Customization

Customizing the Opera browser with the Easy Setup panel

The easiest way to customize the start page in Opera is to open the Easy Setup panel. The panel is found in the top-right corner of the browser and includes the most popular options.

Theme – dark vs. light

You can switch between two themes, light or dark. These themes change the appearance of the browser’s tab bar and the combined address and search bar.

Wallpapers

You can change how your start page and other Opera pages appear by applying wallpapers. There are a few preloaded wallpapers in Opera, which you can find in Settings > Wallpapers. You can also access wallpapers from the Easy Setup panel.

In the Easy setup panel, click on a wallpaper to change the look of your browser. If you want to find more wallpapers, click the Get more wallpapers button to go to the wallpapers section of addons.opera.com/. From there, you can browse and install wallpapers created by the Opera community.

The wallpapers you download from the site can be found under Settings > Wallpapers or in the Easy Setup menu.

Add your own wallpaper

You can create a wallpaper from any image you find on the web. Right-click an image (Ctrl+click on Mac) and select Use Image as Wallpaper.

You can also create your own wallpaper with any image stored on your computer. To do so:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Under Wallpapers, click the Add your wallpaper button.
  3. Browse and select an image from your system.

The image will become your new wallpaper and it will be added to your list of wallpapers.

Extensions

Extensions are applications which can be added to your Opera browser. These extensions add extra options like productivity tools, news and weather portals, social media addons and games. You can search for extensions in Opera’s addons store.

Extensions which you add to your Opera browser can be found on the extensions page. There, you can turn extensions on or off and adjust their settings. You can open your extensions page by clicking on the Extensions icon (cube icon) towards the bottom of your sidebar. Alternatively, you can get to the extensions page through the main menu:

To open the Opera extensions page on Windows and Linux:

  1. In Opera, open the Menu.
  2. Under Extensions, click Extensions. (Ctrl + Shift + E)

To open the Opera extensions page on Mac:

  1. In Opera, click View in the toolbar.
  2. Click Show Extensions. (⌘ + Shift + E)

Add Chrome extensions to Opera

To install extensions from the Google Chrome webstore into Opera, you must first download and install the Install Chrome extensions addon from the Opera addons store.

Once you’ve installed the Install Chrome extensions addon, you can go to the Chrome extensions webstore and choose the extension you want. Click the Add to Opera button and follow the prompts. You will be taken to your extensions manager page where you can click Install. After adding chrome extensions to your Opera browser, you can use them right away.

Be mindful of extensions

Many google store extensions are third-party applications, so you should always be careful when adding them to your Opera browser. We recommend that you read the reviews and ratings before installing any Opera extension or chrome extensions in Opera. Also, some extensions can use a lot of your computer’s processing power, so you shouldn’t overload your browser with them and should only keep extensions you often use.

Changing languages in Opera

Opera is translated into many languages, making it easier for you to browse in your native language. Opera will use your system’s default language to set the browser’s language.

To change the language of your Opera browser on Mac:

  1. Go to your Mac’s System Preferences.
  2. Click Language and Region.
  3. In the Preferred languages box, click and drag a language to the top position.

Refresh your browser to complete the change of language.

To change the language of your Opera browser on Windows or Linux:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Click Advanced in the left sidebar, and click Browser.
  3. Under Languages, click Language.
  4. Click  next to a language and click Display Opera in this language.

Import bookmarks and settings

If you are switching from another browser and are now using Opera, you can import browsing data, including history, bookmarks, cookies, and more, from another browser. 

To import browser data:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Under Synchronization, click Import bookmarks and settings.
  3. Choose a browser and which items to import.
  4. Click Import.

The imported browser data is found in your bookmarks page.

You can import browser data from Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Yandex, or from a bookmarks HTML file.

Startup preferences in Opera

Startup preferences allow you to tell Opera which page or set of pages should open when the browser is launched. To choose your startup preference in Opera:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Under Basic, go to On startup.
  3. Choose your startup preference.

Begin fresh with start page – Opera begins on the start page and with no open tabs from your previous browsing session when launched. Your pinned tabs remain pinned.

Retain tabs from previous session – Opera resumes your previous browsing session when launched. All tabs left open when last using the browser will be open in your new browsing session.

Open a specific page or a set of pages – Opera opens a page or a set of pages when launched.

To add a page, click Add a new page, type the web page’s address, then click Add. You can add multiple pages.

Or, you can choose from your currently open tabs by clicking Use current pages.

To show or hide the sidebar in Opera, go to Easy Setup in the top-right corner of your Opera browser. Click Show sidebar.

Messengers, features, and Opera pages available in the sidebar

The following elements can be enabled in the Opera sidebar:

Workspaces

Messengers

Opera features

Opera pages

The Sidebar setup panel lets you edit or remove elements on your sidebar, like Workspaces, Messengers, History, or your extensions.

Customize the sidebar in Opera

You can choose which messengers, features, or pages are available in the sidebar. There are two ways to do this:

  1. Click the three-dot icon at the bottom of your sidebar.
  2. Select the elements you want in the sidebar.

Or:

  1. In Opera, go to Settings.
  2. Under Sidebar, click Manage sidebar.
  3. Select the elements you want in the sidebar.

To hide the sidebar from your Opera browser, click Hide sidebar

To show the sidebar in Opera, go to Easy Setup and click Show sidebar

Customize advanced options in Settings

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Click Advanced in the left sidebar, and click Browser.
  3. Under Start page, you can enable or disable start page options.

Here you have a few more options than in the Easy setup menu. You can choose to hide the search bar on your start page, as well as adjust the Speed Dial animations and number of columns. You can also choose to receive suggested Speed Dials (based on your browsing activity) and promoted Speed Dials (websites promoted by Opera).