TWEAK EDGE FOR MORE FEATURES
Microsoft has set Edge’s options to suit a wide range of needs. You can get up and running without making changes or installing any extensions. However, by digging around under Edge’s bonnet, you can tweak its default settings and unlock hidden features. Many of these are experimental add-ons that will be enabled by default in future Edge updates, so it’s worth becoming familiar with them. As with other Chromiumbased browsers, each option is known as a ‘flag’. To access these, type edge://flags in the address bar, then press Enter.
In most cases, each flag has three settings: Enable, Disable and Default. You can select a setting for each flag in the dropdown menu beside it (you’ll need to restart Edge for any changes to take effect). As Microsoft makes clear, any changes you make to these settings could affect your level of privacy or the smooth running of the browser. However, you can quickly reverse all changes you’ve made if this turns out to be the case. To return them all to their default settings, go to the flags page, click the ‘Reset all to default’ button at the top (see screenshot above right), then restart Edge.
Organise your tabs
It’s not hard to end up with multiple open tabs in Edge. By enabling ‘Tab Groups’, you can quickly organise these into colour-coded groups. You can then move groups of tabs within the browser, or drag them on to your desktop to open them in a new Edge window.
To create a group, right-click a tab, then select ‘Add to new group’ (you’ll see a black circle appear next to the tab - see screenshot below). Right-click another tab, click ‘Add to existing group’ then select the group you created with the first tab. You can now move these tabs as a group by clicking and dragging the circular icon next to the first tab in the group. To close all tabs in a group, click the group’s circle icon, then ‘Close group’. Clicking the circular icon also reveals options for changing the group’s colour and naming it (the latter will replace the circle with the name of the group).
Use Edge’s dark mode
Edge has a hidden setting that activates a dark mode on all websites, making them easier to view in low-lit conditions. To use it, set ‘Force Dark Mode for Web Contents’ to Enabled (see screenshot below). You’ll notice there are several ‘Enabled with…’ settings for this flag, each activating dark mode using different colours. It’s worth trying all these to see which dark mode you prefer, especially if you have trouble seeing certain colours.
Stop hackers seeing your IP address
WEBRTC (Web Real-time Communication) is the standard used to stream video and voice chats via your browser. Behind the scenes, however, it sends a lot more data than just your voice and video stream, including your computer’s network address (known as its IP address). If this is intercepted by hackers, it could put you at risk of attack. Your router’s firewall and your PC settings should minimise the risk, but hiding this information is still a good idea. Enabling the ‘Anonymize local IPS exposed by WEBRTC’ flag scrambles your IP address so it remains hidden.
Improve your battery life
When you’re streaming online video, Edge loads the following few minutes in advance, meaning any temporary drop in your internet connection won’t affect your video stream. However, doing this increases your hard drive’s activity, which can in turn drain your laptop battery faster. If you’re using an old laptop, disable ‘Turn off caching of streaming media to disk’ to improve battery life, though you may occasionally suffer buffering videos as a result.
Use the Windows dictionary
Edge has its own dictionary for checking spelling, separate from the spellcheck tools in Windows. So if you’ve added your own words to your Windows dictionary, they won’t be recognised in web forms and other online documents. Enable the ‘Use Windows Spellchecking’ flag to force Edge to use the Windows spellcheck tool instead. If you haven’t enabled Windows’ spelling tools, open Settings (Windows key+i), click Devices, Typing, then turn on the Spelling and Typing settings.