Microsoft Edge Insiders get more control over Pane Persistence with new flag

Microsoft has recently announced that it’s testing new controls that will allow its Edge browser to remember the last pin state for flyout menus. This feature is currently hidden under an experimental flag in the Edge Canary and Dev channels and must be enabled in order to show up in the pane settings.

Microsoft Edge introduced a new toolbar experience last year, which lets users access their history, favorites, downloads, and Collections instantly while browsing the web. However, it’s an optional feature, and users need to pin these flyout menus manually. Currently, the browser unpins the menus automatically when the pane is closed, and it’s a bit frustrating experience for users.

Fortunately, the company has finally decided to incorporate their feedback and added an experimental flag to address this issue. “We’ve heard feedback from some of you that you’d prefer to have the new Favorites, History, Downloads, and/or Collections panes remain pinned until you decide you’re done, rather than unpinning automatically when the pane is closed. There’s a few possible ways we could address this depending on your use case, and we’d love your input on which option works best for you,” the Edge Insider Team explained.

Microsoft Edge Insiders that want to try out the feature can head to the edge://flags and enable the “Persist pin state for menus” flag (which comes with three different options). The first one replaces the close button in the flyout with an unpin button and the second option adds an unpin button next to the close button. However, the last one introduces an option in the More menu to always open that menu in the pinned state until the user chooses to unpin it manually.

The ability to persist pin state feature should make it easier for users to manage the flyout menus and Microsoft says that it will be listening to feedback to improve the experience. The Edge Insider team noted that this new capability is only available for Collection and Favourites, though the company is planning to expand it to other menus as well.