The Microsoft Edge browser is the default browser in Windows 11. Users are allowed to switch to their preferred or favorite browser anytime. Edge is based on Chromium, similar to Google Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers in use today. There are lots of features one can use with Microsoft Edge. One such feature is the Edge bar. It provides convenient access to search, personalized news and content, and productivity tools without taking over your screen. You can enable or disable the Edge bar to automatically open at startup so it’s always on your screen. From the desktop, you can move around and resize it simply by using its settings button. Here’s how to turn on or off “Automatically open Edge bar when the computer starts” when using the Microsoft Edge browser.
Automatically launch the Edge bar when the computer starts
As described above, the new Microsoft Edge comes with an Edge bar that provides convenient access to search, personalized news and content, and productivity tools without taking over your screen. Below is how to hide or show the Edge bar when your computer starts up. With the sidebar enabled, you will see a bar similar to the one in the screenshot below on the desktop. You can use the More settings button to adjust, resize, and more.
Show or hide the Edge bar from the settings
If you don’t see the Edge bar on your desktop when you use Edge, you can add or remove it from its settings pane. Open Microsoft Edge, then select Settings and More (3 dots) or use the keyboard shortcut (Alt + F). On the context menu, select Settings. On the Settings page, click on the Edge bar on the left. On the Settings –> Edge bar page, toggle the button on the tile that says “Automatically open Edge bar when the computer starts” to the On position to enable the bar. To disable it, simply toggle the button back to the Off position.
Add or remove the Edge bar in Edge via the registry
Alternatively, users can use the Windows registry to add or remove the sidebar in the Microsoft Edge web browser. Open the Windows Registry, and navigate to the folder key path as listed below. If you don’t see the Edge folder key, right-click on the Microsoft parent key, then create the subkey (Edge) folder. On the right pane of the Edge folder key, right-click and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value. Type a new key named WebWidgetIsEnabledOnStartup. Double-click the new value name (WebWidgetIsEnabledOnStartup) and enter the Value data of 1 to show the Edge bar at startup on your desktop. A Value data of 0 will hide the Edge bar from your desktop. That should do it! Conclusion: This post showed you how to show or hide the Edge bar at startup in the Microsoft Edge web browser. If you find any error above or have something to add, please use the comment form below.
