Update: This Google Chrome extension is no longer available in the Web store.
When I am using Firefox, one of the extension that I can’t live without is FireGesture. I love how it allows me to switch between tabs, view source, go back history, go forward, undo close tabs and many more stuffs with minimal hassle. No longer do I need to move my mouse to the menu bar just to click on the ‘Back’ button. In Google Chrome, I have been searching for such an extension and I am glad that Smooth Gesture comes along.
Smooth Gestures is a Chrome extension that allows you to control your browser with mouse gesture. With a simple gesture , you can easily switch between tabs, go back one page in History or go forward. In short, you can quickly navigate webpages with minimal effort.
After you have installed it, you can immediately use it by clicking and holding the right mouse button and move your mouse around. You will see trail on the screen that tells you the gesture that you are drawing. Of course, it won’t work for any sort of graffiti drawing. You have to follow the set of pre-defined gesture for it to work properly. For example, to move back one page in History, simply draw a straight line from right to left. It doesn’t matter how long or big your drawing is, or where you execute your drawing (must be within the browser window). Similarly, drawing a straight line from left to right makes your browser go forward a page in History.
Some other gestures include:
Reload tab
Close Tab
Open status page
You can check out the Settings page for the full list of gestures.
Customization
It won’t be useful at all if there is no options for customization. In the Settings page, you can find all the available gestures. If there is any gesture that you find it uncomfortable to use, you can remove it by clicking the ‘X’ button and add your own gesture by clicking the ‘+’ button. A canvas will then appear for you to draw your own gesture.
You can add more than one gesture for each action, but you have to make sure that none of the gestures overlap with each other.
Other settings that you can configure include the color and thickness of the trailing line and also create your own domain blacklist to disable gestures on the included domains.
Some complaints
Smooth gestures does not work with all pages, especially for those sites that do not allow mouse right clicking. In such sites, you will see a mouse icon in your address bar.
Also, when you install Smooth Gestures, it will create a ‘Smooth Gestures Profile’ folder in your bookmarks with two system files used by the extension. Some users have complained about this issue, so if you are really paranoid about an extension messing up your bookmark, do not install this.
Have you used Smooth Gestures?
Damien Oh started writing tech articles since 2007 and has over 10 years of experience in the tech industry. He is proficient in Windows, Linux, Mac, Android and iOS, and worked as a part time WordPress Developer. He is currently the owner and Editor-in-Chief of Make Tech Easier.
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