Microsoft Edge update might actually make vertical tabs useful

Edge Vertical Tabs
(Image credit: Microsoft)

After adding support for vertical tabs to its Chromium-based browser earlier this year, Microsoft is currently working on a new update for Edge that will allow users to change the size of the vertical tabs panel.

While horizontal tabs have long been the standard way to have multiple websites open in other browsers, Edge's vertical tabs are quickly becoming a popular alternative as they allow users to make better use of the screen space on their laptop or monitor and this is especially true on ultrawide monitors.

When Microsoft first updated Edge with vertical tabs, it added a button to allow users to access the vertical tab user interface and switch between horizontal or vertical tabs on the fly. However, at that time, users were unable to change the size of the layout.

In Edge's next update though, it appears that Microsoft is adding support for resizable vertical tabs. This means that users will be able to change the size of the vertical tabs panel by clicking and dragging the panel. If you want to test out this feature now, you can do so by downloading the Canary, Dev or Beta build of Edge. 

Sleeping tabs

Microsoft also introduced another feature in version 89 of Edge called sleeping tabs. As open browser tabs can hog memory and other system resources, this feature puts tabs to sleep once they've been inactive for a couple of hours.

With sleeping tabs enabled, tabs that are put to sleep will look dim or faded compared to your other open tabs. Hovering over a faded tab will also cause a “tab is sleeping” alert to appear and when you click on the alert, the tab will reload a webpage without losing any data.

However, some users aren't too pleased with faded tabs which is why Microsoft is currently testing out a new experimental flag that will allow them to turn off the animation without disabling the sleeping tabs feature.

If you've yet to test out Chromium-based Edge on your Windows 10 PC yet, now is the time to do so as Microsoft is constantly adding new features to its browser in an effort to get users to make the switch to Edge.

Via Windows Latest

Anthony Spadafora

After working with the TechRadar Pro team for the last several years, Anthony is now the security and networking editor at Tom’s Guide where he covers everything from data breaches and ransomware gangs to the best way to cover your whole home or business with Wi-Fi. When not writing, you can find him tinkering with PCs and game consoles, managing cables and upgrading his smart home.