Browser
Browser is a real web browser living inside Bitment, so you can keep a site open beside your work instead of switching to another app. It's available only in the Bitment desktop app. In a plain web browser the tile isn't in the dock at all, because an embedded browser on the web would be blocked by most of the sites worth opening.
It keeps no bookmarks. What it remembers is the sites you've visited, which is what the address bar suggests from; that memory follows your account across devices.
Where to find it
Open Browser from the dock, in the Bitment desktop app only. It doesn't appear in the nav at all when you're using Bitment in a plain web browser.
Key concepts
- Tab. A page inside a Browser window. The tab strip is always visible, even with
one tab.
- Window. Browser can have multiple windows open at once; each is its own
instance with its own tabs.
- Home page. Where a new Browser window opens (your choice in Browser Settings,
defaulting to your firm's site).
- History. The sites you've visited, used only to power address-bar suggestions.
Browse a site
- Open Browser from the dock. A new window starts on your home page.
- Type an address (or anything else; plain text becomes a web search on your chosen
search engine) in the address bar and press Enter. Focusing the bar selects the whole address, so you can just type over it.
- As you type, suggestions appear from the sites you've visited and a list of common
domains. ↑ / ↓ pick one, Enter goes, Esc closes the list.
The toolbar has back, forward, reload, open in system browser (use that for sign-ins that refuse to run in an embedded browser), and a ⋯ menu with everything else: new tab/window, history, Restore Tabs, settings.
Manage tabs and windows
Multiple pages open as tabs inside one Browser window.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
⌥T | New tab |
⌥W | Close tab |
⌥[ / ⌥] | Previous / next tab |
⌥⇧T | Reopen the last closed tab |
⌥N | New Browser window |
⌥L | Focus the address bar |
⌘R | Reload the page |
Hold ⌥Q | Quit the Browser (closes every Browser window) |
(⌘ also works in place of ⌥ for these in the desktop app.) These shortcuts work even while you're clicked into the page itself.
- Middle-click a tab to close it.
- Drag a tab sideways to reorder it; drag it **onto another Browser window's tab
strip to move it there; drag it out of every strip** to split it into its own new window.
- Closing a window's last tab closes the window; use its red window button (or
⌥W
on its last tab) to close just one window while ⌥Q is held.
- When a page opens a link in a new window, such as a meeting's Join button, it
opens as a new tab beside the tab it came from, rather than pulling you away from what you're reading.
You can resize a Browser window from any edge or corner, like any other window.
Change Browser settings
- With Browser focused, open Settings → Browser Settings… in the top menu bar
(or the toolbar's ⋯ menu → Browser Settings…).
- Configure:
- Home page. Where a new window opens. "Use current" grabs the page you're on;
leave empty for the default.
- New tabs open. A blank tab, or the home page.
- Search engine. Google, DuckDuckGo, Bing, or Brave Search for address-bar
searches.
- Reopen tabs on return. See below.
These settings apply to the Browser on this device only.
Use history and Restore Tabs
The History menu in the top menu bar (while Browser is focused) shows your recent sites, click one to open it in a new tab, plus:
- Reopen Closed Tab (
⌥⇧T): bring back the tab you just closed. - Restore Previous Session: reopen all the tabs from the Browser window you last
closed.
- Show All History…: the full searchable history, with Clear.
Your open tabs survive leaving the workspace: quitting the desktop app, reloading, or switching to another portal all bring the Browser back to the same tabs when you return (turn this off with Reopen tabs on return). Closing the Browser window inside the workspace is different. That's treated as a deliberate close, so the next open starts fresh; use Restore Previous Session if you change your mind.
On a phone-sized window there's no top menu bar. The toolbar's ⋯ menu carries the same Settings, History, and Restore Tabs entries.
Choose where external links open
Links you click anywhere else in Bitment can open here instead of your system browser. The choice lives on your account:
- Go to Settings › Account (or the account dashboard behind your avatar in the
top menu bar).
- Find the Browser section and choose Open in the built-in browser or
Open in the system browser.
Either way, the Browser's "open in system browser" button always escapes to your real browser for the one page you're currently on.
The same section carries Ask before opening an external link, a confirmation showing you a link's real destination before you leave Bitment (most visibly on links inside an email). This one is per-device rather than per-account, and applies on the web and your phone as well as the desktop app.
Why it's desktop-only
An embedded browser needs to load pages as a genuine top-level browsing context so sites like Google, your bank, or a meeting platform will actually render there. A web page can't do that inside another web page; an embedded frame is refused by most useful destinations. The Bitment desktop app can open a real native browser pane, which is why Browser exists there and nowhere else.
Tips
- Google sign-in currently works inside the Browser, but embedded-browser sign-in
support can change without notice on the provider's side. The "open in system browser" button is always your fallback.
- A background tab's popup link waits for you rather than pulling you away from the
tab you're on.