How to Print a Table of All Open Tabs in Windows 10 (Step-by-Step Guide)

Ever found yourself drowning in a sea of open browser tabs? It happens to the best of us. Maybe you’re researching a big project, comparing prices on a dozen different websites, or just… well, forgetting to close things (we’ve all been there!). Sometimes, it’s incredibly useful to have a printed list of all those open tabs. Perhaps you need to share your research sources with a colleague, document your workflow for a project report, or simply archive a snapshot of your online activity.

Unfortunately, Windows has never provided a built-in way to print a nicely formatted list of your open browser tabs. It’s a feature that’s surprisingly absent. But don’t worry! There are ways to get this done, and this article will walk you through several different methods. We’ll cover using browser extensions – generally the easiest approach – as well as a more manual technique and, for the adventurous, even a scripting solution. Let’s dive in and get those tabs organized and onto paper!

Using Browser Extensions: The Quick and Easy Route

Browser extensions are small software programs that add extra functionality to your web browser. Think of them as mini-apps designed to make your browsing experience more productive, convenient, or just plain fun. When it comes to extracting and organizing a list of open tabs, extensions are your best bet for speed and ease of use.

There are several browser extensions designed specifically to copy the URLs of all your open tabs, and many of them can then format this data in a way that’s easily pasted into a spreadsheet or document. The benefit is clear: you don’t have to spend hours clicking and copying each URL individually.

A Recommended Extension for Tab Management: Let’s talk TabCopy

When choosing an extension for managing and copying open tabs, several factors come into play. You’ll want to consider the extension’s user reviews: what are other users saying about its reliability and ease of use? Pay close attention to the permissions the extension requests: is it asking for access to data it doesn’t need? Consider how recently it was updated; a regularly updated extension is more likely to be compatible with the latest browser versions and security standards. And, of course, how easy is it to actually use?

One highly recommended option is an extension called TabCopy. TabCopy is available for Chrome, Edge and other Chromium based browsers. It consistently receives positive reviews for its simplicity, reliability, and the various formatting options it provides.

So, how do you use TabCopy to generate that printable list of open tabs? It’s a breeze:

First, open the Chrome Web Store (or the extension store for your browser) and search for “TabCopy”.

Once you find the TabCopy extension, click the “Add to Chrome” button. The browser will then ask you to confirm the installation. Grant the necessary permissions, and the extension will be installed in your browser.

Once installed, TabCopy adds an icon to your browser toolbar. Click this icon to open the TabCopy interface. You’ll see several options for formatting the output, such as different separators (e.g., new lines, commas, or custom separators) and the ability to include the tab titles along with the URLs.

Choose your preferred formatting options, and then click the “Copy” button. TabCopy will copy all the URLs (and titles, if you chose that option) to your clipboard.

Now, simply open a text editor (like Notepad) or a word processor (like Microsoft Word or Google Docs) and paste the copied data.

At this stage, you have a list of URLs, ready to be transformed into a table as we will describe later.

TabCopy offers a good range of customizations. You can select the order in which URLs are copied, choose whether to include tab titles, and customize the separators between URLs. These options give you control over how the final output looks.

The output you’ll get will resemble a simple list of URLs, one per line, or separated by commas, depending on the formatting you chose. For example:

https://www.google.com
https://www.example.com
https://www.wikipedia.org

Or:

https://www.google.com, https://www.example.com, https://www.wikipedia.org

Alternative Extension Choices

While TabCopy is an excellent choice, many other extensions offer similar functionality. “Copy All URLs” is another popular option, offering a straightforward way to copy all tab URLs to the clipboard. “OneTab” is also worth mentioning. While its primary function is to consolidate tabs to save memory, it also allows you to easily export the list of saved tabs as URLs. Each has slightly different features, so it’s worth trying out a few to see which one best suits your needs.

Manual Copy-Pasting: The Traditional (and Tedious) Method

Before the advent of convenient browser extensions, the only way to create a list of open tabs was the manual copy-paste method. While this approach still works, it’s considerably more time-consuming and error-prone, especially if you have a large number of open tabs.

The process is straightforward: you manually copy the URL from each open tab and paste it into a document.

Here’s a step-by-step breakdown:

Start by opening the first tab you want to document.

Click in the address bar of your browser to select the URL.

Press Ctrl+C (or Cmd+C on a Mac) to copy the URL to your clipboard.

Open a text editor (like Notepad on Windows or TextEdit on macOS) or a word processor (like Microsoft Word or Google Docs).

Press Ctrl+V (or Cmd+V on a Mac) to paste the URL into the document.

Repeat these steps for each of your open tabs.

For a better organized list, consider using bullet points or numbered lists in your document. This will help visually separate each URL. You could also add headings to group tabs by topic or project.

The drawbacks of this manual method are numerous. It’s extremely time-consuming, especially if you have many open tabs. It’s also very easy to make mistakes – accidentally copying the wrong URL, skipping a tab, or mis-typing something. This method is really only suitable if you have a very small number of tabs to document.

Using a Scripting Solution: For the Tech-Savvy User

This method is more advanced and requires some familiarity with scripting, specifically PowerShell on Windows. Be warned: this is not for the faint of heart! Proceed only if you’re comfortable working with code. If you make errors, it’s possible to create problems.

PowerShell is a powerful command-line scripting language built into Windows. With PowerShell, you can automate many tasks, including retrieving information about running processes, such as your web browser.

Disclaimer: The following script is provided as an example and may require modification depending on your specific browser and system configuration. Always exercise caution when running scripts from unknown sources. It is critical to research any script before executing it, understand its functionality, and ensure its safety to avoid potential system issues.

Here’s a sample PowerShell script that retrieves the URLs of open tabs in Chrome (this method works by looking at command-line arguments passed to Chrome during launch, a somewhat unreliable method, but often works):

# Get a list of Chrome processes
$ChromeProcesses = Get-Process chrome

# Create an empty array to store the URLs
$URLs = @()

# Loop through each Chrome process
foreach ($Process in $ChromeProcesses) {
# Get the command line of the process
$CommandLine = (Get-WmiObject win32_process -Filter "ProcessId = $($Process.Id)").CommandLine

# Extract the URL from the command line (this might need adjustment depending on the format)
if ($CommandLine -match '"([^"]+)" --app-id=') {
$URL = $Matches[1]
$URLs += $URL
} elseif ($CommandLine -match '"([^"]+)"') {
$URL = $Matches[1]
$URLs += $URL
}
}

# Output the list of URLs
$URLs | Out-File -FilePath "C:\path\to\output.txt" -Encoding utf8
Write-Host "URLs saved to C:\path\to\output.txt"


Explanation:

The script first retrieves all running Chrome processes using Get-Process.

Then the script iterates through each process and gets the command-line arguments used to launch chrome. The arguments are then parsed to extract the URL. This is fragile, but may work.

Finally, the extracted URL is saved to a file, C:\path\to\output.txt. You must replace this with an appropriate path.

To run this script, save it as a .ps1 file (e.g., get_chrome_tabs.ps1) and then open PowerShell (as an administrator) and run the script using the command: .\get_chrome_tabs.ps1.

The script will output a list of URLs to the console and save them to the specified file.

The script output is a plain text list of URLs. You can then import this list into a spreadsheet program to create a table.

This scripting method has several limitations. It’s browser-specific and relies on extracting information from the process command line which may not be entirely reliable. It also requires some expertise in PowerShell. This approach is not recommended for the average user. Also, modern browser security can sometimes interfere with this type of process inspection.

Converting Your List into a Printable Table

Regardless of which method you use to extract the list of URLs, the next step is to convert that list into a nicely formatted table for printing. Here’s how to do it using Microsoft Word and Google Sheets, two popular options for creating tables.

Using Microsoft Word

Copy the list of URLs (from the output of any of the above methods) to your clipboard. Open a new Microsoft Word document.

Click on the “Insert” tab in the Word ribbon, then click “Table” and select “Insert Table.” Specify the number of columns you need (usually one or two; one for the URL, perhaps one for the tab title, if you have it).

Paste the URLs into the table cells. Word will automatically distribute the URLs across the table.

You can then format the table to your liking. Adjust the column widths, add headings, change the font, and add borders to make the table more readable.

To print the table, go to “File” -> “Print.” Adjust the print settings as needed (e.g., margins, scaling) to ensure the table fits properly on the page.

Using Google Sheets

Copy the list of URLs (from the output of any of the above methods) to your clipboard. Open a new Google Sheet.

Paste the URLs into the first column of the sheet. Google Sheets will automatically distribute the URLs across the cells.

You can then format the sheet to create a table. Add column headings, adjust column widths, change the font, and add borders.

To print the table, go to “File” -> “Print.” Adjust the print settings as needed to ensure the table fits properly on the page.

The final step for either Word or Sheets is to print. Remember to preview the document or sheet before printing to make sure it is properly formatted.

Conclusion

Printing a table of all open tabs in Windows is something that isn’t natively supported, but possible. We covered several methods for extracting and organizing your open tabs into a printable format. The easiest and most efficient solution for most users is to use a browser extension like TabCopy. If you prefer a more manual approach, the copy-paste method is an option, albeit a tedious one. For the technically inclined, PowerShell scripting provides a more powerful, though complex, alternative. Choose the method that best suits your needs and technical skills, and you’ll be able to create that handy, printable list of tabs in no time! Remember to always use trusted extensions.