[Tip] How to Restore Classic Tab Cycler in Opera Web Browser

Newer versions of Opera web browser (107 and later) come with a new refreshed and animated tab cycler feature which displays the list of all running tabs using new background and UI effects including new animations and shadows. If you don’t like the new enhanced tab cycler and want to restore the old classic tab switcher in Opera web browser, this article will help you.

If you upgraded or installed a new version of Opera web browser such as version 107 or later and you pressed Ctrl+Tab keys together to switch between tabs, you might have noticed that the old tab cycler has been replaced with a new redesigned tab cycler as shown in following screenshot:

The new refreshed tab cycler has been developed based on the design principles of new Opera One UI. It features new blurred background image, large animated tab thumbnails, new fonts and various eye candy effects such as animations and shadows.

PS: The new Tab cycler reminds the good old “Aero Flip 3D” feature introduced in Windows Vista OS by Microsoft which used to display a full screen thumbnails list of all running program windows in 3D view upon pressing Win+Tab keys together. Microsoft discontinued the feature in later Windows versions.

Many Opera users might not like the new animated tab cycler as it uses animations and shadow effects which can slow down the browsing experience. Fortunately, Opera team has provided a hidden secret preference/flag which can be used to enable or disable the new refreshed tab cycler tool in Opera browser.

Following screenshot shows the old classic horizontal tab cycler with dimmed background restored in Opera web browser’s latest version:

If you also want to disable the new redesigned tab cycler and restore previous classic tab cycler in Opera web browser, following steps will help you:

STEP 1: Launch Opera web browser and type opera://flags in address bar and press Enter. It’ll open the hidden secret advanced configuration page called “Experiments“.

STEP 2: Now click inside “Search flags” text box and type cycle. It’ll show following option in the result:

STEP 3: To disable the new animated tab cycler and bring back classic tab cycler, select “Disabled” from the drop-down box.

If you want to enable the new animated tab cycler, select “Enabled” from the drop-down box.

STEP 4: Opera will ask you to restart the browser. Click on “Relaunch now” button to restart Opera.

That’s it. The new or old tab cycler will be activated in your Opera web browser based on the selected preference value.

PS: In future, if you decide to restore default settings, set the above mentioned flag value to Default again.

Also Check:

[Tip] Disable or Remove Opera Splash Screen or Startup Logo and Sound

[Tip] Disable New “Ctrl+Tab” Visual Tab Cycler and Restore Classic Tab Switcher Menu in Opera

[Tip] How to Disable Tab Previews and Tab Menu on Ctrl+Tab Switching in Opera