Modern widescreen monitors—including 16:9, 16:10, and ultrawide 21:9 displays—provide substantial horizontal screen real estate. Yet traditional web browsers have historically arranged open tabs across a narrow horizontal strip along the top of the window. As users open dozens of tabs during research or project management, tab titles become illegible, favicons shrink, and locating specific webpages requires endless hunting. Microsoft re-engineered browser multitasking by integrating Vertical Tabs and Split Screen in Microsoft Edge. By relocating tabs to a collapsible vertical sidebar and allowing two active webpages to run side-by-side inside a single browser tab, Edge transforms wide displays into powerful productivity workspaces.
Why Vertical Tabs Outperform Traditional Horizontal Tab Strips
Relocating your tab strip to the side of the browser introduces several functional advantages:
- Legible Page Titles: In a vertical list, tab titles do not compress into tiny indistinguishable squares when dozens of pages are open. You can comfortably read full page titles regardless of how many tabs you open.
- Optimised Widescreen Geometry: Most modern websites are formatted for vertical scrolling with fixed central widths, leaving large empty margins on widescreen monitors. Vertical tabs utilize this unused side space effectively.
- Collapsible Sidebar Mode: With a single click, you can collapse the vertical tab bar into a minimalist favicon strip, maximizing webpage reading width whilst retaining one-click access to your full tab list upon mouse hover.
- Integrated Tab Groups: Vertical tabs render tab groups as clean, colour-coded collapsible trees, making complex multi-project workflows simple to organize.
Step-by-Step: Enabling and Customising Vertical Tabs in Edge
To switch from traditional horizontal tabs to vertical tabs in Microsoft Edge:
- Launch Microsoft Edge on Windows, macOS, or Linux.
- Look at the top-left corner of the browser window, just above the active webpage.
- Click the Tab actions menu icon (represented by a small square icon with an arrow).
- Select Turn on vertical tabs (or press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + , on Windows or Cmd + Shift + , on macOS).
- The tab bar immediately transitions to a vertical pane on the left edge of the browser window.
- To collapse the pane into a compact icon-only strip, click the small left-facing arrow (Collapse pane) at the top of the sidebar.
- To expand and pin the pane permanently open, hover your mouse over the collapsed icons and click the Pin pane icon in the top-right corner.
How to Use Split Screen for Side-by-Side Browsing in Edge
When comparing prices, referencing documentation while writing code, or reviewing research papers, switching between separate browser windows is cumbersome. Edge’s built-in Split Screen feature displays two active web pages within a single browser tab:
- Open Microsoft Edge and navigate to the first webpage you want to view.
- Click the Split screen icon on the Edge toolbar (represented by two rectangular panes divided down the middle). Alternatively, right-click any link on the page and select Open link in split screen window.
- The browser tab divides into two distinct halves. The original page remains on the left, whilst the right pane displays an address bar and new tab options.
- Type a URL or search query into the right-hand address bar, or choose from your recent tabs or favourites.
- Both pages operate independently with their own scrollbars, zoom levels, and navigation buttons.
Managing Split Screen Links and Layout Preferences
Edge gives you granular control over how links behave across split screens:
- Linked Tabs Mode: Click the More options (â‹Ż) icon in the top-right of the split screen header and toggle Open link in current tab or Open link in right tab. In linked mode, clicking a search result or hyperlink on the left pane opens the page directly in the right pane, keeping your master search index intact.
- Swapping Screens: Click the Swap tabs icon in the split screen toolbar to instantly trade the left and right positions of your active pages.
- Resizing Panes: Hover your mouse cursor over the vertical divider line separating the two pages, then click and drag left or right to customize the width ratio (e.g., 70/30 split).
- Exiting Split Screen: Click the X on either pane to close that specific view, or click the Open in new tab icon to convert one pane back into an independent standard tab.
Edge Vertical & Split Tabs vs Standard Browser Multitasking
| Feature | Microsoft Edge (Native) | Google Chrome (Standard) | Dual Windows (OS Snap) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tab Title Visibility | Full titles legible on side pane | Heavily truncated when >15 tabs | Dependent on window width |
| Side-by-Side Dual Browsing | Single tab (zero window clutter) | Requires 2 separate windows | Requires 2 separate windows |
| Linked Browsing Mode | Yes (click left opens on right) | No | No |
| Collapsible Favicon Strip | Yes (expands smoothly on hover) | No | No |
| Screen Real Estate Efficiency | High (utilises 16:9 side margins) | Low (eats vertical pixel height) | Moderate (doubles taskbar items) |
Troubleshooting Common Edge Multitasking Issues
If Vertical Tabs or Split Screen are missing from your Edge interface:
- Missing Toolbar Icons: If the Split Screen icon does not appear on your toolbar, go to Edge Settings > Appearance > Customize toolbar and toggle the Split screen button to On.
- Hidden Title Bar Setting: To maximize vertical reading room when using vertical tabs, go to Settings > Appearance and enable Hide title bar while in vertical tabs.
- Resetting Browser Zoom: If split screen pages appear cramped on low-resolution laptop screens, press
Ctrl + Minus (-)to decrease page zoom to 90% or 80%.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I move Vertical Tabs to the right side of the screen?
Currently, Microsoft Edge anchors Vertical Tabs to the left side of the browser window. However, you can freely reposition the Copilot sidebar and other productivity panes to the right side.
Does Split Screen work on macOS and Linux?
Yes. Vertical Tabs and Split Screen are native core features of the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser and function identically across Windows 10, Windows 11, macOS, and supported Linux distributions.
Can I open more than two pages in a single split screen tab?
Edge currently supports dividing a single tab into two simultaneous side-by-side panes. For four-way tiling, use the native Windows Snap Assist layout (Windows Key + Z).