Microsoft Edge Basics

Microsoft Edge is the successor to Internet Explorer, the web browser that most people probably still associate with Microsoft and Windows. It is a feature-rich application that's based on the same Chromium underpinnings that Google uses for Chrome and so it should seem familiar to most users.
Microsoft Edge is also available on Android smartphones and tablets, iPhone, iPad, Mac, Linux, and Xbox, so you can use it on all of your devices and sync your browsing data between them if you'd like.
For the most part, Microsoft Edge looks and works much like other modern web browsers. It offers all of the features you expect, like tabbed browsing, an address bar with integrated search, support for themes and extensions, and more.

We know you're familiar with web browsers and how they work. So, this chapter quickly examines common browser features and explains how they differ in Microsoft Edge. Subsequent chapters in this section focus on features that are unique to Edge.
Toolbar and Address bar
Microsoft Edge provides a somewhat minimal toolbar by default, with a large Address bar in the middle (with an "Add this page to favorites" button at its far right), "Back" and "Refresh" buttons to its left, and "Favorites," "Collections," and "Profile" icons and a Settings and more ("...") link to its right.

Additional items can appear contextually. A "Forward" button will appear if you visit a web page and then go back (by clicking "Back") to the original page. A "Downloads" button will appear when you're downloading a file. And "Read aloud this page" and "Enter Immersive Reader" buttons will appear inside of the address bar when you view an article or post on the web. (There are many other examples.)

You can customize the Edge toolbar to your liking. Some buttons, like "Favorites" and "Collections," can be removed directly by right-clicking them and choosing "Hide from toolbar."

Other items, alas, cannot be removed, like the "Back" button and address bar.
But there are far more customization options in Edge settings. To find them, open Microsoft Edge settings by navigating to Settings and more ("...") > Settings > Appearance and then finding the "Customize toolbar" section.

You can also open Settings and more by typing ALT + F.
Tabs
As you should expect, Microsoft Edge offers a rich set of features related to tabs, the feature that lets you have multiple web pages open in a single browser window at the same time.
Multitask with tabs
As with other web browsers, Microsoft Edge lets you switch to a different tab by selecting it in the tab bar.
You can also use the CTRL + TAB keyboard shortcut to switch to any each available tab, in turn. Use CTRL + T to open a new tab and CTRL + W to close the current tab.
You can also reopen a closed tab by typing CTRL + SHIFT + T.
But Windows 11 also provides a unique integration with Edge that makes individual Edge tabs appear as standalone windows while using the Alt-Tab mult...