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Enable and Use ‘Vertical Tabs’ in Microsoft Edge on the Computer

Do you want to stack open tabs vertically in Microsoft Edge on your computer? Learn how to enable the 'Vertical Tabbing' feature in your browser.

The Edge browser has a feature that enables vertical tabbing for the open tabs. We can manage the vertical tab feature from the Appearance Settings menu or use the Tabs action menu.

Based on the settings, the tabs will appear on the left side of the browser window.

In this guide, we have shared the steps to enable the vertical tabbing feature in Microsoft Edge.

Enable the Vertical Tabs in Edge app

The Horizontal tabbing is the default option set in most browsers, including the Edge browser. However, we can switch to vertical tabs from the Appearance setting. Here are the steps to follow:

  1. Launch the Edge browser on your PC.
  2. Click on the More horizontal 3-dots icon menu and select the Settings from the list.
    Microsoft Edge Settings menu
  3. Switch to the Appearance tab from the left menu bar.
  4. Scroll down to the Customize toolbar section.
  5. Click on the Turn on button next to Show vertical tabs for all current browser windows option.
    Show Tab action menu and enable vertical tabs in Microsoft EdgeIt will enable the verticals tabs in the browser. 

Alternatively, if the Show tabs action menu toggle switch is enabled under Appearance settings, you will see a Tab action menu in the tab bar.

Tab Action menu in Microsoft Edge browser

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

After enabling the vertical tabs, you might have noticed that all the tabs are condensed, with only their icons visible by default.

Vertical Tab bar with Site Icons in Microsoft Edge

However, you could 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

There’s also an option to keep the vertical tab in its expanded state constantly. For that, you need to click on the Pin icon situated at the top right. But it will consume the visible screen space for the webpage rendering.

Pin Vertical Tab bar in Microsoft Edge

The best way is to keep this Pin disabled and hover over the tabs to view the page title.

Turn off Vertical Tabs

If you wish to revert to the original horizontal tabbing at any point, you can disable the vertical 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 turn off 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

The Edge browser allows you to customize the tabbing position to move the open tabs vertically or horizontally. We can use the Tabs action menu to switch between these positions quickly.

Alternatively, visit the Appearance settings and Turn On or Turn Off the ‘Show vertical tabs for all current browser windows’ option to change the tabbing appearance.

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Kushal Azza

Kushal Azza

Kushal Azza is a Google Certified IT Professional, Digital Content Creator, and Go-To Digital Marketer with Engineering Degree. He has over a decade of experience solving tech problems, troubleshooting, and innovating digital solutions. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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