How to get started with Side Panel on Google Chrome – Windows Central

On Windows 11 (or 10), if you use Chrome, you probably still haven't noticed the "Side Panel," which gives you access to various features.

The Side Panel is accessible from any website and serves as a handy tool that provides quick access to several features, some of which you're probably not using, including Reading List, Bookmarks, History, Reading mode, Customize Chrome, and Search.

In this how-to guide, I will walk you through the features available through the Side Panel on Google Chrome.

To access the Side Panel, use these steps.

Once you complete the steps, you will have access to the available functionalities.

"Reading list" is a feature that allows you to bookmark pages temporarily. The feature is helpful when you find the content you want to read later and don't want to save in the bookmarks, since you won't return to that page once read.

To use Reading list on Chrome, use these steps:

Once you complete the steps, you can always open the panel, and as you go through each page, you can click the"Mark as read"button on the link or the"Mark current tab as read"button at the bottom of the panel. Or click the"Delete"(X) button to remove the link from the panel.

"Bookmarks" is the same feature that has been around for a long time, but the experience from the "Side Panel" is new. The most significant difference is that the new interface manages your favorite links and tracks products with the Google pricing tracking feature.

To use Bookmarks from the Side panel, use these steps:

You can also use the search box at the top to quickly look for any bookmark. If you want to organize your saved links further, you can right-click a link to access the available options. Also, the"Edit"button in the top-right allows you to select multiple bookmarks that you can then delete, move, or open in a different tab or window with the options available at the bottom of the page.

The interface even includes an option to create new folders, making this experience much better than the legacy "Bookmarks Manager."

If you want to see the products you're tracking with Google, click the"Tracked bookmarks"button at the top of the page.

The "History" feature shows the pages you have visited in the past. However, they are sorted by search terms, meaning you will only find the history of pages you visited using a Google search. If you want to view all your activities, you will have to open the legacy history feature.

To use History, use these steps:

Each group is labeled using the search term, and you can use the context menu on the right to take different actions, including opening all pages in a tab group, hiding the items, or removing them from history.

The "Reading mode" feature converts the page into a clean document without clutter, but without closing the original page on the left.

To use Reading mode, use these steps:

Optionally, you can customize the font size and family, background, line height, and spacing between the words and letters to improve the reading experience.

The "Customize Chrome" feature is usually available from the new tab page, not a web page. The feature allows you to customize various browser aspects, including themes, shortcuts, and cards.

Change colors

To customize the appearance of Chrome, use these steps:

After you complete the steps, the new color will apply to the browser.

Change themes

On Chrome, themes allow you to use background images and colors to change the look and feel.

The browser comes with various themes, and you can download more from the Chrome Web Store, but starting with version 121, you can now use AI to create custom themes for Google's browser.

To change themes, use these steps:

Once you complete the steps, the new theme with the custom background for the new tab page will apply to the browser.

Manage shortcuts

In the new tab page, Chrome can show shortcuts to specific websites you created manually, or set it to show the most visited sites.

To manage Chrome shortcuts, use these steps:

After you complete the steps, the shortcuts will appear on the new tab page of Chrome.

Manage cards

In the new tab page, the browser can also show cards to help you resume previous searches and continue shopping, and you can either turn this feature on or off.

To turn cards on or off, use these steps:

Once you complete the steps, the cards will appear on the new tab page, according to your configuration.

The "Search" feature allows you to research the website or the content in the tab. Although you can access the feature from the Side Panel, Chrome also has a dedicated option in the toolbar next to Omnibar.

To get started with the Search feature on Chrome, use these steps:

In the experience, you can learn to click the "More about this page" to access the available details. Or you can use the search box to perform other related searches without leaving the tab. (This feature works more like a split screen feature.)

For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10 and Windows 11, visit the following resources:

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How to get started with Side Panel on Google Chrome - Windows Central