FEEDBACK: "Basic" Modern Browser functionality still missing from Edge...

Brass Contributor

These are some of the most BASIC needed features I require in a browser to use it.

I got used to these features from Maxthon (Maxthon Classic) years ago, which was an Shell on top of IE (Internet Explorer).  Maxthon eventually became a standalone Webkit browser and it lost good extension support and they never added the "middle tab bar" to it, being like everyone else with a "Top" Tab Bar only.

 

I had to switch to "360Chrome" due to this, the ONLY browser that had all the below must needed features.

Sadly, this browser is not fully in English, is based in China, and the last version has some serious bugs whenI never had issues with the browser before.  Anyway, I'm tired of the browser the non-English support and now the bad bugs...  I want to be able to use a well developed and secure Western focused/based browser again.

 

So, I beg of you....  PLEASE add these features ASAP....  I WANT to use Edge now, it's very professional and stable.  Maxthon has finally switched to Chromium, but their development is extremely slow and there are lots of bugs, and who knows if they will ever add the middle tab bar.  (They have everything else.)  So, I just can't rely on it.

 

(Note to people reading this, these can all be SETTINGS, you don't have to be "forced" to use them, so please don't give me grief as you did some two years when I initially proposed these being added to the browser.  These are things I need, that I got used to in a modern browser, and I LOVE them.  You don't "need" to complain that just because you don't know how good they are or need them, that Microsoft then shouldn't add them.  Many people are like me, and also will love some of these once they know how nice/useful they are.)

 

1. Middle Tab Bar...  This is a tab bar that is just below the Favorites Bar, and just above the Webpage itself.  I do not understand how you added a Side TabBar before adding a middle tab bar.  Please add this.  I also understand how the top tab bar "looks" a bit better, and uses less space.  However, the middle tab-bar is more "comfortable" for me to use, to reach, etc.

It is a MUST feature in a browser for me to use it....  See picture for example.

 

0p2aMKO

 

p.s. Some people might like the Tab Bar at the BOTTOM.  So, that should be one of the options also.

 

2. Drag-and-Drop....  Highlighting Text/Links dragging and dropping it WITHIN the page, and it automatically adds the Text/Link to the Address Bar doing a Search for the Text with your default search engine, or opening the website if it's a link.  Note also that the below Tab opening settings allows a new tab to be created with the search or opening of webpage.  A must also.

I do understand this is in discussion as a feature, please add it, and make sure to add it as I've described.  I do not want to have to drag it to the address bar or otherwise as some browsers require.  You need to be able to select the text/link and immediately drag it and drop it and it's automatically added to the address bar and does its thing.

This is a MUST feature for a browser I use...

 

3. Open Last Closed TAB Button & History List...

Now, I know you have a Button that "sort of" does this, but let me explain how it should work differently.

First, Edge's "History" button is just that, it lists EVERYTHING in history, including currently open Tabs.  This is not useful.  If we want to view our full browsing history, we can just go to History.  The way it should work is when you click the button, it opens your "Last Closed Tab" which INCLUDES it's "Forward and Back Browser history", for that Tab only.  In other words, every page that particular tab visited.  This is VERY useful.

 

When you "Right-Click" the button, it shows about the last 20 of your last closed Tabs.  Again, very useful.  It's not simply showing your full browsing history, it's showing you where you last were, and allowing you to get that tab with it's browsing history back.

On Right-Click, at the bottom it also has a link to History, so you can see your full browsing/webpage history if you want.

 

Here's an example with how 360Chrome does it, Maxthon is similar.

 

rMnnRKY

 

Remember, what you're seeing in this list is every Tab I closed in this particular browsing session.  I'm spacing if it remembers the previous browsing session, but it would be good if Edge could remember that if you add this feature, changing how the current History button works.

What you can do if some people want to use the current History button, just give us the "option" in Settings, which one we want to use, or to even show BOTH buttons.

 

Again, I'm not forcing anyone to use what I want....  Microsoft can simply provide us with the options in settings and we choose what we like, like we do for other things.  But this is something I NEED...  I use it every single day, it's become a fundamental browser feature for me.  It's the same with Drag-and-Drop, and the other features that just work how I want that I'm listing.

 

This is all quality of life and useful functionality for me.  When Maxthon was trying to be the ultimate browser way back when (though they are still trying, just lost the way) I fell in love, these features they became must have daily use.

 

4. Select How/Where Tabs Open...

360Chrome and Maxthon allows you to select EXACTLY where and how your tabs open in whatever situation, be it links you click, your Favorites, etc.

For example, when I open a page/link in a new Tab, I like it opening in the "background" (i.e. not focused).  I also like it to open right NEXT to the Tab/Page I'm currently on, in contrast to the "end" of tabs in the tab bar like some browsers do, or you can select to do.

I also like my Favorites to open the same.

 

Here's a picture of the options 360Chrome provides to open Tabs.  I would like the same within Edge.

This is a MUST feature for me...  It irritates the crap out of me tabs not opening in ways that's not comfortable for me in using the browser.

 

Cv03ntc

 

5. Most Visited Links on HomeTab... (automatically added)

You DO have this, so this is good, but it needs to be improved slightly.

Rather, than have it at the bottom, it needs to be below the search bar in the middle of the page and have like 5-10 Rows and Columns depending on the size of peoples monitor.

 

If you really "need" that middle search icon in relation to the background picture or whatever, put it at the TOP of the page ABOVE the search bar.  That's a big waste of space and for a feature we just don't need.

 

This picture shows how 360Chrome does it, but I DO like your Icon Sizing better...  So, keep that.  (However, for balance when putting the icons in the middle, the current icon size might be "slightly" too small, so I'm fine with them being slightly bigger, but not as big as 360Chrome does them like in the picture below.)

BTW, 360Chrome also in Settings allows you to remove the Search bar at the top, which is why you're not seeing it.  I find it's pointless since I can search anytime I want in the address bar.  That's something you might want to consider as an optional Setting also.

Also, the icons in 360Chrome used to show the default page image associated icon, not sure why it's not currently, maybe a new bug, so that's why they are just bland icons.

 

qew7rCk

 

Conclusion...

 

These are the most BASIC features I need in a browser that are still missing or need to be improved with Microsoft Edge.  I really like what I'm seeing otherwise with the browser, so I would appreciate it if you could add these features ASAP.

Again, they can be "Settings" that we can CHOOSE to use or not....  They do not have to be "default" settings in the browser.  So, nobody should be "offended" by these, and they don't "bog down" the browser in any way either.

 

Please please add these....  Thank you.

 

Sincerely, Lee

 

Honorable Mention...

 

6. Tabs Previously Open Listing on Browser opening... One feature that I've missed that Maxthon had and still has (though I would prefer it to be an actual "window", but I would live if you did it similar to Maxthons) is a setting in which when you open the browser, you can set a Setting in which when the browser opens, it shows a "List" of the pages/Tabs you had open when you closed the browser.  There is a "check-box" beside each link...  You can click one Link/Tab if you want to open it only, select/de-select checkboxes of Tabs/Links you want/don't want to open, and then click a BUTTON to open all the selected Tabs.

 

This is very useful in case you had problem websites/Tabs so you can "de-select" it/them and not open it/them, or if it was a site that had viruses, or maybe a tab that causes crashing etc.   Chromiums "automatically" opening ALL previous tabs that were open is a BAD practice.

 

While I don't "have" to have this feature, since I don't generally have issues and if I do I can double/click closing the tab fast when it's opened, it IS a feature I missed when I used to use Maxthon, and it would be a good feature to have as default for security, stability, and user enjoyment/comfort.

9 Replies
My first quick-thought would be: try looking into the "Vivaldi" browser. It has quite an extensive number of options built-in and would likely tick-off quite a few you've listed above...

@leeuniverse 

 

(1) "Middle Tab Bar" (aka tab-bar above the page)

I'm not sure any browser does this anymore... even Firefox has them at the top, by-default.  Though with Firefox, you can probably find an "extension" to change this, as it's more-customisable than Edge.

 

(2) "Drag-and-drop text to search; or links to open them"

If you select text, you can right-click and choose the second item in the list: "Search the web for".

 

If you have two Edge windows open, and then drag a link from say the left-hand one onto the right-hand one, Edge will immediately go to that site.  I'm really not sure what the use-case is though for dragging a link inside the same window/tab and letting go to load that site... why not just click on it?

 

(3) "Forward and back history for that tab only"

You can do this: make sure the tab you want to see the history for is the one you're looking at (so click on that tab first, if needed). Then hold-down the mouse-button (or just right-click) on either the back or forward arrows on the toolbar.  It'll show you back or forward history for the currently-selected tab only in a list below.

 

(4) "Open a tab in the background"

The easiest way to do this right-now in Edge is simply middle-click on a link with your mouse: then it opens in the background, as a new tab.

 

(4) "Open new tabs right next-to the tab I'm on, not at the end of the tab bar"

When you middle-click a link, it will open next to the tab. If you middle-click multiple links, they appear in the order you clicked: 1, 2, 3. So the last one you click will be the furthest-away. If you'd rather the order be 3, 2, 1, where the most-recently clicked is always nearest, I'm sure the Edge team could implement that. Try requesting it via the "Send Feedback" feature inside Edge.

 

(5) Most-visited links UI

I just use bookmarks, so never bother with any sort of "start screen" so couldn't comment here.

 

(6) Option to re-open only specific tabs when Edge re-opens

There is an option in Edge currently called "Continue where you left off" which re-opens every tab when you start Edge.  If for some-reason one of the tabs has an issue, try to close it first before you close Edge.  Or if Edge crashes, try to close it before it has chance to load when you bring Edge back-up.

 

Though if a particular site is constantly crashing, you'd be better-off going to "Send Feedback", if it's a legitimate site, and advising there is an issue so the team can investigate it.  Or if it is a virus/malware site, go to "Report unsafe site" and report it there.  You'll find both options by going to the "..." option in the top-right, then "Help and feedback" at the bottom of the menu.

@leeuniverse To expand a bit on @dftf-wip's answers, you should try enabling Tab Close Controller in edge://flags. History button now has a Recently Closed section that will show you the list of closed tabs. When you close the browser with several tabs, they will be grouped together so you can reopen all of them in one go. Pin the list and middle click to open several of them in new tabs.

dragonwolf83_0-1621374174271.png

 

 

As for your select text to drag in same page, I see alot of issues happening with that option. For one, not having a specific target for the drop creates confusion as to what the action should be. That is why dragging it to address bar is very clear user intent. Quite often, users will select text to highlight where they are in a page, copy, etc. and it is very easy to accidently drag the content without meaning to. With your option, it would create new windows and users would be upset because it disrupted their system. We need to remember that alot of users are not as precise in their mouse usage. That precision is even worse with trackpads. 

Same kind of issues with double click to close. Most modern mice have higher rates of single click failures that get turned into double clicks. I've gone through 2 mice already with that issue. 

I've tried it before, and it didn't have all the features I need. Though, I haven't tried it recently.

Yes, it's correct some browsers have "some" of the features I indicated, but none have "all".
These are features that I MUST have in a browser to use it. These aren't "minor" things to me.
Like I said, I got spoiled by Maxthon Classic when it was a shell on top of IE. So, these features became a MUST for me in relation to comfort of use and useful tools/features.

@dftf-wip 

 

1. Ya, not very many have the middle tab-bar anymore especially as they are all going to Chromium.
I don't know the number currently, but a few have had it in the past, though, likely less as mentioned due to going to Chomium and developers being lazy thinking it's not a priority.

 

2.  Ya, I know, you can right-click and select option to search, but having gotten used to drag-and-drop it's SOOO much faster and easier.  Dragging and dropping is just so much better.

Sometimes links are in text format, sometimes on the Google Search page you want to select the text of the link or there's a text link in the description.  Everyone might not need this, but I use it all the time.  Like I mentioned, with the Tab opening settings it opens for me every text or link dragged and dropped into a new tab which is either doing a search for that text or if it's a link opening up the page.

 

Anyway, the link opening is nothing overly "more", it's natural with the drag and drop.

The browser already knows to open links or to do a search with text, it's just a minor functionality improvement that has become massively easy and enjoyable to use over any other browser searching/tab/link opening method.

 

Also, yes, I DO "click on links"....  LOL  I also use Control and click on links to have them open in a new tab when I'm not ready to leave the page yet.  So, there are multiple reasons why I don't sometimes just "click on links".

 

3. Sure...  I was just mentioning the forward and back button to ensure if they add the button/feature to open the last closed tab that it also includes it's forward and back history, not "just" the page only.

I've found this highly useful almost every single day.  BTW, I'm a power user, spending most of my day on the internet.  So, dealing with webpage content, tabs, searching, etc. and how all these things function is highly important for me that they be "stream-lined" and work efficiently.

So, basically all of my requests relate to this, making these browser aspects super efficient, so much so that I can't live without them, and other methods, for example righ-clicking highlighted text has become "inefficient" to me.

 

4. Honestly, I can't stand using the Middle Mouse button, so I would rather have a "setting" which allows me to dictate how Tabs open in whatever situation, and choosing how in that particular situation, such as either clicking, Favorites, etc.  I showed the screenshot of most of the options I would also like to see in Edge.  These are simple and/or functions, so they don't add any overhead to the browser.  They just give us options as consumers how we like things to work.

 

4a. Yes, that's why I've made this post is so the Edge team can add these features as options cause the browser doesn't do them.  What you've said in the later is correct, I need tabs to open that way, NOT the first way you mentioned that it currently works.  Simple Settings as I've shown will allow us to choose how we want tabs to open like I mentioned.  So, you're saying they don't really pay attention very much to the forums that I need to request them via the Feedback Feature in Edge?  Okay, will do that also then.

 

5. Sure, I use bookmarks too...  However, the Start screen showing the most visited sites automatically for us is really convenient.  We can also edit it, adding our preferred links, and it continues to automatically add anything most visited otherwise.  I've come to heavily rely on this, that way I'm not simply relying on my Bookmarks only, so saving time there, and it's become a "Bookmark List" also for me, I put my most visited places in the list, YouTube, my Bank, etc.

Anyway, they have it already in the Start page at the bottom, they just need to move it up to the middle and maybe changing the "size" of the links if need be.  But, at the bottom it's blah, and can one even add more "rows", and if they do allow it, do you end up having to scroll?  Forcing us to have all that open space in the middle which can be used is yuck.  Again, this can be a "setting", so if they want to keep it as is they can, just provide a setting for those who want all the Links in the middle with multiple rows and columns.

 

6. Yes, I know it has "Restore All" already...  I was just mentioning something that I once found useful as a possible improvement I would like to see in the browser.  Not a must, but something I think most people would find useful.  So many reasons this can be useful, like say you had a lot of tabs open previously, this way you choose what you want to open, you aren't forced to open ALL of the tabs again.

So, it's not just for problem webpages, virus pages, etc.  Also, reporting pages after-the-fact isn't really the point here, it's to prevent your computer from getting infected, your browser stuck on a trap page that doesn't allow you to bring up the Task Manager to get it closed, etc.

 

Also, sometimes when you reopen the browser, depending on how many Tabs you had open, you can't get that problem tab closed fast enough.  So, sometimes this can REALLY be bad for people.

So, having a page/pop-up showing before the browser fully opens listing what pages were last open, and allowing you to "uncheck" those you don't want to open, or to not open any etc. or to just click a couple, etc. can be really useful.  Anyway, it's something I missed when I used to use Maxthon.

 

Like I said, I'm a power user...  I often have dozens of webpages open, and when I reopen the browser, it's sometimes nice to have a "pre-screen" which allows me to choose what pages I want to open again.  Anyway, I mention this as a nice convenience I would like to see, it

 

Thanks for your contribution and thoughts....  :)

@dragonwolf83 

 

1. That could be useful to someone, but I don't see a need for that personally.  Though, thanks for the thoughts, I would still like to see a Reopen Closed Tabs button like I mentioned.

 

2. LOL...

- A few browsers have had this ability for a long time, and I've used it myself since the MyIE2 (aka Maxthon Classic) days (like 25 years), I think they were the first to develop the the drag-and-drop feature.  There is no "confusion" on what the browser should do....  If it's text it opens a new tab doing a search with your favorite search engine.  If it's a link, then it opens a tab going to the webpage, aka the link.

 

- Dragging to the address bar does the same exact thing, it either searches if it's text, or it goes to the wepage.  That is just a LONG unnecessary action.  Browsers have been doing drag and drop for at least 25 years now, and it's not an "issue".  I have ONLY used ones that do it how I describe (though tested others, and don't like how they do it).  Once you've tried it, you'll find it's very nice.  You just quickly double-click the text or text-link on the page, drag it half an inch, and BAM... a new tab opens searching for that text or going to the webpage.  It's super nice.  Again, nobody is forcing you to use it, it can be a setting.  It's simply a MUST for me.

 

- In my 25 years of using this feature, being involved in the Development of Maxthon (tester and mod developer), I've NEVER heard of anyone having a problem with confusing drag and drop and "copy and paste"...  LOL  You're thinking of a problem that just doesn't exist.

Further, like I said, nobody is forced to use this feature, it can be a simple setting that YOU choose to enable or not.

 

However, I'm not "insenstive" to your concern...  For example, I recently tried using my mouse with my LEFT-Hand.... and my control was so poor, that I would accidentally close tabs (when simply clicking on them).  I double click to close my tabs, so somehow just clicking tabs with the poor control of my Left hand would close tabs sometimes.

 

However, the nice thing about modern browsers, is 360Chrome for example has a feature which allows you to also "mouse over" a Tab (when you're on it for like 3 sec's (I think you can even choose the time) ), and it comes to view without having to click on it.

So, if people for example have the lack of control you mention, well, if Edge doesn't have this feature, and people like to enable the double-click to close tabs also, they can enable this other setting to prevent them from accidentally closing tabs they don't want to close.

 

- Well, I use Gaming Mice, and never have a problem with Double-click to close tabs, save when using my LEFT hand as I just mentioned, but it's resolvable with another Setting, at least in 360Chrome.  It should be something Edge adds also, to help with people in your situation.

 

Also, as I've said already, nobody is "forced" to use ANY of these features that I require.

They ALL can be Settings you chose to use/enable or not.

So, no need to complain about the "exceptions" out there to anything.

 

Thanks for your contribution however...

@leeuniverse 

 

"Ya, not very many have the middle tab-bar anymore"

 

You'd be better just saying "tabs above the page" or "tabs below the bookmarks bar".  Saying "middle tab-bar" is confusing: it makes me picture tabs literally across the middle of the screen, so a webpage gets split into two halves (like "split-view" in Word).


"Drag a link to search for it"

 

Selecting text in links is a pain, yes, I agree. But there are two simple ways this could be addressed: in the right-click menu for a link, add two options: "Copy link text" and "Search the web for link text".

 

I also don't understand how your current browsers know what you want to happen when you drag a link, then let go: how do they determine if you mean to search for the text in a link, or go to the link?  (I assume for one action, you have to hold a keyboard key down?)


"Forward and back should open the last closed tab"

 

It may not have been clear in your original post what you were asking for here. I guess the Edge team could add "Reopen closed tab" to the Back or Forward right-click menus... though you can also just right-click any tab, or the blank-area between the last tab and the minimise button.  In a future version, it may also get added to the right-click menu -- do we really need it in four different places?

 

(Also, as a self-described power-user, why not use the shortcut: Control + Shift + T)


"Honestly, I can't stand using the middle mouse-button"

 

As a power-user, I find this a bit odd: you can close any tab instantly with it, and open any link in a new, background tab.  Not to mention, in an earlier section, you say you currently "Control and click on links" to open them in new tabs -- surely just doing one middle-click would be faster?


"I need new tabs to open next to my current one, not furthest away"

 

This is a resonable request, and one you should make via the "Send Feedback" tool.  Even Internet Explorer offers such an option ("Open each new tab next to the current tab") so I can't see why Edge can't also offer the same as its legacy predecessor.


"Start screen showing most visited sites automatically"

 

Again, as a power-user, relying on a Start screen seems at odds with that. If you wanted to open say five of those sites, currently you'd have to middle-click each one (or, as you'd prefer, drag each one and let-go to) to launch each in a new tab.

 

Whereas if you add them all to a folder on the Favourites Bar, you can then just middle-click on the folder to instantly launch them all into their own tab.  And the order they are listed in the folder determines the order the tabs will appear: top-to-bottom in the folder = left-to-right as tabs.


"Having a list of sites on startup so I can uncheck ones I don't need"

 

If you have a site that causes Edge to crash, it would still be better to report that site to the Edge team so they can investigate the issue and stop it crashing: having a way to untick that site, so you can restore all-other sites except that one is a valid workaround, sure... but what happens the next time you actually do need to visit that site again? Answer: Edge crashes again.

 

And as for malware sites: again, reporting them would help as Microsoft can then add the site into their SmartScreen feature to stop it loading to begin with next-time you come-across it. But I'm also unsure of any that stop Task Manager from working -- assuming the malware page puts the browser into full-screen, doing Control + Alt + Delete, then clicking "Task Manager" should still work, as should the Control + Shift + Escape shortcut.  Only malware that is actively running on your PC would be able to restrict launching Task Manager; not just a malicious website appearing inside Edge.

@leeuniverse  The discussion is interesting (particularly the responses back and forth), and I'm glad you posted.  As I recall, you (or another person) raised a number of the issues you raise in this post in the early days of this forum.  I haven't tried to find that old post, but I remember it because it mentioned tab/row placement as a major obstacle.  It stuck in my mind because the major browsers have been standardized on the "tab on top" motif for years.

 

You are experiencing the classic software implementation (that is, "requirements > specifications > design/selection > implementation") dilemma.  No browser, apparently, meets all of your requirements, although some come closer than others.  The dilemma you face is one we all have faced time and time again.

 

I suspect that all you can do at this point (assuming that Maxthon and 360Browser are not acceptable choices) is to prioritize your requirements, and then pick an existing browser that best fits your needs at this time (taking into consideration extensions and workarounds), adjusting your use habits to that browser's design/features limitations as needed.

 

I encourage you to take the time to report each feature request to Microsoft using the Feedback process.  If you do that, the feature request will be logged by Microsoft, considered, and tracked going forward.  This forum is useful for discussion but does not put issues on Microsoft's development roadmap.

I wouldn't know how to use the middle button on a mouse if using a touch-screen or touchpad. Not sure many others would either?