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 a Space dot at the bottom of the sidebar
  • • Swipe left/right anywhere on the sidebar to quick-switch between Spaces
• 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 alongside the web page. The web content is pushed to the right.
  • • Touch: Tap the lock icon in sidebar header to switch modes
  • • Keyboard: Alt+Cmd+S to toggle lock
• Floating (Unlocked) - Sidebar floats over the web page and can be shown or hidden.
  • • Show sidebar: Tap or swipe right on the edge handle (visible when sidebar is hidden)
  • • Dismiss sidebar: Tap anywhere on the web page, or swipe left on the web area
  • • Keyboard: Shift+Cmd+S to toggle visibility

Sidebar Sections

• • Header - URL bar, navigation, and the "..." menu for 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

Page Actions ("..." Menu)

Tap the "..." button in the sidebar header to access page-level actions:

• • Share - Share the current page URL via the system share sheet
• • Find in Page - Search text on the current page (Cmd+F)
• • Desktop Mode - Request the desktop version of the site
• • Reader Mode - Simplified reading view (Shift+Cmd+R)
• • Ad Blocker - Toggle ad blocking for the current site
• • Screenshot - Capture the visible area (Alt+Cmd+3) or full page (Alt+Cmd+4)
• • Print - Print or export page as PDF (Shift+Cmd+P)
• • Permissions - Manage per-site Camera, Microphone, and Location access (Ask, Allow, or Block)
• • Clear Cache - Clear cached data for the current site
• • Clear Cookies - Clear cookies for the current site
• • Clear All Site Data - Clear all data (cache, cookies, and more) for the current site
• • Connection Security - Shows whether the connection is secure (HTTPS) or not

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

Keyboard Navigation

When the command bar is open, use these keys to navigate:

• • ↑ / ↓ — Move through results
• • Enter — Select the highlighted result
• • Esc / Cmd+. — Dismiss

Selecting "New Folder" from results switches to an inline folder name input — type a name and press Enter to create it without leaving the command bar.

Quick Site Search (@shortcuts)

Type @ followed by a shortcut name and your search query to search a specific site directly from the command bar.

Built-in shortcuts:

You can add your own custom shortcuts in Settings → Search. Any site with a search URL can be added — just use {query} as the placeholder.

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

Active Pane

In split view, one pane is always the active pane. A green circle appears on the active tab in the sidebar to show which pane is selected.

• • Tapping a tab or navigating to a URL opens the page in the active pane
• • Touch: Tap inside a pane to make it active
• • Keyboard: Press Cmd+\ to switch the active pane

Split View Controls

• • Resize panes: Drag the center divider left/right (or up/down in vertical mode) — panes can be sized from 25% to 75%
• • Focus a pane: Tap anywhere inside a pane to make it active
• • Each pane has its own back/forward navigation and URL bar
• • Swap panes: Tap swap button or Shift+Alt+Cmd+E
• • Toggle orientation: Tap orientation button or Alt+Cmd+E (horizontal ↔ vertical)
• • Switch active pane: Cmd+\
• • Close a pane to return to single view

Tab Touch Gestures

• • Tap - Select and navigate to the tab
• • Long-press - Open context menu (Copy Link, Share, Duplicate, Pin, Bookmark, Split View, Move to Space, Close)
• • Drag & drop - Reorder tabs by dragging them up or down in the sidebar
• • Drag onto a folder - Move a tab into a folder by dropping it on the folder header
• • Drag onto Pinned section - Pin a tab by dropping it on the pinned area
• • Drag onto Favorites - Add a tab to favorites by dropping it on the favorites grid

Tab Keyboard Shortcuts

New Tab (Cmd+T), Close (Cmd+W), Close All (Shift+Cmd+W), Reopen Closed (Shift+Cmd+T), Duplicate (Shift+Cmd+D), Pin (Cmd+P), Next Tab (Ctrl+Tab), Previous Tab (Shift+Ctrl+Tab), Jump to Tab (Cmd+1-8, Cmd+9 for last)

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+D 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", or drag a tab onto the favorites grid
  • Keyboard: Cmd+B
• • Tap - Open the favorited page
• • Long-press - Context menu (Copy Link, Share, Duplicate, Pin, Bookmark, Remove Favorite, Close Tab)
• • Drag & drop - Reorder favorites by dragging tiles within the grid
• • Remove: Long-press a favorite → "Remove Favorite"
• • Grid adapts from 1-4 columns based on count

Entering Private Browsing

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

• • Touch: Tap the "+" button in sidebar → "Private Browsing"
• • Keyboard: Shift+Cmd+N
• • Command Bar: Search "Private Browsing"

What's Different

• • Separate sidebar - Only shows private 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 Private Browsing

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

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

Sidebar

• • Swipe left/right on sidebar - Switch between Spaces
• • Tap edge handle - Open sidebar (when collapsed in floating mode)
• • Swipe right on edge handle - Open sidebar
• • Tap web area - Dismiss sidebar (when open in floating mode)
• • Swipe left on web area - Dismiss sidebar

Tabs

• • Tap tab - Select and navigate
• • Long-press tab - Full context menu
• • Drag tab - Reorder in sidebar
• • Drop tab on folder - Move tab into folder
• • Drop tab on Pinned section - Pin the tab
• • Drop tab on Favorites grid - Add to favorites

Spaces

• • Tap Space dot - Switch to that Space
• • Long-press Space dot - Edit or delete Space
• • Drag Space dots - Reorder Spaces

Favorites

• • Tap favorite - Open the page
• • Long-press favorite - Context menu
• • Drag favorites - Reorder within the grid

Folders

• • Tap folder header - Expand or collapse
• • Long-press folder header - Rename or delete
• • Drag folder - Reorder among other folders
• • Drop tab on folder - Move tab into the folder

Library Swipe Actions

Swipe gestures work across all Library sections for quick actions:

• • Swipe left - Delete (bookmarks, history, downloads, archived tabs)
• • Swipe right on bookmark - Move to folder
• • Swipe right on download - Share file
• • Swipe right on archived tab - Restore as active tab

Split View

• • Tap inside a pane - Make it the active pane
• • Drag the center divider - Resize panes (25% to 75%)

Media

• • Tap - Full-screen preview with pinch-to-zoom
• • Double-tap in preview - Toggle between fit and fill-width zoom
• • Long-press - Context menu (Copy, Share, Save to Photos, Hide/Unhide)
• • Drag - Drag photos to website file upload areas

Bookmarks (Library)

View and organize bookmarks by folder. Create folders, move bookmarks, and search your collection.

• • Tap - Open a bookmark as a tab
• • Long-press bookmark - Context menu (Open as Tab, Copy Link, Pin, Move to Folder, Delete)
• • Swipe left on bookmark - Quick delete
• • Swipe right on bookmark - Move to a different folder
• • Long-press folder - Rename or delete folder
• • Swipe left on folder - Quick delete folder

History (Library)

Browse and search your recently visited pages, grouped by date.

• • Tap - Reopen the page
• • Long-press - Context menu (Copy Link, Delete)
• • Swipe left - Quick delete entry

Spaces (Library)

Full Space management with live preview. The view adapts to show up to 2.5 cards based on your Space count.

• • Tap a Space card - Preview its theme (sidebar updates immediately)
• • Long-press a Space card - Edit or delete the Space
• • Drag & drop Space cards - Reorder Spaces

Downloads (Library)

Files you've downloaded from the web.

• • Tap - Open the downloaded file
• • Long-press - Context menu (Share, Delete)
• • Swipe left - Quick delete
• • Swipe right - Share the file

Archived (Library)

Tabs that were automatically archived due to inactivity.

• • Tap - Preview the archived page
• • Long-press - Context menu (Restore Tab, Copy Link, Delete)
• • Swipe left - Quick delete
• • Swipe right - Restore as an active tab

Media Features

The Media section stores screenshots and imported photos within SurfPad — no photo library access required:

• • Screenshots - Visible area and full-page screenshots are saved directly to Media
• • Import Photos - Tap the Import button to add photos from your library (no permissions needed)
• • Tap - View full screen with pinch-to-zoom and double-tap zoom
• • Long-press → Copy - Copy image to clipboard
• • Long-press → Share - Share via AirDrop, Messages, and more
• • Long-press → Save to Photos - Save a copy to your photo library
• • Long-press → Hide/Unhide - Hide media from the grid, reveal with the eye icon toggle
• • Drag & Drop - Drag photos directly to website file upload areas
• • Share Extension - Share images from other apps to SurfPad via the share sheet

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

Page

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

YouTube Ad Blocking

A separate toggle in Settings → Ad Blocker automatically skips video ads on YouTube. Unlike traditional ad blockers, video ads can't be fully prevented — they may briefly flash (muted) for about a second before being skipped automatically.

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), YouTube ad blocking
• Tabs - Homepage URL, new tab opens command bar, request desktop sites, browse as iPhone, auto archive interval (Never, 12 Hours, Daily, Weekly)
• Privacy - Block pop-ups, always open links in browser, clear all browsing data
• Appearance - Theme (System, Light, Dark), accent color (7 colors), browser toolbar, status bar, sidebar position (Left/Right)
• 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+,