As the new Chromium version of Microsoft Edge begins taking on the big leagues, veteran browser users are spotting missing features in the browser that are present in its competitors. Microsoft is aiming to fix that by adding browser "must-haves" to Edge, and now the tech giant is finally adding an extension menu.

Microsoft Edge's New Extensions Menu

Microsoft announced this handy new feature on the Tech Community website. In case you didn't know, you can install Chrome extensions onto Edge. This is because Edge uses a Chromium base, just like Chrome.

This means that people checking out Edge from Chrome can bring all their favorite extensions with them. In fact, we named this handy feature as one of the reasons why Edge is more productive than Chrome.

However, ex-Chrome users quickly encountered a problem with Edge. All the extensions they installed would put an icon on the taskbar, as normal. However, there was no way to hide the icons that aren't in use, which Chrome allows you to do.

This caused a lot of users to suggest to Microsoft that it should add a dedicated extensions menu to the browser. Fortunately, the tech giant has listened to their pleas and has added a way for you to manage your extensions better.

As Microsoft puts it:

This extension menu allows you to hide one or more of your extensions from the toolbar. Furthermore, you can directly visit the Edge add-ons site to install more extensions or the extensions management page using the two links provided in the menu.

You won't see the extension menu rightaway when you first boot up Edge. As soon as you install one or more extensions, the menu will make its appearance.

From here, you can select which extensions can show their icon on your taskbar and which should be hidden away. If an extension has additional options associated to it, you can click on the three dots beside each one to open them up.

If you dislike this new menu and rather have all your extensions visible at all times, you can customize the toolbar and get rid of the menu. This will send it back from whence it came and let you use your extensions in peace once more.

A Better Time With Microsoft Edge Extensions

If you've used Mcirosoft Edge in the past but you disliked how it didn't let you hide extension icons, today is your lucky day. Now that the browser will let you customize the icons on your taskbar, will more people make the jump from Chrome?

If you're surprised to hear that Microsoft Edge can run Chrome extensions, now would be a fantastic time to check out some of the more popular options from Google's browser. For instance, there are plenty of extensions that help protect your privacy.

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