Microsoft Edge: option to hide the titlebar in vertical tabs mode

Martin Brinkmann
Mar 14, 2021
Updated • Mar 27, 2021
Internet, Microsoft Edge
|
15

Microsoft introduced an option in the company's Edge browser recently that allows users to display tabs open in the browser in a sidebar instead of the horizontal tab strip.

The feature is not new, Vivaldi, another Chromium-based browser has supported it for some time, and other browsers, including Firefox, support it as well or have extensions that add the feature to the browser.

The current implementation in Microsoft Edge offers basic functionality only. Users may click on an icon in the browser's toolbar to switch between vertical and horizontal tab display modes.

The sidebar cannot be resized currently, but Microsoft will deal with that soon by enabling resizing options. Another issue weights heavier: the vertical tabs mode does not free up any space in the UI. The tab strip is removed, but Microsoft displays a titlebar by default instead that takes up its place.

That issue is going to be dealt with as well soon, as Microsoft introduced an option in Edge Canary to hide the titlebar when the vertical tabs mode is enabled.

microsoft edge vertical tabs no titlebar

A bit of UI is still displayed by Edge on top of the address bar unless it is displayed in fullscreen.

Microsoft Edge Canary users may enable it already:

  1. Load edge://flags/#edge-vertical-tabs-hide-titlebar in the Microsoft Edge address bar.
  2. Set the experimental flag to Enabled.
  3. Restart Microsoft Edge.

The titlebar is hidden when the flag is enabled. You may undo the change by setting it to Default or Disabled instead.

The change frees up quite a bit of height for the display of sites in the Microsoft Edge browser.

The feature will land in Edge Dev, Beta and Stable builds eventually. It is unknown at this point if the option to hide the titlebar in vertical tabs mode will be added to the Edge settings. It seems likely, as it improves customization options further and makes the sidebar mode more useful to users who want to hide as much browser chrome as possible.

Now You: do you prefer vertical or horizontal tab bars? (via Deskmodder)

Summary
Microsoft Edge: option to hide the titlebar in vertical tabs mode
Article Name
Microsoft Edge: option to hide the titlebar in vertical tabs mode
Description
Microsoft introduced an option in the company's Edge browser recently that allows users to display tabs open in the browser in a sidebar instead of the horizontal tab strip.
Author
Publisher
Ghacks Technology News
Logo
Advertisement

Tutorials & Tips


Previous Post: «
Next Post: «

Comments

  1. Leopeva64 said on May 18, 2021 at 12:15 am
    Reply

    In the future it will no longer be necessary to use the flag to hide the title bar when using Vertical tabs, this option has been added to the Settings page and context menus:

    https://www.reddit.com/r/MicrosoftEdge/comments/neonhe/the_option_to_hide_the_title_bar_has_been_added/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

  2. Anonymous said on April 7, 2021 at 10:04 am
    Reply

    The option to hide the titlebar has been completely removed, making vertical tabs pretty much useless.

  3. Anonymous said on April 6, 2021 at 12:46 pm
    Reply

    I’m running Version 89.0.774.68 (Official build) (64-bit) and don’t see this option…

  4. Pedro said on March 16, 2021 at 6:06 pm
    Reply

    Managed to replicate this in Firefox. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

  5. Janne said on March 16, 2021 at 11:09 am
    Reply

    I really like this feature, ui is now clean and i really dont need to use everything on pwa mode ;)

    just one wish to add, linux support for the sync.

  6. darkjeric said on March 15, 2021 at 11:32 am
    Reply

    This is by far the feature I’m looking forward to! Vertical tabs already made reading in tablet-mode much easier (by auto-hiding the tab bar on the side unless activated), but then it still takes up some space on top of the screen. Edge Chromium is turning into the best version of Chrome if you ask me :-)

  7. Yuliya said on March 15, 2021 at 10:35 am
    Reply

    I won’t switch away from Chromium, but this is really nice.

    1. Anonymous said on October 31, 2022 at 3:45 pm
      Reply

      This is Chromium based.

  8. Anonymous said on March 14, 2021 at 5:22 pm
    Reply

    Microsoft is adding great features to Edge, while the idiots at Mozilla are removing the best features of Firefox. Take guess which browser will be on top and which will be dead in a year.

    1. DeadBrowserz said on March 15, 2021 at 3:30 pm
      Reply

      Chrome and Edge will be top. You can’t kill whats already dead. Firefox has been dead since Quantum. The only thing keeping it alive is the last remaining customization options. Proton will only reduce Firefox to dust.

      1. Unknown person said on March 16, 2021 at 8:06 am
        Reply

        Also, people in this chain likes to celebrate total Google dominance in shaping the web standards forward. Honestly, this is just sad.

    2. Allwynd said on March 15, 2021 at 8:23 am
      Reply

      I still consider most of these to be bloatware.

      In my opinion, they should be all labeled as “Official Microsoft Edge Extensions” and be advertised on the browser’s first run and whenever a new extension is created. This will allow people to choose which ones they want and which they don’t.

      1. Unknown person said on March 16, 2021 at 8:03 am
        Reply

        @Allwynd: Also, by removing all features and put in as optional customization hurts those who have to use browsers in locked-down environment where customization is disabled by network policy.

      2. Unknown person said on March 16, 2021 at 8:00 am
        Reply

        @Allwynd: It seems like you only want an absolute barebones browser. Because nearly every post I see you making of browser features are that it’s bloat this, bloat that.

        At this point, why not just go make your own? Because it seems like every single browser out there are bloated, according to you.

    3. BrowserWars said on March 15, 2021 at 4:30 am
      Reply

      Chrome will still be on top, Edge and other Chromium derivatives will still be also-rans, and Firefox will still have a loyal user base. Wanna bet against this? I can 100% guarantee you will lose. Come back in Mar ’22 and admit you were wrong if you have the integrity and guts to do so.

Leave a Reply

Check the box to consent to your data being stored in line with the guidelines set out in our privacy policy

We love comments and welcome thoughtful and civilized discussion. Rudeness and personal attacks will not be tolerated. Please stay on-topic.
Please note that your comment may not appear immediately after you post it.