New tab page
A new tab opens on a calm page with a picture, a search box and links to places you use. You choose which parts show. Turn every part off and the page is blank.
Open a new tab
- Press Ctrl+T (Cmd+T on a Mac).
- Open the Acira menu and choose New tab.
- Press the Home button, or Alt+Home on Windows. Home shows the new tab page. The button is on by default and you can hide it with Show Home button.
Private tabs and Tor tabs open on their own pages and never show your history. See Private tabs and windows and Tor tabs and windows.
What the page can show
The page is made of parts. Each part has a switch. These settings belong to the profile, so each profile can have its own new tab. See Profiles.
| Setting | Default | What it shows | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Show workspace header | On | The workspace name and icon, and a profile button. | Settings › New tab |
| Show artwork | On | The picture. | Settings › Appearance › New tab background |
| Show profile name | Off | The profile's name. Rename a profile under Profiles. | Settings › New tab |
| Show Acira mark | Off | A still Acira symbol. | Settings › New tab |
| Show search | On | A centered search field. | Settings › New tab |
| Show shortcuts | Off | The site shortcuts you added. | Settings › New tab |
| Show bookmarks | On | Your bookmarks as links. | Settings › New tab |
| Show recent pages | On | Recent history as links. | Settings › New tab |
| Include frequently visited pages | Off | Adds the pages you visit most in this profile to the links, after your shortcuts. It takes effect only while Show shortcuts is on. Not available in private windows. | Settings › New tab |
The search box
The field reads Search or enter address. Type a web address to go there, or type words to search with your default search engine. To change the engine or add your own, see Search engines.
Links on the page
Below the search box, Acira shows up to seven round links. It fills them in this order and shows a site once:
- Your shortcuts that have New tab ticked, if Show shortcuts is on, followed by frequently visited pages if Include frequently visited pages is on.
- Your bookmarks, if Show bookmarks is on.
- Recent pages, if Show recent pages is on.
When there are more, or when bookmarks or recent pages are on, a last link opens the whole list. It reads All history when recent pages are on and All bookmarks otherwise. Click a link to open it.
Edit your shortcuts
- Open Settings › New tab › Shortcuts.
- Type a Shortcut name and a Website address that starts with
http://orhttps://. - Choose Add shortcut.
You can keep up to 12 shortcuts. For each one, tick New tab, Sidebar or both to choose where it shows. A new shortcut starts on the new tab and not in the sidebar. Use the arrows to reorder, Edit to change a shortcut and the bin to remove it. After 12, Acira asks you to remove one before adding another. Names can be 80 characters long.
The picture
Pictures belong to Settings under Settings › Appearance › New tab background, because they are part of how Acira looks. The same group has a link to the layout settings.
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Artwork style | Framed | Framed shows the picture as a framed image on a calm page, with a soft glow of its colors behind it that spans the whole page. Full background uses it as the page background. |
| Collection | Paintings | Where pictures come from. Choose a card: Paintings, Landscapes, Nature, Architecture or Space. See the next table. |
| Artwork | Wheat Field with Cypresses | Choose a painting from the list, or one of your own images. Browse cover images opens a picker. |
| Change artwork | Only when I press Change | Choose Only when I press Change, Every new tab, Every hour or Every day. |
| Show the caption | On | The title, artist and year under the painting. |
| Personal images | None | Choose a PNG or JPEG file with Choose an image…. You can keep up to 5. |
For a painting from the built-in set, About this painting shows the artist, date and museum record, with a View museum record button.
Collections
| Collection | Source | Works offline |
|---|---|---|
| Paintings (Built-in paintings) | Museum paintings that come with Acira. | Yes |
| Landscapes | Wikimedia Commons | No |
| Nature | Wikimedia Commons | No |
| Architecture | Wikimedia Commons | No |
| Space | Wikimedia Commons | No |
With an online collection Acira asks Wikimedia Commons for one picture only when you open a new tab, and keeps it on this computer. Private windows and Tor use the built-in paintings. If a picture cannot load, the page says so and keeps your previous picture.
On the page itself
- Another painting shows a different picture. With an online collection the button reads Another image.
- The arrow beside it opens Workspace cover, to choose a different picture.
- The eye button hides the picture (Hide workspace cover) and shows it again (Show workspace cover). This is the same as the Show artwork switch.
- Hover or focus the caption to read the full credit.
Your own images
Choose Choose an image… to copy a PNG or JPEG into the profile. Your original file stays where it is. Acira keeps up to 5 images and up to 20 MB of them for each profile. Remove an image from the list under Personal images. In a private window the image is forgotten when the window closes.
Reset the page
When you have changed anything, Settings › New tab shows Reset new-tab layout. Its Reset button restores the default sections and artwork.
Limits
- Online collections need an internet connection. The built-in paintings work offline.
- The built-in set holds 76 paintings. The other collections come from their sources and change.
- An extension can replace the new tab page. See Extensions. Private and Tor windows keep Acira's page.
Last updated November 8, 2026