If you want faster access to these services, then that is possible with the help of a Chrome extension. You can create a custom list of Google services shortcuts and access them with just two clicks. Keep reading and I’ll introduce the extension and how to use it.
Enter Shortcuts for Google™
Shortcuts for Google™ is a completely free Chrome extension that offers quick shortcuts for over 1000 Google services pages. Not only it provides shortcuts to the landing pages of each service but also the secondary services and important pages. For example, it has a shortcut for YouTube along with YouTube TV, YouTube Kids, YouTube Live, and YouTube Analytics, etc.
Using Shortcuts for Google™
Using the extension is actually pretty simple, just click on the extension button and it will open a customizable list of Google services with name and icons. Click on any of the icons and it will open the service in a new tab. It’s a scrollable list, so if you have lots of shortcuts then you’ll have to scroll.
There is also a search bar at the top where you can enter the name of a service to easily filter through the list, very handy if you have too many shortcuts. Furthermore, you can click on the “Gear” to access settings to customize everything.
Customize settings
In the settings, there are two panels at the top, one consists of all the available shortcuts and the other is your custom list of shortcuts. Just click on any shortcut in the left panel and it will be added in the right panel for you to use through the extension button. You can also add keywords in the search bar at the top to find related Google services shortcuts.
To customize the behavior of the extension, scroll down a little and in the “Appearance” section you’ll find options to change the shortcut list’s interface. You can choose a horizontal or vertical list, or even choose a custom number of columns. There is also an option to hide labels and increase/decrease the size of icons to fit according to your need.
You can go to the “Shortcut behavior” section below it to change how the extension works when you use it. You can make it open the Google service page in a new tab, move to the service tab if it’s already open, or open it in a completely new window.
Best of all, you can create custom shortcuts too of any webpage or service and keep them along with Google services shortcuts, like quickly access Facebook or your work website. To do so, click on the “Add custom shortcut” button at the bottom of the two panels at the top and provide the webpage URL and name.
Ending words
This extension is definitely a great productivity boost if you depend on many Google services. Although it works similar to bookmarking a page, but having a fully customizable space with easy search options makes it worth a try. It’s also really cool to find out interesting new pages of Google service you probably didn’t even know about. After all, there are over a thousand shortcuts, so many of them are hidden pages or secondary services.
