Where Is the Forward Button in Chrome for Android?
Sometimes I take on some pretty tough questions for Lifehacker’s weekly Tech 911 Q&A column – hacking this, security of something like why there is-porn-on-my-device. A real monumental piece. I’m going to soften the tone a bit this week by helping the reader deal with the Android annoyance you may have asked yourself about from time to time.
Lifehacker reader Loretta writes:
Thanks for the great Tech 911 tips! Here is my question …. Why can I BACK on my Android smartphone but NOT go to the site I returned from and want to return. Instead, I need to retype everything again.
Ah, Chrome. So, for some reason, Google decided that placing a dedicated back button in a very obvious place in Android’s user interface is a much more important use of space than passing any pixels to its companion, the mighty forward button. (At least on Android.)
To be honest, I can’t blame them. I jump web pages all day, but usually I go back much more often than I ever need to in order to move forward. After all, when you come back down the crumbs path, which is your web session, you can always “go forward” again simply by clicking or tapping on the link you previously clicked on. Then you return to the site you just viewed. Admittedly, though, it’s a little trickier if you use a back button, swipe, or shortcut to take you back to the top of a web page and then have to look for a link that takes you to where you were.
However, this clearly annoys you, so I have several solutions. First of all, this is where you’ll find the Forward button in the Chrome Android app. Just click on the three dots icon in the upper right corner of your browser. Look for an arrow pointing forward – you can’t miss it.
But I will make you better. Enter chrome: // flags in your browser address bar and search for “history”. In the results, look for the “Navigate Scroll History” option .
Turn it on, restart your browser, and you can now swipe from the far left and right sides of the Chrome browser window to go back and forth. I think it will be even faster for you than clicking on a button (or series of buttons), although I would really like to have a simple setting in Chrome to put a forward arrow in the lower right corner of the browser for those who want it. …