How to Add or Remove Favorites Bar in Microsoft Edge?

The Favorites bar is a toolbar in Microsoft Edge and it is located below the address field. It is used to show the favorite websites that you bookmarked in your Microsoft Edge browser. Users can visit the bookmarked websites with a single click. By default, the favorites bar will appear when the user opens a new tab. However, you can also hide this toolbar from another user. This toolbar can be disabled through temporary and permanent methods. In this article, we will show you all the available methods through which you can add or remove this toolbar to your Microsoft Edge browser.

Adding or Removing Favorites Bar in Microsoft Edge

The setting for the legacy Microsoft Edge and the new Microsoft Edge will be different. We are using the new chromium-based Microsoft Edge in this article. In the below methods, we will be mostly removing/hiding the favorites bar in steps. However, you can also use those steps to add/show the favorites bar on your browser.

Method 1: Using the Browser Options

The first most common and default method will by using the browser’s settings for this toolbar. Microsoft Edge allows users to hide or show the favorites bar according to their needs. There are several different ways to do this in the browser. We have included all the possible steps through which you can add or remove the favorites bar.

Note: You can also choose other options (Always or Only on new tabs) in the steps according to your requirement.

1. Open the Microsoft Edge browser by using the shortcut or through the Windows search feature.

   

2. The easiest way to hide or show the Favorites bar is by using the keyboard shortcuts. You can press Ctrl + Shift + B to toggle between show always or show never.
3. This can also be done through the Favorites Bar menu itself. You can right-click on the favorites bar and choose the Show favorites bar > Never option.

   

4. Another way is by clicking on the favorites bar icon in toolbars. Click on the More options (three dots) and choose the Manage favorites option. Now click on the Show favorite bar option at the top and choose the Never option.

   

5. The last inside the browser option will be by using the browser’s settings. Click on the Settings and more (three dots) icon at the top right and choose Settings.

   

6. Now click on the Appearance in the left pane and then change the Show favorites bar option to Never.

   

Method 2: Using the Local Group Policy Editor

The Group Policy Editor is a Windows feature that allows users to configure the important settings on their computer. By using this method, users can disable the favorites bar and the settings related to it in the browser. Standard users will be unable to add the favorites bar back to their browser.

If you already have the policy setting available in “User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Microsoft Edge\” or “Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Microsoft Edge\“, then use that and skip downloading new policy files.

However, this method cannot be used in the Windows 10 Home editions. The Group Policy Editor isn’t available in the Windows Home operating systems.

1. Visit the Microsoft site, select the version details for Microsoft Edge, and click on the GET POLICY FILES to download the latest policy files.

   

2. Extract the downloaded file into a folder by using the WinRAR application.

   

3. Open the folder and navigate to “MicrosoftEdgePolicyTemplates\windows\admx” location.
4. Now copy the “msedge.admx” and “msedge.adml” files and paste them in the “C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions” folder.

   

   Note: The language file should be copied to the language folder.

5. Make sure to restart the system to see the new settings in the Group Policy Editor.
6. Hold the Windows key and press R to open the Run command dialog box. Now type “gpedit.msc” and press the Enter key to open the Local Group Policy Editor.

   

7. Navigate to the following setting in the Local Group Policy Editor window:

   Computer Configuration\ Administrative Templates\ Microsoft Edge

   

8. Double-click on the setting named “Enable favorites bar” and it will open up in another window. Now change the toggle option from Not Configured to Disabled.

   

9. Click on the Apply and Ok buttons to save the changes. This will disable the favorites bar in the Microsoft Edge.
10. You can always enable it back by changing the toggle option to Not Configured or Enabled.

Method 3: Using the Registry Editor

The Registry Editor is another administration tool that helps in configuring the low-level settings of the system. This is the alternative method to the Group Policy Editor. If you already used the Group Policy Editor, then the Registry Editor will automatically be updated and the value will be already existing. If you are directly using this method, then you need to create the missing key/value for this setting to work. Follow the below steps to add or remove the favorites bar in the Microsoft Edge browser.

1. Press the Windows + R key on your keyboard to open the Run dialog. Now type “regedit” and press the Enter key to open the Registry Editor. If prompted by UAC (User Account Control), then choose the Yes option.

   

2. In the Registry Editor window, you need to navigate to the following path:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge

3. If the Edge key is missing, create it by right-clicking on the Microsoft key and choosing the New > Key option. Now rename the key as “Edge“.

   

4. Right-click on the right pane and choose the New > DWORD (32-bit) Value option. Rename this value as “FavoritesBarEnabled“.

   

5. Open the value by double-clicking on it and change the value data to 0.

   

6. Once you are done with these steps, make sure you restart the system to apply the changes. This will disable the favorites bar in the Microsoft Edge.
7. You can also enable it back by removing the value or changing the value data to 1.