What's New in WebTools Version 2.1

Using Hotkeys

Many WebTools functions can be accessed quickly using hotkeys.  The following is a list of hotkeys available in WebTools.

CTRL + DEL = Close the currently active tab

CTRL + SHIFT + DEL = Close all open tabs

SHIFT + left-click and drag tab off toolbar = Close tab being dragged

CTRL + left-click and drag tab off toolbar = Opens tab being dragged in a new browser window

CTRL + Insert = Open a new tab displaying the contents of the currently active tab

CTRL + SHIFT + Insert = Open a new tab with focus

SHIFT + Insert = Open a new tab displaying your homepage

CTRL + Left Arrow = Activate the tab to the left of the currently active tab

CTRL + Right arrow = Activate the tab to the right of the currently active tab

To disable the use of any available hotkeys, from the WebTools menu, select Modify Settings… and use the “Hotkey Settings” area.

Adding New Tabs

To add new browser tabs, click the Add New Tab button.  This creates a new tab, opened to your home page.

Perform any of the following to open a new tab navigated to a specific link:

• Drag and drop any valid link onto the WebTools toolbar

• Drag and drop any text representation of a URL onto the WebTools toolbar

• Hold down SHIFT and click any valid link (conversely, hold down CTRL and click any valid link to open the link in a new window, as opposed to opening the link as a new tab)

• Hold down SHIFT and click any item from your Favorites menu

• Right-click any valid link and select Open in New Window

To navigate an open tab to a new URL, drag and drop any valid link onto any open tab.

To copy the contents of a tab or open a new tab that is navigated to the same URL, hold CTRL and click the Add New Tab button or right-click any tab and select the Copy This Tab option.

Closing Tabs

To close any active tab, click the Close Tab button or right-click any tab and select the Close This Tab option.  Tabs may also be closed by holding SHIFT while left-clicking and dragging the tab off the toolbar.

To close all tabs at once, hold down SHIFT and click the Close Tab button or right-click any tab and select Close All Tabs.

To keep a specific tab open, while closing all other tabs, right-click any tab and select Close All Tabs Except This One.

Moving Tabs / Changing Tab Order

Tabs can be re-arranged by dragging and dropping them into any order.  Simply double-click and drag any tab into a new position on the WebTools toolbar.  This can be very useful to arrange tabs for a slideshow or when performing side-by-side site comparisons.

To move a tab into a new browser window, hold CTRL while left-clicking and dragging the tab off the toolbar.

Controlling Tab Appearance

All settings controlling tab appearance are configured by selecting the Modify Settings… option from the WebTools menu.

To change the default width of your tabs, click the Set Tab Width button under the “Tab Settings” section of the WebTools Settings page.  If the WebTools toolbar becomes too crowded, tabs will grow and shrink accordingly.  Once the toolbar becomes so crowded that the tabs can no longer shrink, new tabs will appear by clicking the chevron at the far right of the toolbar.

To add or remove the text on the Add New Tab and Close Tab buttons, toggle the “Show Add/Close button text” option.

Handling Pop-up Windows

WebTools can be configured to process pop-up windows.  To configure settings for pop-up windows, select the Modify Settings… option from the WebTools menu and adjust options that appear in the “Popup Window Settings” section.

To block pop-up windows altogether, make sure the “Allow popup windows” option is not checked.  Keep in mind, this may prohibit you from viewing legitimate pop-up windows.

Use tabs to capture pop-up windows by selecting the “Open popup windows in new tabs” option.  When this option is selected, a new tab will be created for any pop-up window that occurs.  Pop-up windows captured in new tabs have special tab icons, indicating that they are pop-up windows and not normal tabs.

To prevent WebTools from shifting focus to pop-up windows, select the “Leave popup tabs inactive” option.  This will allow new tabs to be created while your currently open page stays in focus.

Some Web sites spawn multiple pop-up windows.  When this happens, a new tab for each pop-up is created.  To use the same tab for each pop-up window, select the “Use same tab for all popup windows” option.  This will allow new pop-up windows to overwrite currently open pop-up windows, and prevent your WebTools toolbar from becoming too crowded.  But, using a single tab to collect all pop-up windows can also be problematic.  If a legitimate pop-up tab is created or you chose to view a pop-up window, any new pop-up window that occurs will overwrite the previous pop-up window.  Therefore, if you navigate a tab that is considered a pop-up, and you navigate to another site that has pop-up windows, those pop-up windows will overwrite the contents of the current pop-up tab.

To override any pop-up handing on-the-fly, hold down the CTRL when navigating to a new link.

Themebar Compatibility Settings

WebTools is fully compatible with Microgarden Themebar.  To allow Microgarden Themebar the ability to skin Internet Explorer’s animated logo, disable the “Use custom logo” option under the “Themebar Compatibility Settings” section of the WebTools Modify Settings… page.  If you are not running Microgarden Themebar, make sure this option is enabled.  Otherwise, any open tab, other than the first, will not display the animated logo properly.

Using the Slideshow Feature

You can view all open tabs as a slideshow.  When Slideshow mode is enabled, WebTools will cycle through all open tabs, displaying each tab for the amount of time you specify.

To configure slideshow options, select Modify Settings… from the WebTools menu and toggle the options available in the “Slideshow Settings” section.  These settings will allow you to set the tab viewing interval and direction.

To start the slideshow, select Slide Show | Start from the WebTools menu.  To stop the slideshow, select Slide Show | Stop from the WebTools menu.

Using Tab Groups

You can configure WebTools to open multiple Web pages at once.  This is done by creating Tab Groups.

To create a new Tab Group, select Open New Tab Group | Create New Tab Group… from the WebTools menu.  Enter the name of your new Tab Group and click OK.  Then, use the Modify Settings… page to manage Web sites in each group.

To open a Tab Group, select Open Tab Group from the WebTools menu and select the group that you wish to open.

To manage Tab Groups, select Modify Settings… from the WebTools menu, and scroll down to the “Tab Grouping” section.  In this section, you can create new tab groups, delete tab groups, or add and remove Web sites from Tab Groups.  Also in this section, you can set options to append Tab Groups to currently open tabs or replace currently open tabs.  Additionally, you can set a specific Tab Group to open when Internet Explorer starts.

Technical Support

For any support-related issues, please contact Microgarden Support by sending your questions to support@microgarden.com.