Microsoft's browser is not one of the most popular. It does not have nearly as many users as other more prominent alternatives such as Google Chrome or Firefox, however, that does not mean that it is not useful and practical. For our part, we encourage you to use it and get the most out of it with these Tricks for Edge.
If you haven't given it a chance yet, now is a good time to do so, and you will surely end up surprised by everything you have been missing until now.
It is compatible with Chrome extensions
Chrome extensions are one of the strong points of the Google browser. If you are a loyal user of them, you don't have to worry if you switch to Edge, because It turns out that these extensions are compatible.
Enter the Edge settings, go to the extensions section and activate the “Allow extensions from other stores” tab. This is how easy it is for you to access the Chrome Web Store and install the extensions you like the most.
Change the search engine
Microsoft keeps trying to get us all to switch to Bing, but it doesn't succeed. If one of the things you don't like about Edge is that it uses Bing as the default search engine, you can change this too.
First access the website of your favorite search engine so that the search engine appears in the list that we are going to talk about below. Now go to “Settings” and choosee “Privacy and services” > “Services” > “Address bar” > “Search engine used in the address bar”, and all you have to do is choose the one you prefer from the list that appears.
If you decide to give Bing a try, it is important that you know that the Microsoft Rewards system allows you to accumulate points for using the brand's products. Points that you can later exchange for gift cards or donations to causes that matter to you, and it turns out that by using their search engine you also accumulate them.
You can force dark mode, one of the most useful Edge tricks
If you spend a lot of time in front of the screen, dark mode can be a great ally to protect your eyesight. In the case of Edge, as with other browsers, you can also synchronize this mode with your operating system, and even force it.
From the “Settings” go to the “Appearance” section and access “Customize browser” > “Theme”, here you can choose the dark theme or another that you like. From this same section you can make other aesthetic adjustments, and even change the font type and size.
Has a tracker blocker
To improve your security, the Microsoft browser has three different privacy settings. The strictest is the one that is capable of blocking third-party trackers, but keep in mind that this may affect the functioning of some web pages.
Strengthening security is simple, follow these steps:
- Go to “Settings” > “Privacy and services”.
- Choose “Tracking Prevention” and select between basic, balanced or strict.
If you want extra security, in the privacy options activate “Send “do not track” requests”.
Use collections to organize information
One of the best tricks for Edge is related to an exclusive functionality that not everyone knows about: Collections.
Through it you can organize notes and links on a topic and then access this information quickly and easily. All you have to do is click on the collections button that appears in the top bar and create as many as you need.
In addition, the content you have in each collection can be modified quickly, because you can move it or delete it with just a dragging movement.
reads you out loud
If you've been staring at your screen for so long that you're tired of reading, Edge can do the hard work for you and read the content of any website aloud to you. You can even choose between different voices, to make the experience as satisfying as possible.
Activating this functionality is easy:
- Enter the website of your choice.
- Click on the three dots icon that appears at the top right.
- Choose "Favorites" and configure reading options.
Another way to make reading more enjoyable is to activate the immersive reader, which eliminates all the elements on the web and leaves only the text, so that nothing distracts you. To enjoy this functionality you just have to click on the book-shaped icon that appears next to the “Favorites” icon.
Streamline your work with “Smart Copy”
We have all copied text from a website into a blank document at some point and what we got in return is completely messy text. Well, it turns out that we can solve this with the functionality “Smart copy” which is exclusive to Edge and is activated by default.
Select the text you want to copy and, when you bring it to Word, Edge will automatically remember its formatting and copy it exactly the same as the original.
Close all tabs at once
If you open a lot of windows to work, you already know that closing all but the ones that interest you can be tedious. However, this is simpler with this trick.
Right-click on the last tab you want to leave open and in the pop-up menu select “Close the right tabs”. This closes all the windows to the right of the one you have selected, but does not close the one you have pressed.
In the same drop-down menu you have another practical functionality: “Close other tabs”. This option closes all open tabs except the one you have pressed.
And if you made a mistake and closed a tab that you shouldn't, there is also a solution. From the same menu select “Reopen closed tab” and you will recover that website.
With these simple tricks for Edge we are sure that the Microsoft browser will be a much more interesting option for you. Do you dare to try it?