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How to Enable and Use Vertical tabs in Microsoft Edge

Learn how to stack the open tabs vertically in the Microsoft Edge browser. You can switch between vertical and horizontal tabs from the Appearances settings.

The Edge browser has the feature to enable the vertical tabbing of the open tab per needs. We can enable the vertical tab feature from the Appearance Settings menu in the Edge browser. Click the ‘Turn On’ button for the ‘Show verticle tabs for all current browser windows’ option. You can also hide the title bar while using vertical tabs with a toggle switch.

Enable Vertical Tabs in Microsoft Edge browser

The Edge browser has integrated many helpful and accessibility features for its users. It has a feature similar to Windows OS taskbar customization that allows moving the browser tabs from the top horizontally to vertically on the left side.

It is dubbed as Vertical Tab allows you to shift all your tabs to the left menu bar instead of the earlier horizontal one. As a result, the horizontal bar with your tabs will only display the currently opened tab’s name and icon.

Vertical Tabs in Microsoft Edge browser

Apart from that, there are a couple of other handy options baked into it that we will be discussing here. But first, let’s check out the steps to enable this new Vertical Tabs feature in the Microsoft Edge browser.

Enable Edge Vertical Tabs

The vertical tabs are not enabled by default. However, we can enable it from the Appearance setting in the Edge browser. Here are the steps to enable it:

  1. Launch the Edge browser on your PC.
  2. Click on More horizontal 3dots icon for the menu list.
  3. Select the Settings option from the list.
    Microsoft Edge Settings menu
  4. Click on the Appearance tab from the left menu bar.
  5. Scroll down to the Customize toolbar section.
  6. Click on the Turn on button next to Show vertical tabs for all current browser windows.
    Show Tab action menu and enable vertical tabs in Microsoft Edge
  7. Enable the Show tabs action menu toggle button.
    Tab Action menu in Microsoft Edge browserIt will enable the tab’s action menu in the header.
  8. Click on the Tabs actions menu, and select the Turn on vertical tabs option.
    Turn on Vertical Tabs in Microsoft Edge from Tab action menu

All your tabs will shift to the left menu bar, and tabs in the header will be disabled.

Customize the Vertical Tabs

Now that you have enabled this functionality, let’s check out the steps to make full use. First, as you might have noticed, all the vertical tabs are condensed, with only their icons visible by default.

Vertical Tab bar with Site Icons in Microsoft Edge

However, you could quickly expand them by hovering your mouse cursor over these tabs. Doing so will make the title of the tabs visible and bring up the associated tab preview window.

Vertical Tabs expand on Mouse Hover in Edge Chromium

Moreover, there’s also an option to constantly keep the vertical tab in its expanded state. For that, you need to click on the Pin icon situated at the top right.

Pin Vertical Tab bar in Microsoft Edge

Using the simple toggle switch under the Edge’s Appearance menu, you can hide the title bar and icon while using vertical tabs. Enable the toggle button for the ‘Hide title bar while in vertical tabs’ option.

Hide title bar while in vertical tabs option in Edge browser

Turn Off Microsoft Edge Vertical Tabs

If you wish to revert to the original horizontal tabs at any point, you can disable the verticle tabs option to switch back to horizontal tabbing. Here are the steps to do so:

  1. Launch the Edge browser on a computer.
  2. Click on the Tab Actions menu in the vertical bar.
  3. Select the Turn off vertical tabs option.
    Turn off Vertical Tabs in Microsoft EdgeIt will shift the vertical tabs to their original horizontal top space.

To permanently disable the tab actions menu, open Microsoft Edge’s Settings > Appearance and disable the Show tabs action menu option.

Turn off Show tab action menu in Microsoft Edge

It will remove the tab actions menu and shift the horizontal tabs to their original position.

Bottom Line

You can click on the button Turn On or Turn Off button under the Appearance settings menu for the ‘Show vertical tabs for all current browser windows’ option to customize the appearance of the tabs in the Edge browser.

So with this, we conclude the guide on Vertical tabs in the Microsoft Edge browser. It is a welcome move from Microsoft to incorporate this unique but handy feature into its browser.

As per my personal usage experience, I initially found it reluctant to switch since the horizontal tabs were all used since the initial phase. However, it soon became my preferred choice after giving it a try.

What are your views about the vertical tabs in the Edge browser? Are you willing to make a switch?

Lastly, if you've any thoughts or feedback on How to Enable and Use Vertical tabs in Microsoft Edge, then feel free to drop in below comment box. You can also report the outdated information.

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Sadique Hassan

Sadique is a Bachelor of Computer Application in Computer Science and an MBA professional. He became a tech writer by choice and has continued pursuing it for the last 7+ years. He is keenly interested in open-source technology like Android and also loves troubleshooting the tech. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

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