If you've just installed Opera, you might be surprised at the amount of distractions on offer. Right away, the browser greets you with the latest headlines. Then there's the Speed Dial, whose thumbnail size makes it pretty hard to ignore. On the left is the sidebar with its instant messaging shortcuts that follow you everywhere. How are you going to work?
Table of ContentsStart Page News FeedPersonal NewsInstant Messaging Notification BadgesSidebarSuggestionsSpeed DialBookmarks BarExtensions BarSearch PopupWeb NotificationsNo More Distractions
Fortunately, Opera is highly customizable. Therefore, you shouldn't have too much trouble disabling these distracting UI elements. Below you will find the quickest ways to turn them off.
There's nothing like a bunch of flashing headlines to distract you. But that's exactly what Opera does once you load it up. And the fact that you keep seeing the News Feed every time you open a new tab makes it an absolute nightmare. Getting rid of it is a necessity rather than an option.
Step 1: From the start page or a new tab, click the Easy Setup icon in the upper right corner of the screen.
Step 2: In the Easy Setup menu that appears, turn off the switch next to Show News in the Appearance section.
And There you go ! Here is the news feed.
If the news feed on the start page and new tab pages weren't enough, you have another feature called Personal News. It works like an RSS reader and displays a continuous stream of articles from various online sources. Its easily accessible nature via the sidebar means you need to get rid of it as soon as possible.
To do this, right-click on the sidebar and then uncheck the option labeled Personal News. This hides the Personal News icon from view.
Since Personal News is still accessible from the Opera menu, you can effectively override its ability to pump new feeds by briefly visiting the Settings panel. Type Parameters in the address bar, press Enter and then click Advanced.
Scroll down to the section titled Personal News, then select Never using the drop-down menu next to Check my sources for new content.
Aside from personal news, there's also the little news icon that appears in Opera's address bar. Although this is simply an option to display a site's RSS feed, if it distracts you, consider turning it off.
To do this, turn off the switch next to Show available news feeds in the address bar from the same screen as above.
Opera's sidebar integrates instant messengers such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. If their presence isn't distracting enough, you also receive alerts with notification badges for new messages. Luckily, you can disable these badges.
Step 1: Right-click the sidebar, then select Sidebar Settings.
Step 2: Turn off the switch next to Enable notification badges for messengers.
If you also want to get rid of the IM icons themselves, simply disable them by unchecking the corresponding boxes via the Customize Items section in the sidebar.
The sidebar is a neat implementation with shortcuts to various useful features like Instant Search and My Flow. However, it annoyingly follows you around. Combine that with the distracting icons on it, and you're well on your way to some serious procrastination.
While you can't completely disable the feature, the best you can do is "unpin" it. This limits the sidebar to the start page and new tabs only. To do this, right-click the sidebar, then click Undock Sidebar.
As you discovered in the previous section, you can turn off major distractions (like WhatsApp) while keeping the sidebar. But if you need more screen real estate, unpinning it is the smarter choice.
Suggestions are annoying tiles that display below the speed dial. They are simply taken from your recent browsing history. Not to mention the potential privacy implications that may also arise.
To turn off suggestions, open the Easy Setup menu, then turn off the switch next to Show Speed Dial Suggestions.
The customizable nature of the Speed Dial means it can be a great productivity-enhancing tool. But if you want to start with a clean slate every time you launch the browser or open a new tab, it's best to get rid of that too.
Although you can manually remove shortcuts in Speed Dial, why not consider disabling the feature instead? That way, you can get it back with all shortcuts intact if you change your mind later.
Open Opera's Settings panel and click Advanced. Scroll down to the Start Page section, then turn on the next Hide Speed Dial switch.
The bookmarks bar is permanently displayed below the address bar. If you find this bothers you, consider hiding it.
To do this, open the Easy Setup menu, then turn off the switch next to Show bookmarks bar.
You can also use the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+B to bring up the bookmark manager. You can then uncheck or check the box next to Show bookmarks bar to hide or show it.
Opera is based on the Chromium engine, which also powers Google Chrome. This means that you have access to thousands of interesting extensions.
However, start installing a few add-ons and you will see them appear in an additional vertical bar on the left side of the screen. Not only does the Extensions Bar take up valuable screen space, it also looks hideous and distracting stacked next to the Sidebar.
To disable it, right-click the Extensions Bar, then click Hide Extensions Bar. You can also press the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+S to quickly toggle it on and off.
Opera's in-context search feature displays a small toolbar with a handy set of options (Search, Copy, and My Feed) whenever you highlight text on web pages. However, it's a little distracting – not to say off-putting – if all you want to do is copy text to your clipboard using keyboard shortcuts.
To disable the feature, go to Opera's Settings panel, scroll down to the Forensic Search section, then turn off the switch next to Enable Forensic Search When Selecting Text.
Web notifications are a real threat. They appear on the desktop even with the browser minimized. Follow the steps below to make sure the sites require your explicit permission below they can bombard you with notifications.
Step 1: In Opera's Settings panel, click Advanced, then click Content Settings under Privacy and Security.
Step 2: Click Notifications.
Step 3: Turn on the switch next to Ask before sending (recommended). If this restriction was already in place and you accidentally allowed notifications for a particular site, remove the offending site from the list under Allow.
You can also use the Add button next to the Block section to add sites to a blacklist. It even prevents sites from asking your permission in the first place.
Opera is a very good desktop browser, and quite possibly the best Chromium-based Chromium alternative. But the various distractions it offers are a bit too much for a productive experience. It's up to you to deactivate as many of them as possible.
Next step:Web pages load slowly? Click the link below to find out how you can boost your browsing experience with Opera.
