Since it switched to using Chromium as its base, the Microsoft Edge browser has quickly become one of the best ways to explore the Internet. If you aren’t already using it, we really recommend giving it a try. In this Complete Guide to Using Microsoft Edge, you will learn how to do everything from customising the Start Page to importing bookmarks and blocking unwanted sites.
In This Guide…
- In This Guide…
- Customise the Edge Start Page Layout
- Additional Start Page Tools
- Customise the News Feed
- Using Microsoft Edge Browser Tools
- Change the Default Search Engine
- Edge Extensions
- Using the Edge Bar
Customise the Edge Start Page Layout
The start Page of Microsoft Edge, the page that displays when you first open the browser, is completely customisable, and can be great for making your browsing easier and faster.
There are four different page layouts available to choose from by clicking the gear icon at the top-right of the page. These are Focussed, Inspirational, Informational and Custom.
Focused – A clean page, containing little more than a search field, and a row of quick links. Scrolling down reveals the Start Page news feed, and you still have icons for apps, weather, notifications and page settings at the top. But otherwise, this is the uncluttered version of the layout.
Inspirational – If you prefer a nice background to your Start Page, the Inspirational page layout is a better choice. In terms of what is on the page, this is similar to Focused, but you have a nice random background image. You can find out more about the image by clicking the small magnifying glass icon. The feed also moves up the page slightly, displaying a few of the top stories.
Informational – In this layout, the MSN news feed moves much further up, the search field and quick links move to the very top of the page and things look a lot busier. This layout still has part of the background image displayed, and you can expand it to see more if you want to.
Custom – This layout type lets you, as the name suggests, customise things to your liking. You can add a second row of quick links, turn off the greeting at the top, choose to disable the background image (or use one of your own images), choose how much of the feed is shown, or even turn it off completely.
Additional Start Page Tools
There are several other tools and features of the Start Page, all of which will be visible on the page no matter which of the layouts you choose to use.
Quick Links
Quick links are a row of website icons below the search box on the Start page. If you have never used Edge before, you may not see any icons, just a + button to add some. You can add sites manually using this button, or simply browse the web and Edge will automatically create quick links based on the sites you visit often.
App Links
This small menu at the top-left of the Start page contains links to several popular Microsoft apps, including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Skype. Clicking any of them will open the browser version of the software, not the stand-alone app version you may have on your computer.
Weather
Next to the apps menu is a simple weather display, usually showing a weather icon (sun, cloud, etc.,) and a temperature. If you hover your mouse over it, it will expand to show the location, and weather for the next few days. You can edit the weather location by clicking on the pencil icon here.
Microsoft Points
If you have signed up for the Microsoft Rewards program, your earned points will be displayed at the top-right of the Start Page. You can earn points by doing a number of things, including searching with Bing and browsing in Edge. These points can be redeemed for vouchers and entries to prize draws.
Notifications
Next to the Microsoft points icon is the notifications icon. Clicking this opens a list of around four top and breaking stories, based on your feed interests, location, and other data. You can control the type of stories that activate notifications by clicking the Settings link on the notifications panel.
Customise the News Feed
The news feed that is displayed below the search field and quick links can be customised to your liking (unless you choose to disable it). Click the “Personalise” button at the top of the feed, alongside the feed category titles. Here you can choose the subjects that interest you, to make more of those types of stories appear in the feed.
Additionally, each story in the feed has a More Options button (three dots). This opens a menu containing upvote and downvote options, as well as the option to hide stories from that particular source. You can also save stories to be read later in this menu.
Also found on the bar across the top of the feed is a content view menu. This allows you to choose to show just the feed headings, a small part of the feed or a larger part of it. Next to this button are two feed layout buttons. One displays the stories across the full width of the page, and the other adds a sticky menu to the left side of the news feed. This menu is where you find your saved stories, among other things.
Using Microsoft Edge Browser Tools
The Edge browser in Windows 11 contains a lot of very useful tools, not all of which are immediately obvious. From Collections and Vertical Tabs, to Efficiency mode, here are some of the newest and most useful Edge tools.
Vertical Tabs
By default, any tabs you have open in Edge are displayed along the top of the browser window, as is the case in most browsers. In Edge, you have the option of moving the tabs to the side of the window. To do this, click the small tab at the very left of the browser window. This is actually the Tab Actions menu, which also gives you the options to open recently closed tabs, and save all tabs to a Collection.
Collections
Collections are designed to help you keep track of ideas on the web. Let’s say, for example, that you are planning a trip. As you browse websites for prices, destinations, etc., you can save them to a “My Trip” collection. And it isn’t only pages or sites you can save. If you see a link, some text or an image that you want to keep, just right-click on it and “Save to collections”. You can even create notes in a Collection by opening it in the Collections list and then clicking the small “Add Note” icon.
The next time you are on the computer looking at more trip ideas, you can quickly find everything you saved previously. Collections are synced across all devices that use Edge and the same Microsoft account.
Taskbar Pinning
Edge lets you pin some of your most visited websites to the desktop Taskbar with the Taskbar Pinning Wizard. You can find this in the Edge menu > More tools > Launch Taskbar Pinning Wizard. Edge will give you a choice of several of your most visited sites, which you can then choose to add to the Taskbar. Follow the steps through the wizard, and site icons will appear on the right side of the Taskbar. When you click any of these icons, Edge will open at the site you clicked.
Pinning Tabs
Another way to keep a commonly visited website ready to view is to open it in a new tab, and then pin the tab. Pinned tabs display smaller than other tabs, and will move to sit at the left side of the browser title bar (next to the Tab Actions menu). Pinned tabs will remain even if you close Edge.
Tracking Prevention
Websites use trackers to collect info about your browsing. Websites may use this info to improve sites and show you content like personalised ads. Some trackers collect and send your info to sites you haven’t visited. Edge provides built-in tracking prevention tools, allowing you to choose how your browsing history is used. You can choose from three different tracking prevention levels in Edge menu > Settings > Privacy, search and services.
Performance
Edge in Windows 11 introduces a simple way for laptop users to manage how much power and CPU resources the browser uses with Efficiency mode. In Edge menu > Performance, you will see a menu with four options for enabling efficiency mode: Never, Always, Unplugged, Unplugged (low battery). Set Efficiency mode to the level you think will work best for you.
Information Cards
The news feed on your Edge Start Page contains several information cards, including weather and stock watchlist (these are very similar to widgets). To edit which information cards are shown in the feed by clicking on the link in the sticky menu on the feed. Click the list icon at the left side of the top of the news feed to see the menu.
Automatic Form Fill
With your permission, Edge can automatically fill your details in forms and logins across the web. Automatic form filling is not a new feature, but it is a very useful one, and one which is easy to overlook. To set up the information for Edge to use, go to Edge menu > Settings > Profiles. Here you can enter personal info, payment info and even passwords, and then choose which information is automatically entered when a form is detected.
Change the Default Search Engine
The default search engine used by Edge is Bing. Bing doesn’t have the reputation Google has, but it is a reliable search engine in its own right. If, however, you prefer to use a different search engine in Edge, you can easily change it.
Open the Edge menu and select Settings. Go into the Privacy, Search & Services section, and scroll to the very bottom. Here, click Address Bar & Search, and then use the drop-down list to choose the default search engine you wish to use.
Edge Extensions
Extensions are by now a normal part of most modern browsers, and Edge is no exception. The range of available extensions has been growing rapidly for the last few years, and there are now useful browser tools that range from ad blockers and safer browsing tools, to screen sharing website development tools. Some of my current favourite extensions include:
Toucan – If you are trying to learn another language, the Toucan extension is a great little tool. Once installed, it automatically translates certain words on the websites you visit, letting you learn new words within the context of a language you already know. Mouse over the translated word to see the original.
Honey – Edge includes a new tool that will automatically search for vouchers and discount codes for the things you buy online, but it is currently only available in the US and a few other places. The Honey extension does exactly the same thing (perhaps does it even better) and is available in many more countries.
Dark Reader – Take better care of your eyes when browsing the internet. Dark Reader allows you to view almost every website in dark mode (or sepia mode), so you experience less eye strain in those late-night surfing rabbit holes we all occasionally fall into.
Using the Edge Bar
The Edge bar is a fairly new tool, and if you miss the prompt to activate it when you first start using Edge, it is quite easy to overlook it. The Edge bar is like a mini Start Page that floats at the side of the screen, even when Edge is not being used. It contains a search field, a few info panels and a news feed.
You can activate the Edge bar by going to Edge menu > More tools > launch Edge bar. When you activate it, it is positioned on the right-hand side of the screen. Close Edge, and you will see that the Edge bar remains. When minimised, it appears as a small Edge icon, floating at the side of the screen. Click this to expand the bar again.
You can move the Edge bar around if you don’t want it on the right side of the screen. Unless you pin the bar, in which case it has to sit at either the left or right side. When pinned, it will expand to fit the full height of the screen, and can then be hidden automatically by clicking the Autohide button. When hidden, it appears as a narrow, transparent bar at the side of the screen. Click this to show it again. As soon as you click elsewhere, it will hide once again.