The vertical tabs concept is not new to web browsers. It can be enabled in all major web browsers through extensions. In fact, Chrome offered vertical tabs as a built-in feature for some time before removing it.
Why use vertical tabs in Edge?
Vertical tabs are boon, especially for wide and ultra-widescreen monitor users. These wide and ultra-wide monitors have more space horizontally than vertically. When the vertical tabs feature is enabled, tabs will show on the left side of the browser.
One of the main benefits of switching to vertical tabs from the default or conventional horizontal tabs is that we can see more tab labels even when tens of tabs are open. As you know, while using the horizontal tab setup, browsers shrink tab labels as you open more tabs.
If you are interested in vertical tabs, you will be glad to know that it is coming to Edge stable version soon. Edge browser now offers vertical tabs functionality in the Canary and Dev channels.
When the feature is enabled, a vertical/horizontal tabs toggle button will appear at the beginning of the toolbar. By clicking on the toggle button, you can quickly switch between vertical and horizontal tabs.
Vertical tabs offer all the functionalities provided by horizontal tabs. You can pin tabs, mute tabs, and select multiple tabs by holding down the Ctrl key and then clicking on tabs. So, you do not lose any functionality while using the vertical tabs feature.
Here is how to enable the vertical tabs feature in Microsoft Edge and then turn it on or off.
Using vertical tabs feature in Microsoft Edge
Step 1: When using the Edge browser, click on the vertical tabs icon located next to the first tab from the left (refer to the picture below) to turn on the vertical tabs in Edge.
Step 2: To turn off vertical tabs or return to the default horizontal tabs, click on the horizontal tabs icon (shows up underneath the forward and backward buttons).
Show or hide vertical tabs button in Microsoft Edge
Step 1: Click on the horizontal dots (…) located next to the user icon (refer to the picture below) and then click on the Settings option to open the Edge settings page.
Step 2: Here, in the left pane, click on Appearance to switch to the same tab.
Step 3: In the Customize toolbar section, turn on the option labeled Show vertical tabs button.
Enable or disable vertical tabs in Microsoft Edge
The vertical tabs feature is enabled by default. Use this guide only if you want to turn off the feature or if you do not see the Vertical tabs feature in your supported Edge browser.
Step 1: Type about:flags in the address bar and then press the Enter key to open the Experiments page where you can enable or disable various features of Edge.
Step 2: On the Experiments page, in the search box, search for Vertical tabs. Once you see the Vertical tabs entry in search results, select the Enabled or Default option (enabled by default) from the drop-down menu next to it.
Step 3: Finally, click on the Restart button located at the lower-right of the same page. Depending on what you selected, Vertical tabs will be turned off or on upon browser restart.