4 Ways to Use Your Browser Better
How many browser tabs do you have open right now? If the answer is "way too many," you're not alone—but you're also using your browser wrong. The problem isn't that you have lots of tabs; it's that your browser isn't set up to handle them efficiently. Microsoft Edge (and some other browsers) offer simple features that let you organize dozens of tabs without losing your mind or crushing your computer's memory. Let's fix your browser habits starting today.
1 Switch to Vertical Tabs and Reclaim Screen Space
Most browsers default to a horizontal tab bar that crams tabs into a thin strip at the top of your window—and the moment you open more than a few, tab titles get cut off and everything feels cramped. Vertical tabs flip the layout so your tabs run down the left side instead, giving each one a full line of readable text. You can pin the sidebar open permanently or hide it when you need more screen width for your actual content. It's a small change that immediately makes juggling multiple tabs less frustrating.
2 Use Workspaces to Organize by Project
Workspaces let you group tabs into separate collections—think of them as mini-browsers within your browser, each with its own set of tabs and even its own color. If you're a freelancer or work on multiple clients at once, create one workspace called 'Client A' and another for 'Client B,' and your tabs stay completely separate. When you switch back to a project after days away, all your research tabs are still there exactly where you left them, ready to go. It's like having different desks for different projects, except they all live in one app.
3 Use Copilot in the Sidebar for Instant Research Help
Instead of opening a new tab to search for information or ask questions, click the Copilot icon in your sidebar to get instant help without losing your place on the page you're reading. Copilot can summarize a long paragraph, pull out key facts from multiple sections, compare prices or features across different websites—all without you having to break your research flow and switch apps. It's especially useful when you're reading something dense and just need the main points explained quickly, or when you need to cross-reference information from your current page with something else.
4 Turn On Sleeping Tabs to Save Memory and Speed
Every open tab uses your computer's RAM, and after you open 20, 30, or more tabs, your browser starts to slow down noticeably. The 'sleeping tabs' feature automatically freezes tabs you haven't looked at recently, freeing up memory while keeping them ready to open instantly when you click them. You don't lose the tabs—they just stop consuming resources in the background. Enable this in your browser's settings and you'll notice Edge (or other browsers with the feature) runs much smoother even when you're genuinely using a lot of tabs.
These four changes—vertical tabs, workspaces, Copilot sidebar help, and sleeping tabs—are built into modern browsers and designed specifically to let you work with more tabs without the chaos. You don't need to change your work habits or force yourself to close tabs obsessively; just set up your browser to match the way you actually work. Once you do, you'll wonder how you ever managed without them.