ChromeOS 120 rolling out: Virtual Desk Button, Nearby Share ‘Self Share,’ and more

Abner Li | Jan 5 2024 - 4:49 pm PT

Google is rolling out ChromeOS 120 with a number of usability tweaks for Chromebooks over the coming days.

Version 120 adds a Virtual Desk Button to the ChromeOS Shelf that appears to the left of pinned app icons. Featuring the name of the current grouping, you can quickly switch between Desks with the left/right arrows that appear upon hover.

Tapping opens a miniature overview of all your groupings with the ability to create new ones. To quickly turn on/off this feature, right-click on the Shelf for “Show/Hide desk name.”

Introduced to Android phones and tablets in 2022, Nearby Share Self Share automatically accepts transfers between devices logged into the same Google Account even when the Chromebook’s screen is off.

Settings > Apps > Manage your apps and selecting an application will show a new “App details” section at the bottom that notes whether it’s an Android app, Chrome App, or Web App, as well as how it was installed: Preinstalled, Play Store, Chrome browser (PWA), or Chrome Web Store. You also get storage and versioning information.

Previously grouped together with Touchpad, there’s now dedicated “Mouse” settings. In addition to Cursor speed, you can now control Scrolling speed, while there’s a new on/off toggle for scroll acceleration.

Similarly, under Touchpad, you can now set what key combination you want for “Use touchpad and keyboard to right-click“: alt + click, launcher + click, or Disabled.

Lastly, a new “Customize keyboard keys” page (under Keyboard) lets you “Select a shortcut for each action” delete, page down/up, end, home, and insert, as well as the ability to enable/use F11 and F12 via predefined key combos.

Another usability tweak lets you resize Picture-in-Picture (PiP) windows by pinching in/out (on touchscreens) instead of having to drag the top-left corner.