Two Tips for Using Google Chrome

Do you use Google's Chrome as your browser? If you do, there are two tips you should know to make using it easier. Before we look at these two tips, let's take a look at a website and get to know some of the features that we will be using.

Chrome Window

In this screenshot, I'm looking at the Legacy Webinars website. The website is in my browser window. In this case, I only have one website open but I could have multiple tabs in one window. At the top right are three horizontal dots that when clicked, reveal a drop-down menu. At the top left is the tab with the title of the website, and next to it is the button to click to open a new tab "+".  At the bottom is a toolbar with the Google Chome logo.

#1 Opening the Closed Browser Tab

The first tip is one that I use quite a bit. I'm one of those people who opens way too many browser tabs as I research. And then, I get so caught up in researching and stop paying attention to what I'm doing that I accidentally close a  tab with a website I'm using.  What can you do if you close a tab before you want to?

There are three ways you can reopen that closed browser tab. First, you can simply use a keyboard shortcut, in this case, CTRL + Shift + T.

Or you can hover your mouse and click the right-click button where the "+" sign appears in the browser.

Google chrome reopen closed

Finally, you can click on the three dots to the upper right of the browser, and then in the drop-down menu, hover your mouse over the word History and you will see a history of the websites you've looked at. Choose "Recently Closed."

Three dots google chrome

Now that dread of losing the web page you were using is gone.

#2 Focusing your Search with More than One Window

Let's go back to this problem of having too many open browser tabs. When I'm on the computer I typically am multitasking which means I'm working on genealogy but I'm also taking a look at other websites. Perhaps you multitask. Maybe you're checking social media, researching that new refrigerator you need, or mapping out your research trip. All of those open browser tabs make it challenging to focus on just one project, and you may have so many browser tabs open that you lose sight of which one is for which website.

One way to focus is by opening another window. You can have more than one window open and keep your genealogy research in one  and all your  other tasks in another. Thus lessening how many browser tabs you have open.

Google chrome move to another window

To do this, click on the New Tab button "+" at the top to open a new browser tab. Enter the URL or conduct a search. Now that the website is open right-click on the browser tab. This will open a drop-down menu. One of the choices is "Move tab to another window." By clicking on that, your website will go to another window.

Now, to access that other window, go to your toolbar (most likely at the bottom of your screen), where it shows the Chrome icon, and hover your mouse. Your windows will appear, and you can click on the one you want to use.

Browsers Do More than Search

Browsers have all kinds of options to make searching and finding websites easier. If you need more help with Google Chrome, see Google Chrome Help.

 

Gena Philibert-Ortega is an author, instructor, and researcher. She blogs at Gena's Genealogy and Food.Family.Ephemera. You can find her presentations on the Legacy Family Tree Webinars website.

 

 


New TechZone Video - Customize Your Google Chrome Homepage by Gena Philibert-Ortega

New TechZone Video - Customize Your Google Chrome Homepage by Gena Philibert-Ortega

We're pleased to offer Legacy Family Tree Webinar members a new, short ten minute or less TechZone video just for them! This week enjoy "Customize Your Google Chrome Homepage" by Gena Philibert-Ortega.

Customize Your Google Chrome Homepage

In this TechZone video learn how to customize your Google Chrome homepage to add a background image, add recipe cards or add shortcuts.

_WatchVideo

About the Presenter

Gena Philibert-Ortega holds a Master's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies (Psychology and Women's Studies) and a Master's degree in Religion. Presenting on various subjects      Gena Philibert-Ortegainvolving genealogy, women's studies, and social history, Gena has spoken to groups throughout the United States as well as virtually to audiences worldwide. Gena is the author of hundreds of articles published in genealogy newsletters and magazines including FGS Forum, APG Quarterly, Internet Genealogy, Family Chronicle, Family Tree Magazine, GenWeekly and the WorldVitalRecords newsletter. Her writings can also be found on her blogs, Gena's Genealogy and Food.Family.Ephemera. She is the author of the books, From The Family Kitchen (F + WMedia, 2012), Cemeteries of the Eastern Sierra (Arcadia Publishing, 2007) and Putting the Pieces Together. Gena is the editor of the Utah Genealogical Association's journal Crossroads. An instructor for the National Institute for Genealogical Studies, Gena has written courses about social media and Google. She serves as a board member of the Utah Genealogical Association. Her current research interests include women's social history, community cookbooks, signature quilts and researching women's lives using material artifacts. Gena Philibert-Ortega is the author of IDG's monthly column, Remember the Ladies: Researching Your Female Ancestor. 

See all the webinars and videos by Gena Philibert-Ortega in the Legacy library.
 
Not a member yet?

Legacy Family Tree Webinars provides genealogy education where-you-are through live and recorded online webinars and videos. Learn from the best instructors in genealogy including Thomas MacEntee, Judy Russell, J. Mark Lowe, Lisa Louise Cooke, Tom Jones, and many more. Learn at your convenience. On-demand classes are available 24 hours a day! All you need is a computer or mobile device with an Internet connection.

Subscribe today and get access to this members-only TechZone video AND all of this:

  • All 1,668 classes in the library 
  • 6,171 pages of instructors' handouts
  • Chat logs from the live webinars
  • Additional 5% off anything at FamilyTreeWebinars.com
  • Chance for a bonus subscribers-only door prize during each live webinar
  • Additional members-only webinars

It's just $49.95/year.


New TechZone Video - How to Prevent Gmail from Going to Your Spam Folder by Marian Pierre-Louis

New TechZone Video - How to Prevent Gmail from Going to Your Spam Folder by Marian Pierre-Louis

Every Friday we're pleased to offer Legacy Family Tree Webinar members a new, short ten minute or less TechZone video just for them! This Friday enjoy "How to Prevent Gmail from Going to Your Spam Folder" by Marian Pierre-Louis.

How to Prevent Gmail from Going to Your Spam Folder

Sometimes a Gmail that you want to receive ends up in your spam folder. We can prevent that from happening by using filters. Marian Pierre-Louis shows you how to set up the filter for specific email addresses.

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About the Presenter

Marian Pierre-LouisMarian Pierre-Louis is a genealogy professional who specializes in educational outreach through webinars, internet broadcasts and video. Her areas of expertise include house history research, southern New England research and solving brick walls. Marian is the host of the Genealogy Professional Podcast. She has also produced and hosted 100 episodes of Fieldstone Common, a history podcast. Marian is the Online Education Producer for Legacy Family Tree Webinars where she produces online genealogy education classes. Once a month you'll find her as the evening host of Legacy Family Tree Webinars.

See all the webinars and videos by Marian Pierre-Louis in the Legacy library.
 
Not a member yet?

Legacy Family Tree Webinars provides genealogy education where-you-are through live and recorded online webinars and videos. Learn from the best instructors in genealogy including Thomas MacEntee, Judy Russell, J. Mark Lowe, Lisa Louise Cooke, Tom Jones, and many more. Learn at your convenience. On-demand classes are available 24 hours a day! All you need is a computer or mobile device with an Internet connection.

Subscribe today and get access to this BONUS members-only webinar AND all of this:

  • All 1,655 classes in the library 
  • 6,153 pages of instructors' handouts
  • Chat logs from the live webinars
  • Additional 5% off anything at FamilyTreeWebinars.com
  • Chance for a bonus subscribers-only door prize during each live webinar
  • Additional members-only webinars

It's just $49.95/year.


New TechZone Video - Get it Together! 5 Tips to Make Google Calendar Work for You by Cheri Hudson Passey

2021-05-07-gmail-facebook

Every Friday we're pleased to offer Legacy Family Tree Webinar members a new short ten minute or less TechZone video just for them! This Friday enjoy "Get it Together! 5 Tips to Make Google Calendar Work for You" by Cheri Hudson Passey.

Get it Together! 5 Tips to Make Google Calendar Work for You

These 5 Google Calendar tips will have your calendar organized in no time!

_WatchVideo


About the Presenter

Cheri Hudson PasseyCheri Hudson Passey is a Professional Genealogist, Instructor, Writer, and Speaker and the owner of Carolina Girl Genealogy, LLC. Cheri is the host of the genealogy chat show GenFriends and is a genealogical researcher, subcontracted by Eagle Investigative Services, Inc., for the US Army Past Conflict Repatriations Branch. 

See all the webinars and videos by Cheri Hudson Passey in the Legacy library.
 
Not a member yet?

Legacy Family Tree Webinars provides genealogy education where-you-are through live and recorded online webinars and videos. Learn from the best instructors in genealogy including Thomas MacEntee, Judy Russell, J. Mark Lowe, Lisa Louise Cooke, Tom Jones, and many more. Learn at your convenience. On-demand classes are available 24 hours a day! All you need is a computer or mobile device with an Internet connection.

Subscribe today and get access to this BONUS members-only webinar AND all of this:

  • All 1,510 classes in the library 
  • 5,777 pages of instructors' handouts
  • Chat logs from the live webinars
  • Additional 5% off anything at FamilyTreeWebinars.com
  • Chance for a bonus subscribers-only door prize during each live webinar
  • Additional members-only webinars

It's just $49.95/year.


New Gmail Tools to Help with Genealogy Tasks and Correspondence

There are all kinds of reasons to use Gmail for your email. I have long recommended to genealogists to use an online email account so that a change in internet providers won't change your email address. This is so important if we want researchers to be able to find us over the years. I'm a big fan of Gmail and the following new additions are just some of the reasons why. 

Send That Email to Tasks

There's a new icon found at the top left of Gmail. You might have seen it, it looks like a circle with a check mark. So what does this new feature do? It allows you to send an email link to your Tasks list (on the right-hand side of Gmail). You can then add information to that task. So now you have the the link to the email and additional information in your tasks so that you don't forget what needs to be done. 

Tasks

So how does this benefit your family history research? Let’s say a cousin emailed you asking for a copy of your grandparent’s marriage certificate. With their email open, click on the Add to Tasks icon and this will send a link to that email to your Tasks list. Next to that link you can type Send Grandparent’s Marriage Certificate this week. This way you have the information in your task list reminding you what you need to do and you have a link to the email that it involves.

Customize Your Signature

You may have known that Gmail allows you to create a custom “signature” that appears at the end of all your outgoing emails. This is terrific for customizing the “look” of your emails depending on if they are going to DNA matches, your family, volunteer endeavors or work. So for example, my email signature includes my name and that I am the author of the book, From the Family Kitchen, along with the URL for my food history blog. But sometimes the signature you want for one email isn’t what you want for another.

Now Gmail allows you to have multiple signatures and to choose which one to use when you send or reply to an email. To use this feature, go to the Gear icon at the top right of Gmail.

Gear

In that drop-down menu, choose Settings and then General. Scroll down and you will see Signature on the left-hand side. This is where you can customize each signature you want.

Signature Settings

Consider creating a few different signatures that reflect your genealogy interests such as the surnames or places you are researching. If you are a board member of your society, create one with your contact information and title.

Signature

Now when you write or reply to an email, you will see a pen at the bottom. Click this to choose which signature you want to appear in the email. You also have the option to choose no signature.

Email tools

Pay careful attention to that bottom tool bar to the right of the Send button. There’s also a new option that allows you to set emails as confidential which can restrict what the recipient can do with that email (forward, copy, print). That menu also includes the options to attach items to your email and to utilize various formatting features such as bold and bullet points.

Schedule Your Emails

There is one more feature I want to show you that you will want to take advantage of. Imagine you’re working on a family reunion and you want to plan ahead. You have an email for your family but you are getting ready to leave for vacation and won't be able to send it next week when you want to. 

Send

No problem! Write the email now and then schedule it to be sent while you are away. After you write the email, instead of just clicking the Send button, click on the down arrow next to Send. Now, click on Schedule Send. You will then see a box that will suggest three times in the future to send your email or you can pick your own date and time.

Gmail has so many great features and best of all you can customize it depending on how you use it. Check the Legacy TechZone for more tips and tricks for using Gmail and other Google products.

 

Gena Philibert-Ortega is an author, instructor, and researcher. She blogs at Gena's Genealogy and Food.Family.Ephemera. You can find her presentations on the Legacy Family Tree Webinars website.