Download This App If You Use Multiple Browsers on Your Mac
While the dream of having one perfect web browser to use on your Mac sounds nice, for most of us it’s not a reality. Different browsers have different strengths and weaknesses, especially when it comes to work, which is why we need to switch between apps like Safari and Chrome all day long. The problem is that we are only allowed one default browser, which means that every link you click opens the option you choose. It should not be. And now it shouldn’t be.
I deal with multiple browsers every day. For general use, I like Safari because it’s relatively secure and obviously integrates well with the Apple ecosystem. However, I also keep Chrome on my Mac for any Google-related tasks, especially Google Meet video calls. The problem is that if I click on the Google Meet invite link, it will open in Safari, so I need to remember to copy the link and paste it into Chrome every time I want to use it.
You could do the same. You can even use more browsers. Firefox, Edge, DuckDuckGo, etc. have their pros and cons, and you may have different use cases for each. If you ever need to use more than one browser on your Mac, you need to try Velja , a utility that lets you control which links open in which browsers.
How Velja makes it easy to use multiple browsers on a Mac
Velja is no ordinary Mac utility. In fact, it is technically your new web browser. The application does not have a browser user interface or the ability to self-search the web. But this tricks macOS into thinking it’s the default web browser, allowing it to choose other web browsers to open when clicking on a link.
When you download Velja, you need to give it access to your system’s Applications folder. Don’t worry if you don’t know where it is: the app will walk you through the setup quite easily. It just warns you not to change this folder in the future or it won’t work anymore.
Once Velha is up and running, things may seem the same at first. By default, any new links you click will use your current default browser. This way, if you normally use Safari as your default browser, links will still open in Safari. If it’s Chrome, the links will open in Chrome. You receive a picture.
However, hold down the Fn key on your Mac before clicking the link and a new pop-up will appear with all the browsers currently installed on your computer. For me, that’s eight different options (is that too many?). Now select the browser you want to open the link in or press the corresponding number key to open it faster.
It also offers a lot of settings. Dive into Velja’s settings and you’ll find options to select a default browser so that Fn opens a separate browser rather than the browser prompt, selecting the browsers that appear in the prompt and their order, changing the menu bar icon, and choosing to launch Velja at login so you’re ready for the next Mac reboot.
However, where customization becomes really useful is the Rules tab. Here you can create custom situations for specific apps and links. For example, the most useful rule for me is one that opens all Slack links in my Chrome work profile. Before Velja, I clicked on a link and it opened in my personal Chrome profile or Safari and I didn’t have access to the link. You can play a similar song and dance if you are also on a personal computer.
To set up this rule, go to ” Browser Profiles ” in the ” Browsers ” tab, then select “Shared” to grant access to the application support folder. Now go to “Rules”, create a new rule and name it (for example “Work Slack”). Then select the specific browser profile in which you want the links to open; click the (+) next to Source Applications and select Slack, then click Save. Go back to Slack, click the link and follow the instructions on the screen: you need to copy the “open.sh” file that it opens and paste it into another folder that it will open for you. Don’t drag and drop as it needs to be in both folders.
Now all Slack links will open in your chosen Chrome profile, while links outside of the app are directed to your default browser. Genius.
Velja can be as simple or complex as you want, but if you use more than one browser on your Mac, I highly recommend you download it for free from the Mac App Store .