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How to Use Bionic Reading in Chrome

We are all constantly absorbing information online. Bionic Reading is an approach to reading that can help you read faster, retain more information, and boost your productivity in your favorite web browser, like Chrome.

RAYMOND OGLESBY @RaymondOglesby2
June 6, 2023

This is for desktops using Chrome or other browsers. Screenshots are from Windows 10

We are all constantly absorbing information online. Bionic Reading is an approach to reading that can help you read faster, retain more information, and boost your productivity in your favorite web browser, like Chrome.

Bionic Reading Explained

Bionic reading is a method of reading that combines traditional reading with technology-assisted tools. This helps readers increase their reading speed, improve their comprehension and retention, and ultimately become more productive in their reading activities.

Was the above paragraph easier and quicker to read? If you said yes, then you have just experienced some of the benefits of Bionic Reading. Now, imagine that but for a whole article, essay, or book.

Your brain does not always read every letter of every word. It only intakes enough information for you to understand a word, and then it moves on to the next one. The bolding of the first half of each word lets your mind fast-track through paragraphs.

The bolding aspect is the most notable factor in Bionic Reading, but there’s more as well. A lot of apps and extensions also remove colors from images and change white or black backgrounds to gray. These changes help your eyes focus on the text.

Why Use Bionic Reading

Using Bionic Reading in Chrome, or any other web browser, can offer several benefits.

It can help you read faster and more efficiently, which allows you to cover more material in less time.

Bionic Reading can also help you retain more information by training your brain to focus on the most important parts of any text.

As a result of the two above-mentioned benefits, it can improve your productivity by allowing you to process information more effectively. This can be particularly useful in academic or work-related settings.

Bionic Reading in any browser can be a valuable tool for anyone looking to optimize their online reading experience.

Think of Bionic Reading as akin to Speed Reading but they are different in their approach. Speed Reading is the process of rapidly recognizing and absorbing phrases or sentences on a page all at once, rather than identifying individual words.

How Bionic Reading Helps You

Bionic Reading helps you read faster and more efficiently with techniques including skimming, scanning, chunking, and altering images to be easier on the eye. Refer to the below image:

Bionic Reader 1 — Bionic Reading example from Chrome Web Store

For example, when you skim a text, you quickly glance through it to get a general idea of the content without reading every word. Similarly, when you scan a text, you search for specific keywords or phrases that are relevant to your reading goals.

By using these techniques, you can save time and energy. Bionic Reading tools like web browser extensions or apps can help automate some of these techniques.

Bionic Reading Trains Your Brain to Retain Information

By using Bionic Reading, you can begin to retain more information by training your brain to focus on the most crucial parts of any text, such as key concepts, arguments, or evidence.

Through using techniques like skimming or scanning (as mentioned above), you can quickly identify the main points of the text and decide what information is relevant to your reading goals. In turn, this uses less mental energy.

By consistently applying these techniques, you can train your brain to become more efficient at processing and retaining information. Studying, researching, and editing your own work can become easier as a result.

Bionic Reading Improves Your Productivity

Before we go into how Bionic Reading increases your productivity, you need a frame of reference for how your productivity can suffer through everyday means.

Using your eyes takes up about 50% of your brain power. That’s more than any of your other senses. We, as humans, heavily rely on our vision for pretty much everything we do.

As your brain becomes able to retain more information, you will need to re-read the same text less often.

Reading faster and more efficiently drastically cuts down on the stress your eyes and brain suffer while researching, writing, and doing similar work, especially when you are mentally digesting new information.

To summarize, by improving your reading efficiency and training your brain to better retain information, your productivity should increase.

Bionic Reading Chrome Extension

You can get the Bionic Reading extension for Chrome on the Chrome Web Store. See the below image:

Bionic Reader 2 — Adding Bionic Reading Chrome extension

At the top of a Chrome window, click the Menu icon (the 3 dots) to open the Menu. Now, click More Tools > Extensions to view the extension. See the following image:

Bionic Reader 3 — Bionic Reading Chrome extension

After installing it, you can manage the Bionic Reading extension through the Extensions menu at the top-right of your window (click the little jigsaw piece icon). Refer to the below image:

Bionic Reader 4 — Activate Bionic Reading

You are now ready to begin using the Bionic Reading extension! When you want to activate it on any given webpage, all you need to do is click the jigsaw piece icon at the top-right of your window and then click the Bionic Reading icon. To turn Bionic Reading off, do the same thing again. See the below image:

Bionic Reader 5 — Bionic Reading example

Everything is removed from the web page but the text. That’s all there is to it! Start saving your energy for tougher tasks by letting Bionic Reading do the heavy visual lifting.

Disclaimer

Technology is always changing and rarely is there static tech for smartphones and desktops. Thus, the contents of this post are only valid at the time of writing. Blog posts older than six months may have directions incompatible with your device or OS. Hopefully, older post content will continue to work as advertised. Thank you for reading TechSavvy.Life for Technology at Work For You.

Quote For the Day

I would like to die on Mars. Just not on impact.
Elon Musk

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Author’s E-Book

You can access the e-book from a Kindle device, the Kindle App for the desktop or smartphone, which is a free app.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong Vietnam: Events and Aftermath

Using a Keyboard Shortcut to Clear Your Browser History

Want to clear your browser history quickly? There’s a keyboard shortcut for that. It works in any browser, including Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox (on both Windows PCs and Macs.)

RAYMOND OGLESBY @RaymondOglesby2
May 30, 2023

This is for popular browsers on a PC or Mac

Want to clear your browser history quickly? There’s a keyboard shortcut for that. It works in any browser, including Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox (on both Windows PCs and Macs.)

Depending on your web browser of choice, you can speed things up in the future by activating the Clear button with a few keystrokes. You may have to tab through the interface to select the Clear button before hitting Enter.

Here’s how it works on a few popular browsers on a Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC:

Google Chrome: Press Ctrl+Shift+Delete and press Enter.
Mozilla Firefox: Press Ctrl+Shift+Delete and press Enter.
Microsoft Edge: Press Ctrl+Shift+Delete and press Enter.

You can now configure exactly what you want to delete. Your browser will remember the settings you pick here, so you will only have to set this up once.

You can pick a time range, or history from a time period like the last hour, last 24 hours, last week, or from all time. You can also pick the types of data: browsing history, download history, cookies, cached files, and more.

When you are done, click the Clear data or Clear now button. Refer to the below image for Chrome:

Clear Chrome 1 — Selecting to Clear data in Chrome

Incognito Mode

In the future, you can eliminate the need to clear your browser history by browsing in a private-browsing mode, like Incognito Mode in Chrome. You will just have to close the private-browsing window, and your browser will immediately forget the history associated with your private browsing.

You can use keyboard shortcuts to open and close a private-browsing mode window, too.

Google Chrome: Press Ctrl+Shift+N
Mozilla Firefox: Press Ctrl+Shift+P
Safari or Chrome on a Mac: Press Command instead of Ctrl; for example, press Shift+Command+N.

When you are done, press Ctrl+W to close a single tab or Ctrl+Shift+W to close an entire window. (On a Mac, press Command instead of Ctrl.)

Just remember that Incognito Mode does not offer complete privacy online. It only prevents your web browser from storing your browsing history locally. You may want to combine it with a VPN to boost your online privacy.

Disclaimer

Quote For the Day

Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice.
Anton Chekhov

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Author’s E-Book

You can access the e-book from a Kindle device, the Kindle App for the desktop or smartphone, which is a free app.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong Vietnam: Events and Aftermath

How to Download/Save Images Using Google Image Search

Google’s Image Search results are sometimes so impressive that you want to save some of those images to your device.

RAYMOND OGLESBY @RaymondOglesby2
February 2, 2023

Google’s Image Search results are sometimes so impressive that you want to save some of those images to your device. If you have found yourself in this situation, let’s explore how to download those images from your search results.

This is for mobile and desktop devices. Screenshots are from Windows 10 and iPhone 14 Pro running iOS 16+

Dilbert and Batteries — *Copyright Scott Adams, Inc./Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS*

Save Images On Desktop

To download an image on a desktop, you just pick your image, click an option, and your image is saved to your computer.

First, launch your favorite web browser on your computer and open Google Image Search. There, find the image you want to save to your machine. Refer to the below image:

Google Image Search 1 — Search Google Images

Next, on the search results page, access the image that you want to download. See the below image:

Now, right-click your image, and from the menu that opens, choose to Save image as. See the following image:

Google Image Search 3 — Check the option to save your image

Next, your browser will open your computer’s standard Save As window. Here, select a folder to save your image in, type your image name in the File Name field, then click Save. Refer to the below image:

Now, you have successfully downloaded your favorite image from your Image Search results. If you are not sure exactly where the image file went, check your Downloads folder from File Explorer.

If your downloaded file is of low resolution, then try downloading that image directly from the source site. To do that, on the Image Search results page, click the link, beneath the image, and not the image, to be taken to the image site. There, right-click the image and choose Save image as.

Download Images On Mobile

On your mobile phone, you can download images from Google’s Image Search results using Google Chrome, Apple Safari, or Microsoft Edge. Mozilla Firefox does not offer the option to save images.

To start, first, open your web browser (we are using Safari) and launch Google Image Search or type into the search box “images.google.com”. Find the image you would like to save to your phone.

Next, on the search results page, tap the image to download. See the below image:

Google Image Search 5 — Tap an image you want to download

Now, on your image full-screen page, tap and hold the image. See the following image:

Google Image Search 6 — Press and hold your image

Next, on iPhone or iPad, from the menu that opens in Safari, tap Save to Photos. Refer to the below image:

Google Image Search 7 — Select the option to save your image

Your iPhone will download and save the image on your local storage or in our example using Safari, your Photos app. See the below image:

Disclaimer

Technology is always changing and rarely is static for smartphones and desktops. Thus, the contents of this post are only valid at the time of writing. Blog posts older than six months may have directions incompatible with your device or OS. Hopefully, older post content will continue to work as advertised. Thank you for reading TechSavvy.Life for Technology at Work For You.

Quote For the Day

The technology you use impresses no one. The experience you create with it is everything.
Sean Cerety

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Author’s E-Book

You can access the e-book from a Kindle device, the Kindle App for the desktop or smartphone, which is a free app.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong Vietnam: Events and Aftermath

How to Use Text to Speech Tools

Reading is great, but sometimes you want or need to listen. Let your computer or phone do the reading for you.

RAYMOND OGLESBY @RaymondOglesby2
June 23, 2022

Reading is great, but sometimes you want or need to listen. Let your computer or phone do the reading for you. Let’s explore some tools to do this.

This is for the mobile or desktop

Dilbert and White — *Copyright Scott Adams, Inc./Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS*

Some people struggle with reading text on a screen, or physically can not. Others might want their computer to read something to them aloud while they do something else. There are plenty of reasons to use a text-to-speech tool, also called a “screen reader”.

Although there are standalone text-to-speech apps, you probably do not need them. That’s because every operating system, and several well-known pieces of software, offer a text-to-speech feature, and they are all quite good.

Spoken Content for iPhone

The iPhone’s text-to-speech feature is very easy to use. First, to turn it on, head to:

Settings > Accessibiltu > Spoken Content

and enable Speak Selection and Speak Screen. Once enabled, any text you highlight in any application will have a Speak option, which you tap to activate. We have highlighted some text from the Notes app to be read to us. Refer to the below image:

Read Aloud for Browsers

Read Aloud is an extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge that can read whatever website you currently have open. First, you will need to download the extension. After downloading, in Chrome, right-click on some highlighted text and choose the Read aloud selected text option. See the below image:

Text to Speech 3 — Read Aloud for browsers

Immersive Reader for Office and Edge

Microsoft Office applications have a built-in text-to-speech feature but it’s a little hard to find. First, in any document, click the Immersive Reader tab. If you do not see it, search for it, and from then on it should appear in your interface permanently. Highlight some text, then right-click and select Read Aloud to hear your document read back to you with the corresponding word highlighted as it goes. Immersive Reader is perfect for copy editing and reviewing long documents. See the following image:

Microsoft Edge has this feature, too. Highlight some text, then right-click and select Real aloud selection. Refer to the below image:

Text to Speech 4 — Immersive Reader for Edge

Natural Reader

First, download the mobile version (ours is for the iPhone). Then head to

NaturalReaders.com/online (note the plural in the URL)

and paste some text, highlighting it to hear it read on a mobile device. See the below image:

Text to Speech 5 — Natural Reader on mobile

You can also drag documents into your browser window if you prefer. Natural Reader has a variety of voices, and you can control the speed of reading. Just click the Gear icon on the upper right-hand corner for options. See the following image:

Text to Speech 6 — Natural Reader options

You can upgrade for features like a Chrome extension, OCR for scanned documents, higher quality voices, and the ability to create MP3 files; these features cost $9.99 a month. The paid version also supports uploading documents, including Microsoft Word, Apple’s Pages, and even image files with text on them. The free version is perfect for quick listening. Refer to the below image for an example of listening to a webpage:

Text to Speech 7 — Natural Reader for web pages

Quote For the Day

Technology is so much fun but we can drown in our technology. The fog of information can drive out knowledge.
Daniel J Boorstin

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Author’s E-book

You can access the e-book from a Kindle device, the Kindle App for the desktop or smartphone, which is a free app.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong Vietnam: Events and Aftermath

How to Drag and Drop Browser Links to Desktop

In four major browsers; Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari; on Windows, Mac, and Linux, you can easily drag and drop a shortcut link to a website straight to your desktop.

RAYMOND OGLESBY @RaymondOglesby2
JMarch 1, 2022

In four major browsers; Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari; on Windows, Mac, and Linux, you can easily drag and drop a shortcut link to a website straight to your desktop. Let’s see how easily this is done.

This is for PCs, Macs, and web browsers. Screenshots are from Windows 10

Dilbert and Plan — *Copyright Scott Adams, Inc./Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS*

Create Shortcut Using Chrome, Edge, and Firefox

To create a desktop web shortcut, first open a Chrome, Edge, or Firefox browser window and navigate to the site you want to create a shortcut from. In the address bar at the top of the window, click and drag the Padlock icon (located to the left of the address) out of the browser window, or drag and drop the URL address onto your desktop. Refer to the below image:

Links 1 — Drag to create a shortcut on the desktop

Next, as soon as you click and drag, you will see the title or address of the website besides your pointer. When you are hovering over the desktop, release your mouse button, and a shortcut icon will be created. To use the shortcut, double-click it at any time, and the site will open in your default browser.

This shortcut does not have to stay on your desktop either; you can move it to any folder on your PC.

Create Shortcut Using Safari on Mac

To make a desktop web shortcut on a Mac, first, open a Safari browser window and navigate to the site you want to create a shortcut to.

Next, in that window, hover your mouse cursor over the address bar at the top of the window, and a small Plus (“+”) icon will appear on the far left side. Click and drag the Plus icon onto your desktop and release your mouse or trackpad button. A shortcut icon will appear. See the below image:

Links 2 — Drag to create a shortcut on Mac

Now, you can double-click the shortcut icon, and your default browser app will open and automatically load the website stored in the link.

By the way, this is not the only drag-and-drop trick you can do with browsers. Most browsers also allow you to drag tabs between open windows of the same browser.

How to Drag Tabs Between Browser Windows

Quote For the Day

If you learn from defeat, you haven’t really lost.
Zig Ziglar

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Author’s E-book

You can access the e-book from a Kindle device, the Kindle App for the desktop or smartphone, which is a free app.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong Vietnam: Events and Aftermath

How to Use Apple Notes in a Browser

Apple Notes syncs between devices for anyone with an Apple ID, which is required to use devices like the iPhone, iPad, and Mac computers. Unfortunately, there’s no native app for Windows or Android users, but the web version can make a suitable substitute.

RAYMOND OGLESBY @RaymondOglesby2
December 22, 2021

Apple Notes syncs between devices for anyone with an Apple ID, which is required to use devices like the iPhone, iPad, and Mac computers. Unfortunately, there’s no native app for Windows or Android users, but the web version can make a suitable substitute. Let’s explore how to use Apple Notes on the web.

This is for devices using Notes on iCloud

Dilbert and Time — *Copyright Scott Adams, Inc./Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS*

Turn on iCloud Sync for Notes

If you use Apple Notes on an Apple device, first ensure you have iCloud sync enabled so that new notes and changes are pushed to all of your devices. This should be enabled by default, but it’s a good idea to check.

First, on an iPhone or iPad, you can do this under:

Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud

and enabling the Apple Notes setting. Refer to the below image:

On a Mac, this can be turned on under:

System Preferences > Apple ID

and checkmark the Notes setting.

When making notes, make sure that you are placing them in your iCloud folders since it’s possible to have offline folders too that are device-specific. See the below image:

Notes 2 — Ensuring Notes are under iCloud

Once enabled, new notes will be placed in iCloud by default.

Access Notes in a Browser via iCloud

Next, with your Mac, iPhone, and iPad now syncing Apple Notes to iCloud, you can access them using a web browser by heading to iCloud.com and logging in with your Apple ID. See the following image:

Now, you may need to pass a two-factor authentication check, so make sure you choose to Trust this computer if you want to log in faster in the future. You should only trust personal computers and smartphones that you own, and never trust a computer or device that you share with others. Refer to the below image:

Next, once you are in, click on Notes to see a web-based version of the Apple Notes app. You can use this to access and edit existing notes, create new ones, and share with other iCloud users. See the below image:

Notes 5 — Selecting iCloud Notes on the web

While you can access locked notes by entering your Apple ID password, you can not apply a lock to existing or new notes. See the following image for a listing of your Notes:

Turn iCloud Into an App on Windows or Android

Now, you can keep Apple Notes open in its own pinned tab, but it may be more convenient to turn the web app into an application or shortcut you can run from your Start menu or Android home screen.

Windows users can do this using Chrome or Edge, pin it to your Taskbar, and apply a custom icon if you like. You will need to log in from time to time, but as long as you Trust your browser when entering the two-factor authentication code this process will not be quite as tedious.
Android users can also do this using Chrome, which places a shortcut on your home screen.

Next, you will receive a message about signing in to iCloud from a browser. Refer to the below image:

Apple Notes is just one service you can take advantage of using a browser thanks to iCloud’s web interface.

Quote For the Day

Every time you think the problem is ‘out there,’ that very thought is the problem.
Stephen Covey

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The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong Vietnam: Events and Aftermath

How to Turn a Website Into a Windows 10 App

You can use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge to convert a website into an app. Although it works for Window 8 or 7, we are using Windows 10 for creating this blog post. This lets you use your sites as if they were normal apps.

You can use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge to convert a website into an app. Although it works for Window 8 or 7, we are using Windows 10 for creating this blog post. This lets you use your sites as if they were normal apps.

This is for devices running Windows 10, and Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge

Dilbert and Crisis — *Copyright Scott Adams, Inc./Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS*

How Website Apps Work

Your website looks and works exactly the same in your app as it does in your web browser. The only difference you will see is that there will not be any browser elements in your app window, such as the bookmarks bar, address bar, and other toolbar elements.

If you use Chrome, the website app will be using Chrome in the background. If you use Edge, the browser app will use Microsoft Edge. However, normal browser elements are stripped off so that you get the actual app-like experience. These web apps get their own separate windows, taskbar icons, and desktop shortcuts.

Turn a Website Into an App Using Chrome

You can use Chrome’s main menu to turn any website into a Windows app.

First, open the Start menu. Next, enter “Google Chrome” in the Cortana search box at bottom left-hand corner. Now, click the browser in the results at top left-hand corner. Refer to below image:

Next, open any website that you want to turn into an app. Navigate to the specific web page that you want your app to start with.

When the site has loaded, click its hamburger menu button (the three dots) in the top-right corner of the window and select:

More Tools > Create Shortcut

See below image:

A prompt will appear asking for your new app name. Enter a name for your new app, enable the Open as window checkbox, and click Create. See following image:

A shortcut will be placed on your desktop. You can launch your app from this desktop shortcut. Refer to below image:

Also, Chrome will create the app for your site and add it to the Start menu. You can now search and launch your app using your PC’s Start menu. See below image:

App 5 — Use the Start menu to launch your Chrome app

Turn a Website Into an App Using Edge

You can also use Microsoft Edge to make a website into an app. This creates the exact same kind of app that Chrome does. First, open the Start menu. Next, enter “Microsoft Edge” in the Cortana search box at bottom left-hand corner. Now, click the browser in the results at top left-hand corner. See following image:

Navigate to the website that you want to make an app for, then navigate to the specific page that you want to use for the app.

Now, click the menu hamburger button (the three dots) in the top-right corner of the window and select:

Apps > Install this site as an app

Refer to below image:

Type a name for your new app, then click Install. See below image:

You can now launch your newly created app from the Start menu. See following image where TechSavvy.Life (1) is the Chrome version, TechSavvy.Life is the Edge version:

App 9 — Use the Start menu to launch your Edge app

Create a Desktop Shortcut for Your Apps

Your website apps will have their own shortcuts in your Start menu’s All Apps list. You can also create a desktop shortcut for your apps in order to quickly access them on your PC’s desktop, if you like.

If you used Chrome to make your apps, your desktop shortcuts are already created. But if you used Microsoft Edge, you will need to manually add shortcuts to your desktop.

To do this, open the Start menu and search for your newly created app. Right-click your app and select Pin to Start.

You need to do this because Windows does not let you directly make a desktop shortcut for this kind of app in Edge. Refer to below image:

Open the Start menu again, and you will see your app on the right. Drag it over to your desktop and a desktop shortcut for it will be created. See below image:

App 11 — Drag the Edge app to your desktop

Create a Taskbar Shortcut for Your Apps

You can also make a taskbar shortcut for your website apps.

To do this, open the Start menu again, search for your app or find your desktop shortcut, right-click your app, click More, and select Pin to taskbar. See following image:

Assign an Icon

By default, Windows uses your website’s favicon as the icon for your app. You can change this icon if you want to give a little makeover to your new app.

You can use an icon file from your computer or one of Windows 10’s built-in icons for your new app.

To change your app’s icon, right-click your app shortcut on your desktop and select Properties. Refer to below image:

In the Properties box, click Shortcut at the top, and then click Change Icon. See below image:

Click Browse in the window that opens and select the icon that you want to use for your app.

If you want to use one of Windows 10’s stock icons, browse to:

C:\Windows\System32 folder

and double-click the imageres.dll file in this folder.

You will see a list of Windows 10’s built-in icons. Select the one that you want to use and click OK. Even though this file is for 32-bit operating system, it will work on a 64-bit system. See following image:

App 15 — Browse or use Windows 10 stock icons

To save your settings, click Apply and then select OK. Refer to below image for my final desktop and taskbar shortcuts:

App 16 — Your finished icons on desktop and taskbar

Quote For the Day

“The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency”.
Bill Gates

You are finished with turning a website into a Windows 10 app. Please feel free to share this post! One way to share is via Twitter.

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Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Just send an email to contact@techsavvy.life. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong: Events and Aftermath

How to Automatically Clear Your Browsing Activity When Closing Microsoft Edge

If you are big on security (or keeping a secret), you might not want the Edge browser to keep a permanent record of the sites you browse. If that’s the case, you can use a setting in Edge to automatically erase your data every time you quit the program.

If you are big on security (or keeping a secret), you might not want the Edge browser to keep a permanent record of the sites you browse. If that’s the case, you can use a setting in Edge to automatically erase your data every time you quit the program.

This is for PCs and Macs running Microsoft Edge. Screen shots are from Windows 10

Dilbert and Behavior — *Copyright Scott Adams, Inc./Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS*

It lets you delete everything at once on Windows 10 PCs and Macs. You get an almost fresh browser every time you open it to browse the internet. It is handy when you browse only internet banking sites and some other private sites to do something specific.

You can clear the following sets of data:

browsing history
download history
cookies and other site data
cached images and files
passwords
autofill form data
site permissions

To setup this feature, first, open your Edge browser. Now, click the three-dot hamburger menu icon from the toolbar. Refer to below image:

Close Edge 1 — Accessing the toolbar menu button

Next, from the drop-down menu, choose the Settings option. See below image:

Now, locate the Privacy, search, and services section from the sidebar. Next, from the Clear browsing data section, click the Choose what to clear every time you close the browser option. See following image:

Clear Edge 3 — Accessing clear browsing data for Edge

Now, you will see a list of data that you can clear when closing your browser. Click the toggle next to each data type that you want to clear. Refer to below image:

Close Edge 4 — Enabling or disabling what to clear when closing Edge

That’s it. You have set up and started the automatic clearing process. The next time you close the Microsoft Edge browser and start it up again, the designated data will be cleared.

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How to Disable Preloading of Microsoft Edge at Startup using Group Policy Editor

Are you frustrated by Edge loading at Windows 10 startup? Do you prefer using Chrome as your default browser? In Windows 10 Home edition, Edge is the default browser, even if you make Chrome the default; Edge seems to ignore the Chrome setting.

Are you frustrated by Edge loading at Windows 10 startup? Do you prefer using Chrome as your default browser? In Windows 10 Home edition, Edge is the default browser, even if you make Chrome the default; Edge seems to ignore the Chrome setting.

To disable Edge, we are going to use the Group Policy Editor (the gpedit.msc file). But, back in Windows 7, Microsoft quit making the Editor a part of its operating system, especially the Home editions. So, we are going to install the Editor, and use the utility to disable preloading of Edge at startup in Windows 10.

This is for Windows 10

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Install Group Policy Editor

Note! You will only need to do this if you have Windows 10 Home edition. If you have the Pro edition, you can bypass this step.

First, download the GPEdit Enabler script from the link below:

GPEdit Enabler for Windows 10 Home Edition

and save the “gpedit-enabler.bat” file to your desktop. Now, right-click the file and select Run as Administrator. Refer to below image:

Policy 1 — Access gpedit batch file as Administrator

This will start the installation process. It may take some time depending upon your system performance. Once the process is complete, press any key to close the Command Prompt window. You may be prompted to download and install some Microsoft Net files; if so, allow permission to do so.

Although a restart is not required, if the policies are not working, you should restart your computer.

Run Group Policy Editor

First, open the Run dialog by pressing the Windows+R keys. Type gpedit.msc and press the Enter or OK button. This should open gpedit in Windows 10 Home or Pro.

On Windows 10, Microsoft Edge loads some processes in the background during startup to improve the speed when launching the application. But, we want to disable this feature and use Chrome instead.

How to Disable Preloading Edge

In the Group Policy Editor, browse to the following path:

`Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Microsoft Edge`

Now, click on the Setting column to sort it alphabetical. On the right side, double-click the Allow Microsoft Edge to pre-launch at Windows startup, when the system is idle, and each time Microsoft Edge is closed policy. See below image:

Policy 3 — Accessing Group Policy Editor for Edge for pre-launch option

Now, select the Disabled option. See following image:

Policy 4 — Selecting the pre-launch Disabled option

Next, click Apply, then OK.

Now, on the right side, double-click the Allow Microsoft Edge to start and load the Start and New Tab page at Windows startup and each time Microsoft Edge is closed policy. Refer to below image:

Policy 5 — *Accessing Group Policy for Edge for Start and New Tab option*

Next, select the Disabled option. See below image:

Policy 6 — Selecting the Start and New Tab Disabled option

Next, click Apply, then OK.

Now, repeat the above steps substituting User Configuration for Computer Configuration.

Now, exit the Editor and save any open work. You must RESTART your computer for the changes to take effect.

The Edge browser will no longer pre-load processes freeing up resources for more important apps and services.

In the case you change your mind, you can roll back the previous settings using the same instructions, but instead of selecting Disabled, select the Not Configured option.

Make Chrome the Default Browser

Click Start then Settings (the gear icon)
Click on Apps
Click on Default apps
Click on Web browser and select Google Chrome. See following image:

Policy 7 — Setting Chrome as the default browser

That’s it. You have disabled Edge for pre-loading and saving resources. Please feel free to share this post! One way to share is via Twitter.

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How to Enable Edge’s InPrivate Mode for an Extension

Microsoft Edge is the default web browser app in Windows 10. It’s a universal Store app which has extension support, a fast rendering engine, and a simplified user interface. If you are using its InPrivate feature frequently, you might want to enable your favorite extensions in private mode.

Microsoft Edge is the default web browser app in Windows 10. It’s a universal Store app which has extension support, a fast rendering engine, and a simplified user interface. If you are using its InPrivate feature frequently, you might want to enable your favorite extensions in private mode.

By default, Microsoft Edge disables extensions in InPrivate mode to prevent unintentional privacy leaks. But sometimes you might need to use an extension while staying private.

The browser allows making specific extensions available in InPrivate mode. This can be done for each extension individually. Let’s explore how to do this.

This is for devices using Edge in Windows 10

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First, open Edge. Now, in any Edge window, click the menu button (the three dots in upper right-hand corner) and select Extensions. Refer to below image:

Next, in the Extensions tab, you will see a list of extensions you have installed, and each will have its own box. Now, locate the extension you would like to enable in InPrivate mode and click its Details link. See below image:

Edge 2 — Accessing an installed Extension details

Now, on the Details screen for the extension, scroll down and check the box beside Allow in InPrivate. This will enable the extension to be used during private browsing.

Note! After checking this box, the extension could potentially collect and share your browsing history with a third party, so be sure you trust the extension before turning this feature on. See following image:

Edge 3 — Enabling InPrivate browsing for an installed Extension

The change will take effect immediately. If you would like to use other extensions while private browsing, press back once to return to the Extensions screen and repeat these steps with each extension you would like to enable in InPrivate mode.

When you are done, close the Extensions tab. The next time you open an InPrivate window, you will notice that the extensions you enabled now work in that window too.

You are finished. Please feel free to share this post! One way to share is via Twitter.

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How to Disable Preloading Edge

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Microsoft Edge

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`Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Microsoft Edge`