Microsoft Edge will borrow "a table of contents" from Google Chrome's playbook to declutter its settings and improve navigation in October 2024

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Microsoft wants to revamp Edge's Settings page to enhance its navigation and user experience.

Microsoft Edge Sidebar on Windows 11 desktop
Microsoft Edge Sidebar on Windows 11 desktop (Image credit: Future)

What you need to know

  • Microsoft wants to make Edge less bloated by decluttering its Settings page.
  • The company intends to add a new quick-access panel on the landing page for Edge Settings for easy accessibility and navigation.
  • Microsoft intends to compress its long list of Edge Settings options by grouping them into subsections like a table of contents in a book.
Recent updates

This article has been updated to reflect avid tech enthusiast Leo Varela's (Leopeva64 on X) chronological findings about the subtle changes Microsoft has been testing on Edge's Settings page to improve its user experience and navigation.

Microsoft Edge is arguably one of the best Windows 11 browsers. However, users have often placed Microsoft under fire for making the software bloated with "unnecessary" features that might not be useful in the everyday use case. 

As it happens, Microsoft might be on course to fix some of these issues. As first spotted by Leo Varela on X, Microsoft is seemingly revamping Microsoft Edge's Settings page, making it more organized.

On the Microsoft 365 roadmap website, the company registered the anticipated changes under an entry titled: Microsoft Edge: Elevating top settings and improving settings page navigability. The company further details the steps it intends to take to make Microsoft Edge more user-friendly, including the addition of a new quick-access panel on the landing page for Edge Settings. 

The panel will feature the most commonly used actions in the Settings menu for easy accessibility and navigation, allowing you to make changes and tweaks to your Settings configurations with fewer clicks. As highlighted in the entry, the changes are expected to start rolling out in October 2024 — but as is often the case, these plans may be subjected to change. 

Microsoft also plans to bring one-click shortcuts for the most common options to Microsoft Edge's Settings submenus, including System and Performance or Appearance. 

Read more: Microsoft has scrapped Edge's big UI refresh with rounded tabs

Finally, the tech giant also intends to compress its long list of Settings options by grouping them into subsections — similar to a table of contents you'd find in a book.

Microsoft Edge | Free

Microsoft Edge | Free

Microsoft Edge is the default browser on Windows. It's based on Chromium, so it's compatible with the vast majority of the web. There are several Insider versions of the browser, allowing you to test new features and provide feedback to Microsoft.

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Google Chrome on Windows (Image credit: Chris Wedel | Android Central)

Comparing Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome's Settings pages, it's apparent that the latter seems well put together and easier to navigate. Admittedly, for less tech-savvy users, it might be a tad difficult to identify the exact location of a specific setting in Google Chrome. However, it features a search bar with suggestions to meet this specific need. 

On the other hand, Microsoft Edge presents its Settings page in a cluttered manner, forcing the user to navigate through the page before identifying the specific option they are looking for. Similar to Google Chrome, Edge also features a search bar to make the process less daunting. 

Image 1 of 2
Microsoft Edge Settings Page
Microsoft Edge Settings Page(Image credit: Windows Central | Kevin Okemwa)

Comparing Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge's Setting Pages side-by-side.

To this end, these are much-welcomed changes to Microsoft Edge's user experience and might perhaps present a new avenue to lure or get users to make it their default browser in Windows 11, potentially giving Google Chrome's dominant market share a run for its money. 

Thanks for the tip, Leo Varela!

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Kevin Okemwa
Kevin Okemwa
Contributor

Kevin Okemwa is a seasoned tech journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya with lots of experience covering the latest trends and developments in the industry at Windows Central. With a passion for innovation and a keen eye for detail, he has written for leading publications such as OnMSFT, MakeUseOf, and Windows Report, providing insightful analysis and breaking news on everything revolving around the Microsoft ecosystem. You'll also catch him occasionally contributing at iMore about Apple and AI. While AFK and not busy following the ever-emerging trends in tech, you can find him exploring the world or listening to music.

1 Comment Comment from the forums
  • FraJa
    They are a lot of settings, which is good, not the opposite, yiu filter the list just by typping in the search box... on the screenshots, I see a small evolution, but of a Nth "Microsoft stole...." And the icon on PWA ? The favicon? otherwise of there a lot of flags to the PWA and icons...
    Edge is customizable, and features are really good, I use quite a lot of them every day... you switch instantly from your PC to your phone for instance... or from Canary to release version instantly if the Canary has some issue (it's made for that) .... There is drop, workspaces, the vertical tabs with auto groups... the Performance and Safety sidebar (how many risks or prevented or blocked) and it is available on all platforms... Yes there are other platforms...
    It's nothing like Chrome, just like Microsoft isn't anything like Google... the GUI is very different, the data collection (the reason Chrome exists) gone... plenty of privacy settings too... and real ones... and countless features that are not on any other browser...

    Do you remember how Chrome reached the average user's PC ?? ask Intelligence, or it spread as an adware, bundled with Flash, Acrobat, and lots of other applications... Nice... the only browser that makes money...
    Reply