Switch profiles in web apps

[josh_bodner]

Today, we’re launching an experience experiment for sites or Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) that are installed as apps on your desktop. This is on by default if you are using Windows 10 version 2004 or newer. 

If you install the same site or PWA on more than one Edge profile, we’ve introduced a profile switcher on the application title bar to switch between profiles from within your app. With this experiment, you’ll only see one application tile in Windows for that application. Also, when the application starts, it uses the last profile used by the application. 

To switch between profiles in your application, perform the following steps: 

1. Locate the profile icon on the title bar of your application, and select it.  

2. Now, simply select the other profile to use.  

3. Confirm that a second application window starts with the selected profile.  

Note: The profile switcher in the title bar only displays when you have the same app installed on more than one profile. 

We’re looking for feedback on this feature. Here are a couple of questions for you:  

• Do you prefer to have your app display as one application in Windows, and switch using this experimental method described above?  
• Do you prefer to have distinct applications installed on Windows for each profile you install the app with? This would mean you could have multiple application tiles/icons in Start, the Taskbar or on your desktop. 
• Would you prefer to choose your default profile each time you install a new application?  

We’d love to hear from you. Please send feedback using the “Send Feedback” feature (Alt + Shift + I) from within Microsoft Edge.  

[#2]

This is a great feature, solves the confusion when user installs the same PWA on multiple profiles not knowing which one belongs to which.

I prefer this new implementation, not having multiple titles of the Same PWA, that wouldn't be smart.

I think I need to select default profile for it each time, would be annoying if i get prompted for it every time, the way it is now that lets user choose, on demand, is better.

[#3]

@josh_bodner

I think PWA / Lite app is an awesome feature and makes work easier.

Some improvements suggested:

• Reopening an app takes us to the home page. I think it would be better if we are sent to where we left off. 
• Option to change the theme of the pages.
• A mini-window which shows the bookmarks for that web app would make the transitions easier.

That's all for now.

Best

Priyanshu Rai

A 1st year Undergraduate 

[#4]

@josh_bodner For me this is a case-by-case basis.  I work with three O365 Tenants, so I have 3 separate installations of the Outlook Web App (one in each browser profile). And I need to (1) have all inboxes open separately and (2) be able to see incoming email from them all separately as well.

[#5]

@josh_bodner 

In a corporate environment, accountability is a must. So we would not have multiple PWA profiles created within a single Windows profile.

Our expectation is that every user is signed into Windows using their own credentials. On virtual desktops where we would use Outlook PWA, there would be one profile, associated with the logged in user.

What we need is a way to install the Outlook PWA on the default profile, without it being associated with an account. So when a new user logs into the virtual desktop, the Outlook PWA is already installed, and they need only provide their credentials to access their mail account.

We would use the same principal to build system images to deploy new workstations.

Is this possible? 

[#6]

@josh_bodner 

Today this feature stopped working all the sudden.

Teams PWA now opened edge browser rather than the PWA app, even with removing profiles to the single one that is synced, this no longer works.

It would seem that adding in features to Edge that are not aligned with Teams reduces the functionality, rather than increasing it.  Over the past months, this "edge features" integration is becoming more of a pain than anything else.   The fact that edge prompts to "switch profiles" and then doesnt remember the selection, prompts many times as OAUTH redirects are going through shows this feature needs a lot more work.

As a result today, im back to Teams Browser version,  having to remove all EDGE Profiles and still logging in manually,  the worst part is the "Teams Service Status" continued to provide updates to duplicated Teams lists (a ticket open for months and months, yet there is nothing about the almost daily "downtimes" for the past two weeks anywhere to be found.