Putting Chrome in full-screen mode is a great way to maximize screen space, but that hides the tabs. Annoyingly, moving the mouse to the top of the screen doesn’t show them, either. There are other ways to switch tabs.
Unlike Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, and other browsers, Google Chrome does not reveal the tabs when you put the mouse at the top of the screen in full-screen mode. This is a strange oversight, but you don’t have to press F11 to leave full-screen mode every time you want to switch tabs.
RELATED: How to Enable and Disable Full-Screen Mode in Microsoft Edge
There are four keyboard shortcuts to know when it comes to switching tabs in Google Chrome.
For Windows, Chrome OS, and Linux, use these keyboard shortcuts
Ctrl+1-8: Use this keyboard combo to switch to a specific tab–numbered from the left. It only works for the first 8 tabs open. Ctrl+9: No matter how many tabs you have open, this will take you to the tab farthest from the left. Ctrl+Tab or Ctrl+Page Down: Switches to the next tab to the left. Ctrl+Shift+Tab or Ctrl+Page Up: Switches to the next tab to the right.
On a Mac, use these shortcuts:
Command+1-8: Use this keyboard combo to switch to a specific tab–numbered from the left. It only works for the first 8 tabs open. Command+9: No matter how many tabs you have open, this will take you to the tab farthest from the left. Command+Option+Right Arrow: Switches to the next tab to the left. Command+Option+Left Arrow: Switches to the next tab to the right.
All you have to do is use these shortcuts to move around between tabs. You can get an idea of how the tabs are numbered in the image above. It does require remembering where your tabs are—which can be hard when you can’t see them at all—but it does work.
We’re really not sure why Chrome doesn’t behave like other browsers in full-screen mode, but at least you have options. Now you can go and fix some of Chrome’s other annoyances.
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