If you are like many computer users, it does not take long for your browser to become crowded with open tabs. You may start with your email and a few websites needed for work, only to look up later and realize you have a long row of tabs open for different projects, research, documents, meetings, and other tasks.
Microsoft Edge includes a helpful feature called Tab Groups that can make all of those open tabs easier to organize and manage.
Tab Groups allow you to place related tabs together, give each group a name and color, and collapse groups you are not actively using. Instead of trying to remember which of your many open tabs belongs to which task, you can organize them into groups that make sense for the way you work.
How to Create a Tab Group in Microsoft Edge
Creating a tab group only takes a few steps.
- Open Microsoft Edge and make sure you have the tabs you want to organize open
- Right-click one of the tabs you want to group
- Select Add tab to group
- Create a new group and give it a name
- Choose a color for the group, if desire
Once the group has been created, the group name and selected color will appear alongside the grouped tabs.
You can use whatever names make the most sense for your work. For example, you might create groups named Email, Research, Accounting, Client Project, To Do, or anything you'd like.
Microsoft Edge also allows you to select multiple tabs and add them to a group together, which can make organizing an already-crowded browser much faster.
Adding More Tabs to an Existing Group
Your groups do not have to stay exactly as you originally created them.
As you continue working and open additional websites, you can add those tabs to an existing group. Right-click the tab you want to organize, select Add tab to group, and choose the appropriate existing group.
This is especially useful for projects that grow throughout the day. If you are researching a topic, for example, each new website related to that research can be added to the same group rather than becoming another unrelated tab across the top of your browser.
Collapse and Expand Tab Groups
One of the most useful features of Tab Groups is the ability to collapse them.
When you are not actively working with a particular group, click the group name to collapse it. The tabs within that group will be temporarily hidden from the tab bar, giving you more room to focus on the tabs you are currently using.
When you need those tabs again, click the group name to expand the group.
Collapsing a group does not close the tabs. It simply reduces the amount of space they occupy in your browser window.
This can be particularly helpful if you routinely keep many tabs open at the same time.
Rename or Change the Color of a Tab Group
If a group's original name no longer makes sense, or you simply want to reorganize your browser, you can change it.
Right-click the group name and select the appropriate option to edit the group. From there, you can rename the group or select a different color.
Colors can provide a quick visual reference when you have several groups open at once. For example, you could use one color for client-related work, another for internal projects, and another for websites you want to review later.
The specific system does not matter. The goal is simply to make your browser easier for you to navigate.
How to Ungroup Tabs in Microsoft Edge
Sometimes you no longer need a group, but you still want to keep the individual tabs open.
In that situation, you can ungroup the tabs rather than closing them.
Right-click the tab group's name or colored group indicator and select Ungroup.
Edge will remove the group while leaving the individual tabs available in your browser.
This is an important distinction. Ungrouping tabs does not mean closing them. It simply removes the organization that was applied to those tabs. If you are finished with the tabs entirely, you can instead close the individual tabs or use the group's available options to close the group.
Let Microsoft Edge Help Organize Your Tabs
If you already have a large number of tabs open and do not want to sort through them manually, current versions of Microsoft Edge also include an Organize tabs feature.
Using the Search tabs menu near your open tabs, select Organize tabs. Edge can analyze your open tabs, suggest related groups, and assign names and colors to those groups.
Before accepting the suggested organization, you can review the groups and make changes so they fit the way you work.
This can be particularly useful when your browser has already gotten a little out of control and you would rather not organize dozens of tabs one at a time.
A Simple Way to Keep Your Browser Organized
Tab Groups are a small Microsoft Edge feature that can make a noticeable difference when you regularly work with several websites at once.
Rather than keeping every open page mixed together, grouping related tabs can help separate different projects and tasks. Collapsing groups can reduce clutter when you need to concentrate, while ungrouping gives you an easy way to remove the organization without losing the tabs themselves.
The next time the top of your Edge window starts filling up, try creating a few groups instead of closing tabs you may still need.
A little organization can make it much easier to find what you are looking for and get back to the task at hand.
