In this post, we will share the magic of Trails, the transformational feature of Horse Browser, the browser that is designed to help you keep track of your internet research and start a new productive life online.
Read on for step-by-step instructions on how to use Horse Browser’s Trails.
What is a Trail?
Horse Browser offers users a unique navigation system, replacing your Tabs with Trails. Taking Tree Style Tabs as a design starting point, Horse Browser re-thinks this approach and introduces a totally innovative method of browsing.
Horse Browser captures a Trail of pages as you browse, merging Tabs, History and Bookmarks into one easy-to-read vertical layout.
All the pages you need are readily accessible and never get in your way.
The end result? No more cluttered Tabs or trying to remember random pieces of information as you leave a page behind.
How to use Horse Browser’s Trails
Trails are designed to be an intuitive navigation method, which take away the mental effort of Tab management and leave you feeling calm & zen when browsing. Plus, they help boost your productivity as you deep dive your online research.
Once you get started with Trails, you’ll find you’ll never want to go back to Tabs! Read on for full instructions to get started.
➤ 1. How to open a new Trail
Keyboard users: ⌘ + T on Mac or Ctrl + T on Windows / Linux
Mouse users: Click + at the top of the sidebar
Congratulations. You’ve opened your very first page on the Trail.
Enter the search term or URL you need and you’re good to go. Every time you click on a link, a new page will now be opened on the Trail.
➤ 2. How to expand and collapse a Trail
Tuck away pages you don’t need and focus on the task in hand.
Keyboard users:
To collapse a Trail: ⇧ + ⌘ + ◀︎ on Mac or ⇧ + Ctrl + ◀︎ on Windows / Linux
To expand a Trail: ⇧ + ⌘ + ▶︎ on Mac or ⇧ + Ctrl + ▶︎ on Windows / Linux
Mouse users: Click > next to your Trail to expand and again to collapse
The old Trail will be saved and ready in your sidebar whenever you need it.
➤ 3. How to delete a Trail
First, collapse your Trail, as instructed above, and then delete as follows:
Keyboard users: ⌘ + W on Mac or Ctrl + W on Windows / Linux
Mouse users: Click X next to your Trail to delete
➤ 4. How to create a SubTrail
The Trailhead is the parent Trail, where all subsequent Trails and pages are opened. SubTrails are nested underneath the Trailhead.
They are connected to the Trailhead and act as ‘children’ of the Trailhead. To create one:
Mouse users: Click + at the side of the page or ••• and select New Subtrail. You can also drag-and-drop a Trail onto the Trailhead to nest it inside
Keyboard users: ⌥ + ⌘ + T on Mac or Alt + Ctrl + T on Windows and Linux
➤ 5. How to create a SideTrail
SideTrails exist underneath the Trailhead but aren’t connected to the Trailhead. They are separate but connected lines of enquiry or research under a Trailhead. To create one:
Mouse users: Visit Menu > File > New SideTrail. Or drag-and-drop your Trail so that is is separate, non-nested within the Trail
Keyboard users: ⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + T on Mac or Alt + Shift + Ctrl + T on Windows and Linux
➤ 6. How to move pages on a Trail
You can move pages to wherever you need them most, whether that is within your current Trail or to a totally different Trail.
Mouse users: Drag-and-drop individual pages
Keyboard users: ⌥ ⌘ ⇧ + arrow keys on Mac or Alt + Ctrl + Shift + arrow keys on Windows / Linux
➤ 7. How to delete pages
To delete individual pages on the Trail, the process is similar to deleting a Trail.
Mouse users: Click X next to the page to delete
Keyboard users: ⌘ W on Mac or Ctrl + W on Windows / Linux when viewing the page you want to remove
➤ 8. How to re-open a page or Trail you just deleted
To re-open a page or Trail deleted in error:
Mouse users: Menu > File > Reopen Closed Page
Keyboard users: ⇧ + ⌘ + T on Mac or Shift + Ctrl + T on Windows / Linux
➤ 9. How to view the URL
You can double-click on a page anytime to reveal and edit the URL. Or click ••• at the side of each page and choose edit link.
➤ 10. How to change your default Search Engine in Trails
Horse Browser’s default search engine is Google. You can choose alternatives, such as Bing, Kagi, or DuckDuckGo. To change your search engine, simply go to Settings:
Mouse users: Menu > Horse > Settings
Keyboard users: ⌘ +, on Mac or Ctrl +, on Windows / Linux
And scroll to find a drop-down Menu where you can select the default search engine you wish.
➤ 11. Learn more about Horse Browser’s navigation
If you need to recap any of this information as you use Horse Browser or want to learn more navigation steps, visit the following places.
Keyboard users: View the Menu for all the shortcuts you need.
Mouse users: Visit the Menu or ••• at the side of each page for more options.
Conclusion
In this post, we have shared an introduction to using Trails. You have learnt what a Trail is and how to create a new one. We have also shared further tips, including how to move Trails & pages, how to delete Trails and Horse Browser’s Sidetrails and Subtrails features. In the next part of our five-post series, we’ll be sharing how to turn Trails into your ultimate productivity system.
All posts in this series:
