One of the most annoying aspects of living in the Web 2.0 is the fact that web browsers still remain “in the way”. While apps move online, the feeling of using a native application doesn’t pervade the online experience yet.
One reason for this is definitely bad design on part of the developer, or limitations by the rendering engine or current HTML specification. Apart from that, the web browser still sticks out as being a web browser. You have the usual title bar, address bar, bookmarks bar and status bar.
So here’s a quick tip: Turn it all off.
Here’s how to do it and use it in Safari 4:
Right-click in whitespace near the address bar and choose to “Customize Toolbar…”. Move “Top Sites” and “Bookmarks” buttons onto your toolbar (if you use them), and customize it to your liking.
Hide your status bar, address bar and bookmarks bar.
To enter a new address to surf to, hit Command-L. Type the address and hit Enter.
That’s it. I find it highly usable and don’t seem like I’m losing any functionality. Do share your thoughts in the comments below.
Why do you want to place the top sites and bookmarks buttons to the toolbar? When you hide the address bar in step 2, the toolbar is also hidden. Or have you found a way to hide the address bar without the toolbar?
Posted by john on January 21st, 2010.
Hi John, I appreciate your comment.
I place those buttons in the toolbar because by default, they are in the bookmarks bar. I do this because while we hide the toolbar, it still remains a central aspect of our interaction: When we hit Command-L, the toolbar shows up for us to enter an address.
Command-L is, therefore, also a means of revealing the toolbar for various other actions I might want to do. So what I’ve done is, I’ve loaded up the toolbar with functionality I use occasionally, and hide it away. I can always summon it with Command-L.
Posted by Arjun on January 22nd, 2010.
[...] To enter a new address to surf to, hit Command-L. Type the address and hit Enter. That’s it. I find it highly usable and don’t seem like I’m losing any functionality. Do share your thoughts in the comments below. 21.01.2010. 2 comments. …read more [...]
Posted by Minimal Web Browsing | The Productive Student | Uni Ego on January 22nd, 2010.