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Link Previews in Chrome using MaxFocus

Those cool link popups in Arc can now be yours, in Chrome.

Tools

MaxFocus is a new-ish extension focussing on creating link previews on any link you hover on. It works on apps that do not allow for iframe embeds (like Notion), and hence is different than the majority extensions out there. You really do not need the PRO option with this one, unless you really want AI summaries of the page, but I can usually skim the page faster than the AI can generate a good summary of. The looks and feel are customizable and you can make it look just like Arc, which is a feature that I always missed when I switched back to Chrome.


The features setting is a bit messy, but this quick guide should probably help.

Screenshot of MaxFocus Link Preview settings with options for interaction preferences, activation triggers, advanced protection, performance, popup behavior, AI settings, appearance, and disabling on specific websites.
Screenshot of MaxFocus Link Preview settings with options for interaction preferences, activation triggers, advanced protection, performance, popup behavior, AI settings, appearance, and disabling on specific websites.

And this is how the popup looks like

Screenshot of a MaxFocus popup displaying an article. Annotations highlight features: share option, open in new tab, change ratio, maximize, close, pin popup, reader mode, AI tools, zoom, and settings.
Screenshot of a MaxFocus popup displaying an article. Annotations highlight features: share option, open in new tab, change ratio, maximize, close, pin popup, reader mode, AI tools, zoom, and settings.

Something you might find frustrating is, you cannot access right click menu inside this popup. When I open articles like these, I often want to save them to reader. But because clicking on the top link opens it in a new tab, and I cannot access right click to use the Save to Reader option, I often end up needing to copy link address and then saving it in Reader. I wish the share option copied or provided MacOS or custom share menu than the QR code it has at the moment.

Sidenote Jun 17, 2024: Chrome is testing native Link Previews too, and it would be fun to see what they entail
Chrome Flags entry for "Link Preview." Description: Enables previewing a linked page in a small window before navigating. Triggered by context menu or user actions. May be unstable on some platforms. Options: Default.
Chrome Flags entry for "Link Preview." Description: Enables previewing a linked page in a small window before navigating. Triggered by context menu or user actions. May be unstable on some platforms. Options: Default.

This is what the native Chrome link previews look like. They are basically a headless window, always on bottom right, if you click on them you open the site on a new tab. Not a huge fan at the moment.

The native Link preview option on Chrome shows a popup on bottom right.
The native Link preview option on Chrome shows a popup on bottom right.
If you miss the vertical tabs from Arc, check out the modded Polychrome extension for the same utility Give Your Chrome the Vertical Tabs It Deserves!