How to customize Chromebook desktop

Chrome OS isn’t the most populous option, but there are a few things you can do to make your Chromebook desktop look and function the way you want.

Ready?

Customize your Chromebook wallpaper

First, let’s deal with the basic look and feel of the desktop:

• Right-click anywhere on the Chromebook desktop and select set wallpaper in the menu that appears.
• Click a Google category to see a selection of pre-selected photos, or click the My Pictures option to choose an image from your local storage.
• If you want to change the wallpaper to a new one every day, tap daily change The button at the top of any Google Categories page. (Unfortunately, this option is not currently available with your own photos.)

Customize your browser background

You can also customize the page that appears each time you open a new tab in your browser:

• Open a new tab in Chrome and click chrome customization The button (or the pencil icon) is in the lower right corner of the browser.

• Choose my knowledge To choose a photo from a Google group or Download from device To choose an image from your local storage, follow the instructions to select and confirm the image you want.
• Choose color and theme To change the appearance and background of browser borders. You can choose from several pre-set themes or click the circle with the dropper icon and choose custom colors.

Customize Chromebook Rack

Last but not least, take control of the Chrome OS shelf – a row of shortcuts that look like a dock at the bottom of the screen. Start by identifying the exact symbols that appear in this area:

• Open the app drawer (by clicking the circle icon in the lower left corner of the screen and clicking the up arrow in the partial drawer that appears). Right-click on any item in the list and select rack installation.

• If you want to add a website, open the website, click the three-dotted menu icon in the upper right corner of Chrome and select More toolsfollowed by create Shortcut.

If you want the website to open in an app-like window without the usual browser elements at the top, click open as window option in create Shortcut? The popup that appears. Then press the blue button I made button.

• Drag and drop any of the icons on the shelf to change its position.
• Have you decided you don’t want the icon on your shelf after all? Right-click on the icon and select untie.

And one final possibility: if you want the bookshelf to appear on the left or right side of the screen instead of at the bottom, right-click anywhere inside it and select rack locationthen select to the left or truly. And if you want the bookshelf to remain hidden by default and only appear when you hover over it, right-click on the bookshelf and select Automatic shelf hide Selection.

Update May 27, 2022 at 9:30AM ET: This article was originally published on October 12, 2019 and has been updated to take into account minor changes in the operating system.