Opera adds vertical tabs, winning praise from ZDNet reviewer
Opera has added vertical tabs to its browser, a feature users have long requested. A ZDNet review says the implementation is easy to use and preserves pinned tabs and workspace organization.
The reviewer, who has used Opera on and off for more than a decade, said the company had been missing vertical tabs despite offering other features such as Workspaces, split screen, and a theming engine. With many tabs open, horizontal tabs become too small to identify easily, while vertical tabs display each tab's label clearly. The reviewer said they now avoid browsers that lack native vertical tabs.
In Opera, vertical tabs are enabled by right-clicking or two-finger tapping an open tab and selecting "Use vertical tab strip" from the menu. The tabs then move to a sidebar on the left. To return to horizontal tabs, users right-click or two-finger tap a tab or empty space in the tab strip and select "Use horizontal tab strip."
According to the review, switching to vertical tabs keeps all pinned tabs and Workspaces organization intact, so users do not need to reorganize their open tabs after making the change. The tab strip can also be resized by clicking and dragging the vertical separator between the tab strip and the web page, allowing users to adjust how much horizontal space the page receives.
The review notes that Opera users can get the update through the browser's Update & Recovery page, and new users can download the installer from Opera's official site.