9. Streamlined Surfing with Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge was introduced with an early update of Windows 10, and the browser has been gaining ground in the months since. Each version of Edge adds new features that show that Microsoft is taking user preferences seriously, understanding that we want our browsing experience to be safe, uncluttered, and just the way we like it.

Microsoft Edge in Windows 10 2017 Fall Creators Update includes several new features that extend what we can use the browser to do and make it more convenient to do it. A new tab process makes it easier to view and move among open pages (while still giving you maximum browsing room on-screen), and support for ebooks (PDFs and ePubs) make it a natural for you to read (or even listen to) your favorite ebooks whenever the mood strikes.

This chapter takes a close look at Microsoft Edge and shows you techniques for browsing, searching, saving, annotating, and working with content online.

All browsers need to have certain capabilities—such as tools like search, the ability to add favorites or bookmarks, and customizable security features that enable users to feel safe while browsing. Microsoft Edge continues to build on its focus on safety and ease of use by improving the user experience online and working hard behind the scenes to make sure malware doesn’t get through.

New features for Microsoft Edge in Windows 10 2017 Fall Creators Update include a clever new way of managing open tabs. Each web page you open appears in its own tab, and if you have a number of pages open at once, that can be pretty cumbersome and take up some on-screen space. Now developers have come up with a way to sweep away the tabs until you need them so they don’t clutter up the space but are still easy to use and navigate.

With the growing success of electronic books, or ebooks, Microsoft Edge now makes it simple for you to read ebooks in their native formats—PDF or ePub—without any special app or ereader installed. To go along with this new feature in Edge, the Microsoft Store now has gone into the ebook business and has thousands of current and popular titles. There’s also a “read aloud” feature in Microsoft Edge that enables you to listen to your ebook instead of reading it if you choose.

• Search in the address bar.

• Use the Hub to display your Favorites, Reading List, History, and Downloads, and find things you collect on the Web.

• Turn on Reading view to hide ads, links, and more so your article content is clear and easy to read.

• Write on web pages using Notes, and save your notes for later.

• Read or listen to an ebook in your browser window.

• Let Cortana help you with online searches for more information.

• Import your favorites and bookmarks from other browsers into Microsoft Edge.

• Choose a new dark theme for Microsoft Edge.

• Create your own start page.

• Let Microsoft Edge save your passwords and fill in forms for you.

• Address bar—Click and search for information or browse the Web by tapping or clicking and typing in the same box.

• Page tab—Each web page is displayed in a separate tab, so you can have multiple pages open at once and move among them easily.

• Reading view—Click Reading view when you want to display web page content without ads, sidebars, and the like.

• Favorite—Click Favorites to save a web page or article to your Favorites or your Reading List.

• Hub—The Hub displays a pane that displays your Favorites, Reading List, History, Downloads, and Books.

• Add Notes—You can add notes to web pages using a pen or highlighter or click and add text notes to a page. You can then save the notes to access later or share with others.

1. Click in the Search or Enter Web Address box.

2. Begin typing the name of the site or the web address if you know it.

   

• Back—Tapping or clicking the Back button takes you back to the page you were previously viewing.

• Forward—Tapping or clicking Forward takes you to the web page you previously viewed after viewing the current one. This capability is helpful if you’re moving back and forth between pages. If you haven’t moved ahead to another page yet, this button is not available for you to click or tap.

• Refresh—Click the Refresh tool when pictures are downloading slowly or content on a web page doesn’t look quite right. This reloads the page, which is likely to fix the problem.

• Click a link—Click or tap a link on the page to move to another page or perform a web action. What that link does—for example, whether it displays a new page, opens a document, or plays a media clip—depends on what the website designer programmed the link to do.

• Search the site—Many sites include a Search tool near the top of the site so that users can easily locate what they are looking for.

• Scroll or swipe down the page—Whether you are using a mouse or using touch, you can scroll or swipe down the page to display additional content.

1. In the browser window, click or tap the New Tab icon to the right of the current tab.

2. In the New Tab page, you can see site panels of Top Sites across the page, as well as a Search box. Click the tile of the site you want to visit.

3. Type a word or phrase or enter the web address of the site you want to display. Alternatively, click the tile of the site you want to visit.

   

1. Open Microsoft Edge and display the web page you’d like to add to the browser.

2. Right-click the tab at the top of the browser window.

3. Click Pin.

   

1. Click the Show Tab Previews tool at the top of the browser window.

2. Review the open tabs and click the page you want to make active.

3. Click the Hide Tab Previews tool to hide the tabs.

   

1. Click or tap in the Search box and type a word or phrase describing what you want to find.

2. Your search provider, which is Bing until you change it (see the “Adding Search Providers” task later in this chapter), displays a list of search results, ranked from those that best match your search phrase to those that are not as close a match.

3. Click or tap a link you’d like to view.

   

1. Display a web page where you want to ask for Cortana’s help.

2. Right-click the link you want to know more about.

3. Click Ask Cortana. Cortana displays a pane of information related to the item you selected.

   

4. You can review the information and click one of the links to find out more.

5. You can pin the panel open in your browser window by clicking the Pin This Pane tool.

   

1. In your web browser, display the search engine you want to add to Microsoft Edge.

2. Click the Settings and More tool in the browser window.

3. Click Settings.

   

4. Scroll down and click View Advanced Settings.

   

5. In the Search in the Address Bar With setting, click the Change Search Engine button.

   

6. In the list, click the search provider that you want to use.

7. If you want to set the selected search provider as your default, click the Set as Default button.

8. To remove the search provider from the list, click Remove.

   

1. In the browser window, click the Settings and More tool.

2. Click Settings.

   

3. Click the Choose a Theme down arrow and click Dark. The browser window and the pane change to display the new theme.

   

1. Click the Settings and More tool.

2. In the Zoom tool row, click Zoom Out to reduce the size of the content on the page.

3. Click Zoom In to magnify it. The page view changes by 25% each time you click one of the tools.

4. Click Full Screen to fill the computer or device screen with the web page. Browser tools will be visible. To remove the page from Full Screen view, press F11.

   

1. Click the Settings and More tool and choose Settings to display the Settings panel.

2. Click the Open Microsoft Edge With arrow and click A Specific Page or Pages.

   

3. A web address box opens so you can enter the address for the new start page. (You can also choose one of the listed default options.) Type the web address for the page you want to use as your start page.

4. Click the Save tool to add the page.

   

1. Click the Hub tool on the taskbar of the browser window.

2. Click the tool that corresponds to the pane you want to see: Favorites, Reading List, Books, History, or Downloads.

3. Review the content in the list and click the article or page you want to view.

   

1. In the Extensions page of the Settings and More pane, Microsoft lets you know you have a new extension.

2. Click Turn It On to activate the extension.

   

For example, Office Online, opens a list that gives you access to your most recent Office documents. To use the Pinterest Pin It extension, you click the Pin It button.

1. Click the extension you want to use.

2. Click the file you want to open or the action you want to take.

   

1. Navigate to the web page you want to add as a favorite.

2. Click the Favorites tool in the browser toolbar.

3. Click in the Name box, and type a name for the favorite if you don’t want to use the default.

4. Click in the Save In box, and choose a folder for the favorite.

5. Click Add to save the favorite.

   

1. Display Settings by clicking the Settings and More tool, scrolling down, and choosing Settings.

   

2. Click the Import from Another Browser button.

3. Click the Import button. If prompted, choose the browser from which you want to import the favorites. Microsoft Edge displays an All Done! message when the process is complete, and the imported favorites should now be available in your Favorites list.

   

The Notes tool enables you to make notes and drawings on web pages and then save them and share them with others. A whole new makeover in the printing department enables you to tweak your page printouts so you get the web content you want in a readable format.

1. Display the page you want to read.

2. Click the Reading view tool in the right side of the browser window. The page changes to put the content front and center, with no ads or side columns.

   

1. Launch the Microsoft Store by clicking the Store icon in the taskbar or on the Start screen.

   

2. In the Microsoft Store, click Books.

3. Scroll through the book listings and find a book you want to read. Toward the bottom of the Books page, you see a tile for Free Classics; click that to be taken to a page of free classic titles. Click the book you want to read and click Get to add the book to your library.

   You may be prompted for your Windows login password. Otherwise, click Get to choose the book. Even though the title is free, you still have to agree to the Store Terms of Agreement.

   

4. Click Read to download the title to the Books pane in the Edge window.

   

1. In the Microsoft Edge window, click the Hub tool.

2. Click or tap Books. Your ebook appears in the panel.

3. Click or tap the book to open it in your browser window.

4. Read the book in the browser.

   

1. Display the page with the content you want to add to your Reading List.

2. Click the Hub tool.

3. Click the Reading List tool.

4. Type a new name, if you like.

5. Click Add. The article is added to your Reading List.

   

1. Display the web page where you want to add the notes.

2. Click the Add Notes tool.

   

3. Choose the tools you want to use.

4. Write your note on the page.

5. Click or tap the Save Web Note tool.

   

6. The Hub opens, showing a OneNote tab.

7. Choose the notebook section where you want to save the note.

8. Click or tap Save. Microsoft Edge saves the note to your OneNote notebook.

   

1. Display the page with the content you want to print.

2. Click the Settings and More tool.

3. Click Print. The title of the web page appears in the title bar of the Print window.

   

4. Click the Printer arrow to choose where you want to print the page.

5. Click Orientation if you want to change the printed page from portrait to landscape orientation.

6. Choose the number of copies you want to print by clicking the increase or decrease buttons or by typing in the box.

7. Choose whether you want to print all pages in the document or selected pages.

8. Click to choose the size at which you want to print the page.

9. Click to choose from among normal, narrow, moderate, or wide page margins.

10. Choose whether you want to print headers and footers on the page.

11. Click Print to print the page.

    

1. Click Settings and More and then choose Settings to display the Settings pane.

2. Click View Advanced Settings.

   

3. Scroll down to Cookies, and click the down arrow to display the list of choices: Don’t Block Cookies, Block Only Third Party Cookies, and Block All Cookies.

4. Select the policy you want to use.

   

1. Open the Settings pane by clicking the Settings and More tool and then clicking Settings.

2. In the Clear Browsing Data area, click the Choose What to Clear button.

   

3. Microsoft Edge selects the top four items by default. Change the settings by clicking the boxes of the items you want to clear or keep.

4. Click Clear to complete the process.

5. If you want these items to be cleared every time you close your browser, move the slider to On.

   

1. Display Advanced Settings by clicking Settings and More, choosing Settings, and clicking the View Advanced Settings button.

2. Scroll down to the Privacy and Services area, and slide Offer to Save Passwords to On.

3. Slide the Save Form Entries slider to the On position.