- Opera has bought the company for a simple reason: Opera GX. The gamer-focused web browser was launched in early access back in June 2019. Its headline feature is a slide-out control panel that.
- Download Opera GX from Opera GX’s product manager Maciej Kocemba.Opera GX is a special version of the Opera browser, specificall.
The basics
Opera GX is the world's first browser for people who play and love computer games. There are currently more than 1.2 billion PC gamers worldwide, but no one has ever thought of providing them with a web browser targeted to their specific needs. Opera changed that in June 2019 and carved out a new niche of web browsers.
The Opera browser consists of five groups of elements on the screen:
- The menu bar
- The tab bar
- Navigation buttons (back, forward, refresh/stop, start page)
- The combined address and search bar
- The web view
(1) For Mac, the menu bar offers the following options:
| Menu | Available actions |
|---|---|
| Opera | View information about your version of Opera, access preferences, sign in to your Opera account, clear browsing data, import browsing data, get themes and extensions, or quit the browser. |
| File | Manage tabs or windows, open files and locations, save pages locally, or print. |
| Edit | Manipulate text (copy, paste, or select), search for text in pages, or check spelling. |
| View | Zoom, show or hide the bookmarks bar or the extensions sidebar, toggle the toolbar in full-screen, browse in full screen, access start page items (Speed Dial or news), view downloads, manage extensions or themes, open the password manager. |
| History | Navigate back or forward, reopen closed tabs or windows, navigate to recently-viewed pages, or view your full browsing history. |
| Bookmarks | Open the bookmark manager, bookmark the current page, or navigate to pages in your bookmark folders. |
| Window | Minimize the current window, zoom, or select open windows and tabs. |
| Help | Access Opera help pages, view keyboard shortcuts, or report issues. |
(1) For Windows and Linux, the main menu offers ways of interacting with the browser. You can open new tabs or browser windows, zoom pages, or view Opera pages such as Speed Dial, news, bookmarks, downloads, history, or settings.
(2) The tab bar navigates between pages when you view more than one at a time. Click a page’s tab to view its contents. To open a new tab, click the + button on the tab bar.
(3) The navigation buttons tell the browser where to go to view pages:
| Button | Action |
|---|---|
| Go back one page. | |
| Go forward one page. | |
| Reload the current page. | |
| View the start page. |
(4) The combined address and search bar directs the browser to websites and searches the web. You can type website addresses, for example https://www.opera.com/, or search the web with key words, for example ‘Opera browser’. Read more about the combined address and search bar.
(5) The web view shows the content of a page. Here you can interact with web pages by reading text, viewing pictures, clicking links, and more.
Opera’s sidebar is your quick access to Workspaces, Messengers, Speed Dials, Flow, bookmarks, personal news, tabs, history, extensions, downloads, and preferences.
To pin the sidebar to Opera, click on the Easy setup button to the right of the combined address and search bar. Under Appearance click Show sidebar. Click the button again to unpin the sidebar. Unpinning the sidebar will make the sidebar only available from the start page.
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Manage Opera’s sidebar
You can customize which Workspaces, messengers, and other features will be visible in your sidebar.
To customize your sidebar, click the three-dot icon at the bottom of your sidebar. The Sidebar setup panel will open, allowing you to edit or remove elements on your sidebar, like Workspaces, Messengers, History, extensions, as well as other features and tools.
You can also access the sidebar settings from Settings > Sidebar. There you can select to pin the sidebar, enable a narrow sidebar, or enable messenger notification badges.
Tabs
Opera can organize multiple pages into one browsing window using tabs, which are designed to resemble paper filing tabs. Tabs allow you to interact with many pages simultaneously without closing a page until you are ready.
To open a new tab, click the +button on the tab bar.
Right-click (Ctrl+click on Mac) a tab to open its context menu. Several actions are available to be performed for the tab from this menu:
- New tab
- Reload
- Reload all tabs
- Copy page address
- Duplicate tab
- Pin tab
- Move tab to workspace >
- Mute tab
- Mute other tabs
- Close tab
- Close other tabs
- Close tabs to the right
- Close duplicate tabs
- Save all tabs as a Speed Dial folder
- Reopen last closed tab
Visual tab-cycler
The visual tab-cycler is a tab-preview popup that lets you cycle through thumbnails of your open tabs. Press and keep holding Ctrl, and then press Tab to bring up the tab-cycler. Click on Tab to cycle though your tabs. Release Ctrl to switch to the currently highlighted tab.
Preview a tab’s contents
You can optionally hover your mouse over a tab to preview its contents without changing focus from the current page. Previewing tabs is helpful if you have several open at one time.
To enable tab previews:
- Go to Settings.
- Click Advanced in the left sidebar, and click Browser.
- Under User interface, turn on Show tab previews.
Search in Tabs
The Search in Tabs tool helps you find a specific open tab via keyword searching, which is quite useful when you have a lot of tabs open. Use Ctrl+Space to open the Search in Tabs tool. Type a keyword to narrow down your open tabs and find the one you want.
You can also access Search in Tabs by clicking on the magnifying glass icon to the right of your tabs, which has replaced the earlier Tab menu.
Close tabs
To close a tab, hover your mouse over the tab and click the x button. To close all tabs except your current tab, right-click (Ctrl+click on Mac) the current tab and select Close other tabs. You can also close all tabs to the right of your current tab with Close tabs to the right, and if you have multiple tabs with the same site, you can use Close duplicate tabs.
If you’ve accidentally closed a tab or want to reactivate the most recently closed tab, right-click (Ctrl+click on Mac) a tab and select Reopen last closed tab.
Pin tabs
You can prevent Opera from closing tabs accidentally or prioritize important pages by pinning tabs. A pinned tab does not close, and will remain pinned when restarting the browser.
To pin or unpin a tab to the tab bar, right-click (Ctrl+click on Mac) the tab and select Pin Tab/Unpin Tab. When pinned, the tab will move to the left side of the tabs bar.
Move tabs to a different Workspace
Workspaces are available at the top of your sidebar, and let you organize your tabs into different groups. You can, for example, have different Workspaces for shopping, work, or research.
To move a tab to a different Workspace, right-click on that tab (Ctrl+click on Mac), hover over Move tab to workspace, and select the Workspace that you want from the popup.
Manage tabs
If you’d like an open tab to be placed in a separate window, simply drag and drop the tab off the tab bar. Tabs can also be dragged and dropped between open windows.
To open a copy of a page in a new tab, right-click (Ctrl+click on Mac) the tab and select Duplicate tab.
Save tabs in a new Speed Dial folder
You can save all open tabs in a window as a folder of Speed Dial entries. Right-click (Ctrl+click on Mac) the tab bar, or on any tab, and select Save all tabs as Speed Dial folder.
A new, untitled folder will be placed at the bottom of your Speed Dial.
If you wish to save only a selection of tabs in a Speed Dial folder:
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- ⌘-click (Mac) or Ctrl-click (Win/Lin) the tabs you wish to save.
- Right-click (Ctrl+click on Mac) one of the selected tabs to open the context menu.
- Click Save tabs as a Speed Dial folder in the context menu.
Tabs history
Each tab will retain its browsing history until it is closed. To view the history of a tab, click and hold the back or forward button on the left side of the combined address and search bar.
Continue holding the click as you move to select a former page from the list, and release it to open the page.
Context menus
Context menus appear when you right-click (Ctrl+click on Mac) a part of a web page. A different menu will appear depending on the element type: page, link, or image.
The page context menu appears when you right-click (Ctrl+click on Mac) a part of a web page where there are no links, images, or text. This menu provides you with navigation options (go back, forward or reload the page), options for saving the page as a Speed Dial entry or bookmark, viewing the source code of the page, saving the page as a PDF file, and more.
The link context menu appears when you right-click (Ctrl+click on Mac) a link and lets you decide how to open or save the linked page or address.
The image context menu appears when you right-click (Ctrl+click on Mac) an image and contains multiple options for opening, copying, and saving the image.
Zoom
Opera’s zooming functionality allows you to read small fonts more easily. To zoom when using a Mac, select View > Zoom In/Zoom Out. For Windows or Linux users, go to the O Menu > Zoom.
You can also use keyboard shortcuts to zoom in and out with Ctrl or ⌘ + +/-.
You can set the zoom by default if you would like all web pages you visit to be zoomed in or out. To set the default zoom:
- Go to Settings.
- Under Appearance, click the Page zoom dropdown menu.
- Select the level of zoom for all web pages.
After you set the page zoom, pages will zoom to the adjusted default size when you open them. If you have tabs already open, reload them to view the page at your new default size.
For Mac users, if you wish to return an individual page to its original format, click View > Actual Size. Windows and Linux users can go to the O Menu > Zoom and select Reset zoom to the right of +.
Full screen mode
Opera Gx 2018
Opera gives you the option to browse in full screen mode.
To turn full screen mode on or off on Mac, go to View > Enter/Exit Full Screen. Windows and Linux users can go to the O Menu > Page and select Full screen.
Full screen mode hides the menu bar from view but you can access it by hovering your mouse at the top of your screen. In full screen mode, the toolbar can be hidden or shown from the View menu.
On all platforms, full screen mode can be exited by pressing Esc.
Find text on the page
Opera can search through the text on a page and find text for you. To find text on a page, press Ctrl+F or ⌘+F on your keyboard. Type in the search field to find your text.
Found words are highlighted in green as you search. If more than one instance of the word exists on the page, they will be highlighted in yellow and a count will appear in the search field. To navigate between instances, click the left and right arrows.
Download and manage files
When you download a file from a website, a download message appears below the right side of the combined address and search bar. This message shows a progress bar for the download, and disappears when the download is complete.
A new icon appears at the right side of the combined address and search bar, too. Click this to see a list of your most recently downloaded files, or clear them from your download history.
To view a detailed list of your downloaded files, launch the files from the browser, or restart a download if your connection was interrupted, select View > Downloads on Mac. On Windows and Linux, go to O Menu > Downloads.
You can change the default download location in your preferences. To do so:
- Go to Settings.
- Click Advanced on the left sidebar, and click Browser.
- Under Downloads, click theChange button.
- Navigate to the folder you wish to have downloads saved to and click Select.
Here, you can also set the browser to ask you where you’d like to save files every time you download.
World’s first gaming browser
The world’s first browser designed for gamers, Opera GX, is aimed at attracting people already using platforms like Google Stadia. However, this new product on the market works just a bit different. Though the browser doesn’t let you stream games, it does boost the overall performance of your gameplay (Chromium-based) by limiting the RAM and CPU.
Make your gameplay more appealing
The browser offers plenty of features to complement its amazing design.
Opera is a leading name among new-generation browsers. Though it’s not always people’s first choice, the developers have made improvements to attract a new user base. Opera GX targets gamers, letting them switch from a generic browser to a new and exciting internet experience.
Aesthetics and interface take the lead
From the get-go, the browser looks distinct and refreshing. When compared to its competitors, Opera GX has a vibrant color palette, giving it the look of gaming accessories, such as laptops and keyboards. It’s much darker than simpler browsers of the past. On startup, you’ll notice an animated logo with a short auditory note. In fact, Opera GX is the first internet browser to get an animated boot logo.
Its audio component and several interaction sounds have been created by renowned sound designers (Ruben Rincon and Berlinis). Their sound design for the popular game Gris won them many awards.
The dark theme is perfect for gamer-style choices. It provides you with a familiar environment, similar to websites and apps designed for late-night gameplay. There's a striking difference when compared to other browsers. While working on Opera GX, you’ll enjoy faster speed. However, it might take you some time to get used to the intriguing sound effects while interacting with on-screen icons.
With a modified search bar, the home screen has several speed dial icons inspired by the basic Opera browser. Once you begin typing, you notice a visual flare firing a red bar across the base. In order to make search results clearly visible, the speed dial icons instantly fade out. Almost every icon has an interesting mouse-over animation.
Using the ‘Easy Setup’ menu, you can customize everything on the screen. Within seconds, you can adjust background wallpapers, colors, and themes. Opera GX lets you choose the desktop wallpaper without looking for the original image on your Windows PC.
Razer fans are in luck
Opera Gx 2019
If you’re a Razer fan, you’ll be glad to know that Opera GX comes with Chroma integration, allowing you to conveniently make changes to theme color, menu, and icons. Additionally, the changes will instantly show on your connected Razer devices.
Opera has already announced that its considering additional peripheral support for Opera GX. If the gaming browser remains popular over the next few months, you can expect companies like Corsair and Logitech to provide support in future updates.
Opera GX has retained the left-hand toolbar from the basic browser version. However, in-browser apps like Facebook Messenger and Whatsapp have been replaced with gaming-oriented apps like Twitch. It’s easy to sign in to these apps from the browser. Once your preferred streamers start playing, you’ll receive push notifications too.
Customize your system resources
With GX Control, a menu option in Opera GX, you can customize the system resources to consume only what’s required. The browser lets you limit the percentage of CPU cores being used at one time. While Opera GX needs at least one core, you can limit the rest to ensure the browser isn’t slowing down your PC.
Similarly, you can limit RAM (memory usage). Since some web pages can use a huge amount of your PC’s memory, Opera GX comes with a built-in limiter to help you take control. If you open new tabs after crossing the limit, the browser will automatically start killing the old ones.
From the control center, you can also manage the browser’s volume. It allows you to easily reduce or mute games and web pages without unnecessarily changing the system volume.
Without a doubt, Opera GX is an interesting browser for gamers. While it has a wide range of features to keep you interested, the vibrant dynamics alone will keep you hooked. It won’t be surprising to see Opera GX become an integral part of gamers’ lives.
Where can you run this program?
Opera GX is a web browser specifically made for gamers. It is available for Windows, and has been developed by Opera Software AS.
Is there a better alternative?
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While Opera GX is the first-of-its-kind, there are other similar platforms you might want to check out. Itch.io, a popular gaming platform, is used by game developers and gamers around the world. Currently, the website has more than 100,000 unique pieces of content, allowing developers to upload games while giving the freedom to choose price. However, Itch.io has a limited desktop client, and the library caters to a small audience.
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Another good choice is Google Stadia, which is a cloud-based streaming program. Its ability to deliver games at 60 frames per second at a 4k resolution is appreciated by gamers worldwide. Additionally, it supports a high-dynamic range. Unfortunately, the platform is>Opera GXfor Windows
Opera Gx 2019
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