How to optimize Google Chrome’s bookmarks bar space

Create additional space to organize and fit more links in your Google Chrome's bookmark bar.

Google Chrome Metro

Are you running out of space in your Google Chrome bookmarks bar? If so, here is a good tip!

If you are like me, you have hundreds, if not thousands of links bookmarked that are hard to find and organize.

Always have the most important links in the bookmarks bar. Crate folders in your bookmarks bar to categorize your links, but use short names, like: “edu” instead of “education”, “F” for “favorites”, “N” for “News”; etc. this will open up room for more links. You could also create subfolders with different subcategories, like: inside the folder “edu” you can create a “Math” and “History” folder.

Chrome Bookmark bar clutter

Next, Google Chrome browser allows us to rename links text to nothing (or null value), this just leaves us with the website icon’s image (or favicon); nowadays you can recognize most of the icon’s images from your favorite websites, so this should not be a problem (You can think of the icon’s image as a button to get to your favorite website). If for any reason the icon’s image for a particular website’s link does not show up, rename the link to 2 or 3 letters, just enough for you to recognize it.

Google Chrome bookmark bar organized

To rename links or folders follow these steps:

1.  Right click in the bookmarks bar link or folder and select edit.

Editing link in Chrome

2.  Erase everything in the “Name:”field (Just leave it blank) and click OK to finish. It’s that simple!

Modifying link in Chrome bookmark bar

Or you can do this from the Bookmark manager.

1.  Once you are in the Bookmark manager (refer to the image below), find the link that you want to change, right click it and select edit.

Getting to Chrome Bookmark Manager

Editing links from the bookmark manager

2.  Erase the name and hit Enter.

3.  Repeat this process for every link in the bookmarks bar folder.

To create a folder from the Bookmark manager, find and select the folder named Bookmarks bar and:

1.  Click the menu Organize located at the up-left corner of Chrome’s Bookmark manager.

Creating a folder in the Bookmark manager of Google Chrome

2. Select Add Folder and type a short name and hit Enter.

If you do not like the location of the folder, you can drag the folder with your mouse to any where you like.

You can also create a folder by right clicking in an empty space in the Bookmarks bar and selecting Add folder.

Now you are able to consolidate your favorites, your bookmarks bar will look better, clean, uncluttered, and you’ll have a faster access to navigate all your links.

Tutorial

 

SEE ALSO: If you don’t have Google Chrome yet, you can download it here!

Update:

To find the bookmarks bar in Chrome version 6 and up, do the following:

1.  Open Chrome and click Chrome menu icon

2.  Select Tools and click Always show bookmarks bar.

or just do Ctrl+Shift+B

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.