Google Chrome has a new way to reopen accidentally closed tabs — here's how

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Chrome's new tab option lets you recover specific tabs

Google Chrome browser
(Image credit: Google)

There's nothing worse than accidentally closing down a Chrome browser on Windows 10 and immediately losing all the tabs you've staked up. While there are already ways to restore these tabs, Google is making it easier to bring them back thanks to a new feature.

A new tab menu feature lets Chrome users reopen closed tabs, allowing you to search for any you have accidentally closed. Misplaced clicks won't be as enraging anymore. 

Spotted on Chromium Gerrit and now available on the Chrome Canary build for developers on Windows, users will be able to restore browser tabs through a new tab search pop-up menu. The menu will show a list of recently closed tabs, which users can look through and easily restore.

What's more, the new feature lets users search for specific tabs that have been closed and open them up again — even if it was closed a while ago.

This new method appears to work similarly to restoring a tab via Google Chrome's History page. However, instead of giving a list of every web page visited, the tab search menu lets you reopen the specific tab you had open. That definitely narrows down the search. 

How to restore closed tabs on Google Chrome

Currently, if you have accidentally closed a browser you're working on or it crashes, Google will offer to restore the page. However, this option won't always show up.

To restore closed tabs, you can right-click a blank space along the top of a browser window and navigate to "Reopen closed tab." This will lead you to Chrome's History page.

There's an even faster way for those accustomed to keyboard shortcuts. On a Windows laptop, press CTRL + Shift + T or press Command + Shift + T on a MacBook to resurrect the most recently closed tab. This keyboard shortcut will reopen tabs in reverse chronological order, so those who closed a tab a while ago will have to keep pressing until it pops up.

The new tab search feature will come in handy, and is expected to roll out in a Chrome update soon.

(H/T Android Police)

Darragh Murphy
Darragh Murphy
Editor

Darragh Murphy is fascinated by all things bizarre, which usually leads to assorted coverage varying from washing machines designed for AirPods to the mischievous world of cyberattacks. Whether it's connecting Scar from The Lion King to two-factor authentication or turning his love for gadgets into a fabricated rap battle from 8 Mile, he believes there’s always a quirky spin to be made. With a Master’s degree in Magazine Journalism from The University of Sheffield, along with short stints at Kerrang! and Exposed Magazine, Darragh started his career writing about the tech industry at Time Out Dubai and ShortList Dubai, covering everything from the latest iPhone models and Huawei laptops to massive Esports events in the Middle East. Now, he can be found proudly diving into gaming, gadgets, and letting readers know the joys of docking stations for Laptop Mag.