Loading documentation
Every panel in MetaDock is a fully isolated browser powered by the Microsoft Edge Chromium engine. Here's how to get the most out of it.
Browser navigation works just like Chrome or Edge, with the same shortcuts you already know:
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Go back | Alt+Left |
| Go forward | Alt+Right |
| Reload page | Ctrl+R |
| Stop loading | Esc |
| Focus URL bar | Ctrl+L |
| Close tab | Ctrl+W |
| Duplicate browser into a new panel | Ctrl+Shift+K |
| Duplicate browser into the current tab stack | Ctrl+Alt+Shift+K |
Zoom controls work per-browser, so you can have a zoomed-in chart next to a normal-sized page:
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Zoom in | Ctrl+= |
| Zoom out | Ctrl+- |
| Reset to 100% | Ctrl+0 |
Zoom level is saved per-browser and restored when you reload your workspace. You can also set a default zoom for all new browsers in Settings → Browser → Default Zoom.
Each browser panel can have multiple tabs, just like a regular browser. Jump between them instantly:
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Switch to a tab by position | Ctrl+1throughCtrl+9 |
Every browser panel has full Chrome DevTools, so you can inspect elements, debug JavaScript, and monitor network requests:
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Open DevTools | F12 |
| Toggle scripts | Ctrl+Shift+J |
DevTools opens attached to the browser panel. This is especially useful when you're developing or debugging web apps. You can have your app in one panel and DevTools right next to it, both visible at the same time.
Capture what's on screen for documentation, bug reports, or record-keeping:
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Take screenshot (JPEG) | Ctrl+Shift+S |
| Print to PDF | Ctrl+P |
Captures what the panel is currently showing as a JPEG image. Great for bug reports, sharing chart snapshots, or visual documentation. The automation API can also capture the entire scrollable height and can return PNG instead, both as options on the screenshot call.
Renders the full page as a PDF document. Ideal for saving articles, invoices, or research pages for offline reading.
MetaDock supports both Chrome and Edge extensions. Install your favorite ad blockers, password managers, or productivity tools just like in a regular browser.
Browse to the extension's page on the Chrome Web Store or Edge Add-ons in a MetaDock browser panel and use the install button on the page. MetaDock asks you to confirm, downloads and unpacks the extension, and loads it immediately with no restart needed.
Press Ctrl+Shift+E to open the extensions popup. Alongside the list of what is already installed, it has a Load from folder button for pointing at an unpacked extension directory on disk.
The same popup is where you enable, disable, configure, or uninstall an extension. Extensions that declare a toolbar action also get their own button in the browser toolbar.
MetaDock can run arbitrary JavaScript or CSS against your live browsers, either across the whole fleet at once, or against a specific browser via the automation API.
Hit every open browser with a one-liner that clicks “Accept” on whatever consent popup is on screen.
Inject CSS to make a site dark-mode, increase font sizes, or hide distracting elements on news sites.
Scrape prices, headlines, or stats from a page via MCP or REST and pipe the results into your tool of choice.
Manage your browsing history, downloads, and cached data:
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Clear browsing data | Ctrl+Shift+Delete |
| View browsing history | Ctrl+H |
| View download history | Ctrl+J |
Browsing data is profile-specific. Clearing data in one profile doesn't affect other profiles, so you can clear your “Testing” profile without touching your “Work” profile.
Both of these open as docks in your layout, shared across every browser and profile. See Browsing history and Downloads for what they can do.
MetaDock's browser goes beyond basic browsing. Here are the power features you might not discover on your own:
Toggle a bookmark for the current page. Bookmarks are per-profile; each profile keeps its own library, with hierarchical categories and tags. An All Profiles view lets you search across them.
Instantly mute/unmute audio in a specific browser panel. No more hunting for the tab that's playing sound.
Instantly hides and mutes the current browser. The panel becomes invisible. Press F8 again to reveal it, or, if you've set a reveal password in Settings, enter that.
Emulate mobile devices (iPhone, Pixel, etc.) or pin a custom viewport width and height. Perfect for testing responsive designs at a target dimension.
Simulate an offline state per browser to test how your web app handles network failures.
Hold Alt and hover over any link to see a small screenshot preview of where it leads, floating next to your cursor. It is a quick way to check a destination before committing to the click.
Any browser can reload itself on a timer, which is handy for dashboards, ticket queues, live scoreboards, and build pipelines you want kept fresh without touching them. Open the auto-refresh popup from its toolbar button, set the interval in seconds, and start or stop it with a live countdown to the next reload.
Sites that ask for sensitive capabilities, like location, camera, microphone, notifications, or clipboard, trigger an in-browser prompt. Allow or deny applies to that request; the prompt also carries a remember option, and only when you tick it is the decision stored for that domain.
Stored decisions live in MetaDock, not in the site's browsing data, so clearing cookies and cache leaves them intact. Review and revoke them under Settings → Privacy & Security → Site Permissions, which can forget a single entry or all of them at once.
Browsers can be opened invisibly: no window, no rendering surface, nothing to click, but all the same capabilities programmatically, including navigation, scripts, screenshots, cookies, and automation. It is useful for scraping, scheduled jobs, and tests that run hundreds of profiles at once without flooding the screen.