The hidden Chrome menu allows for easy testing of the latest browser tests

Testing a new Chrome feature is a bit of a hassle. It's a bit of a hassle to try Chrome features in development so far. You can choose to use Chrome Beta or Canary for a glimpse of what's to come, but these are unstable releases that can contain lots of bugs. Therefore, Google does not recommend using them as your primary browser.

There are also features that cannot be used unless you activate a specific Chrome Flag (a type of switch is accessed by going to chrome: // flags ). This is not very convenient, and disabling features can be a problem, if you cannot remember exactly which of the dozens of Flags enabled.

Now, as Techdows reports, there's a new secret toolbar button that you can activate, giving you access to a simple menu to enable and disable experimental features, called Chrome Labs.

Chrome Labs - Secret testing tool

Chrome Labs itself is currently experimental, so using it still requires going back to chrome: // flags , but that's something you only need to do once.

You will also need to download and install the Canary build of Chrome 89 (you can run it alongside the stable build). Once you're ready, you can activate Chrome Labs with the following steps:

Step 1. Launch Chrome and access chrome: // flags.

Step 2. Search for Chrome Labs and then use the drop-down menu to select Enabled.

Step 3. Restart your browser to enable the feature.

You should immediately see that there is a new button on the Chrome toolbar. To the right of the address bar, there is a button shaped like a lab cup. Click here and you'll see a menu listing the experimental features currently available for you to try out - just select 'Enabled' for whatever experimental feature you want to try.

Currently, there are only two experimental features for you to test. The first is Reading List , which gives you the ability to quickly add tabs to your reading list through the context menu. The second is Tab Search (previously available as a flag), which activates a handy option to search for open tabs, eliminating having to manually search for the word you're looking for.

Hopefully Chrome Labs will make it easier for those who don't like tinkering with Flags to experiment with new features - like Firefox Test Pilot, which allows adding in-progress features to the browser in the form of a plugin-friendly. with users.

Check out the menu often, because you never know when Google might add something interesting for you to keep exploring!

Samuel Daniel

Update 11 December 2020