Vivaldi Technologies released a new version of the company's web browser Vivaldi to the public today.

Vivaldi 1.15 improves several features of the browser; it adds more options to full-screen mode, improves audio playback, and adds even more options to the personalization settings.

Users who run Vivaldi already should get an automatic update notification when they start the web browser. It is possible to speed up the process by selecting Vivaldi > Help > Check for updates; Vivaldi runs a check for updates so that the new version can be downloaded and installed.

The new Vivaldi 1.15 version is also available on the official website where it can be downloaded for all supported operating systems (Windows, Mac, Linux).

Vivaldi 1.15 new and improved features

Vivaldi comes with a good selection of customization options to change the appearance of the web browser. Users of the browser may use unique features such as theme scheduling to display different themes at different times, a useful slider to change the size of the user interface, and even move user interface elements such as tabs around; something that Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers don't support for the most part.

You may set a background image for the window in Vivaldi and use repeating or scale to fit to display it.

Just load vivaldi://settings/appearance/ in the browser's address bar to open the Appearance settings that Vivaldi 1.15 comes with. Scroll down to the Window Background Image section and click on "select image" to load an image that you want displayed in the browser's titlebar.

The image is displayed immediately after you select it; note that you may need to uncheck "blend Window Accent Color with image" to see it in all of its glory. The default option is set to repeat but you can switch to scale to fit instead.

Vivaldi Bookmarks

Vivaldi users who display the menu as a horizontal menu and not the Vivaldi button, may have noticed that the menu features a new Bookmarks entry. While you had plenty of options to access bookmarks in Vivaldi previously, the new addition gives you even more choice when it comes to that.

Tip: go to vivaldi://settings/appearance/ and there to the Menu section to switch between the Vivaldi button and menubar options.

Full screen mode enhancements

Vivaldi 1.15 features several additional enhancements. The browser's full screen mode was enhanced in the new version; it is now possible to display user interface elements such as the address bar or panels while in full screen mode.

The following shortcuts are handy:

  • Ctrl-F11 to toggle the user interface in full screen mode.
  • Ctrl-Shift-S to display the status bar
  • Ctrl-Shift-B to display the Bookmarks Bar

You may also set shortcuts for the Tab Bar and Address Bar individually on vivaldi://settings/keyboard/ under View.

Other improvements in Vivaldi 1.15 include better and improved HTML5 audio support. The changes should improve issues with sound not playing at all or playing at the wrong speed in the browser.

Last but not least, Vivaldi's screen capture functionality remembers the setting that you used even across sessions so that you may reuse it directly.

Closing Words

Vivaldi 1.15 is a usability update for the browser that fixes one major issue (HTML5 audio) and adds more personalization and appearance options to the browser.