Opera tips and techiques

[vhelp]

1. how do i tell Opera, upon startup, not to refresh every tab ? ..like firefox does.

instead, i would like Opera to cache the pages, so that when i start it up every day, all the pages will show without going to the internet and refreshing them. firefox does this.

2. how do i tell Opera to open a new tab next to the one i am on and not all the way to the right-side ?

thank you.

[gregorySV]

As for me this browser isn't so good. I used it some time ago and decided that Firefox or Google Chrome are better choices.

[Hoser Rob]

I've used opera before but it's been a while. I agree ff and chrome are better but if someone wants to use it I wouldn't dissuade them.

The best thing about it is the diagnostic tools, which are great for development. But that's serious geek stuff and far beyond the scope of the original questions.

That said, opera has a very small user base. This doesn't seem to be the best place to ask questions. Don't they have their own support forum?

[El Heggunte]

@vhelp --- try this ( I assume you have NOT gone beyond Opera 12.xx ):

CONTROL + F12, Advanced, History, Check Documents = Never, Check Images = Never.

@Hoser Rob: the Presto-based Opera is dead -.-

Today Opera is just a poor clone of Google Chrome

The old forums for the old Opera were deleted

[Des]

For Opera 12.xx what El Heggunte suggests should work.

Just started using Opera 20 on Sunday, because 12 was no longer working with some of my bill pay sites.

20 is culture shock for sure, but I've been tweaking it all week and I almost like it. It is faster and more compatible but I hate having to install thingsto give me the same functionality as 12. That's why I never took the plunge to Firefox. I looked at Chrome, but I don't know, I've been using Opera since 1999 and still like rooting for the underdog. Yay Mets!

--dES

[vhelp]

some time ago when i updated opera, it seems it took out the option/checkbox to disable auto-updates, and now all it does it that, and it seems to lock up the browser when it does and eats up ram in the process. afterwards, things just run slower until i shut down. i searched around but could not find where the option to disable it. does anyone have any ideas ? thanks.

[El Heggunte]

Try these settings

(assuming they haven't screwed opera:config, of course)

[Des]

If you type opera://flags into the address bar there are about bunch of tweaks you can do. I haven't explored it to see if there is a way to cancel updates.

Unfortunately Opera:config only opens the settings menu now

--dES

[Des]

In the programs -> opera directory there is an opera_autoupdate.exe file. I wonder if changing the name of this might prevent auto updating.

--dES

[vhelp]

- solved - auto update setting

thank you guys helping out.

while snooping around the browser, there was a search box, and i typed in "auto-update" which game me a few facts and i followed them to here:

opera -> settings -> TAB: advanced -> SELECT: security -> and change auto-update -> done

[Des]

Awesome!

--dES

[vhelp]

anyone know what happened to the "sessions" feature ?

i'm running v20 (upgraded from v12) and it seems that they added everything to the online web setting scenario now, which i hate because now opera knows all your activities. anyway. i just want to know where sessions is so i can save the 30+ tabs i have open, so i can close opera down completely and regain some ram for the moment, and then reload the session. i need to do this because it seems opera (this latest version) fragments very easily, and my hdd grinds a lot after about 30 or so tabs or when i do some other things (encoding or video processing) that takes ram and fragments that, to the point that the hdd grinds while it thrashes to the next window or tab, etc. thanks.

[Dougster]

The sessions feature (I think) went away after 12.xx

[Des]

Sessions are gone :'( You can install the tabhamster session to get a similar functionality, it has a memory restriction though.

--dES

[vhelp]

i recently discovered that i still have my old v12.12 (w/ session feature intact) on my hdd. the short-cut icon is still on my desktop. i tried it and the old browser works fine. i may switch back. not sure. the session was an important feature for me because i could save a current days activity (or session) and open a clean one page, do what i want to do, and then go back into my last session and start from that session onwards again. that is how i lived on the opera v12.xx all this time. i have unique (search and video) sessions saved. they always came in handy.

[Hoser Rob]

i recently discovered that i still have my old v12.12 (w/ session feature intact) on my hdd. the short-cut icon is still on my desktop. i tried it and the old browser works fine....

I don't see any problem using older versions of software .... except for browsers or anything that connects to the internet.

Those browser updates aren't just for show. They include important security updates. If you're not using the latest version you're just asking for problems.

[El Heggunte]

If you're not using the latest version you're just asking for problems.

Well, that actually depends a lot on the user themselves...
FWIW, the latest Firefox U.I. has been sucking for years, and the latest Opera is unusable to a power user...
Since Javascript became a security nightmare, disabling it by default is the way to go.

[El Heggunte]

Oooops, and if you are a good guinea pig or lab rat ,

then goto K-Meleon 74 Beta 3

[nic2k4]

anyone know what happened to the "sessions" feature ?

i'm running v20 (upgraded from v12) and it seems that they added everything to the online web setting scenario now, which i hate because now opera knows all your activities. anyway. i just want to know where sessions is so i can save the 30+ tabs i have open, so i can close opera down completely and regain some ram for the moment, and then reload the session. i need to do this because it seems opera (this latest version) fragments very easily, and my hdd grinds a lot after about 30 or so tabs or when i do some other things (encoding or video processing) that takes ram and fragments that, to the point that the hdd grinds while it thrashes to the next window or tab, etc. thanks.

You should upgrade to 12.17, they recently updated the 12.xx line at the same time MS put out the XP patch for IE. I didn't look at the changelog I just assumed it had something to do with Heartbleed or the other SSL bug of the day. BTW, they dropped the Presto rendering engine for the releases over 12.xx. The 20+ releases are based on the same engine as Chrome. I don't know about the poweruser diss, I always found the mouse gesture feature to be a very powerful tool. I think the HDD grinding might have something to do with all the freakin' flash crap all over the web.

[vhelp]

i received the 12.17 update friday, (and updated it) when i discovered the 12.xx was still available on my system.

as for the session feature, it truely is beneficial to my everday surfing needs. i use it several times a day, sometimes. used it yesterday. but with the v20.xx you have to close down all the tabs if you want to start fresh, but with no chance or recalling those tabs. if a person want to recall all the recently opened tabs, you have to copy all the urls in each tab, before closing down--a labor'us job indeed. i did search around for some pascal code to sniff all the urls from each tab, (in case i want to continue with v20.xx moving forward) but the code i did find was for IE. however, the only thing i can't do in v12.17 is play any youtube videos, the flash just does not work in this version. they must have made a major change recently because now, no videos play. i just tried the one i used to be able to see. none of them are playing now. so, i guess i will keep both Opera versions.

[hello_hello]

Doesn't Opera use the same extensions as Chrome these days?

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/session-manager/bbcnbpafconjjigibnhbfmmgdbbkcjfi

http://www.chromeplugins.org/extensions/session-saver-session-manager-extension/

http://www.intowindows.com/install-google-chrome-extensions-in-opera-browser/

https://addons.opera.com/fr/extensions/details/tabhamster/?display=en

I don't know how they compare to the Firefox session manager, which I don't use anyway, as I use the TabMixPlus session manager.

[nic2k4]

That's odd I just tried playing something on youtube, the first video I tried gave me a screen full of static, then I clicked other videos on the right side and they all played without a itch. Might be an issue with your flash player installation, go to this Adobe page and check the results from the flash player information box. If it doesn't recognize Opera 12.17 and your OS , either flash is not installed for Opera or it's corrupted. Keep in mind you have to install 2 versions of flash, one for IE and one for all the other browsers.

One problem I've noticed with 12.17, sometime sites seem to take a long time to display, but if I hit reload they appear right away.

[Des]

This is the extension I use, Tabhamster https://addons.opera.com/en/extensions/details/tabhamster/?display=en
in Opera 20.x

Works well to save tabs/sessions similar to the way 12.xx did.

--dES

[vhelp]

http://go.videohelp.com/?id=19619X769413&site=videohelp.com&xs=1&isjs=1&url=http://hel...=login&xtz=420

here is what i get when i go to that address for these three browsers:
(note, posting an image would be too much work)

Opera v12.17

Flash Player information

If Flash Player is installed on your computer, the following box displays the version of Flash Player and your operating system. If Flash Player is not installed, an error message appears.
.
.
.

Opera v20

Flash Player information

If Flash Player is installed on your computer, the following box displays the version of Flash Player and your operating system. If Flash Player is not installed, an error message appears.
.
.
.

Firefox

Flash Player information

If Flash Player is installed on your computer, the following box displays the version of Flash Player and your operating system. If Flash Player is not installed, an error message appears.

Your Flash Player Version: [ 13.0.0.182 ]
                  Your OS: [ Windows XP (32-bit) ]
             Your Browser: [ Mozilla Firefox ]

the weird part of Opera v20 is, dispite the above showing now flash installation, it plays all the youtube flash videos, only Opera v12.17 does not.

[Des]

I believe Opera 20+ uses html 5 to play you tube videos and uses flash as a fall back.
Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling flash?

The reason I stopped using Opera 12.17 was because it would either glitch on you tube and not play consistently or start consuming tons of memory when I played from you tube eventually bringing my system to a crawl.

--dES

[vhelp]

i should note, that my version actaully says v12.12 build 1707. when i received the message to update to v12.17, i assume that it bumpped the build number. i never checked to see what the previous build number was, unfortunately. all i do know is that something was updated because i did not receive that message after i installed the update. so, i guess i will wait until i receive another update message and see what update version it wants to give me.

[Des]

Why don't you just go and download 12.17?
http://www.opera.com/download/guide/?os=windows&ver=12.17&local=y

--dES

[nic2k4]

Something is wrong then, here's what mine says:



You should uninstall and reinstall flash as suggested. Might also be a good idea to download the uninstaller from that page.

And keep your flash version updated too, it's a matter of security! FYI, flash is one of the most bug ridden piece of crap on PC's. Lately they seem to keep pace with Windows updates, check the flash site every second Tuesday of the month.

[El Heggunte]

The good part of the old Opera is, you can keep the plugins DISABLED by default,

and enable them ONLY for the sites you trust. As a matter of fact, there really is no point in using Flash Player with other sites than YouTube, Vimeo and similar. Facebook? Only for uploading the damn photos OOKLA Speedtest? It lies all the time, so why bother?

[vhelp]

- resolved - all youtube flash videos play again after latest flash update.

so, yesterday, none of the youtube videos would play. all i would get is the continued warning about the flash installation and snow or static in the background. but this morning, at bootup to win xp, the usual flash update popped up. this time i decided to let it install first thing before doing anything else. then, not thinking about it, a couple of hours later, i said to myself, 'let me try the same YT video from yesterday, bla bla bla' and sure enough, it played. i randomly selected videos after that, and they all played. well, so far so good, but things keep changing and who knows when the problem will reoccur again. anyway. thanks for all the support, peoples.