Vivaldi for choice?
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Vivaldi was suggested to me as the browser that offers ultimate customization and flexibility, allowing you to change virtually everything about it. Unfortunately, upon installing, I found out that that was hardly the case. Maybe I don't know how to use it, but after going through all the settings and right-clicking everywhere, I found it to be lacking some functionality that I assumed was basic, like the ability to hide the search bar, reduce the size of the address bar and show extensions of choice next to the address bar. A̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶i̶t̶l̶e̶ ̶b̶a̶r̶?̶ ̶W̶h̶y̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶ ̶o̶p̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶r̶e̶m̶o̶v̶e̶ ̶i̶t̶?̶ ̶P̶a̶g̶e̶ ̶t̶i̶t̶l̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶a̶b̶ ̶b̶a̶r̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶m̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶n̶ ̶e̶n̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶m̶e̶,̶ ̶i̶n̶s̶t̶e̶a̶d̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶E̶V̶E̶N̶ ̶M̶O̶R̶E̶ ̶s̶c̶r̶e̶e̶n̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶l̶ ̶e̶s̶t̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶(̶m̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶t̶e̶f̶u̶l̶ ̶a̶d̶d̶r̶e̶s̶s̶ ̶b̶a̶r̶ ̶l̶a̶t̶e̶r̶)̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶p̶r̶i̶o̶r̶i̶t̶y̶ ̶w̶h̶e̶n̶ ̶g̶o̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶m̶i̶n̶i̶m̶a̶l̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶a̶p̶p̶e̶a̶r̶a̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶y̶e̶t̶ ̶r̶i̶c̶h̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶f̶e̶a̶t̶u̶r̶e̶s̶.̶ (I noticed that the title bar is gone when the tab bar is positioned at the top, which does the trick, although it would have been nice to be able to hide it regardless of where the tab bar is.) I came to Vivaldi ready to ditch Chrome. Opera, which offers all the features and customizability imaginable, unfortunately has trouble displaying some webpages, which is why I kept shifting back towards Chrome (that, as well as the seamless integration of translation on any non-English page). I was hoping Vivaldi would be the best of both worlds, but sadly it seems more like a compromise between both. Hell, Opera even has a special "webstore" for side panel apps (aside from its main webstore for compatible extensions). Granted that's not a big deal, but it's nice to have a mini-Instagram/Facebook feed on the side while doing whatever it is you're doing. Which is why I find it so shocking that Vivaldi is dubbed the "browser of customization" over Opera, when Vivaldi offers very little customization, it's just more "in your face" as soon as you install it. I'll be uninstalling Vivaldi now because the address bar is just too wasteful to me. I don't use the search bar, making the entire address bar just that- nothing but an address bar, instead of being also the place where I can have access to my favorite extensions. I decided to post here before uninstalling it due to the amount of promise that Vivaldi holds. If these issues ever get resolved, I'd be more than happy to finally embrace Vivaldi and get rid of Chrome. Until then, I guess I'm still stuck with Chrome.
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If by serach bar, you mean the search field in the Address Bar, then you can remove it
Tools/Settings/Search - Search field in Address BarThe customisation and flexibility is something that is still being worked on and improved.
Remember, Vivaldi is "only" at version 1.2 - the devs are still introducing new features/customisation all the time.If it doesn't suit you at the moment and you don't wish to try and influence the direction Vivaldi takes (with feature requests etc) then that is OK.
I suggest you keep an eye open for the release of Vivaldi 1.3
When it appears you might be a lot happier with it -
I came back here just to say wow. I'm not sure if these new features came in an update or if I just didn't notice them, but today I randomly noticed extension icons next to my search bar on the address bar, and they work just like they do in Chrome!
So I dive into settings and under search I find the option to turn off the search bar and I'm so happy. I also feel a bit silly about my post now, especially considering how new this browser is. I guess I'm more mad at Austin Evans than you guys, for describing Vivaldi as "The browser of choice" while casually brushing over the feature-packed Opera and saying "nothing special" about it.
Thank you. And as far as suggestions go, I'd like to be able to customize the address bar buttons (since I'm on a laptop and they look huge), like turning them individually on/off and changing the icons, either through theme/icon packs or local images. It would also be nice if there was an option to personally move/resize elements. An issue of mine is that the tab bar doesn't quite touch the top of the screen, so when I'm trying to switch tabs I carelessly move my (terrible, cheap and inaccurate) mouse to the top of the screen and go left/right as necessary. And since there's a couple pixels between the top of the screen and the tab bar, I always have to move the mouse down a bit more, which is annoying on my stupid mouse. Not a big deal, just a suggestion. A download bar (for current downloads) like Chrome that clears upon opening the downloads panel would also be nice. I found it annoying that half my screen shifted right whenever I started a download. The Chrome approach is a lot more seamless, until you need to open the browser page. So kudos for making it a panel instead of an entire page, but bringing back the bar would make the experience more complete, I think.
I'd also like to add that Vivaldi is currently noticeably faster than Chrome is for me, although that may be due to the number of extensions I have installed in Chrome. I haven't really gotten around to testing it as my main browser yet, however, and will definitely report back when and if I find issues then. Thank you and keep up the great work!
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An issue of mine is that the tab bar doesn't quite touch the top of the screen, so when I'm trying to switch tabs I carelessly move my (terrible, cheap and inaccurate) mouse to the top of the screen and go left/right as necessary. And since there's a couple pixels between the top of the screen and the tab bar, I always have to move the mouse down a bit more, which is annoying on my stupid mouse. Not a big deal, just a suggestion.
It's already there.
Click on the Vivaldi button, then Tools, then Settings (or use shortcut Alt+P).
Then select Tabs. Scroll a bit down, under Tab Display, select the option 'Remove Tab Spacing in Maximized Windows'. -