Windows 10 Tip: Start Your Transition to Microsoft Edge
- Paul Thurrott
- Mar 20, 2017
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12
If you’re interested in switching to Microsoft Edge from another browser—or perhaps you just wish to access your bookmarks, browsing history, and saved passwords—you can do so more easily once you’ve installed the Windows 10 Creators Update.
Note: This tip is derived from the Windows 10 Field Guide, which is now being updated for the Windows 10 Creators Update.
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Unfortunately, your ability to move information from other browsers to Edge varies by browser. Internet Explorer and Google Chrome users can import their bookmarks, browsing history, and saved passwords to Edge. But Firefox users can only import bookmarks.
To get started, open Edge and select the Settings and More (“…”) button. Then, find the Import from another browser button under “Import favorites and other info” section in Edge settings.
In the Import your info from another browser pane that appears, you will see two main sections: Import your info, and Import or export a file.
Using the Import button under “Import your info,” you can use a simple wizard to pull your existing bookmarks, browsing history, and saved passwords from IE or Chrome, or your Firefox bookmarks only, into Edge. Regardless of which you choose, Edge will import your information and then create a new “Imported from browser name” folder in Favorites that contains the imported bookmarks.
From here, you can copy or move those bookmarks elsewhere in the Favorites hierarchy if needed: Just open Favorites (CTRL + I) and drag and drop.
(If you’re syncing your Edge settings between PCs, this data will of course sync to your other devices too, at least by default.)
You can alternatively use the Import from file button under “Import or export a file” to import a bookmarks file you previously saved with another browser. These bookmarks will appear in a folder in Favorites called “Imported from file name.”
Note: As you should expect, the Export to file button can be used to save your Edge bookmarks—sorry, favorites, to a file so that you can import them into another browser too.