How to install Edge - an extension for Microsoft

With the release of the long-awaited tenth version of Windows, many users immediately drew attention to a huge number of innovations. In particular, many were pleased with the new web browser Edge. Expanding its capabilities in comparison with the same Internet Explorer or even with other powerful browsers of our time exceeded all expectations, and the browser firmly established itself in the top three. However, the question of installing add-ons until a certain time remained open.

Microsoft Edge Extensions: Preliminary acquaintance

As it turned out, initially the extensions in Edge were not supported. By and large, they simply were not, in fact, as a rule, they are developed by other companies, and not the main software manufacturer corporation.

But over time they did appear. "Pervenets" was the addition of Translator, which supported the automatic translation of pages into 50 languages. Then the add-on Reddit Enhancement Suite was added, which allowed to expand the set of tools for browsing the web pages. Equally interesting was the extension for recognizing mouse gestures. Only then there were additions such as AdBlock, Amazon, Evernote, LastPass, etc.

But at first they were available only to those users and developers who were included in the testing program Insider Preview. At the moment, any accessible Edge extension can be used even by an ordinary user with the Windows 10 build of the 14291 Redstone (Anniversary Update).

Installation from the "Store"

How to put Microsoft Edge extensions from the "Store"? At the moment, you can install additional components in the Edge browser in two main ways: use the "Store" or install them in the developer mode. The first option is suitable for all users without exception.

Before deciding how to open extensions in Microsoft Edge, you should click the button with the ellipsis on the right, in the corner of the window in the browser, then select the extension line, in the section itself, click on the link to receive them from the "Store".

After entering the storage to install the selected extension, click on the free installation button. Then there will be a download, and in the window of the description and installation of the add-on, a power button will appear in the browser itself.

Install extensions in developer mode

Those who joined the testing program, or even ordinary users can act somewhat differently. Again, start the Edge browser first. The extension that you need to install in the official repository may be missing, so you will need to apply a different procedure.

First in the address bar, you should write about: flags, and in the new window, find the line for enabling the developer mode, where you need to check the box. Note the warning that installing some additional extensions can expose the system to a risk.

After that, as in the previous example, you need to press a button with three dots, go to the section of extensions, but use no longer getting from the "Store", but immediately press the download button. Next, you will be asked to select the directory in which you want to save the downloaded distribution. When the download is completed, a pop-up panel will appear at the bottom, where you can click the start button of the downloaded file or open it in the directory for self-installation. In any case, after the start of the executable file, the package will be installed into the system, after which it will only be necessary to activate the extensions in the browser.

Extensions for Microsoft Edge: where is the main folder?

Now, a little distracting from the main theme, let's see where you can find the extensions and other data of the browser Edge. The developers of Windows 10 have acted quite out of the ordinary, hiding it all away from the user's eyes. In the supposed folder with programs (Program Files) they are not. In fact, all files of the Edge browser itself are located in the SystemApps directory located in the main system directory (Windows).

But the installed extensions are stored in folders of user accounts. Here, to find them, you must first use the AppData directory, and then go to the Local directory. It has a folder called Packages, and it contains all the add-ons.

It should be noted that the AppData directory can be hidden, so initially you need to set the display of such objects in the view menu. In order not to deal with such procedures, you can immediately write the full path to the desired directory in the search field, selecting it on both sides with the percent symbol (%).

Activating extensions

Finally, let's see how to enable extensions in Microsoft Edge. In principle, they can be activated immediately after installation from the "Store", the more so in the browser there will be a window with a message that the user has a new installed add-on.

If the user initially decided to leave the activation of the add-on for another time, you can enable it from the same extension menu that was used for installation. In general, the operation is practically no different from the actions performed in other browsers like Google Chrome or Opera.

Instead of the total

That, in fact, and everything that concerns the browser Edge. The extension chosen by the user, as already understood, can be installed in two simple ways, and the activation (activation) issue is optional. As for the add-ons themselves, now there are 16 of them in the "Store". However, as stated, their number will constantly grow and be supplemented by new extensions, which will increase the already good browser capabilities.

So far it remains to be wondered what else can be proposed, but also from what is already, you can choose something most suitable. And one last tip: do not install everything at once (this applies to all browsers, not just to Edge). Very often too many active add-ons can cause the browser to be inoperable, so choose, install and activate only what is really needed (for example, an interpreter, an online office, an ad blocker, a password manager, etc.). If the user does not develop, then he does not need such tools (Page Analyzer). In addition, the background mode of some add-ons can increase the load on system resources, consuming too much RAM and loading without the need for a central processor. This, too, must be taken into account.