Ever been working on multiple browsers and wanted to sync tabs between them? We must have all been there. You can easily sync tabs across devices on the same browser, be it Chrome, Firefox, or Edge. But syncing tabs between browsers is a little complex.
Syncing tabs between browsers helps if you use different browsers, say one at your workplace and another at home. This is where ‘Tab Session Manager’, an extension comes to your aid. It is available on all commonly used browsers, namely, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Edge.
After you have synced the tabs, you can open one that is being accessed on another browser. We will walk you through the whole process in this article for a better understanding.
Installing Tab Session Manager on Different Browsers
You can install ‘Tab Session Manager’ from the extension/add ons store for the browser. The process is similar for all the browsers and you have to install it on all the browsers that you want to sync. We will be discussing the process for Google Chrome.
To download the extension on Chrome and Edge, open chrome.google.com/webstore in a new tab in the browser.
To install the add-on on Firefox, open the addons.mozilla.org website in a new tab.
Next, search for ‘Tab Session Manager’ in the search box on the Chrome Web Store or Add-ons for Firefox website and press ENTER
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Select the ‘Tab Session Manager’ by ‘Sienori’ from the list of options.
Next, click on the ‘Add to Chrome’ option to download and install the extension.
A pop-up will appear at the top asking for confirmation. Click on ‘Add extension’ to confirm.
The ‘Tab Session Manager’ extension will now be installed on Chrome. You can similarly install the extension on all browsers where you wish to sync the tabs.
Setting Up Tab Session Manager
Once the tab session manager has been installed, access it from the ‘Extensions’ icon in the toolbar at the top. To access, click on the ‘Extensions’ icon and then select ‘Tab Session Manager’ from the list of installed extensions.
The extensions window will pop up at the top. Click on the ‘Settings’ icon at the top-right of the extension window.
You will see a bunch of options on the screen. We will keep our focus on syncing tabs and only discuss the options related to it. In the ‘Settings’ tab, scroll down and enter a name for the browser in the text box next to ‘Device name’. Next, tick the checkbox for ‘Save device name to session’ just above it. When you have a set device name, it helps you identify which device the tabs are from.
Also, check if the ‘Save the session regularly’ option is enabled, if not, enable it by checking the box next to it. You can also set the time period for the syncing of tabs and the number of sessions that you want to save. Enter the preferred value for the two.
Once you are done with the basic settings, scroll down and click on the ‘Sign in with Google’ icon next to ‘Enable cloud sync (Beta)’. When you sign in with Google, the sessions are backed up on Google Drive and thus can be accessed from other computers and browsers as well. Also, check the box for ‘Automatically sync’ to enable the sync whenever you launch the browser and when the session is saved.
After you click on ‘Sign in with Google’, a permission box appears at the top. Click on ‘Allow’ to proceed. This gives the extension the permission to read and change your Google APIs (Application Performing Interfaces) data.
You are required to enter the email ID you want to log in with. Use the same email ID to log in to all the other browsers as well. After entering the email ID, click on ‘Next’ at the bottom to proceed.
Enter your password and then click on ‘Next’ to complete the log in process.
You will now be asked to grant ‘Tab Session Manager’ to view, create and delete its data on your Google Drive. As already discussed earlier, the session data is backed up on Google Drive which allows you to sync tabs. Therefore, you have to grant permission by clicking on ‘Allow’ in the permission box.
You can now view the various permissions that have been granted on the screen. All that is left for you to do is click on ‘Allow’.
Repeat the whole process with all the browsers and remember to use the same email ID for logging in on each.
Syncing Tabs with Tab Session Manager
Once you have set up the extension on all the browsers you wish to sync, you’ll be able to see open tabs on any of the browsers.
First, click on the ‘Tab Session Manager’ extension icon in the toolbar and then click on the ‘Sync’ icon at the top.
Once the sync is complete, you will find the sessions listed on the extension box. The active tab is the name for each session. Also, since you have named each device, it will be mentioned alongside the session name which helps distinguish between them. Click on the session name to view the various tabs that are open. To open a tab, simply click on it on the right.
If you want to open all the tabs of a particular session, you can do so in a single click. Hover the cursor over the session name and click on the ‘Open’ icon. It will open all the tabs in a seperate window.
Also, you may need to manually sync every once in a while for effective results.
With the ‘Tab Session Manager’ extension installed on all the browsers across devices, you can easily sync the tabs between Chrome and other browsers. The extension installation and the initial setup may be a time-consuming task, but once that’s done, you can enjoy the benefits without any hassle.
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