Microsoft brings multi-tasking improvements to Edge and Windows 10

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edge multi-tasking

As more and more work takes place in web browsers, there is an increasing demand for tabs to operate just like apps.

In the latest dev versions of Windows 10 and Edge Microsoft has added the ability for tabs to show up in the Alt+Tab pop-up and Taskbar Preview.

Browser tabs in Alt + Tab

Animation showing individual Edge tabs in the Alt-Tab interface

In the latest version of Windows 10, Microsoft has updated Alt + Tab to show your browser tabs to show up right alongside your apps. This makes switching between open tabs as seamless as switching between open windows.

Of course, many people have 20-30 tabs open and would hate for all their tabs to show up in Alt+Tab. While this will be a default, a visit to Settings > System > Multitasking will allow Windows users to switch off this feature.

Quickly access tabs for your pinned sites via the Taskbar

Animation showing pinned sites with grouped tabs on the TaskbarWith today’s update, pinned sites will now appear as running on the Taskbar and you can click on the icon to see all of your open tabs of that site across any of your Microsoft Edge windows. This makes it easy to quickly find and switch to a tab for a specific site without having to search through all your open tabs and browser windows.

Try pinning a site you visit frequently by going to Settings and More (…) > More tools > Pin to taskbar.

Getting started

These features are currently rolling out to a subset of Insiders. To start using these new features, you’ll need:

Once you’re up-to-date, simply choose your preferred Alt + Tab setting under Settings > System > Multitasking or pin your favourite site to the taskbar by going to Microsoft Edge and selecting Settings and More (…) > More tools > Pin to taskbar. For this initial preview release, you’ll need to remove and re-pin existing sites on your Taskbar (including removing them from the edge://apps page).

What do our readers think of this move? Let us know below.

More about the topics: edge multi-tasking, windows 10