Microsoft plans to debloat Edge browser and take a leaf out of Google Chrome’s book when it comes to Settings

The goal is to streamline Edge settings so they’re no longer so convoluted and potentially confusing

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Microsoftis planning to streamline itsEdge browserconsiderably when it comes to the configuration of the app.

Windows Latestnoticed that theofficial roadmap websitefor Microsoft 365 now has an update for Edge which informs us that the Settings for the browser are going to be revamped to be more organized.

In the roadmap entry titled ‘Microsoft Edge: Elevating top settings and improving settings page navigability,’ the software giant explains what streamlining measures are being enacted, and that the rollout of these changes is expected to begin in October 2024.

The first step Microsoft is taking is a new quick access panel on the landing page for Edge Settings. This will provide one-click shortcuts to the most commonly used actions front and center in the menu that first greets you when you access Settings.

Secondly, when you dive into a submenu in Settings – such as System and Performance, or Appearance – this will also have the same one-click shortcuts for the options that are most often used.

And finally, Microsoft plans to break up the long lists of options you drill down into in Settings to make them smaller subsections, similar to a table of contents in a book.

Analysis: A move in the right direction

All of this aims to make hunting around to change things in Edge much easier, and it seems like a sound plan to us. Navigating Settings can be a painful task at times, and having shortcuts to all your most-used options right there upfront will be very handy. No, it’s not a move that’ll suddenly make Edge more popular than Chrome, but it’ll help (and Edge is actually a good product already – it’s top of ourbest web browserlist, after all).

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Note that there are no changes being made in terms of the actual functionality of the settings in Edge here – it’s a reorganization of how they are presented, with a large helping of handy one-click shortcuts thrown in.

In some ways, this is taking a leaf out ofChrome’sbook, asGoogle’s browser has generally tighter organization when it comes to Settings (and even in its more cluttered parts, Chrome is certainly no worse than Edge).

Further note that while the rollout is kicking off in October, Microsoft is referring to the initial stages of testing the revamped Settings panel. It could be some time before work progresses through testing and on to the release version of Edge, of course – and some work in preview never sees the light of day. Mind you, we’ve a feeling this will make the cut, as Edge could use a boost in the organization of its options.

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Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - ‘I Know What You Did Last Supper’ - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).

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