Add any webpage to Chrome “apps” tab

Question

Can I add things that aren't apps to the "Apps" page of the "new tab" view? (Ie, when you start Chrome, you can have either the Most visited or Apps tab). Is there any workaround to make a random bookmark an "app" for this purpose?

Answer 1

You simply need to drag an URL into your apps page. This only works half of the time though, so you might have to try several times.

Try one of the following methods:

• Place two windows next to each other. In one window open your new-tab-page and make sure that you are in the apps section. In the other window open your website you want to bookmark. Then simply drag the selected URL from the omnibox into your apps page. A new "App/Bookmark" should appear.
• Alternatively bookmark the website in the bookmarks bar temporarily. Make sure your bookmark bar is visible (if it is not visible open the new-tab-page and right-click on the bookmark bar and choose "show bookmark bar"). Then drag your bookmark down into the apps page.

If you have no luck with the above methods try to create a new section first by dragging an app to the right of your monitor. (A third section next to "most visited" and "apps" should appear.) Then try to drag the URL into this newly created page with one of the above methods. You can then drag and drop apps and bookmarks freely between the default apps section and your newly created one.

Answer 2

You can easily turn any website into a Hosted App, which is a fancy Chrome bookmark that appears as an app in your New Tab page.

It's easy to do. Just grab an example manifest file from the Chrome App documentation, change a couple of lines to point it to the site you want to bookmark, then install the 'app' from within Chrome's extension manager.