Google Chrome is a web browser that you can use to access your favorite Google services. You can access these services by opening the Chrome browser and clicking on the three lines in the top left corner of the window. The first line is called “Tools.” The second line is called “Settings.” The third line is called “History.”
Installation
Once you have started the installation process, you will see the following message window. Click on “Install” to finish adding the extension to Chrome.
Once installation has completed you will see your new “Shortcuts Toolbar Button” and this message.
First Look & Setup
Clicking on the “Shortcuts Toolbar Button” will display the following drop-down menu. This is the quickest and easiest way to access the options for the extension (as opposed to using the “Chrome Extensions Page”). Even though this extension is still in the earlier development stages it already has a nice set of services available for you to choose from.
Clicking on “Options” will open the following tab where you can choose to hide any services that you may not need, set two of the available services to open in a “New Window” (definitely a nice touch), and/or add a custom URL.
Note: Selecting “New Window” for “New E-mail and/or New Event” will add a small “New Window Icon” at the right end of that particular listing in your drop-down menu.
For our example we decided to add the URL for Twitter. Once you have made any desired changes click on “Save”…
Note: Make certain that you do not add “http://” in front of the URL. It will automatically be added for you when you click on the link in the drop-down menu.
There is our new link added right at the top of our drop down menu. Please keep in mind that if you have a long address it will affect the width of the drop-down menu.
Google Apps Shortcuts in Action
Clicking on any of the listings in the drop-down menu will immediately open that particular service (or custom URL) in a new tab. The “New E-mail” listing is especially useful if you need to quickly send out a link or image that you have found while browsing.
Conclusion
The Google Apps Shortcuts extension provides an extremely convenient way to access your favorite Google Services in Chrome.
Links
Download the Google Apps Shortcuts extension (Google Chrome Extensions)
