How to make Microsoft Edge work with your mouse
Microsoft is trying to keep its Edge browser in a state of continuous development to attract users by adding new features that improve the internet browsing experience. Compared to the most famous browser, Google Chrome, we find that Edge is far superior in terms of the abundance of features and advantages; we have already reviewed the most important features in the Edge browser that you will not find in Google Chrome.
Mouse Gesture is a new addition to Edge 125 , which allows users to perform quick actions and access different features faster through gestures made with a computer mouse. These gestures are simple movements or patterns that the browser recognizes to trigger specific functions or commands—just like touch gestures on smartphones. Below we will show you how to activate and use the feature, as it is disabled by default.
Navigation gestures are not new to web browsers in general, as they are already available in other browsers such as Opera and Vivaldi, and there are many add-ons that add support for this feature in any other browser easily. However, if you are using Microsoft Edge and have installed the latest version, you will be able to benefit from navigation gestures without installing any add-ons.
Starting with Edge 122, there are 16 customizable gestures according to user requirements to manage the browser with short mouse movements. A simple pattern can be drawn to reload the page, view browsing history, close the tab, or return to the previous page, and so on, which greatly speeds up interaction with the browser and contributes to improving productivity.
All you have to do to get started is type the command [edge://settings/help] after opening the browser and pressing Enter to check for new updates. If you are using an old version, the latest version will be automatically downloaded, which is, as of the time of writing these lines, Edge 131.
After downloading the update and restarting the browser, press the menu button (⋯) located in the upper right corner (or left if the browser language is Arabic), then choose "Settings," then from the menu on the right side go to the "Appearance" section from the side menu, then scroll down to the "Customize browser" section where you find the option to activate the navigation gestures feature, then activate the Enable Mouse Gesture button, and thus the feature is activated.
To start customizing the feature and assigning actions to mouse gestures, just head to the Mouse Gesture section in the browser settings and click on Configure Mouse Gesture to show you all 16 available gestures, each with its own action shown next to its name. You can easily modify the functions of these gestures by clicking on the Actions menu or disable what you don’t need so that it doesn’t affect the browsing experience.
Unfortunately, you can’t add specific actions or execute shortcuts that you specify manually, at least for now, as we hope that Microsoft will add this ability in future updates.
Now, with Microsoft Edge, you can do a lot more with your mouse by holding down the right button and dragging it across the screen. For example, if you drag the mouse left, the browser will interpret it as a command to go back one page, and a tooltip will show you what action the gesture will trigger. The browser will highlight the mouse path and provide this information.