Forum Discussion
Discussion - Getting back to websites important to you
Hi,
Thank you all for the insightful discussion about your use cases of the Legacy Microsoft Edge's Tab Set Aside feature and confirmation prompt when closing a browser window.
In that thread, some of you have mentioned how seamlessly Collections could work with the Legacy Microsoft Edge's Tab Set Aside feature while others see these features as having distinct use cases.
We continue to explore how we can improve existing features and their integration with one another to help you pick up where you left off with your browsing.
To get a better understanding of your scenarios, I have a few questions I'd like to ask:
- How many groups of tabs did you have set aside in the Legacy Microsoft Edge?
- How long did you typically keep these groups of set aside tabs?
- Are you aware of or have you used the Recently closed tabs experience which is accessible in the More menu (…) and in the full page History experience (Edge 83 Canary/Dev/Beta)?
- Recently closed tabs automatically saves your 25 most recently closed tabs and browser windows with their tab history for 2 browser sessions. When you restore a recently closed tab or browser window, it is removed from Recently closed. You can use the Ctrl (CMD on macOS) + Shift + T shortcut to quickly restore closed tabs or browser windows.
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What do you think about the Recently closed tabs experience?
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Do you use the "Continue where you left" setting (edge://settings/onStartup) which automatically restores the tabs from your last active browser window on browser restart? Why or why not?
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How do your use cases differ amongst Tab Set Aside, Collections, and Recently closed tabs?
Regarding some of your specific feedback:
- The tabs you set aside in the Legacy Microsoft Edge were migrated to the "Other favorites" folder during the first run experience.
- Collections created using the "Add all tabs to a new Collection" are named using a date-time format e.g. Month Day, Year.
Thanks,
Kofi from the Edge Localization, Collections, and History teams
21 Replies
- AeroproneCopper Contributor
1. Around 50 (though it would probably have only been around 20 if it had been easier to reorganize like it is in Collections).
2. Anywhere from a week to over a year.
3. Nice to see this return (I think this was a feature in Internet Explorer?). Honestly, the lack of this feature was one of the biggest drawbacks to legacy Edge for me, so I'm glad to have it.
4. Not at present, mainly to have a fresh slate each time I start the browser. That being said, I tend to utilize this on every other browser I use. I imagine I will use this setting in the future.
5. Tabs set aside generally worked based for things that I wanted to leave for later and then access once, having it disappear when accessed (e.g. setting aside a forum post to read tomorrow). Collections generally works better for things that I want to access repeatedly over a finite amount of time (example: periodically checking a website for a new date for a postponed concert). I generally tried to use both of these features for both use cases, with each one falling short in the area it's less suited for and being easier to use in the case that it is suited for.
Recently closed tabs is helpful for when I've closed several tabs, and want just one of them back. Using this list saves time over, say, reopening 5 tabs and reclosing 4 of them.
- Veerle_vWCopper Contributor
- As a student, about 25 groups. It was very tricky though, as with one accidental click you could delete your research collection for a paper and I also accidently saved tabs a lot of times that made me lose the message I was typing or similar things - so the same feature without the ability to click it too easily or delete saved tab groups too easily would be amazing.How long did you typically keep these groups of set aside tabs?
2. About 6 months, some longer.
3. a. I am not too tech-savy, this is too difficult for me. Also: usually I have way more than 25 tabs open when researching something.
3 b . Have not tried yet, seems to be hard to figure out
4. Yes and this is great! I am one of those clumsy people that too often occasionally lost work.
5. Collections are for groups of tabs that I like to be in "folders", such as a certain chapter of research with all the weblinks that I need for that topic (such as media websites). The tab saving is great if at the end of your day you like to save where you were (which the Recover Tabs now does greatly in some way, but I'd still like to manually be able to do this). Also: it helps if you want to temporarily pause your work and go on with something else, to just "put it aside" and be able to retrieve all tabs at once (which Collections does not do yet, I believe).
- Wade_MiddletonIron Contributor
- How many groups of tabs did you have set aside in the Legacy Microsoft Edge?
6-20 - How long did you typically keep these groups of set aside tabs?
Up to 24 hours - Are you aware of or have you used the Recently closed tabs experience which is accessible in the More menu (…) and in the full page History experience (Edge 83 Canary/Dev/Beta)?
Yes, but I wouldn’t use it for this purpose; I rarely use it in the first place. It’s difficult to locate the tabs you’re looking if you’re opening and closing tabs very often. I would rather favourite the tabs into a folder temporarily than rely on recently closed tabs. - Do you use the "Continue where you left" setting (edge://settings/onStartup) which automatically restores the tabs from your last active browser window on browser restart? Why or why not?
Yes, but it has a completely different purpose for me. - How do your use cases differ amongst Tab Set Aside, Collections, and Recently closed tabs?
Tab Set Aside: I have to focus on something else for now. I would like to set aside a group of tabs hassle-free for up to 24 hours. I don’t wish to rely on completely separate browser profiles requiring me to log in to sites again. I don’t wish to rely on recently closed tabs requiring me to manually locate and potentially lose important tabs. I don’t wish to rely on Collections which doesn’t fulfil the same needs. Please bring back Tab Set Aside!
Collections: I was excited for the feature when it was introduced, and I’ve tried to use it as if it were Tab Set Aside. Unfortunately, it’s way too sluggish and doesn’t fulfil the same needs.
Recently closed tabs: I’ve accidentally closed a tab recently which I want to recover.
- How many groups of tabs did you have set aside in the Legacy Microsoft Edge?
- fgawinsonCopper Contributor
I was update Microsoft Edge to new Chromium-based Edge. Unfortunately, I lost all my set aside tabs nothing in my Favorites & Other favorites folder. Can I do system restore and back to previous state?
Please advice any solution to recover?
- Candraditya001Copper Contributor
Hello there, just wanted to answer about the "Set Aside Tab" thing that was on Legacy, and wanted to bring it back (hopefully) to new Edge. Well these are some of my answer regards to this questions.
- How many groups of tabs did you have set aside in the Legacy Microsoft Edge?
- Usually when I do my homeworks that require me to open at least more than 20 journals per day. That's only 1 topic of my homeworks though, if I want to search another topic, then it could be more than that with freshly opened another Legacy browser (so I do run many many tabs as I do the Legacy browser too.)
- How long did you typically keep these groups of set aside tabs?
- Well, I'm very well aware that this thing could help me in the future, so I would say more than 6 months! Well some of them I could keep it for a year and It was very very useful cause I just one-click away where I was and here you go!
- Are you aware of or have you used the Recently closed tabs experience which is accessible in the More menu (…) and in the full page History experience (Edge 83 Canary/Dev/Beta)?
- I'm sorry if my words kinda harsh, but if I do know it, I wouldn't comment just like this. The Legacy one, for set-aside-tabs only just One-click-away to use it. So to answer to that question, no I do not know any of that. Just missing the easiness of the Legacy brought to me.
- Do you use the "Continue where you left" setting (edge://settings/onStartup) which automatically restores the tabs from your last active browser window on browser restart? Why or why not?
- Maybe not. The legacy taught me the easiness to use it. So, my primary browser was the Legacy because it's very very useful and efficient (although it's not like the new one because of the speed and fluidity, but I would prefer the Legacy one, because the increased of my productivity of using the Legacy).
- How do your use cases differ amongst Tab Set Aside, Collections, and Recently closed tabs?
- Well, I'm gonna go a bit personal in terms that I use this 3. But, honestly, I do more tend to care the Set Aside Tabs cause it gives me something that I couldn't before like I can't do different browser sessions for each tasks that I'm doing instantaneously. Very very easy to organize the tasks that I want to work and I want to set aside for a moment. Also, then again, One-click-away to access the Set Aside Tabs. For the other 2, I'm sorry that I couldn’t give any comments about that because it's very inefficient to do.
Well, i hope you guys know what i want to say for this. I know you guys doing a tremendous job about this browser and it's impact for all the people who using this browser. This browser has been day-to-day use for me since the windows 10 came out. So, here i am and maybe that's it actually. The only downside of the new Edge (for me, personally) is just there isn't the Set Tab Aside feature though.
- KamSilver Contributor
- YasinAkimuraBrass Contributor
- How many groups of tabs did you have set aside in the Legacy Microsoft Edge?
- alot see screenshot
- How long did you typically keep these groups of set aside tabs?
- I'm honest sometimes I forget to close them dates back up to 7 months a reminder for tabs that are kept aside for too long would be a nice touch for my forgetful 😅
- Are you aware of or have you used the Recently closed tabs experience which is accessible in the More menu (…) and in the full page History experience (Edge 83 Canary/Dev/Beta)?
- Recently closed tabs automatically saves your 25 most recently closed tabs and browser windows with their tab history for 2 browser sessions. When you restore a recently closed tab or browser window, it is removed from Recently closed. You can use the Ctrl (CMD on macOS) + Shift + T shortcut to quickly restore closed tabs or browser windows.
- Yeah its helpful sometimes but not as organized as Set Tabs aside and snapshots are the most helpful
What do you think about the Recently closed tabs experience?
- So far its great and a nice addition
- Recently closed tabs automatically saves your 25 most recently closed tabs and browser windows with their tab history for 2 browser sessions. When you restore a recently closed tab or browser window, it is removed from Recently closed. You can use the Ctrl (CMD on macOS) + Shift + T shortcut to quickly restore closed tabs or browser windows.
Do you use the "Continue where you left" setting (edge://settings/onStartup) which automatically restores the tabs from your last active browser window on browser restart? Why or why not?
- Yes but the only reason for me to use that is because set tabs aside is gone like it was before but its still very convenient I can see myself keep using it even if set tabs aside like in old Edge comes back.
How do your use cases differ amongst Tab Set Aside, Collections, and Recently closed tabs?
- Recently closed tabs: easy I want to use that to start quickly where I left
- Collections: To be honest just a modern way of favorites.. too much interactions takes up time well thats picky
- Tab Set Aside: To get different sessions organized I like that you can see a snapshot instead of relying on your memories of that provided link with some random images taken as preview image in comparison to Collection. And that you can open individual links with just one your second mouse click out of your Set Tabs Aside. Collections take up to 3 clicks plus your recognition on that tab.
- TimIronsBrass Contributor
Recently closed is very useful, but I wouldn't have expected to find the list in history. Perhaps a more on the primary list of 5 recent tabs would be more intuitive.
I always use continue where I left off.
I've never used set aside tabs or collections. Both appear to replicate favourites.
- How many groups of tabs did you have set aside in the Legacy Microsoft Edge?
- TimIronsBrass Contributor
Really history and favourites should be able to handle this task. The scenario my family encounter is where they don't close tabs when they have finished with them. This leaves them with maybe 40 tabs open and no idea what they are. History doesn't work terribly well and it is sometimes impossible to find pages for some reason. If the history recorded check points such as all the tabs open when the user stopped using the browser they would be able to go back and could safely close the entire lot.
We keep getting new ways of reinventing the same functionality such as the reading list, but I feel they divert attention away from improving the originals.
- KamSilver Contributor
- Reza_Ameri-ArchivedBronze ContributorLet me explain with some common scenario of using Set Aside:
Sometimes let say I am doing research on specific topics and I opens multiple tabs and some of them are helpful, so I want to make like a folder to have them all in that folder and instead while all of them were open , I click set aside and add a name for them.
In meantime, I had requirement to add side from other tabs into the like folder which I created and normally I will remove them once I done with my research or project unless website is important for future which I add them into favorite.
It is also helpful when let say I opened too many tabs and it is hard to see and browse over so I will set them all aside and open new tabs and I refer to set aside for old tabs to have some free space to work.