Vivaldi 1.4 delivers theme scheduling

Hot on the heels of the latest Vivaldi release, the freeware web browser unveils another round of updates to improve the user experience even further. Taking control seems to be the theme of Vivaldi version 1.4, which is characterized by theme scheduling for more flexibility and improvements to its web-panels feature for more depth.

In a recent press release, the company reveals another evolution in the series of Vivaldi updates for this year. If you’ve ever wanted your browser to fit your mood as it changes throughout the day, then 1.4 is the browser for you. In what’s a first for browsers, 1.4 lets users customize their themes whenever the fancy strikes them. Other browsers may allow users to change their themes, but 1.4 helps users to actually set their favorite themes to their preferred times throughout the day.

Users simply have to enable a theme in Vivaldi’s Settings and then configure its scheduling. The theme scheduling puts an emphasis on total customizability, as they have the chance to switch out their theme of choice numerous times in a 24-hour period.

Users can customize their preferred theme according to their schedule. For example, do they want to see a new theme when they depart for work, but then see another theme by the time they arrive at their office? If so, 1.4 makes this flexibility a cinch, so their themes can change automatically as their schedules change throughout the day.

Here’s a helpful and clever animated explainer video from Vivaldi, showing you in a nutshell how this theme scheduling works over the course of your average day.

Now, theme scheduling is already quite exciting, but 1.4 features another big change from the last update that’s well worth a more in-depth look.

In keeping with the theme of making already established features even better, 1.4 improves web panels, a signature Vivaldi feature. Web panels are browser tools that let users add individual sites to Vivaldi’s side panels, so they can browse right alongside their main browser window. Think of it like this: It’s essentially quick-browsing of news or social-media sites without the hassle of having to switch tabs each time.

The big change with web panels now is that more controls and customized widths for various web panels have been added. On the whole, this provides users with more flexibility over how web content is presented to them.

Another bonus is less time lost when users accidentally close a tab they didn’t want to close. Everyone’s experienced this aggravating reality of browsing. Thanks to 1.4, users are now able to efficiently restore their last, closed tab just by middle-clicking on the trash bin icon. This is a very convenient way of restoring tabs that never were meant to be closed in the first place.

With these straightforward, but useful, changes, 1.4 continues the Vivaldi tradition of offering deep customizability to heavy web power users who want more from their browsing experiences. You can download Vivaldi version 1.4 today right here.

Marc Schenker

Marc’s a copywriter who covers design news for Web Designer Depot. Find out more about him at thegloriouscompanyltd.com.