Get All Google Services On Chrome and Firefox
If you are a fan of Google products, then you got to try Google Shortcuts. This is a free extension/add-on that brings all Google services to your browser.
Download and install the extension for Google Chrome or Firefox. Once installed, just open the Settings to customize the button. To open the settings button use the Settings icon ( 
) beside the services icons in both the browsers. Here are some changes that you can make to make it work better.
1. Choose Your Favorite Services
- For Chrome: Open the settings and choose your favorite Google services from the left window. To choose the services click on it and it will be selected and moved to the right pane. In a similar way you can remove entries from the right pane.
- For Firefox: Click the settings icon to open the customization window. Now in the left pane the supported services are listed while the selected services are listed in the right pane. To move something from the left pane to right pane you have to select the item in the left pane and then click the topmost green button (pointing right) to move it to the right pane. If you wish to remove a selected service click the item in the right pane and press the yellow arrow button (pointing left). You can also add custom URL in the Firefox add-on.
2. Change the Appearance
- For Chrome: Scroll down to the section named General Appearance and Behaviour. You will now have options like icon appearance, showing labels, whether to open in a new tab and choose the main button for the extension.
- For Firefox: Go to the 2nd tab in the settings window and choose the appearance and behavior of the Google Shortcuts button.
3. Setup Your Google Apps
- For Chrome: This is really great feature that I haven’t found in any previous extension. You can actually setup your Google Apps Custom domain tools also. Just scroll to the last section named Custom Domain for Google Apps and type your Google Apps domain name in the place provided. Now select the services of the domain you wish to add as a shortcut. That’s all. It is important to note that if you have any custom domain activated, all the corresponding services will be overridden i.e as I have mine set to a custom domain, clicking the Gmail link will open my Google apps mail and not the Google mail.
- For Firefox: You can add the Google Apps custom domain in the 2nd tab of the setting window. It is located at the bottom. Refer previous Firefox screenshot.
I am happy that every time I wish to see a Youtube video or even check my apps email I do not have to open my bookmarks or type in the URL. Hope you will enjoy it too.
Great post.
@Clif Thanks man.
Thanks for the nice article. Can I link it on my website as a sort of “tutorial”?
@Soeren: Yes, please go ahead.
I love this Google shortcuts feature. I just learned how to add a custom website link to the toolbar. I have one problem, when I added pogo.com to the toolbar, the button is 1/2 time bigger than the other buttons. How do I resize the button?
@James: I cannot reproduce that behaviour with the latest beta of the Firefox version. Please open a new issue at the corresponding issue tracker: http://googleshortcuts.org/#bugs
@James Unfortunately there is no such option to resize the buttons.
@Soeren Thanks for support.
I have been installing updates to Google Shortcuts ever since it apparently was installed initially by Firefox on my computer. BUT, I haven’t been able to find any icons,button, or toolbar for it anywhere on my computer. I have tried under Firefox “view – toolbars” and under general settings but have zero indication that the program is actually installed and have no way to find it. Suggestions?
How can I get rid of the description (“Google Shortcuts”) on the dropdown button in Firefox? It makes the button way too long. Can’t we have a simple icon without the text just like the chrome version?
Hi, I liked this addon. I set it as drop down menu.
The only thing I liked to be worked in this addon is that you could use enter or return key to open the link.
For example, in “undo closed tab button” you can cycle through the tabs with keyboard and then hit enter to open it. In this addon, you enter key doesn’t work. I hope it will be fixed in next release?
Thanks.
Soeren,
Is it possible to access to the Google Shortcuts button by means the keyboard?
Thanks!
@Amir, Alberto: Would you like it to be added in the Firefox or in the Chrome version?
For future requests, please go to http://www.googleshortcuts.org and pick the correct bugtracker for the FF or Chrome version. Otherwise your suggestions will get lost…
I wish we could choose a Toolbar icon or at least change the wording of the Toolbar icon. I’m using FF 3.6. The icon, phrase, and down arrow, “[icon]Google Shortcuts[v]” takes up an awful lot of room. OrlandoFurioso also mentioned this on November 1st, 2010.
Google+ Shortcut please :-)
the shortcuts settings icon is gone…
how can i either
1. find the icon
2. get rid of the whole shortcuts
I read the statement, “If you like, you can change the main appearance from a toolbar with all buttons, to a single dropdown menu:”. Below that statement is a photo showing a small google shortcut icon (and the resulting drop-down menu) instead of the icon with the phrase “Google Shortcuts”. The statement and photo is at:
http://code.google.com/p/google-shortcuts/
I’ve looked in “Advanced Options”, but I don’t see where you can set google shortcuts to a single drop-down menu. The small icon without the “Google Shortcut” phrase would be wonderful.