Forum Discussion
Introducing Workspaces in Edge | New feature
Workspaces
you can create multiple Workspaces in Edge, have tabs in each of them, and when you close all Edge windows and open Edge again, you still have your workspaces, it's like a combination of tabs set aside + tab groups + pinned tabs
experimental feature in canary, probably CFR. works really well so far
- This is just fabulous considering how I work. What I see most useful is simply the ability to assign each workspace a color. It becomes much easier to separate multiple projects going on simultaneously.
I did make a suggestion in the feedback tool that I'm hoping others will also do. With one of the major advantages being the ability to have a unique color for different workspaces, it drives me nuts that the taskbar doesn't also reflect the color change. The color allows me to more quickly identify the right session but I still have to click multiple places in the taskbar to find the right browser session I'm looking for. The colors simply make this process faster since I don't have to read anything to know I'm in the right session. To have either the entire taskbar button for a session the same color as chosen, or even just the icon reflecting the same color would be a home-run.
But it seems to me that it's going in the right direction. I am now picturing a day when I can look at my taskbar and see yellow, green, blue, red, orange and violet and know that if I click green I'll be working on financial stuff, red I'll be working on customer facing things, yellow and I'll be working on code, and so on...and the days of clicking multiple browsers to find the one I need or just opening a new one because I don't feel like looking for it will be over. It is gone.
Microsoft use this for a totally different scenario: share tabs within groups
- Well, sharing workspace is an option. But you can still use them personally, can't you? So, it looks like it is back.
I can see this new Enable Workspaces flag now on the latest Edge build version 107.0.1418.8 (Official build) dev (64-bit), turned it on, but no Workspaces feature that I can see. Anyone got it working?
edge://flags/#edge-workspaces
- Well, at least we have closure, I guess. I was really hoping they'd bring it back. I'm sure this new feature will be a godsend for a lot of people, but it's odd that it's wearing the face of our cancelled feature.
AlienNation It looks like the use case from the former (circa 2020) preview is still valid.
Please provide feedback in-app (and continue discussions here) once you get a chance to try it out!
From Microsoft Edge Workspaces (Public Preview); 12 October 2022:
Edge Workspace scenarios
The following are key scenarios for using Edge Workspaces in your organization.
- ...
- If an individual is working on multiple projects, they can create a workspace to organize the open tabs they have for each project. Whenever they want to work on that project, they can easily open its Edge Workspace and have everything they need in one place.
That page also includes a seven-minute embedded YouTube video explaining Edge Workspaces.
From Getting started with Microsoft Edge Workspaces (public preview); undated:
Edge Workspaces can be used both individually or as a group to help manage projects and keep websites and files in one place. For example:
...
If you're working on multiple projects, you can create an Edge Workspace to organize the open tabs you have for each one. Whenever you want to work on a project, just open the project’s Edge Workspace and you’ll have all your websites and working files open in one place.
The shared version of workspaces only appears to be currently available to business users, at least for now - the sharing functionality appears to be facilitated by Azure AD and the SharePoint backend of OneDrive for Business (and perhaps some Substrate stuff on the backend as well?).
Enabling the feature:
- There appears to be a group policy setting (version 107 or later; EdgeWorkspacesEnabled) to enable this, as well as a command-line flag (#edge-workspaces).
- Additionally, the following url for an in-browser flag is mentioned by the first quoted page: edge://flags#edge-workspaces.
The time to provide feedback and help mould this into a useful feature for the broadest possible audience is now, while it is still in development. (Once a feature makes it into the default channel, it's much harder to change things work without impacting lots of users, of course.)
- Jim
P.S. Don't forget about positive feedback, too!
- I really hope this feature makes a comeback. Such a great productivity tool.
- It's been a year now. Is this feature still developing? I was looking forward to this feature and still wasn't there yet. Please say it is still in work.
- Too bad this excellent feature has been dropped. I tried alternative extensions, but they don't do the job as well as this one. 😞
I can absolutely confirm that workspaces has been removed as of Edge 97 production release as I've been using it since it was put into beta and recommending it to many others. I had dozens of Workspaces which incredibly improved my productivity. Workspaces WAS THE BEST new feature of Edge and the whole reason I and many others I demoed it to switched from Chrome to Edge.
The last few years has seen one bad decision after another at Microsoft:
- Throwing away the best new feature (Workspaces) in Edge. Yes, I realize it was an experimental feature however simply removing it without ANY COMMUNICATIONS with the community AT ALL shows the shear hubris going on in Redmond.
- Making it very difficult for customers to switch away from Edge (Windows 11)
- Adding the Shopping in Microsoft Edge 'feature' (COUPONS FOUND!) and enabling it BY DEFAULT.
- Releasing Windows 11, Windows Server 2022 and Office 2021 to all EXCEPT those of us who are in the Microsoft Partner Programs and pay thousands of dollars a year for the 'privilege'. Again, NO COMMUNICATIONS to the partner community about this action. Microsoft Partner support simply closes any support ticket opened about this.
- Zero new innovative developments in Hyper-V and many other client and server areas important for small to medium businesses, developers and IT Pros.
I could go on and on but I regress from the topic at hand...
Solution:
For those in the same boat this is what I did to stay productive and have 99% of the functionality which Workspaces provided:
- Rollback Edge to version 96.0.1054.62 temporarily:
https://pureinfotech.com/rollback-previous-version-microsoft-edge/
- Install the Tab Porter extension in Edge:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/tab-porter-export-restore/hjbdgionekajacbeocbgopledpkegkmo
- Open each of your Edge Workspaces and export them using Tab Porter.
- Switch to Chrome and install both the Workspaces and Tab Porter extensions:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/workspaces/hpljjefgmnkloakbfckghmlapghabgfa
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/tab-porter-export-restore/hjbdgionekajacbeocbgopledpkegkmo
- While in a blank Chrome window, Import each of your Edge Workspaces using Tab Porter then save it in the Workspaces extension by clicking +NEW and giving it a name. Rinse and repeat for all your other Workspaces.
Regards,
Joseph Worrall
Lakewood Communications
Port Townsend, WA
- Why not just download the Chrome Workspaces extension into Edge? It seems to work. (Not having been one of the fortunate ones to have had Workspaces in Edge.)
Regards,
Dan Fisher AI4GK
- Need my Workspaces back please!!!!
It is gone on Version 97.0.1069.0 (Official build) dev (64-bit).
Why remove one of the best features???? It is just great! One for Personal, One for Work, one for Finances, etc... Open/Close with a signle click.- I totally agreed with you, you can leave your message in thread https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/discussions/dev-channel-update-to-97-0-1072-8-is-live/m-p/2978378
As of 27 December 2021...
Workspaces are still working in the production version:
Version 96.0.1054.62 (Official build) (64-bit)
Time will tell if they disappear for everyone when production shifts over to the 97.x branch.
- I never got it, being a controlled rollout. ☹️
- Just updated to dev 97.0.1069.0, "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge Dev\Application\msedge.exe" --profile-directory="Default" -enable-features=msWorkspaces,msRightSideWorkspacesButton switches not work anymore. workspaces button is gone. Please make it back
Jeffz9527 -- This is an EXTREMELY distressing find and let's hope we get a reply from Microsoft HotCakeX on this very soon explaining what is going on. Is it possible Workspaces enablement has been moved into flags instead of the command-line only? I can tell you it's working great in the beta version using the command line enablement.
Joe
Workspaces is arguably the BEST feature we have seen added to Edge EVER. We have demoed Workspaces to all our heavy web browsing customers and ALL said they will switch from Chrome or Firefox when Workspaces is released.
Microsoft Edge Development Team - Workspaces is awesome! Thank You! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Prioritize and release Workspaces!
- Approximately August 16 it seems like the command line switch no longer works in Canary? I had the feature working for a month or two. I'm wondering if I could have been removed from the rollout, or if the command line switch has changed, or if the feature has been shelved?
I had trouble turning on the recently announced scrollbar style as well. But my command line string for just workspaces appears to be correct.
