Google Chrome: how to activate and use tab search

For several months, Google has been testing the possibility of launching a search in the tabs open within Google Chrome. This new feature, already present in the Windows version of the browser, is not activated by default. To take advantage of it, it is necessary to carry out a small manipulation that is fairly simple to implement.

Download Google Chrome for Windows (Free)
Download 64-bit Google Chrome for Windows (Free)

Once this task is completed, you will see a new button appear next to the button to open a new tab. This drop-down menu will allow you to explore the tabs by list, but above all to launch a search by keyword to quickly find a tab embedded in the middle of dozens of others. Find out how to take advantage of it today.

1. Go to the properties

From the Windows taskbar, right-click on the Chrome icon, then in the pop-up menu that appears, right-click on the Chrome icon a second time to open the Properties window.

2. Add an instruction

In the Properties window, go to the Shortcut tab, then in the Target field, add a space at the end of the line and insert the following statement:

-enable-features = TabSearch

Then click on Apply, then on OK to validate the changes.

If Chrome is open, close the browser. To make sure that no more Chrome-related processes are active in the background, open Windows Task Manager using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Alt + Del, then if any Chrome processes are still running despite closing the browser, right-click on them, and choose End Task to close the process.

3. Use the tab search

When you restart Chrome, you should see a new button appear next to the button to open a new tab. Clicking on this drop-down menu will display the list of tabs open in the browser.

You can then enter any keyword in the search field provided for this purpose so that Chrome automatically highlights the corresponding tab. Note that you can also use the tab search using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + A.