Bookmarks in Arc are called “Pinned Tabs”. Users can pin frequently visited pages to the sidebar for quick access later. Pinned tabs persist across browsing sessions and sync across devices.
Pinning Tabs
To pin a tab in Arc, simply right-click on the tab and select “Pin Tab”. This will pin the page to the sidebar. Alternatively, users can drag and drop tabs onto the sidebar to pin them.
Pinned tabs in Arc have some advantages over traditional bookmarks:
- They preserve the scroll position and form data, so you resume where you left off.
- They keep favicon, page title, and URL intact.
- They sync automatically across devices.
Organizing Pinned Tabs
Arc offers flexible options to organize pinned tabs and customize your sidebar:
Spaces
Spaces allow grouping pinned tabs into categories like Work, Shopping, News etc. You can create multiple spaces and switch between them from the sidebar.
Folders
Folders help group related pinned tabs together within a space. For example, you can have separate work folders for different projects or clients. Drag and drop tabs between folders to organize them.
Favorites
Favorites provide quick access to the most important pinned tabs. You can favorite up to 12 pins and access them from a special Favorites dock at the top of the sidebar.
Sorting
Pinned tabs can be freely sorted within a space or folder by drag and drop. You can arrange them in whatever order you prefer – alphabetically, by frequency of use etc.
Nesting
Folders can be nested within other folders to create a hierarchy. For example, you can have separate Client folders within a main Work folder. Nested folders are denoted by indentation.
Interacting with Pinned Tabs
Arc provides some unique ways to view and interact with your pinned tabs directly from the sidebar:
Hover Previews
Hovering over a pinned tab shows a preview of the webpage. This allows quickly glancing at a page without having to actually open it.
Peek
Peek allows viewing pinned tab links in a popup overlay without navigating away from the current page. Just single click on a pinned tab to Peek it.
Split View
Split View lets you view two pinned tabs side-by-side. Just drag and drop a pinned tab onto the Split View icon in the sidebar.
Picture-in-Picture
Video pinned tabs like YouTube can continue playback in a mini player when navigating to other tabs. The video pops out into a floating window.
Customizing Appearance
Arc provides extensive theming options to customize the visual appearance of your pinned tabs and sidebar:
Tab Icons
Change the favicon on any pinned tab to an emoji or custom image. Just right-click and select “Change Icon”.
Tab Titles
Edit custom display titles for your pinned tabs. The original page title will still show on hover.
Space Themes
Each Space can have its own color theme, background image, and custom icon. Access Space theming options by clicking the paintbrush icon.
Fonts
Customize default font styles and sizes for the entire Arc interface via the Preferences.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Arc provides handy keyboard shortcuts to efficiently access and manage your pinned tabs:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Cmd + E | Open pinned tabs menu |
| Cmd + 1-8 | Jump to specific pinned tab |
| Cmd + 9 | Jump to last pinned tab |
| Cmd + Shift + [ | Cycle to previous Space |
| Cmd + Shift + ] | Cycle to next Space |
Conclusion
Arc reimagines bookmarks as interactive pinned tabs that offer greater convenience and customization options compared to traditional bookmarking systems. The flexible organization into Spaces, Folders and Favorites along with unique interactions like Hover Previews and Split View make Arc’s pinned tabs a powerful productivity tool for your browsing workflow.
Advanced Customization
Beyond basic organization, Arc provides advanced ways to customize your pinned tabs and tailor them to your workflow.
Tab Actions
Configure custom actions when a pinned tab is clicked, like opening in a new window, loading without cookies, or running a JavaScript function.
Conditional Logic
Show/hide pinned tabs based on rules – for example, only display work-related tabs during business hours.
Web APIs
Leverage browser APIs in clever ways, like loading pinned YouTube tabs in hidden background tabs to keep recommended videos queued up.
Automation
Automate tab interactions by writing scripts that can open, refresh, manipulate pinned tabs at scheduled times or events.
Collaboration
Arc enables seamless collaboration using pinned tabs:
Sharing
Share selected pinned tabs with others by generating a permanent URL. Recipients can view the live tabs in any browser.
Teams
Add teammates to a Space for shared access to pinned tabs. Everyone can add tabs and see real-time updates.
Comments
Leave comments on specific pinned tabs to discuss with your team or annotate for personal reference.
Webhooks
Trigger actions when tabs change, like sending Slack notifications when someone adds a new document.
Privacy and Security
Arc has robust privacy protections built around pinned tabs:
Encryption
End-to-end encryption secures your pinned tabs in transit and at rest. Not even Arc can access them.
Isolation
Spaces isolate tabs into separate browsing contexts. Tabs in one Space cannot access data from another.
Permissions
Granular tab permissions give you control over cookie access, location data, notifications etc. per tab.
Tracker Blocking
Built-in tracker blocking lets you browse pinned tabs more privately by blocking hidden third-party requests.
Auditing
Review a timeline of events like tab accesses, permission changes and account logins for security.
Use Cases
Some practical examples of how Arc’s pinned tabs can be utilized:
Online Shopping
– Pin product pages across multiple stores in one place for easy price and feature comparison.
– Preserve opened carts and wishlists with saved form data.
– Create a separate deals space and pin discounted item pages there.
Planning Travel
– Pin hotel and flight options, trip itineraries, reservations etc. in a Trip Space.
– Keep relevant maps pinned for quick access without having to search again.
– Share trip details as pinned tabs with family and friends.
Job Search
– Pin interesting job postings and application pages to follow up on later.
– Create a folder for each target company to organize research on them.
– Use Split View to compare job listings side-by-side.
Reading News
– Pin categories of news like Technology, Sports, Local News in separate folders.
– Mute distracting news during work hours using conditional logic.
– Peek articles quickly without losing your place on the current page.
Tips and Tricks
Some clever tips for mastering Arc’s pinned tabs:
Pin Extension Pages
– Pin browser extension dashboards you use often for quick access.
– Configure them to open in a new tab when clicked.
Queue Media
– Pin YouTube playlists or podcast episodes to queue them up in hidden tabs.
– Use Picture-in-Picture to keep watching/listening while browsing.
Visual Bookmarks
– Capture a screenshot of part of a page you want to bookmark visually.
– Pin the screenshot instead of the URL.
Saved Searches
– Generate a unique search URL with your query parameters.
– Pin the search URL to “bookmark” that search.
Web App Spaces
– Pin web app dashboards like Google Docs, Notion, Figma into dedicated spaces.
– Stay logged into web apps with persistent cookies.
Conclusion
Arc reimagines bookmarking as an interactive tab pinning system with advanced customization. Its spaces, folders, favorites model and unique tab interactions like hover previews offer a more powerful and flexible alternative to traditional browser bookmarks. As web browsers continue to evolve, innovations like Arc’s pinned tabs provide a glimpse into the future of personal knowledge management on the internet.
