How to enable tab previews on Microsoft Edge

If you want to see a preview of a tab before switching on Microsoft Edge, you have to enable the tab hover cards feature with these steps.

Microsoft Edge enable tab previews
Microsoft Edge enable tab previews

The Chromium version of Microsoft Edge also includes tab previews similar to the tab preview bar available in the legacy version, which allows you to hover over your open tabs to switch to the right page more quickly, but it’s still an experimental feature.

However, if you’re using the stable release of Microsoft Edge, you can enable the feature from the flags advanced settings page.

In this guide, you’ll learn the steps to enable and disable tab previews in the Chromium version of Microsoft Edge on Windows 10.

How to enable tab previews on Microsoft Edge

To enable tab previews on Chromium Edge, use these steps:

  1. Open Microsoft Edge.

  2. Type the following path in the address bar and press Enter:

    edge://flags/#tab-hover-cards
  3. Use the “Tab Hover Cards” drop-down menu on the right and select the Enabled option.

    Microsoft Edge Chromium enable tab hover cards option
    Microsoft Edge Chromium enable tab hover cards option
  4. Click the Restart button.

Once you complete the steps, upon restart of the browser, when you have multiple tab open, you can hover over them to see a preview with the name of the page.

Google Chrome also includes an option to show a thumbnail image preview, which is not available in the current version of Microsoft Edge, but it may arrive on a later update.

How to disable tab previews on Microsoft Edge

To disable tab hover cards on Microsoft Edge, use these steps:

  1. Open Microsoft Edge.

  2. Type the following path in the address bar and press Enter::

    edge://flags/#tab-hover-cards
  3. Use the “Tab Hover Cards” drop-down menu on the right and select the Disabled option.

    Microsoft Edge Chromium disable tab hover cards option
    Microsoft Edge Chromium disable tab hover cards option
  4. Click the Restart button.

After you complete the steps, tab previews no longer will be available on Microsoft Edge Chromium.

These instructions are focused on Windows 10, but they should also work on Windows 8, Windows 7, macOS, and even Linux (when it becomes available).

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows expert and the Editor-in-Chief who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He is also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 12 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows, software, and related technologies, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.