Opera for Android user guide

Getting started

This is a general guide for using Opera on Android devices. To start Opera once you have installed it, select the Opera icon. If the icon is not displayed, you should find Opera in the Apps folder of your Android device.

Welcome

The first time you open Opera, you will see a welcome screen. By pressing the Continue button, you are agreeing to the Terms and Conditions of use, which you can read by tapping on the linked text. After pressing Continue, you will see some tips to help you begin your browsing experience.

Note: Opera will gather some information about your fonts, which could take a few minutes.

Slide your finger across the screen from right to left to read through the tips. On the final page, you will see the Go! button. Press this to begin browsing.

Browser layout

The default screen in Opera is the Speed Dial, which is already populated with some of the most popular websites. From here, you can either select a Speed Dial entry or type a web address or search term into the combined address & search bar to start browsing.

If you swipe the screen from right to left, or tap the Discover button at the upper-right, you will access the Discover feature, which is populated with a broad range of content. Tap on any article to read a summary; you can then click a button to read the article in full, or use your device's back button to go back to the main Discover screen.

If you swipe from left to right from the Speed Dial, or tap the History button at the upper-left, you will see your browser history.

To access the Opera menu at any time, tap the Opera logo in the top right-hand corner of your screen. Here are the icons you'll see:

Icon	Feature name
	Forward
	Find in Page
	Share
	History
	Speed Dial
	Location

Basic browsing

To start browsing, do one of the following:

Type a URL into the address bar.
Enter a search term into the address bar.
Click a Speed Dial entry.

To go back one page, use your browser's back button. To go forward one page, go to the menu and tap the forward arrow.

Navigation

When you first arrive at a website or webpage, you will see a zoomed-out overview. You can scroll up or down by sliding your finger up or down on the screen. To scroll quickly down a longer page, slide and flick your finger and the page will scroll according to the speed of your gesture.

Zoom

There are two ways to zoom in: tapping or pinch-to-zoom. To zoom in so that the text on a webpage appears in a column that fits your device's screen, double-tap with the tip of your finger. To zoom in manually, place two fingers on the screen and then spread them apart. To zoom out, either double-tap again or place two fingers apart on the screen and then pinch them together.

Contextual menus

You can bring up contextual menus by pressing and holding your finger (long-pressing) on the screen over text, an image, or a link.

When you long-press on a link, you have the option to open the link in a new tab, or select the text.

When you long-press on normal text, you have the option to copy the selected word or widen the selection to include more words by extending the sliders in either direction; then, copy the text, or use it as a search term.

When you long-press on an image, you have the option to open the image in a new tab or to download it.

Speed Dial

To add a webpage or website to your Speed Dial, browse to the page and then press the "+" button on the far left of the address bar. The next time you go to your Speed Dial, the new entry will be at the end of your list.

Basic Speed Dial functions are as follows:

To rearrange Speed Dial entries, press and hold the entry you want to move, then drag and drop it to the desired location.
To delete a Speed Dial entry, press and hold it and then drag it to the Remove icon at the top of the screen.
To create a Speed Dial folder, press and hold one Speed Dial entry; then, drag it directly on top of another. The two entries will now form a folder, which you can name by tapping on it, then tapping Enter folder name and typing a name.
Tap on a folder to view the Speed Dial entries it contains; then, tap on the entry you want to browse.
To remove entries from a folder, open the folder by tapping it; then,press and hold the entry you want to remove and either drag it back onto the Speed Dial, or drop it onto the Remove icon at the top of the screen to delete it. When there is only one entry
left in a folder, the folder will automatically disappear and the remaining entry will go back onto your Speed Dial.

Save pages

When you browse to a page you want to save for later, or browse offline, you can tap the menu and select Save for offline. This saves the page onto the Speed Dial in a special folder called Saved pages.

Discover feature

The Discover feature is a collection of recommended content that you can access by swiping from right to left from the Speed Dial or by tapping the Discover button on the top-right of the Speed Dial screen.

To customize your Discover feature content:

Press the gear icon in the upper-right of the Discover screen.
Select your location from the drop-down list.
Then, select the types of content that interests you.

Note: by default, all categories are selected, and they must be deselected if you don't wish to see certain content. Press the back button on your device, or press the Opera logo at the top-left of the screen to refresh the Discover feature content to reflect your new settings.

At any time, you may also tap the Top stories button at the upper-left of the Discover screen to see top stories from any individual category.

To read an article:

Tap on a content item.
Skim the summary of the article.
Then, either choose to read the full article by clicking a button, or go back to the main Discovery page by using your device's back button.

Tabs

To open a new tab:

Tap the tabs icon located to the left of the address/search bar.
Press New tab to open a new tab.

The number in the tab icon indicates how many tabs you currently have open.

Swipe with your finger to scroll between currently open tabs; then, tap on a tab to view its contents. You can also click the "X" at the top-right of any tab to close it.

Basic tab functions are as follows:

To close all tabs, or open a new private tab, press the ellipses button in the top-right of the screen.
To close the tab options, tap the tab icon, your device's back button, or tap elsewhere on the screen.
To set up Opera so that tabs open in the background or foreground by default, go to the menu and select Settings.

Search/Find in page

To search for specific text within a webpage, tap the menu and select the magnifying-glass icon. You can then type your search term into the search bar, and use the up and down arrows at the top-right of the screen to browse between instances of found text. All instances of the searched text will be highlighted in yellow, with the current text appearing in orange.

To return to the address bar, press your device's back button.

To share a website or webpage via email or your favorite social network, tap the menu and select the share icon. You will then be able to share the content according to the apps you have installed on your device.

Off-Road

If you are on a slow network, have a mobile-network download limit or want to save data when you are not in Wi-Fi range, you can use Off-Road mode to compress data and save on downloads. To enable Off-Road mode, tap the menu and then tap on the Off-Road On/Off switch. If Off-Road mode is enabled, the "On" switch will be red; if Off-Road mode is disabled, the "Off" switch will be gray.

At any time, you can see how much data you have saved, by clicking the "O" in the top-left of the screen. The information displays beneath the Off-Road settings in the menu.

Downloads

When you download a file, a message will pop up briefly indicating that the file is downloading. To view your downloaded files, go to the menu and select Downloads. Tapping on any file in the Downloads list will enable you to open or delete the file. You may also choose to clear the list by tapping the Clear list button at the bottom center of the screen.

History

To access your browsing history, either swipe from left to right on the Speed Dial screen, or go to the menu and select the history icon at the bottom-left. You will see a chronological list of your recently browsed sites and pages.

Settings

To change your browser settings, select the menu, then Settings. The following options will be available:

Category	Setting	Description
Content	Off-Road mode	Enable this feature to boost speed on slow connections and save data costs by reducing the size of transferred webpages.
	Images	Control the quality of images.
	Reset data-savings counter	Set your counter back to zero.
	New tabs	Choose whether to open tabs in the foreground or background.
Privacy	Accept cookies	Control automatic acceptance of cookies.
	Clear saved passwords/browsing history/cookies and data	Delete private data
Advanced	User agent	Set to "mobile" to receive the mobile version of websites automatically, where available, or set to "desktop" to view full versions of websites.
	Block pop-ups	Tick the box to block pop-up windows.
	Access Opera Link	Synchronize bookmarks, Speed Dials and more across your devices and computers.
Help	Introduction	Review basic tips for using Opera for Android.
	Frequently asked questions	Visit the guide to find answers to your questions about the browser.
	Version	Check out which version of Opera you are running on your device.
About Opera	Third-party licenses	List the third-party licenses used by Opera and their details.
	Installation ID	Display the identity of the Opera installation on your device