Forum Discussion
Discussion - Set Aside Tabs and Warn on Close
Hi Insiders, we have received a lot of feedback about how you would like to close your tabs with the option of easily finding and reopening them later as you move between different workflows. Specifically, many of you are asking for the Tab Set Aside feature from the previous version of Microsoft Edge to be brought back. Some of you are also asking for a prompt to help avoid losing all your tabs such that you can’t find them again if you accidentally close the browser.
• Ask users if they want to close all tabs when they close a browser window
• Bring the tab set aside feature from the current version of Microsoft Edge
Each of these requests seem related to the fact that many of you have a lot of tabs open at once across many tasks and workflows. This leads to a situation where it can often be difficult to manage all of your tabs at the same time, and each additional tab makes it difficult to deal with all of the rest (e.g. tabs get smaller, harder to read each titles, many similar tab icons begin to blur together, etc.). But it can also be scary to close tabs and declutter your workspace, for fear of not being able to find things again later if you need to. We have definitely experienced this problem ourselves, observed it in our research and conversations with users, and agree it is an area where we want to invest in tools to help you be more productive across various tasks. We are actively investigating the best way to address this problem and would love your help and input as we proceed to make sure we get the experience just right.
We have looked through your feedback, and there are definitely some very valid reasons for why there was value in the Set Aside feature such as: Helping you pick up on a task later without leaving the tabs open when you aren’t using them, organizing your tabs into groups related to a similar task, and a short term home for more transient tasks that didn’t warrant saving in a permanent location such as Favorites.
We also reviewed feedback on the Set Aside feature itself from people actually using it in the previous version of Microsoft Edge, and there were some very valid critiques on how it worked and how it could be improved. For example, the Set Aside buttons being in a location where they were often accidentally clicked causing some to think their tabs had disappeared, requests to be able to set aside a subset of the currently open tabs rather than “all or nothing”, or requests to rename and personalize tab groups further to more easily find them again later.
The request for a prompt before closing the browser also feels related, because if people could always confidently find and reopen any of their previous tabs, then there would be less fear or concern about losing tabs if they are accidently closed. This would allow people to feel free to declutter and reduce the number of open tabs with no fear about finding them later if needed, and more easily focus on the subset of tabs they are working on now.
As we begin this journey of investigating how best to address these requests, we are asking for your help. Please continue to tell us more about your experience with Set Aside and closing tabs in Microsoft Edge, why these features are important to you in which types of tasks, what did and didn’t work for you about previous implementations, and how you would improve on these scenarios going forward.
337 Replies
When I am doing multiple tasks it is annoying to have so many tabs open cluttering the tab bar. It's nice to be able to set aside tabs so they aren't in the way when I am working on one task, but then I can return to them later. Collections doesn't really work as a set aside tabs alternative (but it is very useful for online shopping, researching, and many other uses that people can find), so really the only substitute for set aside tabs is moving them to a separate window so they aren't in the way, but that is too much work to just move tabs out of the way.
Mason425 If there was an additional right-click option after "Add all tabs to a new collection" that was "Add all tabs to a new collection and close them" (that left just a new tab page open), would that satisfy your needs?
Since this "Add all tabs to a new collection" option rolled out, with collections syncing between all my machines, I've switched to using collections much the same as I used to use set tabs aside, but I do find it annoying that the tabs remain open after adding them all to a new collection. I've tried to get used to right-click > add all tabs to a new collection; right-click > close other tabs as a compromise but it still feels clunky by comparison.
Hi,
This has been a wonderful discussion to read. I've started a dedicated thread on 'Getting back to websites important to you' to better understand your workflows. I'd be curious to hear about what is missing from existing features like Recently closed tabs, Add all tabs to Collections, and the Continue where you left off Setting that is not quite filling the void of Tab Set Aside.
It sounds like one of the major benefits of Tab Set Aside is that it simultaneously closed the tabs providing a visually clean slate when context switching in the browser.
Thanks,
Kofi from the Edge Localization, Collections, and History teams
Mason425 Elliot Kirk Exactly what I've been saying all along: two different features for two different purposes. For some reason, some people don't want set tabs aside but want to force everyone into one feature, even though Collections doesn't work in place of set tabs aside.
Set aside tabs should stay where it was in the original Edge (for windows at least, maybe not for Mac), and it should give you the option to just set aside one tab at a time instead of all or nothing. It should have an option to right click on a tab and in the menu have an option that says "Set this tab aside". Before if I only wanted to set aside one tab, I had to drag it into a new window and set it aside from there.
These two features are a must have after using the original Edge for so long. Warn on close is important to make sure you are wanting to close all tabs so you don't exit accidentally when you actually only want to close a few of the open tabs. The warn on close is important to many people, but is also annoying to many others, so it should have the ability to be turned off. Set aside tabs was one of the best features of Edge originally. Set aside tabs helped keep you organized and it was perfect for school or work purposes. Edge will be the perfect browser for research or working in any way with both set aside tabs and collections. Set aside tabs needs to return especially since it was in the original Edge. It would be a let down when people have come to expect it and when it was a distinguishing feature of the original Edge (no other browser has it). I think that the two major features of the old Edge were inking web pages and set aside tabs. Inking web pages is important but it doesn't really work without a pen or touch screen, so set aside tabs is the most important and most widely used feature, so it needs to return.
Elliot Kirk I am really enjoying Collections on Chromium Edge, particularly as they are now synchronised between my two Windows 10 machines and MacBook - the feature is just so extremely easy to use.
Currently I am missing Set Aside Tabs but since I upgraded my main PC to the Stable version of Edge and no longer use Classic Edge on that machine I am finding new ways of doing things, but I do hope the feature can be brought back sometime.
I am also curious to know whether collections will work with Edge on Android at some point? Currently the Favourites and Reading List are useful there, but from my point of view it would be brilliant to be able to add tabs from there to a collection as well.
A few days ago I made a collection in reverse by utilising the CONTINUE ON PC function that is available via Android Edge. I opened a tab on my phone and tapped 'Continue on PC' - added the resulting tab to a collection on my PC - and repeated the process a couple of times, but the process is a bit convoluted.
The screenshot attached shows the current options available from Edge on Android
I would like address both features as they are becoming more useful for my workflow:
Set Aside Tabs:
I am a student and considering we are having all our online classes online, means we need many, many tabs to work on. I use Edge as my pdf viewer so i can quickly search the internet and go back and forth. I have tried the new Collection feature but since it requires a manual addition of each tab and also to delete and edit it... its not really fitting in how i use the tabs. The tabs change each week since i have new assignments and therefore need a quick and easy way to save my work so i continue the next day or so.
As for the position of the button, maybe you can add a toggle in the bar just like the collection, Home and refresh buttons which can be turned off if the user do not need it.
Warning to close all tabs:
well do i need to say more than closing multiple tabs results in all of my research and links suddenly go away ??
Yes i have previously turned this off because I would use the web for entertainment. But right now it's mainly for my studies and somehow it is 'costly'.
Hopefully we see them back soon !
Elliot Kirk Yes, I would like to bring back the 'Warning on closing all tabs' when one closes a browser window.
Here's my take on Set Tabs Aside.
I loved that the feature existed. It was a refreshing feeling to use it. I felt more free when I had it, that I could put things on hold. I was more agile, that I could interrupt when I want (in a good sense) whatever, and have a fresh/undistracted view of this immediate, more important task.
Now, in its absence, I feel chained down to my open tabs. They pose detriment against a context switch. Even if there are weeks until the time I will use many of my tabs, I cannot set them aside, and they surely diminish my focus when they are 9/10 of my active tabs.
Think of a CPU without interrupts. That's how it's kind of like to not have the Set Tabs Aside.
Suggestions for improvement:
- Please auto-close the single empty new tab page, when the user retrieves a stack of tabs set aside: Setting tabs aside, and retrieving another stack was a common workflow of mine. However, every time you did this, you'd have an empty new tab page, which was annoying. Same thing happened also when you'd open a fresh new browser, and retrieve a stack.
- A means to conjoin the currently open tabs with a stack of tabs set aside. I.e. stack tabs aside INTO some other set of tabs set aside.
Really, this was the number 1 feature I was advertising people back in old Edge times. I was making Mac people envious with it...
Elliot Kirk Guys, thanks for making it with Collections. But I think most of users agree we need a keyboard shortcut. Also, if I right-click on empty space next to tabs (on the window header) there's a context menu which contains items like "New tab", "Reopen closed tab" and "Add open pages to favorites". Please add "Add open pages to collection"!
I've tested the current state of set tab aside on the new edge browser and I find myself using it less then on old edge in fact it has lost its convenient and easy factor in relation to the old edge.
What I find myself missing is that it's not as smooth of an experience like on legacy edge.
It takes far to many clicks to get the job done. ~ ugh makes me switch to legacy edge
There is no option to make those tabs volatile that means if we don't disable the setting in the browser that is keeping an old session when we close the browser we have to close each tab manually ~ takes time.
There are no previews of the page in the collection ~ just for convenience.
My personal opinion of the experience overall
MS Edge needs more smooth fast animations its just eye candy that feels good.
Everytime while opening the collection I think ugh that looks ugly let me explain:
1. there's a blank white space where the collection appears (disappearing fast but ugly) could be fixed by putting an fade in animation while it loads or like on old edge let it slide in from the right
2. appears and gets fixed on the page while taking some of the space ~ make that an option
3. it's an contextual experience nothing can be done with a short click ~ we need buttons for the expected use case.
Conclusion well it gets the job done but there's room for improvements and it should atleast match the standard that Microsoft gave us with the legacy Edge experience.
I really want set-aside tabs to be returned in the new Edge. I liked having it to clear some tabs temporarily so they didn't clutter the tab bar when I was doing a certain task. Sometimes I am doing a task where I have to have multiple tabs open, but there are some tabs that I need to keep open because I will need to return to them later and sign out and whatever else, but those tabs that need to stay open are just cluttering the tab bar where I have tabs that I need to be able to easily access. It just helps keep you organized. I would also like for the ability to just set aside one tab at a time instead of all or nothing. You can just drag a tab into a new window and set them aside from there, but I would rather not have to do that. And like HotCakeX said, it should be in the top left corner, just like the original/current Edge.
- Just a note about it being in the top left corner, where no buttons are - that is NOT the case on Mac. Edge on Mac has the close/minimize buttons there. For mac maybe it should be on the other side.
Good point about that. Sometimes I forget about Mac users having those buttons on the other side. So there is a bunch of needs that have to be met for different cases. This must be interesting for the Edge team to have to make a browser to accommodate not only for Windows users, but for Mac too.
