How to hide the Search Bar and change Search Engine on Microsoft Edge

How to hide the Search Bar and change Search Engine on Microsoft Edge


Microsoft Edge keeps the address bar but adds a search bar to the New Tab pages, and makes a pleasing change to the layout. The address bar is hidden by default when you open a New Tab, and there is no way yet to change the default search engine from Bing.

Project Spartan – the code name of the new browser that Microsoft is working on for Windows 10 slated for a July 29 release – is now officially called Edge. If you have joined the Windows Insider program, you can get a preview of what the browser will look like. It shares many features with the latest versions of Internet Explorer that users will find familiar, but at the same time there are many new additions and ways of doing things.



The Search Bar on the New Tab Page


Among the many interesting features that Microsoft Edge brings is the change in the way the Search Bar and Address Bar work on the new New Tab page. Edge does not have an address bar visible by default. Instead there is a prominent search bar where you can type in search terms as well as web addresses. This box has the same functionality as the old Bing search box on Internet Explorer, but its placement on the screen is more central.

The Search Bar, as of on the latest build 15.10130.0.0 of Edge on the Windows Insider Preview, has moved away from its awkward position just below the address bar at the top of the screen, as it was on Internet Explorer. It comes down to the center of the upper third of the screen in a much more navigable format instead of being pinched into a row at the top close to the address bar. There is also a text guide - "Where to next?" unequivocally guiding newbies - grandparents, not-so-savvy users and others - to their destination.

Note that Microsoft doesn't seem to allow the user to hide this search bar permanently at the moment.
Search Bar on the New Tab Page

Also Check Out: How to use Microsoft Edge browser features

The Hidden Address Bar


The old address bar at the top of the page is usually invisible. It can be made temporarily visible in two ways - either when you navigate to a website via the search bar or when you click on the grey area. The address box then shows up in the area in line with the Refresh button. Only if you click in this area does the bar appear, and you can enter search terms or addresses. Clicking on the Address Bar also seems to make the Search Bar disappear momentarily from the New Tab page.
Hide Address Bar on Microsoft Edge

Changing The Default Search Engine


If you navigate to the Settings menu from the top right corner of the screen, you will see that the default search engine for the address bar is set to Bing. Many of us may want to change that to another search engine, and doing so should be simply a matter of clicking on the box and changing "Bing" to the search engine of our choice.
Microsoft Edge Feedback & Reporting
At the moment, however, Bing is the default search engine that Project Spartan users on the Windows 10 Insider program cannot change. The only way to do so would be to use a registry edit that can change the default search engine to Google Search.



It is expected that when Microsoft Edge is finally released, you will be able to change the default search engine from the Settings menu. You can of course send feedback regarding this as well by clicking on the smiley icon next to the More Actions option.


Article by Juana
Juana is a freelance writer publishing with Constant Content and sister sites of Techulator. She writes on a variety of subjects that interest her. She is a voracious reader and that helps her keep abreast with the latest in technology. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Eng. Lit, is a mom, a wife, a homemaker and a qualified teacher.

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Comments

Guest Author: jboo25 Jan 2018

This Windows 10 is bad, I want my old version back. You can't hide the task or tool bar in edge it takes up too much viewing room on my laptop.