Restart Google Chrome while Preserving Your Open Tabs

Google Chrome tabs can sometimes close unexpectedly due to issues like corrupted extensions, malware, cache problems, or malfunctions with your mouse or trackpad. To avoid losing access to important websites you have open, many users prefer to postpone restarting their browser. This guide will demonstrate how to restart Chrome without losing your previously opened tabs.

Enable Chrome to Continue Where You Left Off

If you recently closed Chrome after a long session, the next time you open it, the default new tab page may appear. However, you can change this setting so that Chrome picks up right where you left off.

To adjust this, click the three dots located at the top-right corner of your browser, then select Settings. Scroll down to find On Startup. Here, you’ll be presented with three options that dictate Chrome’s behavior on restart. Select the second option, Continue where you left off, to enable it. This change saves automatically. Now, each time you relaunch Chrome, all your previously opened tabs will automatically restore.

Another useful setting allows you to open a specific set of pages every time you start Chrome, which is particularly beneficial for online research. Choose Open a specific page or set of pages, then click Add a new page to include as many URLs as necessary. You can click the three dots next to each URL to edit or remove them if needed.

Enter “Chrome://Restart” in Address Bar

This method is possibly the easiest way to restart all open tabs in Chrome on both Windows and Mac after a crash. Simply reopen Chrome and type chrome://restart in the address bar, followed by pressing Enter or Return. Chrome will close and then reopen, restoring all your tabs from the previous session.

Keep in mind that upon executing this command, there might be a short delay as the pages load since it relies on your computer’s memory. Additionally, some tabs may not open correctly; for instance, secure sites such as online banking may log you out if a timeout occurs during the process.

Restore Tabs Using Keyboard Shortcuts

You can easily restore closed tabs in Chrome using various keyboard shortcuts that depend on your operating system and device. Here are some effective shortcuts for reopening tabs in Google Chrome:

• Windows and Linux: Press CTRL + SHIFT + T to reopen the last tabs you had open. Both Windows and Linux also provide a convenient shortcut that remembers up to 10 tabs: Simply press CTRL along with a number from 1 to 8. For instance, CTRL + 3 will take you to the third tab, while CTRL + 9 will navigate to the last tab, irrespective of the number of tabs open.
• Mac: Press ⌘ + Shift + T to recover the Chrome tabs that closed unexpectedly. Unfortunately, Mac does not support navigating by numbered tabs, but you can view your entire tab history using ⌘ + Y.

Click “Restore Window” Under “Recent Tabs”

Your Chrome history retains your session history (unless you regularly clear your browsing history), allowing you to restore an entire session of tabs the next time you open Chrome.

To access this feature, relaunch Chrome, click the three-dot menu at the top-right corner, and go to History. Look under the Recent tabs section.

You’ll see a list of recently closed tabs. When you conclude a Chrome session with multiple tabs open, its history will be saved as “6 tabs” or “5 tabs,” according to how many were open. Click Restore window to retrieve your session, a feature available for all tab histories.

Utilize Bookmark Shortcuts to Restart Chrome Tabs

Another way to keep important links close at hand is by using the bookmarks feature in Chrome. To display the bookmarks bar, press Ctrl + Shift + B or access it through the three dots menu: Bookmarks and Lists -> Show all bookmarks. From here, you can easily add any open webpage to your bookmarks by selecting Add current tab.

After adding your pages, return to the previous menu. You can now click the three dots next to the Bookmarks bar to open all bookmarks in a new window or as a part of a new tab group. This will effectively restart Chrome with all your selected tabs.

If you prefer not to use the default bookmarks bar, Chrome allows you to create new folders and rename them, enabling you to organize all your important tabs.

Did you know? You can use Google Chrome extensions with Microsoft Edge.

Utilize OneTab

If you’re open to using extensions, consider trying OneTab. This particularly handy Chrome extension allows you to save all your currently open tabs into one consolidated list. Once installed, grant the necessary permissions, then unpin the extension for easy access.

Whenever you need to save a crucial tab for your next Chrome session, just click the OneTab icon, and it will automatically save the tab. When you restart Chrome, OneTab will neatly display all your saved tabs. Additionally, it offers features such as Restore all tabs, Delete all, Share as a web page, and more. OneTab also allows you to view multiple tab sessions organized by date and time, which is particularly useful for research tasks.

Other Chrome extensions that can effectively assist in restoring tabs include:

• Button: This user-friendly extension enables you to quickly access all your necessary web pages by simply clicking Reopen recent tabs at the top of the address bar.
• Tab Porter: If you switch between multiple devices, like at work and at home, Tab Porter allows you to save all your open tabs as a lightweight. HTML document, which can be imported on another device later.

It’s common to multitask with many Google Chrome tabs open simultaneously. By leveraging one or more of the methods discussed above, you can easily restart Google Chrome at any time without the worry of losing your tabs.

If you frequently search online, don’t forget to explore these Chrome extensions designed to enhance your search experience. Moreover, if your usage involves multiple profiles in Chrome, managing them is straightforward as you can add or remove profiles with ease.

Image Credit: Unsplash. All screenshots by Sayak Boral.

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