Chromebooks are known for their simplicity, affordability, and speed, making them suitable for a wide range of audiences looking for a computer that works and performs well. However, Chromebooks aren’t completely boring either and contain hidden tricks that can help you be more productive or simply get more enjoyment out of the machines. Although some of these features are hidden in Chrome flags, some are already in the operating system and waiting to be discovered. Here are 18 hidden ChromeOS features you’ve probably never used.

1. Virtual Offices

Virtual Desk is a truly underrated ChromeOS feature that more people should start using. This allows you to have multiple “desktops” where you can have different sets of applications running. For example, you might have Google Classroom and a few applications running on one desktop and all entertainment or gaming applications running on another.

This makes multitasking easier. Virtual desktops are accessed by swiping up with three fingers on the trackpad. If you want to change desktops, use the ChromeOS keyboard shortcut Shift + Launcher + . There is also a dedicated desktop key to open all current desktops. It’s usually the fifth key from the left. You can also swipe left or right using four fingers on the trackpad to switch between desktops.

2. Save the desktop for later

Speaking of virtual desktops, another hidden feature here that deserves your attention is the Save Desktop for Later feature. As you might have already guessed, it saves a desktop so you can I wouldn’t need to open a new office and reopen the same set of apps.

It is also remembers the orientation of applications and whether they were photographed in a particular style. When you open a saved desktop, it will open exactly as you saved it. This feature could save you time and effort.

3. Linux development environment

Okay, Linux support may not be a truly hidden feature, but we still think many people aren’t taking advantage of its benefits because they’ve never heard or used Linux. The potential of Linux on ChromeOS is endless; Games, desktop applications, utilities, software development, etc.

It completely transforms your Chromebook from a boring experience due to lack of desktop apps into an experience full-fledged office operating system. Not to mention, learning Linux is an extremely valued skill in the software industry, so if you have ambitions to contribute in this field, installing Linux on a Chromebook could be a good place to start.

4. Sideloading via Linux

Back in the day, sideloading Android apps on ChromeOS required enabling Developer mode. Although its activation is simple, its deactivation requires a Pressure washing. Google quickly introduced another way to sideload apps on ChromeOS via Linux, and we explained it in detail in our loading apps on ChromeOS article.

All you need to do is enable Linux if your Chromebook supports it and enable ADB Debugging from Develop Android Apps. You can then launch the terminal and load the application you want to use ADB.

5. Automatic wallpaper change

This is one of the most overlooked Chromebook features. Looking at the same wallpaper every day can get boring. ChromeOS has a bunch of personalization features. One of them is the Change Daily feature.

There are many wallpaper packs on ChromeOS and you can ask ChromeOS to mix them daily using the Change daily option. That said, we wish ChromeOS gave us the ability to save photos as a pack and shuffle them daily.

6. Welcome Summary

Welcome Recap is a relatively new feature in ChromeOS. It’s like the “Restore” pop-up notification when your Chromebook suddenly shuts down. The only difference is that you can choose to display the welcome summary after each restart. One of the benefits of this feature is that it saves you a lot of time and allows you pick up exactly where you left off.

Let’s say you have a few Chrome tabs open, along with a few extensions and PWAs when you turn off the device. Welcome Recap will ask you the next time you start if you want to restore them. If you choose yes, the applications will be restored to exact positions and arrangements you left them.

7. ChromeOS Clipboard

Like Windows, ChromeOS has a clipboard accessible using the Launcher + V shortcut. It can store the last five things you copied, including images, which is great. You can click on one of the five previously things copied to paste he. It’s truly one of the most underutilized features of ChromeOS and deserves to be on this list.

8. Emoji Picker

Another great Windows-like feature that ChromeOS doesn’t miss is the Emoji picker, accessible using the Launcher + Shift + Spacebar shortcut. We have made a dedicated guide on how to use the Emoticon picker on ChromeOS. Besides emojis, you can also add special symbols and GIFs! You can search for a specific emoji or GIF, and everything is categorized into sections. This is easily one of the best hidden features in ChromeOS.

9. Steam for gaming

Gone are the days when ChromeOS was considered just for students and casual users. With Steam officially available on ChromeOS, you can play games quite easily. All you have to do is open the launcher, search for Steam and click Install Steam. Setup should begin and Steam should be installed in no time.

You are not limited to Steam. The presence of Linux means you can install other game launchers like Heroic to play your Epic Games Library on ChromeOS.

10. Customize keyboard shortcuts

The ability to customize keyboard keys on ChromeOS has been reimplemented in Chrome OS 123. This is a nice feature that allows you to change the function of a key. The functionality can be found in Device > Keyboard and typing > Customize keyboard keys. For example, you can set the launcher key to open the Assistant.

11. Customize Mouse Keys

While not completely hidden, mouse customizations rolled out in ChromeOS 123, which is fairly new. This is a great feature that appears in the Device section as soon as you connect a mouse with multiple buttons. You can then use the functionality to map buttons to different functionswhich could increase your overall productivity.

12. Save GIFs

No article about ChromeOS hidden features is complete without Chrome Flags. There are tons of flags Chrome://flags and one of my favorite flags by far is the Record GIFs flag. ChromeOS gives you the ability to take a screenshot and record a screen, but if you want reduce file size of screen recordingsyou may want to convert it to a GIF, which involves an extra step.

Well, not if you enable the #ash-capture-mode-gif-recording flag. Once enabled, try selecting the area you want to record and you should see a small arrow next to “Recording Screen”. You can then select Save a GIF to start recording in GIF format.

13. Set the correct scaling for Steam

Steam scaling on ChromeOS is a bit off. The window and its contents appear tiny and you may have to squint when navigating the user interface. However, Google is aware of this issue and there is a fix in Chrome Flags. All you have to do is activate the #borealis-force-double-scale flag and scaling issues should be fixed.

14. Quickly preview files

Searching for an image among hundreds of other images can take a long time. Not to mention that the default view isn’t great for quickly finding the image you’re looking for. The thumbnail view improves things a bit but the images and their details are still not big enough. In this case you can use the spacebar to quickly preview a file on ChromeOS, just like on macOS. This will help you browse images quickly.

15. Reduce keyboard backlight brightness

If your Chromebook has keyboard backlighting that you want to turn off or dim to save battery power, you’ll need to use keyboard shortcuts. Press the Alt + Display Brightness Shortcut to increase or decrease the brightness of your keyboard backlight.

16. Enable function keys

Many users switching from Windows will immediately notice the lack of function keys. However, ChromeOS has a Treat the top row as function keys feature that treats the topmost row of keys as function keys. To use the top row of keys and their original functionality, you can use them while pressing the key Launch key.

17. Screensaver

Although it’s not completely hidden, the screen saver is a feature that few people use. Of course, many prefer to have their Chromebook go to sleep when not in use rather than display images that consume battery power. However, there is an option in ChromeOS to view photos from Google Photos album. If you have a lot of artwork or good memories that you want to remember, you can use this feature.

18. Enable Caps Lock

The lack of Caps Lock on ChromeOS may confuse some Windows users, but it is not completely absent from the operating system. Caps Lock can be enabled on a Chromebook using the shortcut Alt + Launcher. You can use the same shortcut to disable it.

And these are some of the best hidden features of ChromeOS that will add brilliance to your ChromeOS experience and make it considerably better. Do you know of any hidden features that we may have missed that deserve to be on this list? Let us know in the comments.