My Chromebook is a great no-nonsense device—perfect for tossing in my bag when I’m on the go while still having a reliable tool within reach that can handle most of my needs.
With long battery life and bright touchscreens, the best Chromebooks make it easy to work anywhere—even on the sunniest days. Designed for simplicity, they offer a seamless laptop experience without unnecessary complexity.
Whether you want to improve your Chromebook experience or are looking for more reasons to get one, here are five Chromebook features you should be using.
1. Use virtual desks to stay organized
(Image: © Tom’s Guide )
If you want to stay organized, focused, and efficient, then virtual desks are for you.
Instead of cluttering your Chromebook screen with too many windows, you can categorize different groups of apps into separate desks.
You can, for instance, have a desk for when you’re in ‘work mode’ which features your documents and email. Once it’s time to clock out, you can switch to your ‘entertainment’ desk reserved for YouTube and Netflix.
To create a new desk, press the show windows key on your Chromebook. Then at the top of your screen, click the add new desk button represented by a + sign.
2. Reveal keyboard shortcuts
(Image: © Tom’s Guide )
Want to breeze through your tasks? Then it may be wise to invest some time in learning about some of the Chromebook’s keyboard shortcuts.
These include shortcuts for taking a screenshot, signing out of your account, and opening Google Assistant.
To pull up a full list of shortcuts, first go to your settings page. Under the Device tab, select keyboard and inputs. This will lead you to a new menu where you’ll find the option to view keyboard shortcuts.
Alternatively, you can use a shortcut to reveal the other shortcuts. Simply press Ctrl + Search + S.
3. Capture your screen
(Image: © Tom’s Guide )
Without needing any third-party apps, Chromebooks give you an easy option to record your screen or to grab a screenshot. Both of these are saved directly to your downloads folder by default.
To take a screenshot or to record your Chromebook’s screen, click on the status area where the time and battery level are displayed. Then click screen capture.
4. Unlock your Chromebook with your phone
(Image: © Tom’s Guide)
If remembering all your passwords isn’t your thing, your Chromebook has your back.
While you can sign in to your account with a password like a regular laptop, your Chromebook offers you an alternative way to access your account via your Android phone.
After you’ve connected your Android phone to your Chromebook, select the device and turn Smart lock on. Next turn on your phone’s Bluetooth.
When you go to your Chromebook’s login screen, with both devices connected, you can now unlock your phone to simultaneously unlock your Chromebook.
5. Letting guests use your Chromebook
(Image: © Tom’s Guide)
If you have friends or family staying over, you can be a gracious host and offer your Chromebook for them to use.
he best thing is that you don’t have to worry about logging out of your accounts or that they’ll accidentally erase any of your files.
To access the guest account, go to the main login screen and choose the Browse as guest button. This will set up a temporary profile for your guests to use.
It’s important to remember that none of the settings they alter or files they download will be kept after their session.
Now that you’ve learned about these Chromebook features you can use right now, why not check out our other computing articles? Check out how to boost into Windows 10 safe mode, how to stop your personal data from appearing in Google searches, and how to enable God Mode in Windows 11 or Windows 10.
