Working with Favorites in Microsoft Edge

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Microsoft Edge supports favorites -- what all other browsers call bookmarks -- just like its predecessor Internet Explorer does. It shares some similarities with Internet Explorer, but handles some things completely different as well.

 

The following guide helps you work your way through Microsoft Edge's Favorites implementation. It goes over the basics, importing, adding, and managing Favorites, and looks at options and settings that Microsoft Edge ships with in the end.

 

Microsoft Edge uses a minimal approach when it comes to its user interface. On difference to Internet Explorer is that it displays Favorites, the browsing history, settings and downloads in a sidebar instead of individual windows.

 

You display the sidebar -- Microsoft calls it the Hub -- with a click on the Hub icon in the Edge interface. The hub icon has three horizontal lines that are of different lengths.

 

Side Note: Microsoft stores Edge Favorites in a database file located at “%LocalAppData%\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\AC\MicrosoftEdge\User\Default\DataStore\Data\nouser1\120712-0049\DBStore\, and no longer in the Favorites folder as individual folders and links.

 

Adding Favorites

 

Favorites can be added in several ways. First, you may import bookmarks from other browsers, but the selection is limited to Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox currently.

 

Do the following to import bookmarks from one or both of the supported browsers:

1. Open Microsoft Edge.
2. Click on the Hub icon located near the right end of the main toolbar. Move the mouse over icons to get tooltips if you have difficulties identifying the right icon.
3. Switch to the star icon when the Hub sidebar opens. Please note that it will hide again when you click outside of it. To avoid this, click on the pin icon to pin it in place for the time being.
4. Select Settings.
5. Check Internet Explorer and/or Firefox under Import Favorites, and hit the import button afterwards.
6. Bookmarks are imported into folders that Edge places in the root favorites folder.

One of the easier options to import bookmarks from other browsers is to import them first into Firefox or Internet Explorer, and from there to Microsoft Edge.

You may add individual favorites by clicking on the star icon on the right of the address bar. Make sure Favorites and Save in Favorites is selected there.

 

Managing Favorites in Edge

 

Microsoft Edge ships with management options for its favorites,  but the options are hidden from sight in the interface. Open the Favorites sidebar in the Microsoft Edge browser to get started.

 

While you can browse and open favorites there, and even use drag and drop to move them around, there is no visible option to delete or rename favorites, or create new folders.

 

All of these operations are handled via the right-click context menu. Right-click a favorite and you get options to remove it from Microsoft Edge, to rename it, and to create a new folder.

 

You may use it to sort the favorites by name.

Display the Favorites Bar

 

You may display the Favorites Bar as an additional toolbar in Microsoft Edge just like you could do so in Internet Explorer. Do the following to enable the Favorites Bar so that it is visible all the time in the web browser:

1. Click on the Hub icon to open the sidebar in Edge.
2. Select Favorites, and then Settings.
3. Toggle the "show the Favorites Bar" switch on the Settings page that opens.
4. Tip: You may enable icons only mode as well to save space and display only bookmark icons and not titles.

 

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