Getting Started

First Launch

When you first open SurfPad, you'll see the sidebar on the left and your first Space called "Personal". The sidebar contains your tabs, favorites, and navigation controls.

Key Concepts

• Spaces - Separate workspaces for different contexts (work, personal, projects)
• Command Bar - Quick access to everything (tap URL bar or press Cmd+K)
• Favorites - Quick access grid at the top of the sidebar

Creating a Space

• Touch:
  1. Tap the Space icon at the bottom of the sidebar
  2. Tap the "+" button to create a new Space
  3. Choose a name, color, and icon for your Space
  4. Tap "Create" to finish
• Keyboard:
  • • Cmd+Ctrl+N Direct shortcut
  • • Cmd+K → type "New Space" → Enter

Switching Spaces

• Touch:
  • • Tap the Space dots at the bottom of the sidebar
  • • Swipe left/right on the Space indicator to quick-switch
• Keyboard:
  • • Cmd+Ctrl+→ Next Space
  • • Cmd+Ctrl+← Previous Space

Managing Spaces

There are two ways to manage your Spaces:

• From Sidebar:
  • • Long-press a Space dot to edit or delete it
  • • Drag Space dots to reorder them
  • • Tap the + button to create a new Space
• From Library → Spaces:
  • • See all Spaces with tab counts at a glance
  • • Drag to reorder Spaces
  • • Tap a Space card to switch to it
  • • Long-press a Space card to edit or delete
  • • Tap + to create a new Space

Sidebar Modes

• Locked (Default) - Sidebar stays visible.
  • • Touch: Tap the lock icon in sidebar header
  • • Keyboard: Shift+Cmd+S
• Floating - Sidebar auto-hides when you interact with web content.
  • • Touch: Swipe from the left edge to show it
  • • Keyboard: Shift+Cmd+S to toggle

Sidebar Sections

• • Header - URL bar, navigation, page actions
• • Favorites - Quick access grid for frequent sites
• • Pinned Tabs - Tabs that stay at the top
• • Tabs - Your open tabs in this Space
• • Folders - Organize tabs into groups

What You Can Do

• • Search the web - Just type and press Enter
• • Go to URL - Type a URL directly
• • Find open tabs - Search across tabs in current space
• • Search bookmarks - Find saved bookmarks
• • Search history - Find recently visited pages
• • Quick actions - New Tab, New Private Tab, New Space, New Folder, Add Bookmark, Add to Favorites, Close Tab, Toggle Split View, Settings, Clear History

Quick Site Search

Type @ followed by a site name to search directly:

• • @google, @duckduckgo, @bing - Search engines
• • @youtube - Search YouTube
• • @wikipedia - Search Wikipedia
• • @reddit - Search Reddit
• • @github - Search GitHub
• • @amazon - Search Amazon
• • @twitter - Search Twitter/X

You can also add custom search engines in Settings.

Opening Split View

Multiple ways to enter split view:

• Touch:
  • • Long-press a tab → "Open in Split View"
  • • Bottom bar "+" menu → "New Split"
  • • Tap URL bar → search "Split View"
• Keyboard: Shift+Cmd+E

Split View Controls

• • Drag the divider to resize panes
• • Each pane has its own navigation controls
• • Tap the swap button to switch pane positions
• • Tap the orientation button to toggle horizontal/vertical
• • Close a pane to return to single view

Tab Actions

Touch: Long-press any tab to access the context menu with these actions:

• • Copy Link - Copy the tab URL
• • Share - Share via system share sheet
• • Duplicate - Create a copy of the tab
• • Pin/Unpin - Keep tab at top of sidebar
• • Add to Favorites - Add to quick access grid
• • Add Bookmark - Save to bookmarks
• • Open in Split View - View alongside another tab
• • Move to Space - Move tab to another Space
• • Close Tab - Close the tab (or swipe left on the tab)

Keyboard shortcuts: Duplicate (Cmd+D), Pin (Cmd+P), Close (Shift+Cmd+W)

Folders

Group related tabs into folders to keep your sidebar organized.

• • Create:
  • Touch: Tap the "+" button in sidebar → New Folder
  • Keyboard: Cmd+Alt+N
• • Add tabs: Drag tabs into folders
• • Expand/Collapse: Tap the folder header
• • Rename: Long-press folder → Rename
• • Change color: Long-press folder → pick from 9 colors
• • Reorder: Drag folder header to reposition
• • Delete: Long-press folder → Delete

Adding Bookmarks

• • Touch: Long-press a tab → "Add Bookmark"
• • Keyboard: Cmd+B to bookmark current page
• • To folder: Long-press a tab → "Bookmark to Folder" to save to a specific folder
• • Access and organize bookmarks in Library → Bookmarks

Favorites

Favorites appear as a quick-access grid at the top of the sidebar.

• • Add:
  • Touch: Long-press a tab → "Add to Favorites"
  • Keyboard: Shift+Cmd+B
• • Reorder: Drag favorites to new positions
• • Remove: Long-press a favorite → "Remove Favorite"
• • Grid adapts from 1-4 columns based on count

Entering Incognito

Incognito is a separate mode that takes over the sidebar with a purple-tinted theme:

• • Touch: Tap the "+" button in sidebar → "Enter Incognito"
• • Keyboard: Shift+Cmd+N
• • Command Bar: Search "New Private Tab"

What's Different

• • Separate sidebar - Only shows incognito tabs, no spaces or favorites
• • Purple theme - Visual indicator that you're in private mode
• • No history - Browsing activity isn't saved
• • Isolated cookies - Separate from your regular sessions
• • Survives multitasking - Tabs persist when switching apps

Exiting Incognito

Tap the "Exit Incognito" button at the bottom of the sidebar. This will:

• • Close all incognito tabs
• • Clear all private browsing data
• • Return you to your previous space and tab

Library Sections

• Bookmarks - View and organize bookmarks by folder. Create folders, move bookmarks, and search your collection.
• History - Browse and search your recently visited pages. Clear individual items or all history.
• Spaces - Full Space management with live preview. Tap a space card to preview its theme (sidebar updates immediately), tap Done when ready. The view adapts to show up to 2.5 cards based on your space count.
• Media - Access photos from your library. Long-press to copy or hide. Drag photos directly to website upload areas.
• Downloads - Files you've downloaded. Open, share, or delete downloaded files.
• Archived - Tabs that were automatically archived due to inactivity. Restore them to reopen, or delete permanently.

Media Features

The Media section shows photos from your device's photo library for easy use in web forms:

• • Tap - View full screen
• • Long-press → Copy - Copy image to clipboard
• • Long-press → Hide - Hide from SurfPad (stays in Photos app)
• • Drag & Drop - Drag photos directly to website file upload areas

Accessing Library

• Touch:
  • • Tap the book icon in the sidebar bottom bar
  • • Tap URL bar → search "Library"
• Keyboard: Shift+Cmd+L

Use the tabs at the top to switch between sections. Search within each section using the search bar.

Tabs

Tab Navigation

Spaces

Browsing

Display

Zoom

Organization

Protection Levels

• Off - No protection, all content loads normally
• Basic - Blocks obvious ads only
• Balanced - Blocks most ads safely (recommended)
• Strict - Maximum blocking, may break some sites

Per-Site Control

Disable blocking for specific sites you want to support:

• • Touch: Tap the "..." menu in sidebar header → Ad Blocker
• • The whitelist persists across sessions

Settings Sections

• Search - Default search engine (Google, DuckDuckGo, Bing), custom search engines
• Ad Blocker - Protection level (Off, Basic, Balanced, Strict)
• Tabs - Homepage URL, request desktop sites, auto archive interval (Never, 12 Hours, Daily, Weekly)
• Privacy - Block pop-ups, block third-party cookies, always open links in browser
• Appearance - Theme (System, Light, Dark), accent color (6 colors), browser toolbar toggle
• Default Browser - Instructions to set SurfPad as default
• Keyboard Shortcuts - View and customize all shortcuts
• Feedback - Send feedback or report issues
• About - Version info and credits

Accessing Settings

• Touch:
  • • Tap the "..." menu in sidebar header → Settings
  • • Tap URL bar → search "Settings"
• Keyboard: Cmd+,