plain text.
