The default browser, Microsoft Edge, has several useful built-in features that simplify your daily browsing experience in a meaningful way. One such feature is Mouse Gestures. You can enable mouse gestures in the Microsoft Edge browser to make navigation easy while browsing. Once enabled, you can go back, open or close tabs, scroll, refresh, reopen the closed tab, move between tabs, etc. For example, you can go back a page by dragging the mouse to the left, drawing the less than sign (<) closes the current tab, etc.
In this quick and straightforward tutorial, I will show you the simplest way to turn on mouse gestures in the Edge browser and how to use mouse gestures to navigate within the Edge browser. Let’s get started.
Enable Mouse Gestures in Microsoft Edge Browser
- Open the Microsoft Edge browser.
- Click the three horizontal lines icon on the top right corner.
- Click the “Settings” option.
- Go to the “Appearance” tab.
- Scroll down the right page and turn ON “Enable Mouse Gestures” toggle.
- With that, you’ve enabled mouse gestures in the Edge browser.
- Click the “Configure Mouse Gestures” option to see a list of available gestures.
Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)
First, open the Microsoft Edge browser. To do that, press the Start button, enter “Microsoft Edge” in the Start menu’s search bar, and click the “Open” button. Alternatively, you can also click the Edge icon on the taskbar, if it is pinned.
Click the “Settings & more” icon (three horizontal lines) on the top right corner and select the “Settings” option. This will open the Edge Settings tab.
In the Settings tab, go to the “Appearance” tab. On the right page, scroll down to the “Customize browser” section and turn ON the “Enable Mouse Gesture” toggle.
With that, you’ve turned on mouse gestures in the Edge browser.
Customizing Mouse Gestures in Edge
By default, the Edge browser has several built-in gestures that are configured optimally to help you navigate and do things within the browser. To see them, click the “Configure Mouse Gesture” option on the same page (Settings > Appearance > Mouse Gesture).
Here, you will see the list of all the gestures and the actions performed when you use them. For example, dragging the mouse pointer to the left takes you back a page in the current tab. If needed, you can customize the gestures using the dropdown menu. For the most part, the default gestures are perfect.
Using Mouse Gesture in the Edge Browser
To use the gestures, click and hold the right mouse button and draw the gesture. For example, to go back a page, click and hold the right mouse button and drag it to the left side. You will see a colored line as you draw to indicate that you are performing a mouse gesture. The good thing is that while performing the gesture, you don’t have to be super precise. Edge is smart enough to understand the gesture even if it’s a bit off.
Exclude Mouse Gestures in a Specific Website
Sometimes, there might be websites where you don’t want to use mouse gestures. For example, when playing web-based games, mouse gestures might become a hindrance. In that case, you can disable mouse gestures on that specific website. To do that, click the “Add” button next to “Configure website block list” on the same page (Settings > Appearance > Mouse Gesture), type the web address, and click “Add“.
Wrapping — Mouse Gestures in the Edge Browser
If you are someone who uses the mouse a lot to navigate, you will love the included mouse gestures in the Edge browser. After all, the gestures make browsing, navigating, and performing actions easier. Since you can also customize the gestures, feel free to try the default gestures and modify the ones you don’t like. In most cases, most of us only have a few gestures that we use regularly. So, make sure you configure the gestures accordingly.
If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist. Also, here are more Microsoft Edge tutorials to customize the browser to match your needs, disable unnecessary features, and discover new ones.