How to Completely Set up a Chromebook
The whole point of cloud-based devices like Chromebooks is to give you the most succinct, easy-to-use window into the Internet. This means ChromeOS doesn’t include a ton of software and settings options that you’ll find in Windows or macOS. However, it still offers a number of settings that you can tweak to make it work better for you.
These tweaks cover everything from making ChromeOS easier to use with themes to improving productivity by putting your most frequently used apps at your fingertips. Spend a little time on these settings, and you’ll end up with a Chromebook that’s much more personal.
How to Change Wallpaper and Themes on Chromebook
A desktop wallpaper is perhaps the most obvious way to personalize your computer, and changing the background in ChromeOS is easy: Press the touchpad with two fingers while the cursor is in an empty area of the desktop, then select Set Wallpaper & Style. from the pop-up menu.
On the next screen, you can customize your ChromeOS wallpaper and screensaver in a variety of ways. For example, for your wallpaper, you can choose a new image from your Google Drive or choose a solid color, and if you’re using a Chromebook Plus laptop, you can also use generative AI to create something completely new.
Next, customize the Chrome browser theme in ChromeOS (you can do this in Chrome on Windows and macOS). Click the three dots in the top right corner of any browser window, then select Settings > Appearance > Themes . These themes change the colors of Chrome menus, toolbars, tab title bars, and more, and you can switch between them as often as you like.
How to Pin Your Most Used Apps on ChromeOS
Gathering your most frequently used apps in a central location can be extremely helpful as you save a little time every time you access one of them. ChromeOS allows you to perform subtle actions by setting a PIN code . When you have an app open on your ChromeOS shelf, tap it with two fingers on the touchpad, then select Pin—from now on, the app will remain available on your shelf even when it’s not open.
You can do something similar with apps in the app drawer, which opens when you press the round launch button on the far left of the shelf: Click and drag icons to rearrange their position, placing the most used ones at the top. perhaps at the top (apps you’ve recently used are at the very top by default). You can also create folders by dragging application icons on top of each other.
Another taskbar customization you may want to consider is changing how it appears on your screen. Hover over the taskbar and click with two fingers, then select Shelf Position. This allows you to move the taskbar to the left or right of the screen, rather than at the bottom. The Auto-Hide Shelf option in the same menu will hide the Windows-style taskbar when not in use.
How to Change Touchpad and Keyboard Settings on ChromeOS
You spend a lot of time using the touchpad and keyboard while working on your Chromebook, so you should customize them to your liking. Tap the time widget in the bottom right corner, then the gear icon to access Settings and the Device Menu, which has entries for Touchpad and Keyboard .
In the Touchpad section, you can change the direction of scrolling (absolutely necessary for some, depending on what you’re used to) and also change the speed of movement that the touchpad registers. There are also options to change the way you register a right-click if clicking with two fingers feels awkward to you.
Go to the Keyboard menu to find more customization options: You can treat the top row of keys as function keys if you want, and change actions that help trigger special keys like Ctrl and Alt . The keyboard repeat rate can also be adjusted on the same screen.
Additional ChromeOS settings you can customize
There are other ways to customize ChromeOS. Tap the time widget (bottom right), then the gear icon, then select Search & Assistant ; Here you can change the default search engine. Meanwhile, under Security & Privacy, you can change how the lock screen works (for example, you can set your Chromebook to automatically lock when you close the lid).
From the Apps screen below in Settings, you can choose to have apps open when you close your Chromebook reappear when you restart it. Tap Notifications to set up alerts that apps and ChromeOS itself can show you ( a complete guide to managing notifications on a Chromebook can be found here ).
The Accessibility menu also has some useful customization options. You can change the colors and zoom level used by ChromeOS, bring up the on-screen keyboard, change the cursor size and color, and more.
One last setting worth mentioning: Tap More and Date & Time in the Settings menu and you can switch between 12-hour and 24-hour clock formats.