The XeOS Browser: Tabs, Ad Blocking, Downloads, Reading Mode and Everything Else

Tabs

• Cmd T, new tab. Cmd W, close tab. Cmd Shift T, reopen the tab you just closed.
• Drag tabs to reorder them. Middle-click a tab to close it.
• Right-click a tab for reload, duplicate, Open in Floating Window and close.
• Tabs load lazily, reopening a session with twenty tabs doesn't load twenty pages at once.

The address bar

Type a URL or a search term. The search engine is yours to pick: ⋯ › Change search engine offers Google, DuckDuckGo, Bing, Yahoo, Ecosia, Brave and Startpage. ⋯ › Change homepage sets what the home button goes to, leave it empty to use your search engine.

Ad blocking

Built from EasyList and uBlock filter lists and compiled into the browser engine, so it works without an extension. On by default.

• Block Ads, everywhere, including YouTube video ads. The page reloads when you change it.
• Block Ads on This Site, turn it off for one site that misbehaves without its ads.

Bookmarks

• The star in the toolbar bookmarks the current page.
• Cmd Shift B shows and hides the bookmarks bar.
• Drag bookmarks on the bar to reorder them, or onto a folder to file them.
• Right-click a bookmark to open it in a new tab, edit it, or remove it.
• Manage bookmarks opens the full manager in Settings, with folders and drag-and-drop.

Bringing bookmarks over from another browser is covered in the import guide.

Passwords

⋯ › Passwords opens the saved-logins panel: search, reveal, copy, delete.

Saved logins are offered as autofill on sign-in forms. They're encrypted on the device with the key held in the iOS Keychain, and never uploaded.

Downloads

The download button in the toolbar opens a real download list, progress, transfer speed, time remaining, and cancel.

• Finished files are not opened automatically, you choose when.
• Archives get an Unzip action instead of Open.
• Cancelling a download deletes the partial file rather than leaving debris.
• Open Folder jumps to Downloads in Files.

Reading mode

Cmd Shift R, or the reader button in the address bar when a page supports it, strips a page down to its text and images. On a large screen at a distance, this is the difference between reading an article and squinting at one.

Reading list

⋯ › Add to Reading List saves a page for later; Open Reading List shows what you've saved, with a search box. Entries open in a new tab.

Find on page

Cmd Shift F opens the find bar. Enter jumps to the next match, Shift Enter to the previous one.

Zoom

Cmd +, Cmd − and Cmd 0. Zoom is remembered per site and survives navigation, so a site you always want larger stays larger.

Desktop and mobile versions

You get the desktop version of sites by default, that's the point. ⋯ › Load mobile version of site switches one site to its mobile layout, which is occasionally the quickest fix for a page that's misbehaving.

Saving a page

Right-click a page and choose Save As… to keep a full copy, the HTML plus a folder of its assets, in Files. Saved pages reopen in the browser.

Clearing a site's data

⋯ › Clear Site Data erases everything one site has stored, cookies, caches, local and session storage, and reloads it from a clean slate. This is the fix when a site gets stuck in a login loop.

Staying signed in

Site sessions survive restarts by design. Sign in once and you stay signed in, on every site, across unplugging and plugging back in.

Keyboard shortcuts

The full list, including anything you can remap, is in Settings › Shortcuts.