Lesson 3: Customizing Edge

/en/edge/browsing-in-edge/content/

Customizing Edge

Edge is a simple and no-frills browser. Because of this, there aren't quite as many customization options compared with other browsers. However, there are still a handful of changes you can make to help your Internet browsing experience more personal and unique.

Watch the video below to learn about customizing Edge.

To choose a homepage:

By default, Edge sets your homepage as the Edge Start page. This page contains various news articles, a weather forecast, sports scores, and an address bar. However, if you'd like to see a specific website every time you open your browser, like a news site or weather forecast, you can set that site as your homepage.

  1. Click the More button, then select Settings.
  2. Under the Open with section, click the option that reads A specific page or pages.
  3. In the drop-down menu that appears, you can select MSN, Bing, or Custom.
  4. In the Enter a web address field that appears, type the URL of the website you want to set as your homepage, then click the plus sign.
  5. The homepage will appear every time you open Edge.

To set Edge as the default browser:

Edge is the default browser in Windows 10. However, if you've made another browser your default and you'd like to switch back to Edge, it's fairly simple.

  1. Click the Start button, then select Settings.
  2. Click the System icon.
  3. Select Default apps.
  4. Scroll down to Web browser, select the current web browser default (Firefox in this case), then choose Microsoft Edge from the drop-down list. Any link you open on your computer will now open in Edge.

    To choose a theme:

    Some browsers offer a variety of themes to change the appearance of the browser. Edge has two themes.

    1. Click the More button, then select Settings.
    2. Under Choose a theme, select either Light or Dark from the drop-down menu.
    3. Edge will now use that theme.

    To install an extension:

    Edge offers a variety of extensions, which allow you to add additional features to your browser. For example, extensions can block advertisements and store passwords.

    1. Click the More button, then select Extensions.
    2. Select Get extensions from the Store.
    3. The Store will appear with a variety of extensions to choose from. Click an extension to learn more about it. In our example, we'll use AdBlock.

    4. A page will appear with information on how the extension works, user reviews, screenshots, and more. If you want to use the extension, click the blue Free button.
    5. Once the extension is finished downloading, click the Launch button.
    6. The extension will open in Edge. Select Turn it on to activate the extension. The extension will be installed.

    To remove an extension:

    1. Click the More button, then select Extensions.
    2. Right-click the extension you want to remove, then select Uninstall.
    3. A dialog box will appear. Click Ok to confirm.
    4. The extension will be removed from Edge.

    /en/edge/adding-and-managing-favorites/content/