With the release of the long-awaited tenth version of Windows, many users immediately drew attention to a huge number of innovations. In particular, many were pleased with the new Edge web browser. The expansion of its capabilities in comparison with the same Internet Explorer or even with other powerful browsers of today has exceeded all expectations, and the browser itself has firmly established itself in the top three. However, the issue of installing add-ons remained open until a certain time.
Extensions for Microsoft Edge: Introductory Introduction
As it turned out, initially extensions to Edge were not supported. By and large, they simply did not exist, because, as a rule, other companies are engaged in their development, and not the corporation that produces the main software.
But over time, they still appeared. The first-born was the Translator add-on, which supported automatic translation of pages into 50 languages. Then, the Reddit Enhancement Suite add-on was added to expand the set of tools for viewing web pages. No less interesting was the extension for recognizing mouse gestures. Only then did such add-ons appear as AdBlock, Amazon, Evernote, LastPass, etc.
But at first they were available only to those users and developers who joined the Insider Preview testing program. At the moment, any available Edge extension can be used even by an ordinary user with installed Windows 10 build 14291 Redstone (Anniversary Update).
Installation from the "Store"
How to install Microsoft Edge extensions from the Store? At the moment, the installation of additional components in the Edge browser can be done in two main ways: use the "Store" or install them in developer mode. The first option is suitable for all users without exception.
Before deciding how to open extensions in Microsoft Edge, in the browser, click the ellipsis button, which is located on the right, in the corner of the window, then select the extension line, in the section itself click on the link to get them from the "Store".
After entering the repository, to install the selected extension, click on the free installation button. Then the download will take place, and the power button will appear in the browser’s description and installation window in the browser itself.
Install extensions in developer mode
Those who have joined the testing program, or even ordinary users, may do slightly different things. Again, first launch the Edge browser. The extension that needs to be installed may not be available in the official repository, so you will have to use a different procedure.
First, write about: flags in the address bar, and in the new window, find the line for turning on the developer mode, where you need to check the box. Note the warning that installing some additional extensions may put your system at risk.
After that, as in the previous example, you need to click the button with three dots, go to the extensions section, but use not receiving from the "Store", but immediately click the download button. Next, you will be prompted to select the directory in which you want to save the download distribution. When the download is completed, a pop-up panel will appear at the bottom where you can click the launch button for the downloaded file or open it in the directory for self-installation. In any case, after starting the executable file, the package will be installed on the system, after which it will only remain to activate the extensions in the browser.
Extensions for Microsoft Edge: where is the main folder?
Now, a little distracting from the main topic, let's see where you can find the extensions themselves and other data of the Edge browser. The developers of Windows 10 acted quite unconventionally, hiding all this away from the user's eyes. In the intended folder with the programs (Program Files) they are not. In fact, all the files of the Edge browser itself are located in the SystemApps directory located in the main system directory (Windows).
But the installed extensions are stored in the folders of user accounts. Here, to find them, you must first use the AppData directory, and then go to the Local directory. It has the Packages folder, and it contains all the add-ons.
It should be noted that the AppData directory may be hidden, so initially you need to set the display of such objects in the view menu. In order not to engage in such procedures, in the search field you can immediately enter the full path to the desired directory, highlighting it on both sides with a percent symbol (%).
Activate Extensions
Finally, let's see how to enable extensions in Microsoft Edge. In principle, you can activate them immediately after installation from the "Store", especially since a window appears in the browser with a message that the user has a new installed add-on.
If the user initially decided to leave the add-on activation for another time, you can enable it from the same extension menu that was used for installation. In general, the operation is practically no different from the actions performed in other browsers like Google Chrome or Opera.
Instead of a total
That, in fact, is all about the Edge browser. The extension selected by the user, as is already clear, can be installed in two simple ways, and the issue of activation (activation) is a choice. As for the add-ons themselves, now there are 16 of them in the “Shop”. However, it is alleged that their number will constantly grow and be supplemented by new extensions that will increase the already good browser capabilities.
So far it remains only to guess what else can be proposed, but from what is already there, you can choose something most suitable. And one last tip: don’t install everything at once (this applies to all browsers, not just Edge). Very often, too many active add-ons can cause the browser to fail, so choose, install and activate only what you really need (for example, a translator, online office, ad blocking, password manager, etc.). If the user is not involved in development, then such tools are not needed at all (Page Analyzer). In addition, the background mode of some add-ons can increase the load on system resources, consuming too much RAM and loading the central processor unnecessarily. This also needs to be taken into account.