Settings

Learn how to access Vivaldi’s Settings, where you can customize the browser to match your preferences.

Search the web

Vivaldi browser lets you search the web any way you like. Here’s how.

Search in the Address Field

  1. Go to Settings> Search and make sure Search in Address Field is enabled.
  2. Type the search term in the Address Field and press Enter.
  3. Vivaldi will display the search results using the default search engine.
    Use Search Engine nicknames to see results from other search engines.

In addition to searching for web content with a search engine, you can use the Address Field to search for Bookmarks, open Tabs, and History.

To search the subset:

  1. Type the nickname “@bookmarks“, “@tabs“, or “@history” followed by a space in the Address Field.
  2. Then start typing the web page’s title or URL to see relevant results.
  3. Click on the suggestion to go to the web page.

To edit the nicknames:

  1. Go to Settings > Search > Shortcuts Nicknames.
  2. Enter a new nickname.

Search in the Search Field

Another option is to search the web using the Search Field on the Address Bar.

  1. Go to Settings > Search and choose between:
    1. Showing the full search field on the Address Bar,
    2. Showing only a search button,
    3. Disabling the search field altogether;
  2. Type the search term in the Search Field on the Address Bar.

To switch between Search Engines, click on the change search engine button Change Search Engine button on the left side of the Search Field and pick a different Search Engine from the dropdown menu.

When you search with different search engines from your default one in the Search Field, your last used Search Engine will revert back to the default one when you close the browser. To keep your last used search engine, go to Settings > Search and enable Keep Last Selected Search Engine.

To search for the same search term again, click on the arrow down button  Show Search History button on the right side of the Search Field to see a list of your latest searches.

To display the active Search Engine’s favicon instead of the magnifying glass, enable it in Settings > Search > Show Search Engine Icon.

The size of the search field on the Address Bar can be changed by placing the mouse cursor on the left edge of the Search field and dragging the mouse in preferred direction.

Search on the Speed Dial

  1. To search on the Start Page, go to Settings > Search and make sure the Show Search Field on Speed Dial is enabled.
  2. Type the search term in the Search Field on the Speed Dial.

To switch between Search Engines, click on the search engine favicon button on the left side of the Search Field and pick a different Search Engine from the dropdown menu.

To search for the same search term again, click on the arrow down button Show Search History button on the right side of the Search Field to see a list of your latest searches.

Open search results in a New Tab

You can have your search results open in a new Tab, instead of the current one when you search in the Search Field. This feature could be particularly useful if you’re doing research or need to look up multiple search terms at once.

To enable it, go to Settings > Search and tick the box for Always Search in New Tab.
Search settings

Alternatively, type the search term in the Address or Search Field and press ALT + Enter to open the results in a new tab.

Search images

You can do a reverse image search to find more information about it or to find similar images.

To do an image search:

  1. Open the web page with the image you want to search with.
  2. Right-click on the image to open the context menu.
  3. Select Search for Image. Select Image > Search for Image, if the image is also a link.

Search results will open in a new tab.

The search is done with your default Image Search Engine. To change the default search engine for images:

  1. Go to Settings > Search > Image Search Engine.
  2. Select your preferred search engine that offers image search.

Search with page selection

Instead of copying and pasting a search term from a web page to the Address or Search Field, right click on the highlighted text > hover over Search With > select a Search engine. To open the search results in a new background tab, go to Settings > Search and tick the box for Page Selection Search in Background (see the image above).

Search Suggestions

Among other options in Settings > Search > Allow Search Suggestions, you can decide whether to enable search suggestions in the Address and Search fields.  When enabled, you’ll get search suggestions as soon as you start typing in a search query. It’s a convenient feature, but has privacy implications. You can read more on our Team Blog.

Even if you have enabled search engine suggestions, in Settings > Search > Allow Search Suggestions, you can limit it to allowing search suggestions only if you type a Search Engine nickname, which is a clear indication that this is intended to be a search, not a URL.

Alternatively, you can manually disable search suggestions for particular Search Engines, by going to Settings > Search > Search Engines > selecting the Search Engine > emptying the Suggest URL field. Or you can use another Search Engine’s Suggest URL. For example, get suggestions from a more privacy conscious DuckDuckGo, even if you search with Google.

Available Search Engines

Vivaldi has several search engines available by default.

  • Bing – for searching the web via Microsoft Bing.
  • Yahoo – for searching the web via Yahoo.
  • DuckDuckGo – a search engine that doesn’t track users.
  • Yelp – for searching crowd-sourced reviews about businesses. Available by default in selected countries.
  • Ecosia – a search engine that plants trees.
  • Qwant – a privacy focused search engine. Available by default in selected countries.
  • StartPage – a private way to search Google.
  • Wikipedia – for searching the Wikipedia free online encyclopedia.
  • Google – for searching the web via Google.

Change the default Search Engine

You can set any of the search engines listed in Settings > Search Engines as the default Search Engine.

Option 1

  1. Go to Settings > Search > Default Search Engine;
  2. Select your preferred Search Engine from the dropdown menu.

Option 2

  1. Go to Settings > Search > Search Engines;
  2. Select the Search Engine you want to set as default;
  3. Tick the box for Set as Default Search.

To make your private browsing more private, you can set a different default search engine for the Private Window.

Option 1

  1. Go to Settings > Search > Private Window Search Engine;
  2. Select your preferred Search Engine from the dropdown menu.

Option 2

  1. Go to Settings > Search > Search Engines;
  2. Select the Search Engine you want to set as default;
  3. Tick the box for Set as Private Search.

Some search engines allow users to use the POST method for search. The combination of POST and no-redirects, ensures that websites won’t know the search terms you use to find their site, nor will your search terms be stored in your local history. If you have enabled Use POST method, but search doesn’t come up with any results, this means that the search engine of your choice doesn’t support the POST method. If you still want to use this search engine, you should disable Use POST method.

Search Engine Nicknames

Using Search Engine Nicknames, you can quickly switch between one Search Engine to another just by typing the nickname at the front of your search term.

  1. Get to know the default Search Engine Nicknames in Settings > Search > Search Engines.
  2. Start the search with the Search Engine Nickname, followed by Space.  For instance, the search term “d Vivaldi browser” will search for “Vivaldi browser” via DuckDuckGo.

You can change the default Search Engine nickname to anything you like by:

  1. Clicking on the search engine you would like to assign a new nickname to;
  2. Entering the new nickname in the Nickname field;

To hide search engine nicknames in drop-down menus, go to Settings > Search > Search Field Display and disable Show Search Engine Nickname in Drop-Down Menu.

Add a New Search Engine

Vivaldi lets you add your preferred search engines in a few simple steps.

Option 1

  1. Go to the page you want to add.
  2. Right-click on the search field of the page and select Add as Search Engine.Using the context menu to add a new search engine
  3. If you wish, add a nickname and make the new Search Engine your Default Search.
    Adding additional information to a search engine before saving it as a new search engine.
  4. Click Add.

Option 2

  1. Do a search on the website you want to add as a Search Engine.
  2. Copy the URL of the search results page.
  3. Go to Vivaldi Browser Settings > Search > Search Engine Editor.
  4. Click on the Add button Add Search Engine button to add a new Search Engine.
  5. Paste the link to the URL field and substitute the used search term with %s
  6. Enter the Name and a Nickname for the Search Engine.
Adding a new search engine in Settings

Delete a Search Engine

To remove a Search Engine:

  1. Open Settings > Search > Search Engines;
  2. Make sure the Search Engine you want to delete isn’t set as Default Search or Private Search;
  3. Click on the delete button Delete search engine button.
  4. Confirm your decision by clicking Delete in the pop up window.

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User Agent Brand Masking

Some websites make sure to check from which browser you’re viewing their pages from and based on the information may alter what you see. The websites may also block access to their content and features altogether. To check whether a website is displayed differently because you’re using Vivaldi, you can change the browser’s Sec-CH-UA identity and check the website again.

To change which browser brand is reported:

  1. Go to Settings > Network > User Agent Brand Masking.
  2. From the drop-down menu, select whether you want the browser to identify itself without a brand, as Vivaldi, Google Chrome, or Microsoft Edge.
    In addition, you can set up a custom brand by entering the browser’s brand and version number manually.
  3. Restart the browser for the change to take effect.

Tick the box for Append Vivaldi Brand to, in addition to the chosen brand, add Vivaldi’s brand information at the end of the reported identity.

Important! Please note that changing the reported browser brand can cause compatibility issues with sites.

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Reading list on Android

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/Tab Switcher and Bookmarks being filled with entries you only need once.

Though, there are similar services out there, Vivaldi’s Reading List doesn’t require an external app nor do you need to sign up for an account. Also, you can keep your lists in sync on all Vivaldis on all your devices.

Add pages to the Reading List

To add an open web page to the Reading List.

Option 1

Go to the Vivaldi menu > Add Page To > Reading List.

Option 2

  1. Go to the Vivaldi menu > Reading List.
  2. Tap on the 3 dot menu in the top right corner.
  3. Select Add current page.

To add a link on a page to the Reading List:

  1. Long press on the link to open the context menu.
  2. Select Add to Reading List.

To add a web page from another app to the Reading List:

  1. In the app, tap on the Share button.
  2. Tap on the Vivaldi logo with Add to Reading List” written below it.
    If you don’t see it, tap on Vivaldi Browser, which should open a sub-menu with Add to Reading List as one of the options.

View and manage articles on the list

To open an article from the Reading List:

  1. Open the Vivaldi menu and select Reading List.
  2. Select an article you’d like to read.
  3. Tap on the entry to open the article in a new tab.

Opened articles will be marked as read automatically and moved to the Read Articles section.

To open an article from the Reading List in a Private Tab:

  1. Open the Vivaldi menu and select Reading List.
  2. Long press on the article you’d like to read.
  3. In the top right corner of the Reading List, tap on the menu button.
  4. Select Open in private tab.

Mark articles as read

To mark an article read without opening it:

  1. Open the Vivaldi menu and select Reading List.
  2. In the Unread Articles section, select an article you’d like to mark as read.
  3. Tap on the menu button on the right side of the title.
  4. Select Mark as read.

Remove articles from Reading List

You can remove both unread and read articles from the Reading List. To do that:

  1. Open the Vivaldi menu and select Reading List.
  2. On the right side of the page title, tap on the menu button.
  3. Select Delete.

Alternatively, long press on a saved entry and tap on the Trash button above the list of entries.

To remove multiple articles at once:

  1. Open the Vivaldi menu and select Reading List.
  2. Long press on one of the articles you want to remove. A check mark should appear before the page title.
  3. Tap on the other list entries you want to remove.
  4. Tap on the Trash button above the list of entries.

Sync Reading List

Saved pages in your Reading List can be synced with Vivaldi on your other devices. (Currently available only on desktop.)

To sync your reading list:

  1. Go to the Vivaldi menu > Settings > Sync.
  2. Log in to your Vivaldi account.
  3. Sync either all data or make sure Reading List is enabled, when syncing only selected data.

Lists from different devices will be merged when synced.

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Reading List Panel

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.

Though, there are similar services out there, Vivaldi’s Reading List doesn’t require an Extension nor do you need to sign up for an account.

Access the Reading List Panel

To open the Reading List Panel:

  • Click on the Reading List panel button on the side of your browser window.
  • Go to the Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi menu > View > Reading List Panel.
  • Type “Reading List Panel” in Quick Commands.
  • Create a Keyboard Shortcut or a Mouse Gesture for the action.

Add pages to the Reading List

To add an open web page to the Reading List:

  1. Open the Reading List Panel.
  2. Click on Add Current Page at the top of the panel, near the search field.

Alternatively:

View and manage articles on the list

Open a saved article

To open an article from the Reading List:

  1. Open the Reading List Panel.
  2. Select an article you’d like to read.
  3. Double-click on the entry to open the article in a new tab.

Opened articles will be marked as read automatically.

Mark articles as read / unread

To mark an article read without opening it:

  1. Open the Reading List Panel.
  2. Select an unread article you’d like to mark as read.
  3. Click on  Mark as read.

To mark an article unread:

  1. Open the Reading List Panel.
  2. Select a read article you’d like to mark as unread.
  3. Click on  Mark as unread.

Search articles

To find an article from the long list of saved pages:

  1. Open the Reading List Panel.
  2. In the top left corner of the panel, enter the search keyword in the Search field.

Sort Reading List

To change the sorting order of articles:

  1. Open the Reading List Panel.
  2. Click on Sort by [current sorting criteria] below the search field.
  3. Select either:
    • By Title,
    • By Read State,
    • By Date Updated,
    • By Address.

To reverse the order, click on Sort Ascending/Descending on the right side of the Sort by menu.

Remove articles from Reading List

You can remove both unread and read articles from the Reading List. To do that:

  1. Open the Reading List Panel.
  2. Select an article you’d like to remove from the list.
  3. Use one of the following options:
    • Click Delete at the top of the panel, near the search field.
    • Press the Delete key on your keyboard.
    • Right-click on the entry and select Delete.

Reading List Panel settings

To open a page from the Reading List Panel with a single click, instead of a double-click:

  1. Go to Settings > Panel > Reading List Panel.
  2. Enable Activate with Single Click.

To keep track of how many unread articles you have on your Reading List, make sure Show Unread Counter has been enabled in Settings > Panel > Reading List Panel. If the counter is a distraction untick the box.

Sync Reading List

Saved pages in your Reading List can be synced with Vivaldi on your other devices.

To sync your reading list:

  1. Go to Settings > Sync.
  2. Log in to your Vivaldi account.
  3. Sync either all data or make sure Reading List is enabled, when syncing only selected data.

Lists from different devices will be merged when synced.

Export and Import Reading Lists

Export the Reading List

To export your Reading List:

  1. Go to the Vivaldi menu > File > Export > Export Reading List.
  2. Select the destination folder.

Alternatively:

The list will be exported as a CSV file.

Import a Reading List

To import a Reading List:

  1. Go to the Vivaldi menu > File > Import from Applications or Files.
  2. From the drop-down menu select Reading List (CSV).
  3. Click Choose a File.
  4. Select the source folder.

Alternatively:

Video

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Translate on Android

Break down language barriers and open up the web with Vivaldi Translate.

Accessing the Translate Panel

To open the Translate Panel:

  1. Tap on the Panel button.
  2. Tap on the Translate panel button at the bottom of the page (on the side on tablets and larger screens).

Translate text

To translate text in the panel:

  1. Open the Translate Panel.
  2. Type or paste the text into the input field.
  3. Scroll through the lists or start typing the language name to select the input (From) and output (To) languages.
    If the text is longer, you can also rely on automatic detection of the source language and only need to define the translation language, in case you wish to translate to a different language from your default language.
  4. Tap Translate.

Clear translation

When you’re done with the translation or want to translate something else, tap Clear below the output field.

Translate text from a web page

To translate content on a website you can use the full page translation option accessible from Vivaldi menu > Translate. To translate only some sections of the web page, you can use translation of selected text. The output of translation will be displayed in the Translate Panel.

To translate just a small block of text:

  1. Highlight the text you want to translate.
  2. Tap on Translate selection in the small menu that appears.

The Translate Panel will open with both the source text and the translation. If your selected text is very short, you may have to select the source language manually.

Translation history

To view past translations, tap on Show Translate History at the bottom of the panel.

Delete history

To delete all history:

  1. In the Translation Panel open the translation history.
  2. Tap on Clear Translate History above the list of history entries.

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Import events to Vivaldi Calendar

Import Calendar events (ICS file)

To import calendar files ending with an .ics extension that you have exported from other calendars, downloaded from the web (for example, local holiday calendars) or someone has shared with you:

  1. Go to the Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi menu > File > Import from Applications or Files.
  2. Select Calendar Events (ICS file).
  3. Click Choose a File.
  4. Find and open the file you have saved on your computer.
  5. Choose which calendar you want to add the events to.
    Alternatively, choose New calendar to create a new calendar for the imported events and give the new calendar a name
  6. Click Start Import.
  7. When the events have been imported, click OK, when you have nothing else to import or New Import, if you want to import more data.

When you have enabled Open ICS files in Vivaldi in Calendar Settings, you can import calendars by opening the .ics file

Import Calendar events from remote servers (iCal)

  1. Go to the Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi menu > File > Import from Applications or Files.
  2. Select Calendar events from Remote Servers (iCal).
  3. Enter the Remote ICS address.
  4. Choose which calendar you want to add the events to.
  5. Alternatively, choose New calendar to create a new calendar for the imported events and give the new calendar a name
  6. Click Start Import.
  7. When the events have been imported, click OK, when you have nothing else to import or New Import, if you want to import more data.

Add online Calendar accounts and calendars

To import and sync your online calendars with Vivaldi Calendar, go to Settings > Calendar > Calendar Accounts and add the accounts there. For more detailed instructions, take a look at the Help page about Adding and managing Calendar accounts.

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Troubleshooting issues in Vivaldi Calendar

If there’s something odd going on in Vivaldi Calendar, there are a few things you can do in order to troubleshoot the issue.

Missing events

If you don’t see an event you’ve added:

  • Make sure displaying the calendar’s events has been enabled.
    1. In the Calendar tab, click on Calendars in the top left corner.
    2. Make sure the calendars you want to see have been enabled.
  • Browse through different Calendar views to see if the event ended up on a different date.
  • Use Search to find the event.

When you don’t see events from an online calendar in Vivaldi Calendar:

  1. Go to Settings > Calendar > Calendar Accounts.
  2. Make sure the Calendar account has been properly set up.
  3. Then check Settings > Calendar > Calendars.
  4. Select the calendar you don’t see any events for.
  5. Make sure calendar sync is active.

Re-add an online calendar

If you’ve encountered issues with an online calendar, you can try whether removing and adding it again will help. Since the events are stored on the calendar service provider’s servers, there will be no data loss.

To remove an account:

  1. Go to Settings > Calendar > Calendar Accounts.
  2. Select the account that’s having issues.
  3. Click on Delete Account below the list of accounts to remove it.

To add an account:

  1. Click on Add account below the list of accounts.
  2. Choose the account type and fill in the necessary data.
  3. Finish with clicking Add Account.

Reset local calendar

If you don’t have any important data in Calendar, you can reset it by deleting the calendar database. Your local account and calendars will be deleted and online accounts with their calendars will be removed. Follow these steps to reset the Calendar:

  1. Go to the Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi menu > Help > About or type vivaldi://about in the Address Field.
  2. Make note of the Profile Path.
  3. Exit the browser.
  4. Locate the folder in your operating system’s File Manager/Finder.
  5. In the profile folder, find a file named Calendar.
    If you wish, you can make a backup of the database by making a copy of the file first.
  6. Then delete the Calendar file.
  7. Start the browser.
  8. Set up your calendar accounts and their calendars.

Check Calendar logs

To check Vivaldi Calendar’s logs for any errors:

  1. Click on the Calendar Status button on the Status Bar.
  2. In the popup, select Logs.

Some examples of errors that can be seen in logs:

  • Error synching updates to server. Changes not saved. – Likely a network issue.
  • Server error for account ‘[account name]’. – Contact the online calendar’s service provider.
  • Parser error – Invalid calendar data received or valid data that we have not added support for yet.

You can copy the logs or save them in a file to include them when reporting issues on the Forum or in a bug report.

The logs are cleared on browser restart. To get relevant logs go through the steps that cause the issue.

Importing events from an .ics file fails

Events from an .ics file can be imported via Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi menu > File > Import from Applications or Files. When it fails, it’s possible that file includes some invalid or corrupt content.

To see if the file is valid or whether there is a problem with it you can use a validator. For example, https://icalendar.org/validator.html.

To discuss Calendar issues with the team and expert users in the Community, find an ongoing discussion about the same issue or, if there aren’t any, create a new topic on our Forum.

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Inactive accounts

We encourage people to actively log in and use Vivaldi services when they register an account. To keep your account active, be sure to log in at least once every 6 months. Accounts and their contents may be permanently removed due to prolonged inactivity.

Determining inactivity

Inactivity is based on a combination of participating in community activities on Vivaldi Social, Forum, Blogs, Themes, using the browser’s Sync feature or webmail. Therefore, unconfirmed or mass-produced accounts without virtual practice in any of these community activities are also subject to permanent removal at any time. Please note that you may not be able to tell whether an account is currently inactive, as not all signs of account activity are publicly visible.

Keeping the account active

To keep your account active, log in to your Vivaldi account at least once every 6 months. A login to any of the following counts:

Email reminders

When an account is regarded as inactive and is in danger of deletion, we’ll send three warning emails to the account’s recovery email. With a couple of weeks between each email, you will have plenty of time to log in to your account. After the date given in the 3rd email, the account with all its data will be deleted.

That’s one of many reasons, why it’s important to keep the account’s recovery email up to date. You can review the recovery email and, if needed, update it on your account’s profile on Vivaldi.net. For detailed instructions, take a look at our Help page about updating Vivaldi account information.

Deleting inactive accounts

When the owner of the inactive account doesn’t log in before the given deadline the account and all its data will be permanently deleted.

For security reasons, we don’t recycle usernames, so the username will be lost too and a new account needs to be created with a different username. The recovery email that was linked to the account will become available again.

Restoring an inactive account

Once the account and data have been deleted, there is no way to recover neither the account nor the data. To use Vivaldi services, please create another account with a new username.

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Reading List Popup

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.

Though, there are similar services out there, Vivaldi’s Reading List doesn’t require an Extension nor do you need to sign up for an account.

Add a Reading List button to the User Interface

To add the button to one of the Toolbars:

  1. Go to the Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi Menu > View > Customize Toolbar.
  2. Drag the Reading List button to your preferred location on the Address Bar or Status Bar.

Then you can access and manage your Reading List from a popup

Section of the Address Bar showing the Reading List button.

Add pages to the Reading List

To add an open web page to the Reading List:

View and manage articles on the list

To open an article from the Reading List:

  1. Click on Show the Reading List on the Address Bar.
  2. Select an article you’d like to read.
  3. Click on the entry to open the article in a new tab.

Opened articles will be marked as read automatically and moved to the Read Articles section.

Vivaldi Window with the Reading List open showing a few added articles.

Mark articles as read / unread

To mark an article read without opening it:

  1. Click on Show the Reading List on the Address Bar.
  2. In the Unread Articles section, select an article you’d like to mark as read.
  3. Click on Mark as read.

To mark an article unread:

  1. Click on Show the Reading List on the Address Bar.
  2. In the Read Articles section, select an article you’d like to mark as unread.
  3. Click on Mark as unread.

Remove articles from Reading List

You can remove both unread and read articles from the Reading List. To do that:

  1. Click on Show the Reading List on the Address Bar.
  2. Select an article you’d like to remove from the list.
  3. Click on Remove from Reading List.

Sync Reading List

Saved pages in your Reading List can be synced with Vivaldi on your other devices. (Currently available only on desktop.)

To sync your reading list:

  1. Go to Settings > Sync.
  2. Log in to your Vivaldi account.
  3. Sync either all data or make sure Reading List is enabled, when syncing only selected data.

Lists from different devices will be merged when synced.

Reading List Panel

In addition to the Reading List popup, you can use the feature in a Panel. Find out more about it on the Help page about the Reading List Panel.

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