Better Ctrl-W

Closes highlighted tabs. To replace ctrl-w on Windows/Linux for Vim users!

What is Better Ctrl-W?

'Better Ctrl-W' is a Chrome extension designed for Vim users on Windows and Linux machines. It primarily solves the issue of the 'Ctrl-W' shortcut that, apart from deleting the last word in Vim's insert mode, it also closes a window in chrome - a shortcut absent on Mac OS. The extension reassigns the tab closing function to a different shortcut and disables 'Ctrl-W' from closing tabs.

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Extension stats

By: thalesmello

View on Chrome Web Store

Users: 1,000+

Rating: 4.06 (16)

Version: 0.1 (Last updated: 2020-05-03)

Creation date: 2020-05-02

Risk impact: Very low risk impact

Risk likelihood: Very low risk likelihood

Manifest version: 2

Size: 7.24K

Ranking

# 25603 ▼ 92

Other rankings

#1848 in Developer Tools ▼ 3 #97 in problem keyword 4 ▼ 7 #204 in close keyword 16 ▼ 10

Other platforms

Not available on Firefox

Not available on Edge

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Extension summary

Analyze keywords

Better Ctrl-W

Vim users are used to using the Ctrl-w key combination for deleting the last word when in insert mode. That's no problem for Mac OS users when using chrome, as the keyboard shortcut for closing a tab is Cmd+w. This is a problem when using the browser on either Linux or Windows machines, as Ctrl-w is the shortcut for closing a window. So, when editing a text, a Vim user might accidentally close the current tab by issuing a Ctrl-w command, sometimes losing important text that was being edited.

That annoyance motivated people to discuss solutions on [a StackOverflow thread][1], in which user [samson][2] commented he created [a Chrome extension][3] precisely to:

Assign Ctrl-w to an extension shortcut that does absolutely nothing
Assign a hotkey to close the current tab (I like to use Alt-w to mimic Mac OS's Cmd+w)

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 Chrome Web Store does not verify user reviews, so some user reviews may be inaccurate, spammy, or outdated.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

Works perfectly for browser-based terminal applications
Great for users who play browser games
Helps prevent accidental tab closures while switching between terminal and Chrome
Easy to configure once usage instructions are found
Allows closing tabs using keybindings on different keyboard layouts

Cons

Does not work automatically after installation without configuration
Changes to keybindings cannot be undone
Disables Ctrl-W even outside of Chrome
Incompatible with Chrome 105.x

Most mentioned

Requires configuration after installation
Irreversible changes to keybindings
Disables Ctrl-W outside of Chrome

Recent reviews

Vladislav (wennerryle), 2024-10-27

Make sure to follow usage instructions

Andrew Breidenbach, 2024-01-15

This extension does not work automatically after installation. You have to find the "Usage" instructions in the Overview to configure it. The configuration is simple and this extension works perfectly. I can finally use the browser-based terminal application without constantly closing the browser tab.