Creating Tabs on iGoogle

Written by: Peter Jalbert on Thursday, May 24th, 2007
Posted to: Search
34 comments, add yours!

Earlier, we had discussed how to personalize your Google Search Page using iGoogle. As mentioned, there is a feature that allows you to add tabs to your personalized page. The tabs feature is useful when your main page is already too crowded and you want to add more gadgets to your iGoogle “page”. I particularly like to use tabs to organize my workflow by using different tags for work, entertainment, personal information, communications, and the like. It’s much like how you would have different windows and tabs on your Web browser.

To add a tab to your iGoogle page, look for the Add Tab link on the left area at the bottom of the header image.

addtab0.jpg

When you click that, a screen that will ask you to supply the name of your new tab will appear.
add-tab1.jpg

You can check the “I’m Feeling Lucky” box if you want iGoogle to fill in the tab with contents according to what you named the tab. Let’s test the tab with the word “Mail”. Here is what will appear:

add-tab.jpg

Note that iGoogle supplied the tab with different mail clients, from CheckMail to Windows Live Mail. If you scroll down, the page even displayed a Yahoo! Mail box.

You can also manually add gadgets to your page. Simply remove the check from the “I’m Feeling Lucky” box, and you are given a pop-up window that will say that there is “no relevant content” to be found for your tab, and that you must add the gadgets yourself.

add-tab-manual.jpg

Just click the big blue button that says “Look for new stuff to add” then you’re taken to this page where you can choose and add gadgets to your iGoogle page.

add-tab-options.jpg

If you want to rename or delete your tab, just click on a tab while it is active.

mouse-over0001.jpg

delete-tab.jpg

You can now add tabs, fill them with gadgets, or delete them however you like!

I particularly like the I’m feeling lucky function, which lets me add tabs in a snap, without even having to manually add gadgets.

Don't miss another post! Subscribe by RSS feed or by email today!

Share this post!   34 comments, add yours!

34 Responses to “Creating Tabs on iGoogle”

  1. Cassieon 26 May 2007 at 2:20 am

    I added tabs before iGoogle, and did not have the option to check “I’m feeling lucky.” I’d like to play with that feature on some of my tabs, but can’t seem to find any way to add it. Any suggestions?

  2. Lorieon 26 May 2007 at 2:37 pm

    hi cassie. :) mind if i ask what OS and browser you’re using? i was able to add tabs, etc on iGoogle, but my browser is Mozilla Firefox, and I’m on OS X Tiger. This also worked in Mozilla Firefox in my Ubuntu Linux box.. maybe you should try Firefox, if you’re using IE…

  3. Nickon 02 Jun 2007 at 4:53 am

    I erroneously added Tabs to my account and cannot figure out how to delete them. Please help if you can.

  4. Erikon 03 Jun 2007 at 10:47 am

    Thank you for pointing out how to delete a tab - its been driving me nuts for months!

  5. Philipon 03 Jun 2007 at 11:15 am

    1) Does anyone know how to change the order of tabs? I want to move tabs that I have created and the only way I can see to do it is delete the tab, then create it again at the very back.. Surely Google would not have overlooked such a basic feature.

    2) Is there a setting that lauches the gadgets in a new, pop-up window versus taking over the entire current window. With many of the gadgets, if you expand them, and use the content, then you can not switche back to the Google tab easily (like alt-tab).

  6. Google: Create iGoogle tabs at SoftSauruson 03 Jun 2007 at 12:05 pm

    […] fit. How have you tweaked your iGoogle page? Let us know in the comments. — Wendy Boswell Creating Tabs on iGoogle [Google Tutor […]

  7. daveodroidon 03 Jun 2007 at 12:08 pm

    Philip, to open a link in a new window you could hold Shift as you click on the link (apologies if you already knew that).

    I prefer to browse using Firefox and hold Ctrl to open the link in a new tab. You can then easily use Ctrl-Alt or Ctrl-1 (or Ctrl-2, Ctrl-3 etc) to hop between tabs.

  8. Jakeon 03 Jun 2007 at 10:42 pm

    I changed the theme to the Teahouse one, I have a main tab for the things I use all the time (gmail inbox, a clock, a calculator, latest NYT headlines…)and a second tab for games, if I decide to take a quick break. And…that’s about it.

  9. nežinau.lt » Perliukai #259on 04 Jun 2007 at 11:00 am

    […] ir Pageflakes, nepasant jų atotrūkio, derėtų susirūpinti. Naujausias iGoogle priedas - automatiškai turiniu užpildomas lapas, pagal jo temą. Bėda ta, kad turiu tik vieną GMail adresą, kurio reputacijos nenoriu gadinti, o taip knieti tam […]

  10. Danielon 06 Jun 2007 at 11:51 am

    Thanks for giving me the hint how to remove tabs again. Have been searching for a way to do this for hours ;-)

  11. dsfon 24 Sep 2007 at 2:33 pm

    The only way I have found to “change” the order of tabs is to rename the tabs. Then drag and drop gadgets until everything is where it should be.

    This is very labor intensive, and for a massive reorganization perhaps opening a temporary tab as a storage area could make it easier. Delete the temporary tab when complete.

    So far, this is my most serious complaint about iGoogle.

  12. Davidon 09 Oct 2007 at 11:33 am

    To delete a iGoogle Tab, click the tab to bring it forward. Hover your mouse over the tab you are wishing to delete. There is a small downfacing arrow on the right hand side of Tab, this will bring up a small window where the option to delete is shown.

  13. daveon 23 Oct 2007 at 5:23 am

    I found out a round about way of moving tabs. I first decide on the order in which i wish to rearrange the tabs. Then I pick all of them and I share it with my own gmail id (you can share a tab info by clicking on the title of the tab). I go to gmail and then have it added back to my home page one by one in the order that i want.

  14. georgeon 15 Nov 2007 at 2:33 pm

    dave I have no idea how you came up with this but it works and I thank you.

  15. msdebyon 16 Dec 2007 at 7:47 pm

    HELP,
    I want to delete tabs on igoogle homepage and do not know how.
    Is there anyway you can delete everything on you igoogle Homepage and start over?
    Please, somebody or anybody with any knowledge if this Please email me and help or point me in the right direction.
    msdeby@gmail.com

  16. vipinon 29 Dec 2007 at 5:11 am

    Hi,

    I want to create a personalized iGoogle page for my web application.but in iGoogle page, i want to display the online fillup form along with other information such as News,articles and afterthat how to make as a default page.i want the user could visit our website after filling up that iGoogle page that has our website form. or this iGoogle page redirect visitor to our website.

    Thanks,
    vipin

  17. Susieon 14 Jan 2008 at 7:06 am

    How do you make firefox retain igoogle customized tabs?

  18. Gracion 30 Jan 2008 at 7:13 pm

    I had no problem adding TABS, but I can’t pull them up now to DELETE them. I want to delete some of them. HELP!!! GRO

  19. jimon 15 Feb 2008 at 1:25 pm

    would like to delete igoogle and u. k. reference as well. prefer to have google canada news as home page. frustated in n. s.

  20. Nickon 15 Feb 2008 at 5:39 pm

    I want to delete the Add a Tab feature from my page entirely. How can I do this?

  21. Phyllison 18 Feb 2008 at 7:01 pm

    Help! I tried to follow the instructions to delete tabs but there is no small downfacing arrow on right side of Tab. I am using Mozilla firefox.
    Thanks to anyone who can help.

  22. Tinaon 19 Feb 2008 at 12:05 pm

    For those of you having issues deleting/editing your tabs. If you are using Firefox and Greasemonkey make sure you disable any Greasemonkey scripts you have running on iGoogle. I was having the same issue you guys were having. Once I disabled those scripts and refreshed, I was able to delete/edit my tabs. Once my changes with final I just reenabled my scripts.

  23. Tinaon 19 Feb 2008 at 12:18 pm

    dave:

    You are a lifesaver! Your “tab-moving” hack was perfect! It seems so simple once you think about it… but of course I didn’t.

    Thanks!

  24. Amy Joon 28 Feb 2008 at 8:01 pm

    my question is: how on earth do you remove gadgets you do not want?????????????

  25. Debbieon 06 Mar 2008 at 10:45 am

    I actually have a question. Firefox will shut down when i try to open igoogle. It seems an though my igoogle page freezes up. Why is this? I really need help with this. I have never been able to even view my page since i added the items that i want.

  26. katherineon 09 Mar 2008 at 2:26 pm

    Can anyone help me. I opened my igoogle page a long time ago. Now when I try to add a theme, move around anything or try to delete anything no matter what I do it reverts back to the original igoogle page. I have tried everything - deleting cookies, signing in and out, different computers, no firewall etc. It happens on mac’s pr pc’s - so firefox vs any others doesn’t seem to make a difference.
    ANY IDEAS?!?!?!?!?

  27. Kellyon 13 Mar 2008 at 5:26 pm

    Shot in the dark here. Long story short, I have an iGoogle tab that can’t be deleted the regular way because it can’t be clicked on. (I made a stupid mistake trying to be smarter than I am. Don’t ask!) Is there a piece of javascript or some other alternative way of deleting a tab?

  28. Jeffrey Lamperton 19 Apr 2008 at 10:59 am

    How do I delete a gadget from my igoogle home page?

    Thank you for your help.

    Jeff Lampert

  29. The Tutoron 21 Apr 2008 at 2:35 pm

    Hi Jeff,

    There should be a little X in the upper right of the gadget that will remove it from your page.

  30. Laverne Walheimon 11 May 2008 at 3:07 pm

    I want to know how to delete a a section on my Igoogle entitled “Classical Music”. I have follow the directions, but, nothing seem to work.

  31. Berendon 15 May 2008 at 12:18 pm

    It seems Google has added the possibility to change the tab order, open your settings (http://www.google.com/ig/settings), under “Content”, select the tabname you want to move, and click on the up/down arrows.

  32. pmgon 25 Jun 2008 at 4:50 pm

    How do I move a gadget from one tab to another? I want to reorganize. Is there a drag and drop method?

  33. jakeon 26 Jun 2008 at 11:29 am

    is there any way to make sure apps open in a new tab or window?

    for instance, i have the wikipedia search engine app which is cool but it always opens in the current window which means i loose igoogle. which would seem to defeat the purpose. one would think there’d be a way to set it up to open those in a new window or tab.

    any thoughts?

    thanks,

    jake

  34. Dawnon 03 Jul 2008 at 10:22 pm

    My igoogle tabs stopped working for seemingly no reason. It’s frozen on the home page. Any fixes?

    Thanks,
    Dawn

Trackback URI | Comments RSS

Leave a Reply