Chrome App on iOS allows to save articles to read later, Google is working to bring the feature to Chrome on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android platforms. Initial bits of the “Read later” feature landed in Chrome behind a flag sometime back. To add articles to the Reading List, the user needs to either click on the bookmark icon or right-click on the tab. Google has extended Reading List with Bookmarks and Search box with Side Panel feature.
Chrome’s Reading List or Read Later feature
First and foremost, the Reading List is enabled by default in Canary.
Its button is located at the end of the address bar for easier access.
To add your first tab to read later,
- Click on the bookmark icon and select the “add to Reading List” option
- or right-click on the tab and select “Add the tab to the Reading list”.
Reading List menu displays unread and read items.
You can hover over an item under Unread and mark it as READ.
Google takes on Edge Vertical Tabs with Side Panel in Chrome
As Microsoft Edge’s Vertical Tabs is gaining traction with each update, Google is readying Side panel in Chrome to compete with that.
While Vertical Tabs lists all open tabs on the left side, Chrome’s side panel displays bookmarks and history on the right side.
After a long time, to be precise after 5 months, Google updated Reading List Menu with
- Bookmarks in addition to Reading List
- And search box over the top to find the pages in Bookmarks or Reading list.
Enable Side Panel in Chrome browser
To see the above changes you need to enable the “Side Panel” flag.
- Visit chrome://flags
- Search for Side Panel and select “Enabled” and restart the browser.
If you’re using stable, to use it, visit chrome://flags and enable the Reading list flag and restart the browser.
The Reading List Menu interface isn’t great, but expect Google to polish it and improve further and add new options and features.
What’s your take on Chrome’s Reading List or Side Panel? Have you found it useful? Let us know in the comments below.
Related articles:
Chrome puts Google Search results in Side Panel on Windows
Microsoft Edge gets Chrome’s Side Panel
Chrome lets you hide the Reading List button on the Bookmarks bar
How to add articles to the ‘Reading list’ in Chrome on desktop