Edge gets Tab Search and a new setup experience

Several months ago, one of the updates for Google Chrome introduced tab search that allows users to find the needed tab in vast seas of open web pages they never close. Now the same feature has arrived in Microsoft Edge.

Tab Search in Microsoft Edge

Previously, to enable tab search in Microsoft Edge, users had to utilize a command-line argument in the Edge's shortcut properties. This non-user-friendly method is no longer required as Edge Canary now comes with tab search activated by default for all users.

In Google Chrome, you can open tab search by pressing a somewhat ugly and misaligned button in the upper-right corner of the screen. Edge, on the other hand, offers a much more elegant solution. Microsoft placed the tab search button in the "Tab Actions" menu in the upper-left corner of the screen. In the current stable version of Edge, that menu has three options:

• enable vertical tabs,
• open recently closed tabs,
• and add open tabs to a new collection.

Not everyone will like the fact that opening tab search in Edge requires an additional click. For those users, Microsoft created a dedicated shortcut. You can press Ctrl + Shift + A to find a tab in the Edge browser.

A new setup experience

Another change recent Edge Canary updates have brought is a new setup experience. Microsoft Edge Canary will show a refreshed UI with options to turn on sync and fetch data from other browsers. It will also nudge you to "make the web work for you" by allowing Microsoft to use your data to improve search, provide news, ads, and shopping deals.

Finally, the new initial setup will offer you to customize Microsoft Edge by selecting overall appearance (system default, light, and dark) and picking a theme. On Windows 11, Edge uses the default theme with acrylic elements to match the browser's look with Windows.

With all these changes, Edge looks and feels more modern, although users will surely hate how Microsoft continues bombarding them with various data-scavenging prompts. Edge and Windows 11 are currently under fire for numerous user-hostile practices, and the new out-of-box experience will not help Microsoft fix that.