How To Enable Commander in Google Chrome (Quick Commands)

Here is how you can enable Commander in Google Chrome (Quick Commands)

Google Chrome is getting a new feature. Named "Commander", it implements an interface for entering quick commands, similar to what the Vivaldi browser (and the classic Opera 12 has). Here is how to enable and use it.

Chrome's Commander feature allows you to quickly open a special command window which lists your recently visited pages (browsing history), bookmark entries, and built-in options. The key point here is a search box that allows you to type a search term and access a particular option, bookmark, or website quickly.

Also it is worth mentioning that this new feature doesn't replace the recently added Chrome Actions functionality, it is a different thing. However, it is similar to Vivaldi's Quick Commands. As of this writing, it is only available in Chrome Canary, and is hidden behind a flag.

This post will show you how enable Commander in Google Chrome to access its  quick Commands.

Enable Commander in Google Chrome

1. Open Google Chrome.
2. Type or copy-paste the following text into the address bar: chrome://flags/#commander.
3. Select Enabled for the Commander flag using the drop-down menu.
4. Relaunch the browser.

You are done. You have enabled the Commander feature in Google Chrome.

Note that this is an experimental feature and a work-in-progress. Such features may or may not reach the stable version of the browser. At some point, Google may decide to drop it, and it may not get released at all. I've successfully enabled Commander in Chrome Canary version 91.0.4434.0.

Once you enable Commander in Google Chrome, you can use it as follows.

How to use Commander in Google Chrome

1. Open Google Chrome.
2. Press Ctrl + Space on the keyboard to open Commander.
3. Start type a feature name, a page title, or a bookmark.
4. This will form an instant search result, so you can perform the desired action with a few keystrokes.
5. Pressing Ctrl + Space one more time will close the search box.

Commander gives you instant access to all the commands available in the browser. You can open a new tab, window, save the open page to a file - you can find any feature you need by typing a few letters from its name. Additionally, it is integrated with Google Docs, and allows you to directly create a new document or spreadsheet. Some of those do not have a hotkey assigned, so it is also a convenient way to use such a function of the browser.

Commander is one of the best additions the browser received. It will be obviously welcomed by many.