Google updates the Tab Context menu in Chrome, removes “Close other Tabs” and other options

Google has implemented the changes they always wanted to do to the tab context menu from the beginning of browser launch in Chrome, recently, the company has removed “Close other tabs”, “Bookmark all tabs” along with other two entries. The changes have been already landed and live in Chrome Canary.

UPDATE November 1, 2019: [ Begin Google to restore Chrome’s “Close other tabs” option

End of Update]

Four years ago, the Chromium team proposed changes to Chrome tab context menu, they suggested removing Close other tabs and
“Close tabs to the right” options due to low usage, however, two years back they assured that they are not going to kill Close tabs to the right option, now the changes have been landed, the Chromium team has kept their promise by not ditching CTTR entry.

If you now launch Chrome Canary and right-click on a tab, you’ll notice it does not contain these options:

• New tab
• Close other tabs
• Reopen closed window
• Bookmarks all tabs

The company has moved the last option mentioned above to tab frame ( check the screenshot below).

Power users may definitely miss Close other tabs option, Chrome employee Peter Kasting suggested using below shortcut to get rid of excessive tabs

To flush your excess tabs, click the first tab you want to close, shift-click the last tab to select the whole range, then hit ctrl-w.

While the discoverability of that shortcut is tough as it is neither defined nor displayed in the tab context menu, the Chromium team is firm on their decision to land changes. When experimental features such as Focus mode and Tab groups get into a stable version, the entries will be replaced by “focus this tab” and tab group option so the context menu will retain same height.

What’s your take on these changes? Let us know your opinions in the comments below [Thanks to Leo]