Microsoft is testing a new feature for Edge that might mess up your muscle memory. The current version of Edge closes the app when you click the 'X' button of the last open tab, but some users on experimental builds say the browser opens a new tab instead of closing the browser. Loading a new tab instead of closing the browser is not a new concept, as Opera, Firefox and other browsers let users customise the behaviour to their preferences. Edge users have been requesting Microsoft to add the feature for a while now and it looks like the tech giant might finally add the much-requested functionality. Microsoft is testing an option that will cause controversy: when you click the "close" button of the last open tab, the browser doesn't close but instead switches to the NTP: . pic.twitter.com/qSNJd8h8g1 — Leopeva64 (@Leopeva64) December 11, 2023 How to get the new Microsoft Edge feature 1. If you want to try the new feature, download and install Microsoft Edge Dev or Canary build from the official website. 2. Once done, right-click on the app shortcut and click on 'Properties'. 3. In the window that appears, click on the 'Target' field, add a space and type ' -enable-features=msSpawnNtpOnLastTabClose' without the quotes. 4. Now, click on OK and launch Edge using the shortcut you just modified. For those wondering how to close the browser, the good old 'X' that appears on the top right of the screen still closes the browser. Alternatively, you can also use the 'Alt+F4' shortcut to quickly close the window. The stable version of Edge can be installed alongside the Canary and Dev builds, so if you encounter any performance or stability issues, you can quickly resort to the stable version. Right now, there is no word if Microsoft will allow users to customise the behaviour once the feature is available on the stable version of Edge, but we hope that the tech giant offers some sort of customisation since the new behaviour might make the experience frustrating for some.
