This is where an app like Web Tab comes in handy; it allows you to open any website right from your Mac menu bar. It’s a simple app, but can be a huge convenience when all you really need to do is a quick search or glance at a website.

Installation & Usage

Web Tab can be downloaded from the Mac App Store. Once installed, just open the app and you’re ready to get started. There’s no setup required, but sadly there’s no options either – meaning no keyboard shortcuts and no customization abilities.

Another thing I don’t like about Web Tab is the menu bar icon because it doesn’t really fit the app, but it’s definitely not a deal-breaker. I guess in a way though it’s relatable, because saving time should put a smile on your face – I know it does for me. To get started browsing or searching, just click on the Web Tab menu bar icon to open up a browser tab. Sadly, the tab only stays open as long as you’re using it. Once you click away from it, the tab closes. Don’t worry because when you open the tab again, it takes you back to the site where you left off so you won’t have to start over. Another disappointment with the app is that there’s no way to pin the tab so that it stays open and on top of other applications. I would love to see this feature added.

When you open Web Tab, you’ll seen an address bar at the top and 5 buttons to the right of it. It’s important to note here that the address bar serves as just that: a place to enter website URLs. It’s not an omnibar, so you can’t actually search from this bar. If you need to do a Web search, you’ll have to go to Google, Bing, or any other search engine first. Next to the address bar, there are the self-explanatory buttons – Go, Reload and Quit along with a “p” and small square button in the upper corner. The “p” button is used to change the size of the tab window; you can customize the width and height in pixels.

The smaller blank square button that you see in the right corner is use to show/hide the address bar and the go, reload and quit buttons. This is useful if you need a little extra space or just want the address bar out of the way.

For the most part, you won’t have a problem viewing content in Web Tab because it works with any website – including chat and music streaming sites. Since you can’t open links in a new window or tab, if there are any “new window/tab” links that are JavaScript or flash, Web Tab won’t be able to open them.

A nice thing Web Tab does support though, is the ability to open local files. If you use the format /mypath/myfile.html, you can view just about any file on your Mac. Just make sure it starts with a forward slash and ends with the file extension.

Final Thoughts

I was really intrigued when I came across Web Tab because right away I saw just how useful it was; so far I’m really happy with it. Not only is the app easy-to-use, but it’s a huge time-saver and a nice little productivity booster. Is the app worth $1.00? Well, even though it’s extremely basic and lacking numerous features, I feel that it’s definitely worth the price. Just remember that Web Tab isn’t meant to be used as your main browser. Web Tab is more for quick research like finding an address or phone number, looking up a price, or even taking a quick glance at your favorite social networking site. Web Tab (Price: $0.99)