News

    Chrome OS 91 will add Recently Closed tabs in Tab Search

    Kevin TofelBy Updated:2 Comments2 Mins Read

    The new Tab Search feature added in Chrome OS 86 is getting a small but useful upgrade. According to Chrome Story, in the latest Canary Channel release, you can see tabs you might have previously closed. Based on the code commits and this find, it appears Chrome OS 91 will add Recently Closed tabs in Tab Search.

    I don’t yet see this feature enabled on my Chromebook running the Dev Channel of Chrome OS 91, so early adopters might need to be patient.

    And there’s no additional flag to enable it as it’s simply part of Tab Search. If you have Tab Search, you’ll see it show your Recent Tabs in the coming months.

    Here’s what it will look like, much as you’d expect:

    Credit: Chrome Story

    There are several code commits pointing to this update, but there’s not much to glean here.

    Chrome OS will keep an array, or list, of tabs as you close them. When you click the Tab Search drop-down or use the CTRL + SHIFT + A shortcut, you’ll see your currently open tabs along with the list of your most recently closed tabs, along with the relative time you closed them. Just click on one and the tab will be restored.

    I can’t count how many times I’ve had to open up my browser history only to scan for a tab I closed not long ago and need to open again. So this small tweak adds tremendous value to my workflow.

    The better option might be for me to stop closing tabs incessantly, but I doubt that’s going to happen any time soon.

    Am I the only one enjoying Tab Search and looking forward to this useful tweak? Drop a comment below and let me know if you’re a big user of Tab Search. Or if, like me, you just can’t let go of those tabs you closed a wee bit too soon.

    Share.

    After spending 15 years in IT at Fortune 100 companies, Kevin turned a hobby into a career and began covering mobile technology in 2003. He writes daily on the industry and has co-hosted the weekly MobileTechRoundup podcast since 2006. His writing has appeared in print (The New York Times, PC Magazine and PC World) and he has been featured on NBC News in Philadelphia.

    2 Comments

    1. Zarthan South on

      On the subject of closed tabs. with a zillion open tabs, I often accidentally hit the x and close a tab I was trying to open. CTRL+ SHIFT+T will reopen the tab. Each time you hit that same key combination, it will open the previously closed tabs presumably until the first tab you opened.
      I use Chrome on the Canary channel and occasionally Chrome crashes or I accidentally hit the X to close Chrome altogether. Simply relaunch Chrome and hit that same CTRL+SHIFT+T and it will open ALL your closed tabs

    2. Lary on

      Great feature, I use it regularly.

      Today I was in a clicking mood and I clicked a caret next to the Recently Closed Tabs and the are no longer displayed on the list.

      I have not been able to find a way to restore them to the list. Any guidance will be appreciated.