When did you start using Vivaldi and what’s your favourite feature?
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We’re putting together an important story about Vivaldi and would like to hear from as many of you as possible
So, how long ago did you start using Vivaldi, what is the one feature (or more!) you cannot live without and why? Do you have a cool story to tell us about you and Vivaldi?
Post your replies here and let’s see what happens
Content Manager @Vivaldi
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Since the early Technical Previews - that Envelope on the Web Panel.
Not necessary in this order:
1 - keyboard shortcuts
2 - quick commands
3 - tab switching in 3 different actions
4 - my lovely Notes
5 - mouse gestures
6 - Fkeys (set focus, for example)
7 - spatnav@olgaa said in When did you start using Vivaldi and what’s your favourite feature?:
Do you have a cool story to tell us about you and Vivaldi?
Yes. A short one: The envelope - inside there was a message "Mail is not available for Technical Preview". Everyday I clicked on the icon, It might be corny or silly, anyway works as a fuel"
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I think I've been using Vivaldi since Tp1 and tried to make it my main browser right after TP 2 - which pretty much failed for me but I couldn't stand Opera anymore so I wished for Vivaldi to be a fully functional browser so much. After all I can't say when Vivaldi became my main browser as after the first setback it was more of a slow process that it took over more and more of my online time. ^^
My favourite features are (the order is random)
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Tab tiling (thx btw for moveable borders) I need it for my work as I have to compare a lot of stuff from different sources - tiling just makes it a lot easier for me and makes it look and feel less hectic as I don't have to switch the tabs every few seconds
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The Quickcommands menu because it just speeds stuff up, my guess is that I do about 60-70% of the navigation via keyboard so this comes in quite handy
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Keyboardshortcuts for the same reason as I really like quick commands
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The full page capture feature - (at least as soon as it will work again) as this makes it easier for me to attach complete information from websites to documents that I need to make without creating a patchwork of screenshots
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Mousegestures not my most used option but I still love them for the times when I just casually surf the web and just click around - cup of coffee in one, the mouse in the other hand and there is no need to lower the cup to reach for the keyboard or make large ways with the cursor (in addition when you want to show somebody stuff on your pc this looks a bit like magic)
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Webpanels - I don't have very much of them but those are sites I visit on a regular basis (mail, company login site, weather and news, etc) and just don't want to search for them in my mess of tabs - hitting a shortcut have a look at it hitting shortcut again --> done
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I nearly forgot to add one feature to the list I use this often I barely notice it anymore as this not only an improvement to my workflow but my workflow is more or less based on this single feature: Customisable search engines
The only times I don't use them is when I click a link or enter an url directly into quickcommands filed or the address bar.
I use them for translations, searches, shopping, forums, work-stuff, news, videos, wikis, but most important the seat-availability-search of the local cinema ^^
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I was searching a really different browser based on chromium: gecko was too slow and I never liked FF anymore since the Australis UI (well, a bit before that).
Same for chrome and most chromiums. They are fast, but I don't like their "keep it simple" approach.I'd say I discovered around 1.0.2xx builds (beta/snasphot channel) and I always went with x64 build (which was experimental).
Most used browser since then -- main (and almost only) browser since 1.3 snapshot / 1.4 stable
Stable user from 1.4 to 1.9 (Of course, I was testing the snapshots too).
Snapshot user from 1.10 to now (Rarely opening the stable).Favourite features:
- Vertical tabs;
- Moddable User Interface (themes/mods);
- Vivaldi history;
- Search engines;
- Gestures;
- Screenshot tool.
Frequently used:
- Speed dial;
- Bookmark bar;
- Webpanels.
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Starting using Vivaldi when Firefox is gone (and using the Firefox when Opera is gone).
And favourite feature is: nonprimitivizm. Other browsers do not have this feature and trying to be simple. You know, when something want to become popular, it must be as primitive, as primitive the most of the people. And Vivaldi is not for popularity, it is for, let's say, professional users (more advanced than advanced), which are always in minority just because of the laws of physics and biology. -
Since September 2016.
The features I couldn't live without are :- Clean and smooth UI -> I'm a visual person so this is really important for me
- Web panels -> so handy and powerful to have this. Don't need to open the websites again and again and the experience with the web panels is much more powerful than using regular pinned tabs
- Tabs stacks -> really important to have when you have a lot of tabs open
- Session manager -> while using the browser for different needs (research, study, etc.) it's a must to have the possibility to have different sessions
- Possibility to change the UI (themes, scheduled themes, window background image, speed dial, etc.) -> love to feel at home...
- Capture -> when you want to help others on the forum, it's easier to have this feature directly accessible instead of having to go through an intermediate software like Paint
- Tab features -> on a daily basis, it really changes the browser experience.
A cool story about me and Vivaldi? The Vivaldi forum is a cool story
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I first used vivaldi in one of the beta versions (more than 2 years ago, can't quite place the moment now) because I was looking for a browser that could do tab stacking out of the box. It didn't quite work for me at the time, so I quickly forgot about it (I think my main issue was with no tab dragging).
About a year ago, disappointed with the lack of customization in Opera's side panels (which just seemed to be going for whatever messengers they chose to support and nothing else), I decided to check out the browser scene again and figure out if there was a better browser for me. I was delighted to find out that Vivaldi had customizeable webpanels (actually, it already had when I first found out about it, but since I hadn't felt the need to integrate them in my workflow yet, I hadn't payed any attention to them). I started using Vivaldi as my main browser for a while and it quickly took its place as my main browser.
My favorite features:
- webpanels and tab tiling - I check my feeds all the time at a glance, as that is my main side panel. But I also use webpanels for some quick tools like translation, google keep, dictionary, contacts, etc. I now have my most used web tools available at a click of a mouse button and always ready to be used. And for those cases when a panel is not in order or enough, or for when I want to view several videos at once, tab tiling comes to the rescue.
- tab stacking and advanced tab management - I love being able to select multiple tabs and do stuff with them. Or to be able to select all that I want to come back to later and stack them in one place to remove the clutter. Or to drag stuff from one window to another or to another tab stack... It's usability done right.
- UI customization - Vivaldi programmed the browser, but I turned it into my browser, thanks to the endless customization combinations they built into it. I have the interface I like, the way I like and that works best for me. Not the way that others think works best for the majority of the (non pro) users out there. It also gives me the opportunity to change to a new browser whenever I feel like trying something different, without actually changing browser: like putting the tabs on the side, because I keep having trouble reading them and I want to see if that'll help; or bringing back those rewind and fast forward buttons only because I used to use them a lot in Opera many years ago and want to see if I can get used to them again... or simply by having the browser changing color with every website that I visit - I never get bored with using the same old application, that's for sure.
- quick commands to quickly switch between tabs, when I can't see the one I'm looking for or when I'm too lazy to stretch my arm to reach for the mouse. Or for when I actually need some (obscure) feature that I hid away because I thought I would never use it. And sometimes to find out about features I didn't even know the browser had. Who would have thought that all the pages (new and old) and commands could be an F2 key press away - that's just genius!
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I've been using Vivaldi since TP2. Before then I'd been an Opera user ever since version 3 and, having been spoiled by the old Opera browsers, I couldn't believe how many basic features were missing in other browsers when I was forced to use them. So, after the demise of old Opera, Vivaldi gave me a lot of hope and I've enjoyed being on-board since (near) the beginning and seeing it improve over time.
I enjoy having customisation options in general but the one feature I really couldn't live without is customisable keyboard shortcuts - as boring as that sounds it's something that's so often missed in modern browsers yet so useful to a power user.
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I used Firefox, but I have vivaldi since its first version, because I always liked browsers. Vivaldi came captivating me with every update, and between mid-2015 and 2016 I already used Vivaldi more than firefox. And from then to here was my standard browser until today, and I believe it will be forever. Because its stability, speed and user experience is the best. Not to mention the sidebar that helps a lot in the tasks to be done. I use it on my Linux and Windows. But I already used it on the Mac as well and did not leave anything to be desired on any platform. Congratulations to Team Vivaldi.
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June 2018 – I knew about Vivaldi few months earlier, but when I installed it, it was immediately my default browser.
What I really like?
- webpanels (translate.google.com, V forum)
- themes
- adress bar and tabs positioning (adress bar ↓, tabs →)
- settings are simple and I can find anything I want in few seconds (better than e.g. Firefox where are many controls in one page)
- speed dial
And if you want cool story, use Vivaldi and you have it
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First time using Vivaldi: December 14, 2016
I have multiple browsers installed, each one for dedicated tasks: one for Web design work, one for online marketing, one for my music career, and one for personal recreational stuff (email, Facebook, etc). This allows me to keep bookmarks and features specific to each need well organized and separate from one another.
In 2016 I had been using Maxthon as my music browser for three years, and had no problems with it until I read about some sketchy practices by the developers regarding privacy and such. So off to Google I went to find a new one. There was a review site that reviewed 5 different browsers, and Vivaldi (the perfect name for a musician's browser) was one that I'd never heard of before.
So I did some research for a few hours, and found surprisingly few (almost none!) negatives about it. So I installed it to see how it looked and performed. I was gobsmacked! Very short learning curve and I had it set up with all my imported bookmarks and settings very quickly. No guessing games or multiple trips to Google to figure it out! And it was a good-looking browser as well.
There were a couple things that I had to ask about in the forums, but for the most part it was like I'd always been using it. Comfortable from the start.The one feature I couldn't live without is the bookmarks bar. Even though every browser has one, if Vivaldi did not, I would have to go elsewhere in spite of all its other greatness. While Speed Dial is cool and useful, I never actually use it. The bookmarks bar is always immediately there (no need to open a new tab or sidebar to reach it), and therefore a faster and more convenient/efficient tool for me.
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I am using it for longer than a year now and I love the personalization and the organization options. Especially the Speed Dial customization options are great, I enjoy creating my own design for the websites! Ever since my friend suggested it to me, I kept using it. I sometimes tried different browsers to see if they were good, but I have always come back. No browser suits me better than Vivaldi!
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Vivaldi first showed its face to the world on 27 January, 2015. It took me several hours to become aware of it, so I didn't download and install it until several hours later - on 27 January 2015.
I had up until that time been using Opera for the prior 16 years or so, but had become disenchanted with it when it abandoned its original emphasis on versatility and configurability. When Opera switched engines from Presto to Blink it ceased to be "my" browser and became one adhering to simplicity for "the masses." Literally millions of Opera users seemed to feel the same way I did, and either fled to another harbor or hung on in desperation hoping the old Opera would make a comeback on the new engine. I was one of these latter. Then on the Opera blog, someone mentioned that Jon S Von Tetzchner (co-founder of Opera who had parted ways with the company a couple of years or so before) had introduced Vivaldi to the world, so I had to go look.
It was like putting on an old pair of shoes. Comfort and familiarity. The new browser was still pretty rudimentary, but it came right out of the gate with options that I had been missing dearly for the whole time I had been using the "new" Opera, and which had seemed impossible to implement (or forbidden by the new management to implement) using the Chromium-based engine. Jon's new browser had struck a chord with me on the first try.
I'm a user who, through curiosity and long familiarity, pretty much gets how the web and browsers work, but who still has my habits and my "comfort zone" and does not stray far from what is familiar to me, preferring the low-effort mode of trying to stick to what I'm used to. In that light, though Vivaldi in its fourth year is already miles ahead of other browsers in the adaptations it CAN make to user preference, the things that are my favorite features are still those that I loved in the old Opera, and that the new Opera took from me:
Compliance to my personal preferences in appearance and workflow, and the ability to see/not-see and use/not-use what I want. I have my bookmarks toolbar at the top showing icons only, just as I like, and I have my tabs arranged vertically on the right, just as I like. I have a color scheme (theme) and background image that suit me. I have the few mouse gestures that I use, and they work as I expect. I have the colors, shapes and backgrounds that I like in the UI, and can change them at will if I get bored. If I want any of these items to be different from the way I see them now, I CAN!! This makes it so that I can retain a quiet mind, adapting the browser to me, and not vice-versa. As someone who works and pursues my livelihood in. my. browser. all day every day, it is hard to overestimate the value of comfort and ease within that environment. I'll stop now.
But when did I start to use it? On its first day of release over three and half years ago. What is my favorite feature? Configurability. My stress level is reduced using Vivaldi. Hence, I will probably live longer.
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Been a steady user since 1.13 I think.
Favorite features:
Web Panels (I'm watching the live Brook Falls bear cam via Youtube while I'm typing this.)
Customizable Keyboard shortcuts
Notes
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My first time with Vivaldi was mid August 2016. I was disgusted with both Chrome and Firefox and bored. So I Googled "web browsers" and found Vivaldi. Did some research and found very few bad reviews. Downloaded and installed Vivaldi. Discovered "this was different" and did some poking around. While poking around I found a browser that exists for the user not for stock holders. The more I poked around the more questions I had. Thankfully there is this forum.
What I like; 1) Configurable, 2) Easy on resources, 3) Fast, 4) Speed Dial, 4) Tab Tiling, 5) Tab Pinning 6) Appearance,
7) Options, Options, Options -
Like @Ayespy , I've also been using Vivaldi since the first public Technical Preview.
Back in 2015, it was a dark time in the world of web browsers. Opera had completely changed direction, Firefox was in decline (and I detested the Australis UI), Google Chrome was eating up market share, and desktop web browsers were seeking feature parity with stripped-down mobile browsers. There were no longer any good cross-platform web browsers out there that catered to advanced desktop users.
Then came Vivaldi. It was different. It was built differently. It was designed with a completely different philosophy that put its users and usability first. Right from the start, it strived to set itself apart from the rest of the pack. In the beginning, Vivaldi was very rough (who builds a browser without a Bookmarks menu?!?) but it clearly had a lot of promise. It respected platform conventions; it was the only alternative browser on macOS that put the "close button" on the left side of the tab. Most importantly, @jon and the core development team were innovators; they invented many (most?) of the modern features (that other browsers copied) that we take for granted today, and they continue their legacy of innovation to this day... all while respecting their users and putting privacy above all else.
It's hard to pick a specific favourite feature. The Vivaldi browser is simply a delight to use. It has the power of Chromium but was built with privacy in mind. It comes bundled with features that work well together without the need for extensions... but can be further enhanced by installing extensions if required. It's easy to customize and configure to accommodate my needs and preferences. I can browse with it using only a mouse, and I can also browse with it without taking my hands off the keyboard. I love how easy it is to customize the Theme to my liking, and I also constantly use features like Tab Stacks and Tab Tiling. There's no other web browser like it.
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I have been using Vivaldi for four days. I have used Firefox ever since it came out in the 90s. I am moving away from Mozilla and Firefox because of their "Internet Trust Initiative" which, as far as I'm concerned, is censorship. I want a free, open, uncensored web.
So far, I am most enjoying the start page, with its nested folders and the ability to use custom images for the web sites.
I thought the stacked tabs would be great, until I found that they are not persistent. Next, I'm going to investigate the web panels; they might give me what I was looking for from stacked tabs.
My biggest problem, so far, is that bold text on some web pages is indistinguishable from normal text. I have asked about this in the community forum, but I haven't found a solution yet.
Happy surfing, everyone!
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@nomoremozilla Welcome into the Vivaldi family
Thanks for sharing about Mozilla's Information Trust Initiative. I wasn't aware of it... scary.
About the tabs stack, what do you mean by "not persistent"? -
@ornorm said in When did you start using Vivaldi and what’s your favourite feature?:
About the tabs stack, what do you mean by "not persistent"?
I was hoping I could create a tab stack of related pages, then close everything, open Vivaldi later, then re-open the tab stack, I suppose by some kind of naming mechanism.
I know I can leave the tab stack open, close Vivaldi, and reopen Vivaldi with the tab stack still open, but I'm not the type who wants many tabs open all the time.
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@nomoremozilla Right-click on a tab-stack to bookmark it. You can also save sessions from the File menu.
