We here at AskVG love finding hidden secret stuff in software. We have posted about hidden secret features present in Mozilla Firefox, secret debug menu in Windows games, secret about pages in Google Chrome and much more in past. You can find them in our archive.
Today in this tutorial, we are going to tell you how to access hidden secret "Advanced Configuration" pages in popular web browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Opera.
All these 3 browsers come with a secret page which allows you to enable or disable many advanced settings which are not generally available to configure from browser Options window.
Using these hidden configuration pages, you can enable many new experimental features which are disabled by default in the browser. You can also disable many unnecessary features which you don't need or don't like in your browser.
So if you also want to access these hidden pages, check out following simple steps:
1. Access Hidden Secret "about:config" Page in Mozilla Firefox
You must be already aware of this page because we have posted so many tutorials about this secret page of Firefox.
"About:config" page allows you to tweak lots of hidden settings of Mozilla Firefox. You can enable or disable many features and options on the fly.
1. To access this page simply type about:config in Firefox's addressbar and press Enter. It'll ask for confirmation, click on I'll be careful, I promise! button.
2. The page contains 3 types of preferences:
- String
- Boolean
- Integer
3. You can double-click on the desired preference and change its value.
PS: You can find various interesting about:config tweaks in following exclusive articles:
[Did You Know] Ultimate Collection of Mozilla Firefox Hidden Secret Features
Ultimate Collection of Best "about:config" Tweaks for Mozilla Firefox
2. Access Hidden Secret "chrome://flags" Page in Google Chrome
If you are a Google Chrome user, you can access a similar secret configuration page using following steps:
1. Type about:flags or chrome://flags in Chrome's addressbar and press Enter. It'll open the advanced configuration page.
2. This page contains many experimental features and other advanced tweaks which can be enabled or disabled by clicking on Enable or Disable link given below the option description.
3. As soon as you enable or disable an option, a new "Relaunch Now" button automatically appears at bottom which can be used to restart Google Chrome to take effect.
Recently we posted a very useful tweak to enable smooth scrolling in Google Chrome without any extension which also utilizes this secret chrome://flags page:
How to Enable Smooth Scrolling Feature in Google Chrome?
PS: There are many such secret pages in Google Chrome which can be found at following link:
Ultimate List of Hidden Secret "About" Pages in Google Chrome
3. Access Hidden Secret "opera:config" Page in Opera
If you use Opera web browser, you can access its secret configuration page using following steps:
1. Type opera:config in Opera's addressbar and press Enter. It'll open Opera Preferences Editor page.
2. Here you can tweak various settings and features in Opera.
PS: There are many more similar secret pages in Opera. Just type opera: in Opera's addressbar and a drop-down list will automatically appear showing all secret pages such as opera:cache, opera:debug, etc.
4. Access Hidden Secret Configuration Page in Internet Explorer
Unfortunately there is no such hidden secret configuration page available in Internet Explorer but you can always use Group Policy Editor to tweak various settings of Internet Explorer as well as other Windows components.
1. Just type gpedit.msc in RUN or Start Menu search box and press Enter. It'll open Group Policy Editor.
2. Now go to following sections:
- Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Internet Explorer
- User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Internet Explorer
3. Now you can customize and tweak various interesting and hidden settings of Internet Explorer.
So you can see almost all web browsers allow users to tweak many advanced settings using these built-in but hidden configuration pages. Take your time and enjoy tweaking your favorite web browser.
Posted by: Vishal Gupta | Categories: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera
Johan Gustavsson
...But what about IE, doesn't Internet Explorer have any such settings-pafe???
VG
^^ Added Point 4 for IE users. :)
Johan Gustavsson
Thank You Vishal!
julian
Any Secretspage for Safari, VG?
VG
^^ No.
Nag
R u kidding me u didn`t knew 'bout "about:config" in FFox?
charles
Hi,
FYI... I tried the Opera address (you list above) opera:config=works as [ opera: ]=doesn't... an error occurs. Either you are in error or they changed their system since you last updated this?
Would like the new address (if there is one...)
Thank you,
Charles
VG
^^ You don't need to press enter after typing opera:. Just wait a little and Opera will show the pages list in auto-complete drop-down box.
George
Group Policy Editor is not included in a lot of versions of Windows.
VG
^^ True but you can enable it:
http://www.askvg.com/how-to-enable-group-policy-editor-gpedit-msc-in-windows-7-home-premium-home-basic-and-starter-editions/
George
That would be clever. How do you suggest enabling something that is not included?
VG
^^ All built-in features are listed in those hidden configuration pages.
Kiwikid
Opera: Does. NOT. Work. at. all.
Opera:config Does WORK
hax
Chrome:flags cant compare to FF and Opera's advanced config, just a few alpha/beta options there.