Quick Links

On all our devices, we have apps and websites we visit at least once a day, if not more. To easily access these apps or websites, devices have some way for us to put them in an easy-to-access location on the homescreen. Like a taskbar on a Windows device or the bottom row of apps on an Android device, our favorite Chromebooks have a shelf where you can pin your most used apps and websites. This guide discusses how to pin apps and websites to the shelf and quickly access them.

How to pin apps to the shelf

Chromebooks make it easy to pin your favorite apps, whether they're Android apps or web apps, to your shelf.

  1. Press the Search or Launcher key on your keyboard (depending on your device) to open the search window. Alternatively, tap the Launcher button in the lower-left corner of your screen.
  2. Find the app you'd like to make a shortcut for and right-click on it.
    The Chromebook launcher showing apps and recently opened files on a Chromebook
  3. Tap Pin to shelf.
    The Chromebook launcher open with the right-click menu open for the Google Keep app and the "Pin to shelf" option highlighted
  4. The app you pinned is now the rightmost item on your shelf.
    A new app pinned to a Chromebook's shelf

How to pin websites to the shelf

In addition to apps, Chromebooks allow you to create app-like shortcuts for any website you want. This feature is similar to creating website shortcuts on an Android phone.

  1. Go to the website you'd like to create a shortcut for.
  2. Click the three dots in the upper-right corner of your Chrome window.
  3. Hover over More tools.
  4. Select Create shortcut.
    The option to create a shortcut for a website is open in Chrome on a Chromebook.
  5. Type a name for the shortcut.
  6. Check the Open as window box if you'd like the website to open in a separate window. If not, leave the box unchecked to have the site open in a new tab.
    The dialog box to name your website shortcut.
  7. Tap Create to create the shortcut in your app drawer.
  8. Find the created shortcut in your launcher and right-click on it.
  9. Click Pin to shelf.
    A highlighted website shortcut in the launcher being pinned to the shelf.
  10. You'll see this website pinned to the far right of your shelf.

How to open pinned items with your keyboard

Chromebooks have a ton of keyboard shortcuts to make using them quick and easy, a list of which can be accessed by pressing Ctrl+Alt+?. One of the handiest lets you access the first nine items pinned to your shelf with the tap of a key (or two). To do so, hold the Alt key and press the number key that corresponds to the app or shortcut you'd like to open. For example, Alt+1 opens the first item on your shelf, Alt+2 opens the second item, and so on.

A Chromebook Flip CX3400's keyboard with a wooden table in the background

You can also tap the shortcut on your shelf with your mouse, but using the keyboard may be more convenient.

How to rearrange your shelf

You may find that rearranging the order of the apps and shortcuts on your shelf is useful, so your most used apps are first.

  1. Click and hold the shortcut on the shelf you want to move.
    A shortcut hovering over the shelf as its being moved.
  2. Drag it to the spot on the shelf you'd like it to be and release the mouse.
    An indicator showing the position of a shortcut on the shelf if the mouse is released.

You can do this to every app or shortcut on your shelf to arrange them just right.

Hide or move the shelf

In addition to rearranging the items on your shelf, you can also change if the shelf always appears and where it appears. To change the position of the shelf:

  1. Right-click on the shelf.
  2. Hover over the Shelf position option.
  3. Select the position you prefer.
    The Shelf position options on a Chromebook with the bottom option selected

To change if the shelf appears all the time:

  1. Right-click on the shelf.
  2. Select the Always show shelf or Autohide shelf option to change your selection.
    Changing the shelf visibility on a Chromebook

Now your shelf is where you want it and as visible as you want it.

Keep your important stuff on the shelf

Having quick access to your favorite apps and websites makes your browsing experience better, and pinning them to your Chromebook's shelf ensures this will always be the case. Chromebooks have a plethora of other useful features integrated into the shelf, including the Phone Hub, which lets you access your Android phone from your Chromebook.