You can do a lot with a Chromebook. Why are you just scratching the surface? Improve your user experience with the latest Chromebook hacks!
The Chromebook has been with us for nearly a decade now, and anywhere you can connect to the Wi-Fi, these no-fuss laptops have provided user-friendly web browsing for millions of users.
Over the years, Google has quietly added many great features to the Chromebook operating system.
Do you own a Chromebook? Are you getting the most out of it?
In this article, we’ll be sharing some of the best Chromebook hacks so that you can get the best out of yours.
Work Offline
Chromebooks used to have a slight flaw — if you weren’t connected to the internet, you couldn’t do anything with it. That’s no longer the case; many apps are providing the ability to work offline.
There is now a selection of different apps that will work offline. The most commonly used apps are Gmail and Drive.
To enable offline support for your Chromebook, all you need to do is go to your Google Drive, click on the settings icon, and then check the ‘Offline’ option.
To access Gmail offline, click on the settings icon in Gmail and then go to the ‘Offline’ tab and click on ‘Enable Offline Mail,’
To find out which other apps have offline functionality, head to the Chrome Web Store, and click on the ‘Runs Offline’ option. This will filter the results to just include apps that will work without Wi-Fi.
Use Android Apps
Although the Chrome and Andriod operating systems are both made by Google, users may be unaware that you can use the Android store from a Chromebook. This will give you access to a whole host of different Andriod apps.
To get the app store on your Chromebook, follow these steps:
- Click on the status area in the bottom right corner of your screen
- Click the settings icon
- Click on the Google Play Store button
- Agree to the terms of service in the pop-up
- Then the Play Store will open, and the app will install
Once you have the Play Store installed on your Chromebook, you’ll be able to enjoy all of your favorite android apps very easily.
Use Voice Dictation
You may not realize it, but your Chromebook will let you carry out voice dictation. By dictating, you’ll be able to save yourself a lot of time and effort when it comes to typing long documents.
To use voice dictation, simply head to Google Docs, then hit the ‘Tools′ menu and select ‘Voice Typing.’ A new window will appear with a picture of a microphone, press on the microphone, and you can start talking.
Unlock Your Chromebook With an Android
While you can unlock your Chromebook easily using a password or PIN number, it is also possible to do this using an Andriod smartphone. With this option set up, your Chromebook will automatically unlock whenever the paired device is nearby and unlocked.
Head to the bottom right and click on the status area, click on the settings icon, and then select ‘Connected Devices.’ Then, under Android phone, select ‘Set up.’
You’ll need to make sure that your phone’s Bluetooth is switched on.
Select your Android device from the dropdown of available devices, enter your Google password, and hit ‘done.’
Enable Flash Player on Chrome
From 2020, Adobe Flash Player will no longer be supported on Google Chrome. There are several reasons for the demise of the multimedia plugin, which has been around for the last 24 years. Security concerns are one issue; the advent of HTML5 is another.
For those that want to view legacy content such as classic videos and games, fear not; there are Chromebook tricks that will let you set up Flash on your device. You can do this through your Chrome settings.
You can find full instructions on setting up Flash on Chrome right here: https://setapp.com/how-to/enable-flash-player-on-chrome.
Print From Anywhere
Google Cloud Print is a handy service that allows you to print from wherever you are as long as you’ve got a connected printer set up. It doesn’t matter whether or not the printer is connected to your current network.
To set your Chromebook up to print, go https://www.google.com/cloudprint then select ‘Printers’ from the menu on the left. Any previously set up printers will be visible. If you need to set up a new printer, click on ‘add a cloud-ready printer.’
Once you’ve done this, you’ll be able to see the printer from all of your ‘Print’ menus, and you can select it from any Chrome web browser whenever you’re signed in.
Get a List of Keyboard Shortcuts
If you’re using your Chromebook a lot, there are plenty of keyboard shortcuts that can help speed things up for you. The problem with keyboard shortcuts is how to find them all out.
Fortunately, there are Chromebook tips and tricks that let you find these out easily.
Simply press “Ctrl, Alt, and ?” and you’ll be met with a full list of all of the available shortcuts. This will save you hunting through the entire internet learning all of the different Chromebook shortcuts.
Working at Night
When working at night on your laptop, the blue light emitted by the screen can affect your sleeping patterns. Fortunately, Chromebook has a way around this with its own night light mode that limits your exposure to blue light.
To set this up, head to the status area on the bottom right corner, select the settings icon, and go to ‘Device’ and then ‘Display.’ From here, you’ll be able to schedule the night light option to come into effect, or you can switch it on and off.
What Are Your Favorite Chromebook Hacks?
Of course, there are a great many more Chromebook hacks out there. What are your favorite tricks?
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