Last month we investigated browsers that could speed up your work. This month, Nik Rawlinson finds ten extensions for Chrome holdouts
Supercharge Chrome & Edge with these
Chrome is the most popular web browser in the world, and there are good reasons for that: it’s not only underpinned by one of the biggest names on the net, it’s supported by an active community of extension developers. A huge library of extensions massively increases the range of tasks that Chrome can accomplish, making it as much a productivity platform as it is a window on the web.
Here’s our pick of ten essential extensions that can save you time and enhance your web experience, whether you’re a casual browser, a power user or an online professional. You don’t even have to be using Chrome to make use of them – you can also install Chrome extensions in Microsoft Edge to get the exact same benefits (see pcpro.link/350edge). If you have your own suggestions to add to the list, let us know at letters@pcpro.co.uk.
1 Extension Manager
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There are hundreds of thousands of Chrome extensions in existence – some on the Chrome Web Store, others distributed via GitHub or personal websites. While the browser might have no trouble dealing with dozens of extensions, it can quickly get confusing when you need to navigate them yourself.
That’s why the first extension you install should be an extension manager. There are several to choose from, but we’ve opted for the simply named Extension Manager on account of its quick and easy management tools.
Extension Manager lets you browse your installed extensions in a list or grid, import and export extension lists, and customise the layout of the manager, with control over icon size, columns, and light and dark UI options.
Where Extension Manager really comes into its own is its ability to switch between extension sets depending on what you’re doing. Just open the manager’s settings and click Group in the sidebar to start setting up extension groups; you might have one for home and another for work, or you could create task-focused groups for writing, video calls, online shopping and so on. Each group gets its own tab on the dashboard; click through the tabs, then click on the icons for each extension that should be included in that group. Once you’ve set up your groups, you can instantly switch between them using the dropdown menu in the Manager panel. You can also create rules that automatically enable or disable extensions when you visit a specified d
