How to Show or Hide the Favorites Bar in Microsoft Edge

In desktop Microsoft Edge, select Settings and more (…) > Settings > Appearance > Toolbar, then choose Always, Never, or Only on new tabs for the favorites bar. On Windows, Ctrl+Shift+B quickly shows or hides it. On a Mac, use Command+Shift+B.

The favorites bar is the row of saved website shortcuts beneath the address bar. Hiding it changes the browser layout; it does not delete those saved sites. You can still open Favorites from Edge's menu.

Choose the display behavior you want

Option	What you should see
Always	The bar remains visible on ordinary pages and new tabs.
Never	The bar is hidden on both kinds of page.
Only on new tabs	The bar appears on a new tab and disappears when you open a website.

The third choice explains a common problem: the bar appears to vanish as soon as a page loads. That can be its selected behavior rather than missing favorites.

This guide covers the current desktop Edge browser on Windows and Mac. The iPhone and Android apps have different layouts. Older tutorials for the original Windows 10 Edge browser may also show controls that are no longer present.

Show or hide the bar in Settings

1. Open Microsoft Edge and select Settings and more, the three dots near the top-right corner.
2. Select Settings. Edge opens its settings page.
3. Select Appearance from the settings navigation. If the window is narrow, open the settings navigation menu first.
4. Under Other appearance settings, select Toolbar.
5. Find the Favorites bar or favorites display menu. Choose Always, Never, or Only on new tabs.
6. Open an ordinary website, then open a new tab, to check both situations.

Microsoft's favorites-bar guide describes the current Toolbar route. Older releases put the setting directly on Appearance under Customize toolbar or Show favorites bar. If you see that older layout, use its corresponding display menu.

The setting normally takes effect when you choose it; do not look for an extra Save button unless your version actually offers one. To reverse the change, return to the same menu and select your previous option.

Use the keyboard shortcut

1. Click inside the Edge window so it receives your keyboard input.
2. Hold Ctrl and Shift, then press B on Windows. On Mac, hold Command and Shift, then press B.
3. Release the keys and inspect the row beneath the address bar.

This is a toggle: repeating it changes the bar's visibility again. Use the Settings menu when you specifically want Only on new tabs, because a quick visibility toggle does not communicate that three-way choice as clearly.

Microsoft lists these combinations in its Edge keyboard-shortcut reference. If the shortcut does nothing, confirm Edge is the active window and use Settings to choose the desired behavior directly.

Change it from the Favorites menu or the bar

You can also open Favorites using Edge's menu. If the Favorites button is visible beside the address bar, select it. Otherwise, open Settings and more > Favorites; on Windows, Ctrl+Shift+O opens Favorites too.

In the Favorites panel, open More options (…), then look for Show favorites bar. Choose Always, Never, or Only on new tabs if those options are present in your version.

When the bar is already visible, right-click an empty part of it and look for Show favorites bar in the context menu. This route is convenient for hiding the row. If you click a particular favorite instead, its menu may offer Edit or Delete, which operate on that saved item.

Use the main Settings method if a panel or context menu differs from these alternatives. That avoids guessing at a similarly named toolbar control.

Add a website to the favorites bar

Showing the bar and putting a website on it are separate tasks. A saved favorite can be in another folder, so enabling the bar alone may not display it.

1. Open the website you want to save in Edge.
2. Select the star in the address bar, or press Ctrl+D on Windows or Command+D on Mac.
3. Review the site's name. Shorten it if you want a more compact label.
4. In the folder choice, select Favorites bar. Expand the folder controls if the initial dialog does not show it.
5. Select Done or the displayed save control.
6. With the bar visible, check that the shortcut appears and opens the intended page.

If it was already saved, Edge may open an editing dialog. Review the existing folder rather than repeatedly creating copies. The Favorites panel lets you locate a site that was saved elsewhere.

Organize the row without losing saved sites

Drag a favorite along the bar to reorder it. Right-click an item and choose Edit to change its name or location when those controls are available. A short descriptive name is easier to recognize than several nearly identical long titles.

The bar's context menu can offer Show icon only for an individual favorite. This saves space, but use it only when you recognize that site's icon. Keep a text label for sites with similar or generic icons.

You can group related favorites in folders through the Favorites controls. Check the chosen destination folder when moving items. A shortcut stored in Other favorites is not the same as one on the Favorites bar, even though both remain saved.

Choose Never if your goal is simply to recover vertical screen space. Using Delete on each favorite is unnecessary for that result and removes saved entries instead.

Troubleshooting

The bar shows on new tabs but disappears on websites

Select Always instead of Only on new tabs. Verify the change on a loaded page, not just a blank tab.

I can see the bar, but my favorite is missing

Open Favorites and check its folders. Edit or move the saved site into Favorites bar. Also confirm that you are in the Edge profile where you saved it; another profile can have a different collection.

The control is missing or unavailable

Check Appearance and the Toolbar subpage. A managed work or school browser may restrict preferences; use any on-screen management explanation and ask the administrator about a locked setting. Do not reset the browser just to expose one toolbar row.

Is this the same as the Home button or startup page?

No. The Home button opens its configured destination, and the startup setting determines what opens when Edge starts. The favorites bar supplies multiple saved shortcuts while you browse. For shortcuts outside the browser, you can also pin a website to Start or the taskbar with Edge.

For other Edge changes, see installing an extension or clearing browsing history. Finish this change by checking one website and one new tab so the chosen display behavior is clear.