The Express Panel is a convenient tool with which the user can greatly simplify Internet surfing. With the help of such programs, it becomes possible to create tabs through which you can quickly go to the most visited sites. One of the most common panels today is a utility from Yandex, which includes a lot of interesting features and functions.
The Yandex Express Panel is an element of a software package called Yandex Elements - a specialized extension from this company for the most popular browsers. After installing such elements, you not only get the panel itself, you also turn the address bar into a search bar (if you wish, you can immediately enter queries there), and also allows you to quickly access Yandex services and the most common social networks.
However, if you wish, you can install exclusively Visual Bookmarks on your computer to get the express panel itself, and not use other services of this company.
How to install this package?
Since you can install the Yandex express panel only through Elements, this is done as follows:
- We go to the official page of the program from the browser on which this extension will be installed;
- Select the extension you are going to use;
- Click on the button Install;
- In the window that appears, select Add.
It is worth noting that these instructions may change slightly (mainly in names) depending on which browser you are using. However, they are similar in many ways, so it won’t be difficult to figure them out.
After Yandex Elements are added to your computer and launched in the browser, a large number of add-ons with several services of this company will automatically appear, among which will also be the Express panel we need.
How to set up the Express Panel?
To configure the Express Panel, you first need to click on the Add Page button, which is always slightly to the right of the last open window. After this, the window itself will open directly with the Yandex search bar, as well as the tabs you added (or placed automatically if the extension is launched for the first time).
In the lower right corner there is a panel with basic settings elements. By going directly to the point Settings, you can decide on the number of tabs available to you, as well as their location. In addition, here you can select a background image for the Express panel itself, which will always be located behind your favorite pages.
After you add the number of slots you need, you can add bookmarks. To do this, click on the button Add a bookmark, after which we write down the address of the site you are interested in. In the future, the bookmark can be deleted or edited - to do this, simply hover over it, after which the corresponding buttons will appear in its upper right corner.
Thus, installing and configuring the express panel is literally a five-minute affair. The only thing that can be somewhat lengthy is the placement of sites that interest you, because there can be quite a lot of them.
In this tutorial I will show you how to add express panel for Google Chrome.
In the last lesson we talked about how to export and import bookmarks in the google chrome browser. Now, as promised, I will tell you how you can add an express panel with visual bookmarks to the Google Chrome browser. Let's consider two ways.
Express panel from Yandex
After you have gone to the site in the extension search engine, enter the search query “Visual bookmarks” and select the “Extensions” type. In the results you will have an extension from Yandex. This is exactly what we need to install. To install, you must click on the "Free" button.
After this, a new window will pop up in which you need to click on the “Add” button.
A message will pop up indicating that the extension was installed successfully.
Now when you launch your browser or open a new tab, you will see visual bookmarks.
Now let's go in and see what settings the Yandex express panel has. To do this, follow the link in the lower right corner. A list with settings will open in front of you, where you can select the number of bookmarks to display on the screen, and the ability to change the background of the express panel.
If you click on the "Other options" button, you can configure the appearance of headings, display of the search bar, an additional bookmarks bar, and agree to sending anonymous statistics about the operation of the extension to Yandex.
If you look at the bookmarks that have already been added, you can see the last sites you visited. Thus, Yandex filled the void that would have been created if there were not a single bookmark. Therefore, first we need to learn how to delete bookmarks. To do this, hover your mouse over the bookmark you want to delete and click on the cross that appears in the upper right corner of the bookmark. Then confirm deleting the bookmark.
Now there is a void at the site of the bookmark, which you can fill with a new one. To do this, just hover your mouse cursor over this place and you will see a button to add a bookmark.
By clicking on the button, you will see several fields that you simply need to fill out. The first field is for the site address, in which you can simply start entering the site and the extension itself will prompt you for the further link and name for the future bookmark. At the end, you just need to click on the “Save” button. That's it, the bookmark has been added.
Also, you can correct the data that you entered when adding a bookmark. To do this, hover your mouse over the bookmark you want to edit and simply click the gear icon.
Well, in the end it’s worth saying that you can swap bookmarks with each other. To do this, simply hold down the bookmark with the left mouse button and drag it to another location.
Speed Dial 2 extension
You can install it in exactly the same way. Enter the query into the search and click the “Install” button.
Now let's open a new empty tab. You will see a welcome message that you can either skip, or click “Continue” to familiarize yourself with all the features of the add-on.
After viewing the presentation, you will be asked to register, which is not required, so feel free to click on the “Continue without account” link.
When opened for the first time, the panel looks like this.
To add a bookmark, click on the plus icon. Next, enter the site address and bookmark name in the fields. Just below you can add your own sketch of a visual bookmark. At the end, click “Save”.
After saving, you will have a new bookmark. By right-clicking on it, you can open it, edit, delete or update the sketch. Nearby there will be a special icon through which you can add another bookmark. This way you can add a large number of visual tabs.
Now let's look at the special icon that has appeared on the panel in the upper right corner. With its help you can customize the panel. To do this, follow the "Options" link.
There are a huge variety of options here, setting them up should not be difficult. If you have created an account for yourself and logged into it, then here you can create backup copies of your saved bookmarks, so that if something happens they can be restored at any time.
That's all for me, see you in the next lessons. Be sure to subscribe to my Youtube channel.
Below you can watch the video version of the lesson.
The Express panel provides quick access shortcuts to your favorite sites. Next, I will tell you how to make an express panel in five popular browsers and show how to configure it, including how to make it the start page.
Google Chrome
When you create a new empty tab or window, several standard shortcuts to Google sites appear, which is not very convenient. An extension (plugin) called Speed Dial has more functional properties, which can be installed by going to "Chrome Online Store - Speed Dial (ru)". Setting up this application is intuitive. To make the express panel start, click the button in the upper left in the form of a wrench, in the menu that appears, click “Settings”, then in the “Start group” check the line “Quick access page”. That's it, when you open the browser, your express panel will appear.
Mozilla Firefox
By default, this browser does not have a full-fledged express panel. This can be solved using a plugin with the same name as in Google Chrome - Speed Dial. To install it, follow the following path: "Tools/Settings/General/Configure add-ons/Search for add-ons". Enter the name of the plugin you are looking for into the search field, Speed Dial, and click “Search”.
After finding it, click “Add to Firefox”, wait for the installation to complete, restart the browser and start setting up the plugin by following the steps: “Tools/Settings/General/Configure add-ons/Speed Dial/Settings”. In the "Main" tab, check all the boxes except the lines "Browsing area context menu" and "Tab context menu". The Speed Dial will now be displayed.
Internet Explorer
To create an express panel in Internet Explorer, click on the “Tools” button on the right, then “Internet Options”. In the window that appears, go to the “General” tab and in the “Home Page” field enter “about:tabs” without quotes, click “OK” and restart the browser. The express panel will immediately be displayed as the start page. Links are automatically created to the most visited sites.
Opera
Opera has an express panel right away. In order to make it the start page, press Ctrl+F12, in the “At startup” item, select “Open express panel” from the drop-down menu. The panel is configured by clicking the button with a wrench in the upper right part of the page. The parameters are simple and clear.
Apple Safari
In Apple Safari, the express panel is called “Top Sites”; by default, a link to it will be in the bookmarks bar, under the address bar, in the form of checkers. Having opened "Top Sites", click on the "Edit" button at the bottom left to go to the panel settings. Everything is very simple there.
Now I will tell you how to make the Express panel start in Apple Safari. Click on the gear in the upper left, then select "Settings". In the new window, go to the "Basic" tab and in the lines: "Open in new windows" and "Open in new tabs" select "Top Sites", and in the "Safari opens on opening" item select "New window". That's it, the express panel is configured.
The Express panel in the Opera browser is a very convenient way to quickly access the most visited pages. By default, it is installed in this web browser, but for various reasons, intentional or unintentional, it may disappear. Let's figure out how to reinstall the Express Panel in the Opera browser.
The Express panel is part of the start page that opens when you launch Opera. But, at the same time, after changing the settings, when you start the browser, pages specially designated by the user, or those that were opened when the last session ended, may open. In this case, if the user wants to set the Express Panel as the home page, he will have to perform a number of simple steps.
First of all, open the main Opera menu, indicated by the logo of this program, in the upper left corner of the window. In the list that appears, look for the “Settings” item and click on it. Or, simply type the key combination Alt+P on the keyboard.
There is no need to go anywhere else on the page that opens. We look for the “At startup” settings block at the top of the window.
As you can see, there are three browser launch modes. We move the switch to the “Open home page” mode.
Now, the browser will always launch from the home page on which the Express panel is located.
Enabling the Express panel on the start page
In previous versions of Opera, on the start page itself, the Express panel could also be disabled. True, reinstalling it was quite simple.
After launching the browser, the initial page opened, on which, as we can see, the Express panel is missing. Click on the gear icon in the upper right corner of the screen and go to the control section of the home page to configure the Express panel in Opera.
In the settings section of the home page that opens, simply check the box next to the “Express panel” item.
After that, the Express panel was turned on with all the tabs displayed on it.
In new versions of Opera, there is no option to disable the Express Panel on the very start page. But this does not mean that this feature will not be returned in future versions.
As you can see, enabling the Express panel in Opera is quite simple. To do this, you should have a minimum amount of knowledge, which is provided in this article.
Each new version of the Opera browser provides additional opportunities for the user to customize the application at their discretion. These innovations also apply to the express panel, which serves for quick access to your favorite sites. The user only needs to make changes according to his preferences.
In most cases, the Express Dashboard is the default start page. If when you start the browser, another page opens first, then you need to:- enter the Opera menu and open the “Settings” folder;
- in the column “At startup” check the box “Open start page”;
- in the column “Start Page”, uncheck the “Preload Recommendations content” checkbox.
- if your computer is outdated or low-powered, you can reduce the load on the system by checking the “Simplify Express Panel animation” checkbox;
- check the line “Use large thumbnails” to enlarge the bookmark icons;
- set the maximum number of link columns; if this and the previous row are not visible, then at the bottom of the settings tab, check “Show additional settings”.
- to add new bookmarks, you need to click on the link with the “+” sign in the express panel tab, enter the site address and click the “Add” button;
- if any bookmark has lost its relevance, then delete it: hover your mouse cursor over it, an icon with a cross will appear at the bottom - click on it;
- To swap icons, hold down the left mouse button and drag the icon to the desired location in the express panel.
- in the “Themes” menu, click on the “Create your own theme” button;
- in the “Name” line, enter the name of the topic;
- specify the path to the graphic file on your computer;
- if necessary, adjust the location and colors of the text;
- click “Create”;
- All user-created themes will be displayed in the “My Themes” item.
- open the “My Computer” folder and follow the path: Local disk (C:)/Users/user/AppData/Roaming/Opera Software/Opera Stable;
- Using the text editor Notepad, open the “Local State” file;
- in the lines “”country”: “UA”” and “”country_from_server”: “UA”” change “UA” to “us”;
- save the file and close;
- restart your browser.
