Popup Tab Switcher

Makes switching between tabs more convenient.

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Popup Tab Switcher: Chrome Extension for Easy Tab Switching

'Popup Tab Switcher' is a unique Chrome extension designed to streamline your browsing experience. It offers a practical solution to quickly switch between your recent tabs using simple shortcuts (Alt + Y as default). It improves Chrome's default behavior by activating last active tab instead of nearest when you close a tab. Other sophisticated functionalities are comprised of being able to delegate default tab switching to the extension and handling limitations regarding special Chrome tabs, Chrome web store and file pages.

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Extension stats

By: Dmitriy Davydov

Users: 10,000+

Rating: 4.42

(118)

Version: 2024.2 (Last updated: 2024-07-22)

Creation date: 2020-07-01

Risk impact: Moderate risk impact

Risk likelihood:

Very low risk likelihood

Manifest version: 3

Permissions:

activeTab
favicon
scripting
storage
tabs

Host permissions:

file:///*

Size: 254.98K

Email: dv*****@gmail.com

Ranking

# 7,752 ▲ 48

Other rankings

#115 in Accessibility ▼ 1 #16 in popup keyword 53 ▼ 2 #116 in tab keyword 79 ▼ 15 #176 in switch keyword 20 ▲ 1

Other platforms

Popup Launcher (v1.1.4)

3.57

(47) 5,593+

Not available on Firefox

Not available on Edge

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Extension summary

Analyze keywords

The extension shows you a popup with last active tabs when you press its shortcut (Alt + Y by default). You cycle through them by holding Alt and pressing Y. By releasing the Alt key you switch to the chosen tab. This is like switching between apps in Windows (Alt + Tab) and in macOS (Cmd + Tab).

Also, when you close an active tab, you will be placed to the previously active one. It is more helpful than the default Chrome's behaviour, which activates the nearest tab.

You can delegate default switching between tabs by pressing Ctrl + Tab to the extension, see how https://github.com/dvdvdmt/popup-tab-switcher#replace-default-tab-switching-behaviour

NOTE: The extension tries to render its popup on the page wherever it is possible, but there are cases where it can't do that:

Chrome's web store pages. The extension doesn't work here.
Special Chrome tabs such as Settings, New tab, History, etc. In this case the extension tries to switch a user from a special tab to a previous tab without showing a popup.
The page has no focus (a user searches on the page, focused on address bar, etc.). In this case the extension shows its popup and starts a timer by the end of which it will switch a user to the selected tab.
Files pages (URL starts with file:///). The extension can't work on such pages without a special permission which you can turn on in Extensions > Popup Tab Switcher (Details) > Allow access to file URLs.

Source code on GitHub https://github.com/dvdvdmt/popup-tab-switcher

User reviews

These summaries are automatically generated weekly using AI based on recent user reviews. Chrome Web Store does not verify user reviews, so some user reviews may be inaccurate, spammy, or outdated.

Pros

Great functionality for switching tabs quickly.
Works as expected and significantly improves user experience.
Open previously active tab feature is very useful.
Open source nature increases trustworthiness.

Cons

Activates when closing tabs, which can be frustrating.
Does not work well with tab groups in Chrome.
Dated UI that could use improvements.
Limited customization options for keyboard shortcuts.

Most mentioned

Issues with tab switching behavior when closing tabs.
Desire for better keyboard shortcut customization.
Appreciation for functionality and its impact on productivity.

User reviews

Works great to switch tabs but unfortunately it also activates when closing tabs. Likely won't continue using this extension since it messes up the close tab behavior.

Carlin Li, 2024-12-07

This is a very useful feature I can't live without. I think this should be a native feature. The extension work exactly as expected. I understand this is a free extension and I really appreciate it but the UI is a bit dated. Thank you

Arnau Via Martínez-seara, 2024-10-30

I like this lot when it works however there is a bug somewhere in this where when enabled it allows chrome to bring a different window in the background to the forefront/active window when you close a tab or close a pop up window, have had to disable this extension for the time being as this is massively annoying.