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Some people seem to want to be able to have the delete key on a Mac behave as a backspace key and go back when navigating web pages (ie, this question here). As I commented there, I believe that this behavior on a Mac would be a bug, since the command-left arrow combination already lets the user go back. Furthermore, since Chrome doesn't save form information, going back is actually a serious hassle, because I'll lose all of my entered information with one errant keystroke.

So how can I turn this behavior off in Chrome on the Mac?

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  • Hmm, I wonder if this can be accomplished (properly) with an extension. I suspect that it should be possible, but would not be something that could just be thrown together in a few minutes. I might give it a shot some time…
    – Synetech
    Oct 1, 2012 at 1:30
  • Check out this SO QA where they used the .js to prevent it may be this is what are you looking for.
    – avirk
    Oct 3, 2012 at 16:43
  • 1
    This ticket advocates that the behavior be changed in Chromium. The problem is that there are many loud people who are on the "I want it to be a shortcut" side of the debate. Oct 26, 2012 at 22:33

4 Answers 4

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Chrome doesn't have keyboard shortcut remapping functionality, but you can install a free extension to do so (Shortcut Manager). After installing the extension, click the All shortcuts list radio option to reveal all the in-use shortcuts, clicking the small pencil where edits are required.

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  • 8
    Unfortunately, this extension completely replaces backspace, disabling not only "go back", but "delete text in text field" functionality too. Aug 11, 2012 at 14:08
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In the question you linked to, I found one answer that looks good, that perhaps you could explain why it doesn't work for you :

The extension BackspaceMeansBackspace :
Prevents the Backspace key from triggering the browser Back action, but backspace still works.

Another extension (not found in that article) that you might try out is BackStop.

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  • 2
    Thanks for your response. Here is why I think it's not a good solution: - It's not safe: the extension is not on the Chrome Web Store, its auto-update URL points to a currently-disabled web site. - It may not work; some commenters on the site you linked to said it doesn't work for https or Mac machines. If there are no other ideas I may repackage this extension and see whether it works but I was kind of hoping for something a little more out of the box.
    – Hein
    Sep 30, 2012 at 1:34
  • There is one in the Web Store : BackStop, but its reviews are not good.
    – harrymc
    Oct 1, 2012 at 6:17
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    BackStop has been updated to version 2.0.1 on September 20, 2012. The bugs mentioned in the reviews should be fixed by now, so @Hein I think it's the best option out there.
    – amiregelz
    Oct 4, 2012 at 5:40
  • BackStop worked great for me too on Chrome Version 23.0.1271.97 for Mac OS X
    – mkelley33
    Dec 15, 2012 at 5:44
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You can use AutoHotKey for this, download it and install it on your system. It is a script programming software after installing it use the following script:

#IfWinActive, ahk_class Chrome_WidgetWin_1
BackSpace::Send, {Left}{Delete}

Copy and paste it on notepad and then save it using .ahk extension and when you double click on it, it will launch in the system tray with a green icon. Now when you launch the Chrome and press the Backsapce key outside any text-area it will not redirect you back but works default in when you will type anything in Omnibox or text-field.

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  • Only he's looking for a Mac solution :/
    – m4573r
    Oct 5, 2012 at 14:19
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    @m4573r well that is OP who wants it but don't know if the user who put the bounty for it also need it only for Mac.
    – avirk
    Oct 5, 2012 at 14:21
  • Oh, right, didn't think of that :)
    – m4573r
    Oct 5, 2012 at 14:29
  • This is literally the only thing I've found that works to stop backspace navigation in Chrome. Both extensions for it don't work, and Chrome doesn't have anything native, and the solution originally posted doesn't actually let me edit the existing hotkey. Thank you for posting this.
    – DiMono
    Aug 18, 2014 at 3:00
1

Try using Goodbye Backspace! extension for Google Chrome. It's open source and available on GitHub.

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