Single Key Shortcuts

Keyboard Shortcuts can speed up browsing significantly and Single Key Shortcuts take it to another level. With Single Key Shortcuts you don’t need to remember countless key combinations, you can browse using only one hand making it

Use Single Key Shortcuts

To start using Single Key Shortcuts:

  1. Go to Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts.
  2. Enable Single Key Shortcuts.

To use Single Key Shortcuts, first make sure that none of the input fields (Address Field, text box on a web page, etc.) are focused. Then simply press the command’s shortcut key on your keyboard.


Customize Shortcuts

To add or edit a keyboard shortcut:

  1. Go to Settings > Keyboard.
  2. Find the shortcut you want to add or edit.
  3. If needed, remove the current shortcut.
  4. While the focus is on the input field, press the keys of the new shortcut.

You can also add multiple shortcuts for the same action.


Examples of Single Key Shortcuts

You can see all Single Key Shortcuts in Settings > Keyboard and most of them can be customized. A handful of examples can be seen below.

  • History Back – Z
  • History Forward – X
  • Scroll on the page – Home, End, Page Up, Page Down
  • Switch to previous/next tab – 1, 2, 3 and 4
  • Zoom – 6, 7, 8, 9 and 0
  • Main menu – Alt
  • Focus on the next element on the page – Tab
  • Fast forward to the next page on sites with paginated content – Space

Mail and Calendar shortcuts can be seen on the Help page about Mail Shortcuts and the Help page about Calendar Shortcuts, respectively.

Tab Stacks in Vivaldi on iOS

Create Tab Stacks

To create a Tab Stacks from open Tabs:

  1. Open the Tab Switcher.
  2. Tap Edit > Select Tabs in the bottom left corner.
  3. Tap on all the tabs you want to add to the stack.
  4. Tap Add to… > Add Tabs to New Stack.
  5. Give the stack a name and select a color.
  6. Tap Create Stack.

If you already have some stacks, you can also choose to add the selected tabs to one of the existing stacks instead of creating a new one.

To create a new Tab Stack from the Tab Bar:

  1. Have the tab you want to include in the stack open as the active tab.
  2. Long-press on it on the Tab Bar.
  3. Select Add Tab to (New) Stack.
  4. Give the stack a name and select a color.
  5. Tap Create stack.
  6. Add more tabs to the stack following the instructions in the next section.
Tab's context menu in Vivaldi on iOS with the option to create a new Tab Stack highlighted.

To create a new Tab Stack from a link on a page:

  1. Long-press on a link on a web page.
  2. Select Open in New Tab Stack from the context menu.
  3. Add more tabs to the stack following the instructions in the next section.

Add tabs to a stack

To add more tabs to a Tab Stack:

Option 1

  1. Open the Tab Switcher.
  2. Long-press on a tab.
  3. Select Add Tab to Stack.
  4. Tap on the stack you want to add the tab to.

Option 2

  1. Open the Tab Switcher.
  2. Tap on the stack to view the tabs in it.
  3. Tap on the + at the bottom of the screen to open a new tab.
  4. Go to the web page you want to view.

Option 3

  1. Long-press on a tab on the Tab Bar.
  2. Select Add Tab to Stack from the context menu.
  3. Tap on the stack you want to add the tab to.

Option 4

  1. Long-press on a tab on the Tab Bar.
  2. Drag the tab over a stack.
  3. Release your finger to add the tab to the stack.

Option 5

  1. Long-press on a link on a web page.
  2. Select Add Tab to Stack from the context menu.
  3. Tap on the stack you want to add the tab to.

View and switch tabs

You can see your stacked tabs on the Tab Bar and in the Tab Switcher.

On the Tab Bar, stacked tabs are distinguishable by the border (in the stack’s color) surrounding the tabs in the group. Tapping the stack name will expand/collapse the stack.

To switch tabs, simply tap on the tab you want to view.

Vivaldi on iOS. An arrow points at a Tab Stack on the Tab Bar.

To view and switch tabs in Tab Stacks from the Tab Switcher:

  1. Open the Tab Switcher.
  2. Tap on the stack, which can be distinguished by the colorful circle and a stack name, as well as by previews of max 4 tabs in the stack.
  3. Tap on the tab you want to view.

Rename Tab Stacks

To give the stack a different name from the Tab Bar:

  1. Long press on the current stack name.
    If the stack doesn’t have a name, long press on the text saying how many tabs are in the stack.
  2. Select Rename Stack.
  3. Update the name.
  4. Tap Done.
Stacked tabs in Vivaldi on iOS.

To give the stack a different name from the Tab Switcher:

  1. Open the Tab Switcher.
  2. Open the stack you want to rename.
  3. Tap on the 3 dot menu in the top right corner and select Rename Stack.
  4. Update the name.
  5. Tap Done.

Change Tab Stacks’ colors

To choose a new color for the stack from the Tab Bar:

  1. Long press on the current stack name.
    If the stack doesn’t have a name, long press on the text saying how many tabs are in the stack.
  2. Select Rename Stack.
  3. Pick a new color.
  4. Tap Done.

To choose a new color for the stack from the Tab Switcher:

  1. Open the Tab Switcher.
  2. Open the stack you want to rename.
  3. Tap on the 3 dot menu in the top right corner and select Rename Stack.
  4. Pick a new color.
  5. Tap Done.

Reorder tabs in a stack

To change the order of the stacked tabs from the Tab Bar.

  1. Long-press on the tab you want to move.
  2. Drag the tab to a new location on the Tab Bar.
  3. Release your finger to finish the move.

To change the order of the stacked tabs from the Tab Switcher.

  1. Open the Tab Switcher.
  2. Open the stack you want to reorder.
  3. Long-press on the tab you want to move.
  4. Drag the tab to a new location in the stack.
  5. Release your finger to finish the move.

Remove tabs from a stack

To remove a tab from a stack from the Tab Bar.

  1. Long-press on the tab you want to move.
  2. Drag the tab to a new location outside the stack on the Tab Bar.
  3. Release your finger to finish the move.

To remove a tab from a stack from the Tab Switcher.

  1. Open the Tab Switcher.
  2. Open the stack you want to remove a tab from.
  3. Long-press on the tab you want to move.
  4. Select Move to Tab Stack > Remove From Group.

Close Tab Stack

To close all tabs in the stack and delete the stack:

Option 1

  1. Open the Tab Switcher.
  2. Tap on the Close button in the top right corner of the tab stack’s thumbnail.

Option 2

  1. Open the Tab Switcher.
  2. Long-press on the stack you want to delete.
  3. Select Delete Stack from the context menu.

Option 3

  1. On the Tab Bar, long-press on the stack you want to delete.
  2. Select Delete Stack from the context menu.

Make screenshots of videos

You can use the browser’s screenshot tool, to capture the content on web pages. But if that content is a point in a video, then saving a frame from it directly is faster and gives you a better result than trying to draw a frame around the capture area.

To save a frame from a video as an image file:

  1. Play the video and pause it at the point that you want to grab a screenshot of.
  2. Right-click (in some cases double right-click) on the video to open the context menu.
  3. Select Save Video Frame As.
  4. Select the saved file’s destination folder.
  5. Click Save.
Paused video player open in Vivaldi. Video's right-click context menu is open and the option "Save Frame as" is highlighted.

In addition to saving a frame as an image on your computer, you can also just copy it.

To copy a frame from a video:

  1. Play the video and pause it at the point that you want to grab a screenshot of.
  2. Right-click (in some cases double right-click) on the video to open the context menu.
  3. Select Copy Video Frame.
  4. Paste the image where you want to use it.

Zoom options in Vivaldi on iOS

In general, mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, have smaller screens than laptops and desktop setups. This usually means that user interface elements and web contents are much smaller and that can make browsing on mobile more difficult. Luckily in Vivaldi on iOS you can change the zoom level to make reading easier.

Zoom in on web pages

To change the text size:

  1. While you’re on the page, go to the Vivaldi menu > Zoom text.
  2. Tap on the – or + buttons to find the best zoom level.
  3. Tap Done.

To reset the zoom level.

  1. While you’re on the page, go to the Vivaldi menu > Zoom text.
  2. Tap Reset or tap on the – or + buttons to go back to 100%.
  3. Tap Done.

Progressive Web Apps on Android

Progressive Web Apps (PWA) are websites that can be installed as independent applications. They can be opened from shortcuts and used in their own window separate from the main browser.

Install a Progressive Web App

To install a website as a PWA:

  1. Open the web page in Vivaldi.
  2. Go to the Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi Menu > Add Page To > Home screen.
  3. Select Install.
  4. Tap Install in the confirmation dialog.
Install / Create Shortcut menu in Vivaldi in Vivaldi on Android.

If the site doesn’t support PWAs, you’ll be offered to create a shortcut instead. While PWAs open in their own window, tapping on the shortcut will open the saved site in a new tab in the main app window.


Open links from Progressive Web Apps in the main browser

To open a link from a PWA as a new tab in the main browser window:

  1. Long press on a link to open the context menu.
  2. Select “Open in Vivaldi Browser”.

Delete Progressive Web Apps and Home Screen Shortcuts

To uninstall a PWA or delete a shortcut:

  1. Long press on the PWA/shortcut icon on your home screen.
  2. Select Remove.

Privacy and Security Settings in Vivaldi on Android

Vivaldi’s privacy and security settings give you solid control over safeguarding your private data.

By default, each setting has been enabled or disabled based on what we believe is in our users’ best interest, but you have the option to change each setting in Settings > Privacy and Security.

Always Use Secure Connection (HTTPS)

To always load websites using the secure HTTPS protocol instead of the less secure HTTP:

  1. Go to Settings > Privacy and Security.
  2. Enable Always Use Secure Connection (HTTPS).

By default, when you do not enable this setting, Vivaldi will check if websites can be accessed securely and use the secure connection if possible. As a result, for most websites, this setting is not actually needed. However, you may choose to enable this setting if you absolutely never want to use websites that do not offer HTTPS, without clicking on a warning message first.

Note that this setting will sometimes cause websites that do offer HTTPS to show a warning if the website responds very slowly to HTTPS requests since Vivaldi cannot tell if this is the website not supporting it, or just supporting it very slowly. Only enable this setting if you are willing to accept this annoyance!


Lock Private tabs when you leave Vivaldi

When you leave Private Tabs open for longer, you can lock them for additional privacy. Next time you open Vivaldi and wish to view a private tab, you’ll first be asked for your phone’s or tablet’s screen lock PIN, password, pattern, etc.

To enable or disable locking of Private Tabs:

  1. Go to the Vivaldi menu > Settings > Privacy and Security.
  2. Toggle on Lock Private tabs when you leave Vivaldi.
  3. Verify yourself with your device’s unlock method.
Locked Private Tabs view in the Tab Switcher of Vivaldi on Android.

Access payment methods

You can save your credit card details in Vivaldi to make online transactions faster in Settings > Payment methods. Websites can check whether you have payment methods saved. To block them from doing so:

  1. Go to the Vivaldi menu > Settings > Privacy and Security.
  2. Toggle off Access payment methods.

Preload pages

Preloading pages that Vivaldi thinks you’re likely to visit can help make browsing faster. Preloading is enabled by default.

To change preloading settings:

  1. Go to the Vivaldi menu > Settings > Privacy and Security > Preload Pages.
  2. Select between no preloading and standard preloading.

When Cookies are allowed, they may be used for preloading.

When a Google site asks to privately preload links on their page, Vivaldi encrypts and preloads pages through Google servers without cookies. This hides your identity from the preloaded site. Because the preloaded pages are encrypted, and the site linking to the pages is a Google site, Google servers don’t receive new information when privately preloading these pages.


Use secure DNS

In order to open a website, its IP address has to be fetched via a DNS (Domain Name System) provider. Secure DNS accesses DNS servers over HTTPS and encrypts all the data being transferred between your device and the DNS servers.

To choose a DNS provider:

  1. Go to the Vivaldi menu > Settings > Privacy and Security > Use secure DNS.
  2. Select between your current internet service provider or:
    • Custom (enter your preferred provider’s URL manually),
    • Google (Public DNS),
    • CleanBrowsing (Family Filter),
    • OpenDNS,
    • Cloudflare (1.1.1.1), or
    • NextDNS.

Send a “Do Not Track” request

You may enable the option Send “Do Not Track” request. It’s a polite way of asking websites not to set tracking cookies. However, they can simply ignore it, and in most cases, the ones you want to avoid will be the ones who do not respect your request.


Touch to Search

When you’ve chosen Google as your default Search Engine, you can make use of the Touch to Search feature. It allows you to learn about topics without leaving the page.

To use Touch to Search:

  1. Highlight the text you want to use as a search term by long pressing on the word and dragging the bubbles on either side of the word to expand the search term.
  2. Open the search results view by sliding it up from the bottom of the screen.
  3. Tap on a search result to open the web page in a new tab.
  4. Swipe down to close the search.

To get more accurate results, you can allow Google to include surrounding text in the searches as well. To enable it:

  1. Go to Vivaldi menu > Settings > Privacy and Security > Touch to Search.
  2. Enable Include surrounding text in Google searches.

To disable Touch to Search (enabled by default):

  1. Go to Vivaldi menu > Settings > Privacy and Security > Touch to Search.
  2. Tap the toggle button to disable the feature.

Delete browsing data

To delete your browsing history:

  1. Open the History Panel and tap on  Clear Data on the right side of the bottom toolbar.
    Alternatively, open the Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi menu > Settings > Privacy and security> Delete browsing data.
  2. Pick a time range.
  3. Select the data types you want to delete (take a look at the Advanced section as well).
  4. Tap Delete data.

Clear session browsing data on exit

If you want to delete your browsing history and other data when you’re finished using the app, you can have it automatically deleted on exit. To enable the settings:

  1. Go to the Vivaldi menu > Settings > Privacy and security > Clear session browsing data on exit.
  2. Toggle on the setting.
  3. Choose which data types you want to delete:
    • Browsing history.
    • Cookies and site data.
    • Cached images and files.
    • Close open tabs.

It’s not enough to minimize the app or remove it from the app switcher menu to exit the browser. To exit Vivaldi:

  1. Go to the Vivaldi menu.
  2. Scroll to the bottom of the menu.
  3. Select Exit.

Broadcast IP for best WebRTC performance

Broadcasting IP for Best WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) performance is most relevant for users browsing over a VPN connection, who want to hide their IP even from websites using WebRTC to check real IP addresses.

In Vivaldi, broadcasting has been enabled by default, meaning websites can see your IP address, though, often just the internal network IP address. Disabling this setting will increase your privacy, but can cause issues with how websites function.

Web Page Options in Vivaldi on iOS

Vivaldi offers several options to customize your browsing flow in the iOS app. Continue reading to learn about a few of them.

Desktop view

To display a desktop version of the website, instead of the mobile version commonly displayed on smaller screens, open the Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi Menu and select Request Desktop Site.

To permanently display desktop versions of all websites:

  1. Go to Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi Menu > Settings > Content settings > Default site view.
  2. Select Desktop.

Homepage

On the bottom toolbar (when Tab and Address Bar are at the top of the screen), you have a choice between two buttons for the middle button. By default, it’s a search button, which will focus on the Address Field, so you can type in the next link or search keyword. The other option is to have a Home button, which will take you to either the Start Page or a website of your choice.

To enable the Home button:

  1. Go to Vivaldi menu > Settings > General.
  2. Enable Display Home Button.

To set a web page of your choice as the homepage:

  1. Go to Vivaldi menu > Settings > General.
  2. Select Specific Site.
  3. Enter the web page link.
Vivaldi on iOS, with an arrow pointing at the Home button.

Home Screen shortcut

When Vivaldi is your default browser on iOS, you can create web page shortcuts for the Home Screen. That way you can access your most viewed websites even faster.

To create a Home Screen shortcut:

  1. Open the web page you want to add to the Home Screen.
  2. Go to the  Vivaldi menu > Share.
  3. Select Add to Home Screen.
  4. If needed update the shortcut name.
  5. Tap on Add.
Vivaldi on iOS with the Share menu open. An arrow points at the "Add to Home Screen" option.

Main Menu in Vivaldi on iOS

The main Vivaldi Menu in Vivaldi on iOS gives you access to most of Vivaldi’s key features and tools.

Access the Main Menu

Whether you’re using the browser on a small phone screen or a large tablet screen, the menu can always be accessed from the right side of the Address Bar. Just tap on the  Vivaldi logo to open it. The options available in the menu depend on whether you have open a web page or the browser’s Start Page.

To close the menu, tap on the feature you want to use or on an area outside the menu.


Customize the menu

You can customize the order and visibility of the menu to make sure that the options you use most are always within easy reach.

To customize the menu:

  1. Open the Vivaldi menu.
  2. Long-press on one of the menu options in the top row to open a context menu.
  3. Select Customize menu.

To reorder menu entries:

  1. Long-press on the menu item you want to move. With items in the list, long-press on the three lines on the right side.
  2. Drag and drop it to its new location.
Menu items in Vivaldi on iOS being reordered.

To hide menu items:

  • On the top row of menu items, tap on the Hide button in the top left corner.
  • In the list, tap on the checkmark in front of the menu item.

Browser appearance customization on desktop

Customization is one of Vivaldi’s strong suits. There are many ways you can alter the appearance of the browser, so let’s take a look at what you can change to make Vivaldi look the way you want it.

Website Appearance

If you prefer dark themes and want the web page content to match:

  1. Go to Settings > Appearance > Website Appearance.
  2. Select between:
    • Light,
    • Dark, or
    • Auto.

Some websites do not offer their site in dark mode. In that case, you can force dark mode, by selecting the “Dark” option and enabling Force a dark theme on all websites.


Window Appearance

To make small changes with a big impact take a look at the following settings.

Open Settings in a Tab

By default, Settings open in a little window of their own, but if you prefer to browse and change settings in a tab:

  1. Go to Settings > Appearance > Window Appearance.
  2. Enable Open Settings in a Tab.

Open Popups in Tabs

Pop-up windows in Vivaldi are blocked by default. If you’ve allowed them either globally or on select sites, you can decide whether to open popups in a new window or a new tab.

To open popups in tabs instead of windows:

  1. Go to Settings > Appearance > Window Appearance.
  2. Enable Open Popups in Tabs.

Use Animations

To make transitions smoother when opening Panels, reordering Speed Dials, etc. animation effects are applied. To disable animations:

  1. Go to Settings > Appearance > Window Appearance.
  2. Disable Use Animation.

Use Buttons in Range Controls

When using the Zoom feature or changing some settings, you can change the value using a slider. If you want to change the value step-by-step with more accuracy, you can replace sliders with button controls.

To switch from sliders to button controls:

  1. Go to Settings > Appearance > Window Appearance.
  2. Enable Use Buttons in Range Controls.

Use Native Window

To enable the Native Window:

  1. Go to Settings > Appearance > Window Appearance.
  2. Enable Use Native Window.
  3. Restart the browser.

Using the Native window allows you to:

  • Integrate Vivaldi with the rest of your operating system’s user interface.
  • Use OS-based window controls.
  • Display the Active Tab’s full title.
  • Make use of macOS’ Split View feature.

Show Title Bar

When you have moved the Tab Bar to the left or right side of the browser window, you have the option to show the title of the active tab in a Title Bar, which will also include the Vivaldi Menu button as well as window controls for minimizing, maximizing and closing browser windows.

To enable the Title Bar:

  1. Go to Settings > Appearance > Window Appearance.
  2. Enable Show Title Bar.

Fade Colors in Background Windows

When you’re viewing browser windows side by side, it can be difficult to see, which one you’ve focused on. Fading colors of background windows helps to make it more obvious.

To enable background window color fading:

  1. Go to Settings > Appearance > Window Appearance.
  2. Enable Fade Colors in Background Windows.
Two Vivaldi browser windows. The one in the back has a faded color scheme compared to the one in the foreground.

Use Simple Scrollbars

Depending on the window size and the amount of content, you may see scrollbars here and there in the Vivaldi user interface, for example, in Panels, Mail lists and emails, Calendar views, etc. By default, the scrollbars are thicker and have clickable arrows at both ends. To get slimmer and more minimalistic looking scrollbars:

  1. Go to Settings > Appearance > Window Appearance.
  2. Enable Use Simple Scrollbars.

Use Monochrome Settings Icons

Settings categories in the column on the left are colored and grouped. If you prefer a more monochrome look on the category icons:

  1. Go to Settings > Appearance > Window Appearance.
  2. Enable Use Monochrome Settings Icons.

User Interface Density

To change the UI density:

  1. Go to Settings > Appearance > Window Appearance > User Interface Density.
  2. Choose between:
    • Regular i.e. the more spacious layout, and
    • Compact layout.

Compact Menu Layout

While you’re deciding on the density of the user interface, you can also make a call on the density of menus.

To switch from spacious menus to compact ones:

  1. Go to Settings > Appearance > Window Appearance > User Interface Density.
  2. Enable Compact Menu Layout.
  3. Restart the browser.

User Interface Zoom

If you have plenty of screen real estate to spare on a large monitor or your vision requires to have larger buttons and texts for comfortable viewing, you can increase (or decrease) the user interface size.

To change the UI zoom level:

  1. Go to Settings > Appearance > Window Appearance > User Interface Zoom.
  2. Use the slider or range control buttons to find a suitable UI size for you.

If you click on the current zoom value, you can also enter the desired zoom value by typing the number.

Status Bar

To hide the Status Bar or display it again:

  1. Go to Settings > Appearance > Window Appearance > Status Bar.
  2. Choose between the following:
    • Always show the Status Bar.
    • Only show status info overlay.
    • Hide it completely.

Toolbar Customization

To learn about moving, adding, and removing buttons on the user interface, go to the Help page about editing toolbars.


Menu

To learn about the options available for the menus, take a look at the Help page about the Vivaldi Menu, and if you want to customize the menus, check out the Help page about editing menus.


Themes

To change the color scheme and background image of the browser, schedule themes, and more, have a look at the Help page about Themes.

Getting Started with the Reading List

The Reading List allows you to add web pages to a list to keep for later. It prevents endless tabs from accumulating on your Tab Bar and Bookmarks being filled with entries you only need once.