10 reasons to start using the new Microsoft Edge

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Immersive mode, collections, safety concerns and other features.

Microsoft redesigned their browser from scratch, and now Edge is based on the Chrome engine. It works faster, has support for extensions, and has improved compatibility with modern sites. If you've bypassed Edge so far, here are some reasons to give it a try.

1. Reading mode

In the same Chrome, reading mode can be added using third-party extensions. Microsoft Edge has its own mode called immersive. Click on the icon with the image of a book in the address bar - and all unnecessary elements will disappear, only text and pictures will remain.

Immersive mode makes it easy to adjust text size, line spacing, and background. You can also turn on the highlighting of various parts with color and the division of words into syllables. Finally, the browser can read pages out loud.

2. Support for Chrome extensions

Perhaps the biggest problem with Edge in the past has been its lack of extensions. But now the situation has changed.

First, the Microsoft Store has become more diverse and there is now no shortage of ad blockers, translators and clippers. And secondly, Edge, as expected, began to support add-ons from Chrome.

And to install them, you don't need to go to some tricks. Just click on the checkbox "Allow extensions from other stores" in the extensions menu. Or just open the Chrome store: Edge will prompt you to enable the desired option on the top bar.

3. Menu "Send"

On the Android and iOS mobile operating systems, the Send or Share button is available in all applications. But on desktops it is not found: among browsers, only Safari on Mac has it. Meanwhile, this is a handy thing.

In Edge, the "Submit" button is available. You can easily send a link to the desired page to a person from your contact list, copy it to your email client, your phone application or other programs, or send it to your nearest device.

4. Protection of security and privacy

The new Microsoft Edge has built-in web tracking protection. It automatically blocks most trackers. The browser offers three grades - Basic, Balanced, and Strict.

In the Tracking Blocker menu under Tracking Blocked, you can see exactly what Microsoft Edge protects against.

In addition, the browser has a built-in Microsoft Defender SmartScreen filter. It does not allow you to go to phishing and infected sites, as well as download malicious files.

5. Customizable start page

Edge offers three homepage options.

• Focused - All you have in front of you are the icons for the frequently visited sites and the search box, just like in Chrome.
• Inspirational - A variety of backgrounds from Bing photos appear on the screen.
• "Informational" - The launch pad is filled with Microsoft News. Here you can also see the weather, exchange rates and other data.

By switching between modes, you can make the start page as informative as possible. Or, on the contrary, arrange so that it does not distract from surfing.

6. User profiles

Microsoft Edge retained one of the best Chromium features - the ability to create profiles so that several people use the browser at the same time, without mixing their favorite sites, passwords, payment details, addresses and other parameters. You can also use profiles to separate personal and work content.

Edge can create two types of profiles. Local only stores data on your device. And the cloud syncs bookmarks, history, passwords and other information between all your gadgets, but you need to connect your Microsoft account.

7. PDF markups

A PDF viewer is built into any modern browser. But Edge has slightly expanded its standard capabilities. You can draw anything in your document using the Draw tool. For example, write something or circle an important place in the text.

eight. Collections and notes

Collections are a great tool for those who often save something from the Web. You can collect sites, documents and images. Collections also host notes: they have simple formatting and are ideal for quick notes.

All this is useful if you are conducting, for example, some kind of research. You can save different sources and pictures, simultaneously supplying them with comments and sorting at your own discretion. Much clearer than simple bookmarks. It is easy to export the contents of the collections directly from the browser to Word or Excel.

This is a hidden feature for now, but Microsoft should fully enable it in future updates. To activate it now, add to the properties of the Microsoft Edge shortcut in the "Object" field the parameter

--enable ‑ features = msEdgeCollections

Close the browser and start it again.

9. Dark theme

To replace the light theme with a dark one, go to the appearance settings. The latter loads less vision in the dark.

In addition, the browser has a third option - "Standard system settings". If you click on it, Edge will automatically select a color based on which theme is selected in Windows 10 Settings.

10. Multiplatform

One of the reasons Edge was simply impossible to use before was that it was only available on Windows 10 and Android devices. Accordingly, all of its synchronization was useless if you also had a Mac or iPad.

But now Edge has official versions for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS at once, and in the future Microsoft intends Hot Topic: It’s Official: Microsoft Edge is Coming to Linux to release an assembly for Linux.

Download Microsoft Edge →