- Microsoft Edge Chromium Vs Chrome
- Microsoft Edge Chromium Offline Installer
- Microsoft Edge Chromium Roll Out
- Microsoft Edge Chromium Mac
- Microsoft Edge Chromium Group Policy
- Microsoft Edge Chromium Download
Microsoft Chromium Edge is an entirely new web browser and it comes with a series of improvements, including support for Chrome extensions, picture in picture mode and a lot more. Sep 15, 2020 Chromium Edge is a version of Microsoft Edge that's built on Chromium instead of Microsoft's own web browser technology. Microsoft takes code from the open source Chromium project, adds its own features and user interface, and releases it as Microsoft Edge. Other browsers, like Chrome and Brave, are developed using this same method.
-->This article describes how to configure Microsoft Edge kiosk mode options that you can pilot. There's also a roadmap of features we're targeting.
Note
This article applies to Microsoft Edge version 87 or later.
Important
Invoke Microsoft Edge kiosk mode features on Windows 10 using the command line arguments provided in Use kiosk mode features.
Overview
Microsoft Edge kiosk mode offers two lockdown experiences of the browser so organizations can create, manage, and provide the best experience for their customers. The following lockdown experiences are available:
- Digital/Interactive Signage experience - Displays a specific site in full-screen mode.
- Public-Browsing experience - Runs a limited multi-tab version of Microsoft Edge.
Both experiences are running a Microsoft Edge InPrivate session, which protects user data.
Set up Microsoft Edge kiosk mode
An initial set of kiosk mode features is available to test with Microsoft Edge Stable Channel, version 87. You can download the latest version from Microsoft Edge (Official Stable Channel).
Kiosk mode supported features
The following table lists the features supported by kiosk mode in Microsoft Edge and Microsoft Edge Legacy. Use this table as a guide to transitioning to Microsoft Edge by comparing how these features are supported in both versions of Microsoft Edge.
| Feature | DigitalInteractive Signage | Public browsing | Available with Microsoft Edge version (and higher) | Available with Microsoft Edge Legacy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| InPrivate Navigation | Y | Y | 89 | Y |
| Reset on inactivity | Y | Y | 89 | Y |
| Read only address bar (policy) | N | Y | 89 | N |
| Delete downloads on exit (policy) | Y | Y | 89 | N |
| F11 blocked (enter/exit full-screen) | Y | Y | 89 | Y |
| F12 blocked (launch Developer Tools) | Y | Y | 89 | Y |
| Multi tab support | N | Y | 89 | Y |
| Allow URL support (policy) | Y | Y | 89 | N |
| Block URL support (policy) | Y | Y | 89 | N |
| Show home button (policy) | N | Y | 89 | Y |
| Manage favorites (policy) | N | Y | 89 | Y |
| Enable printer (policy) | Y | Y | 89 | Y |
| Configure the new tab page URL (policy) | N | Y | 89 | Y |
| End session button * | N | Y | 89 | Y |
| All internal Microsoft Edge URLs are blocked, except for edge://downloads and edge://print | N | Y | 89 | Y |
| CTRL+N blocked (open a new window) * | Y | Y | 89 | Y |
| CTRL+T blocked (open new tab) | Y | N | 89 | Y |
| Settings and more (...) will display only the required options | Y | Y | 89 | Y |
| Restrict the launch of other applications from the browser | Y | Y | 90 | Y |
| UI print settings lockdown | Y | Y | 90 | Y |
| Set the new tab page as the home page (policy) | N | Y | 90 | Y |
Note
Features followed by '*' are only enabled in an assigned access single app scenario.
Use kiosk mode features
Microsoft Edge kiosk mode features can be invoked with the following Windows 10 command line options for Digital/Interactive signage and Public browsing.
Kiosk mode Digital/Interactive signage
Kiosk mode Public browsing
Additional command line options
--no-first-run: Disable the first Microsoft Edge run experience.
--kiosk-idle-timeout-minutes=: Change the time (in minutes) from the last user activity before Microsoft Edge kiosk mode resets the user's session. Replace 'value' in the next example with the number of minutes.
The following 'values' are supported:
- Default values (in minutes)
- Full screen - 0 (turned off)
- Public browsing - 5 minutes
- Allowed values
- 0 - turns off the timer
- 1-1440 minutes for reset on idle timer
- Default values (in minutes)
Microsoft Edge Chromium Vs Chrome
Support policies for kiosk mode
Use any of the Microsoft Edge policies listed in the following table to enhance the kiosk experience for the Microsoft Edge kiosk mode type you configure. To learn more about these policies, see Microsoft Edge – Browser policy reference.
Note
Policy configuration isn't limited to the policies listed in the following table, however additional policies should be tested to ensure that kiosk mode functionality isn't negatively affected.
| Group policy | DigitalInteractive signage | Public browsing single-app |
|---|---|---|
| Printing | Y | Y |
| HomePageLocation | N | Y |
| ShowHomeButton | N | Y |
| NewTabPageLocation | N | Y |
| FavoritesBarEnabled | N | Y |
| URLAllowlist | Y | Y |
| URLBlocklist | Y | Y |
| ManagedSearchEngines | N | Y |
| UserFeedbackAllowed | N | Y |
| VerticalTabsAllowed | N | Y |
| SmartScreen settings | Y | Y |
| EdgeCollectionsEnabled | Y | Y |
Microsoft Edge with assigned access
Microsoft Edge Chromium Offline Installer
Single app kiosk
Microsoft Edge currently supports a subset of the same Microsoft Edge Legacy kiosk mode types for single-app assigned access with the following lockdown experiences: Digital/Interactive signage, and Public-browsing.
Microsoft Edge kiosk mode with assigned access single app is currently available for testing with the latest Windows 10 Insider Preview Build, version 20215 or higher, and with the Microsoft Edge Beta Channel, version 89 or higher.
How do I get the Windows Insiders preview?
To install a Windows 10 Insider Preview Build on a PC, follow the instructions in Getting started with Windows 10 Insider Preview Builds.
Multi-app kiosk
Microsoft Edge can be run with multi-app assigned access on Windows 10, which is the equivalent of Microsoft Edge Legacy 'Normal browsing' kiosk mode type. To configure Microsoft Edge with multi-app assigned access, follow the instructions on how to Set up a multi-app kiosk. (The AUMID for the Microsoft Edge Stable channel is MSEdge).
When using Microsoft Edge with multi-app assigned access, you can configure Microsoft Edge kiosk to use theMicrosoft Edge browser policies to configure the browsing experience to meet your unique requirements.
Configure using Windows Settings
Windows Settings is the simplest way to set up one or two single-app kiosk devices. Use the following steps to set up a single-app kiosk computer.
Install the latest Windows 10 Insider Preview, version 20215 or higher. Follow the instructions in Getting started with Windows 10 Insider Preview Builds.
To test the latest features, you can download the latest Microsoft Edge Beta channel, version 89 or higher.
On the kiosk computer, open Windows Settings, and type 'kiosk' in the search field. Select Set up a kiosk (assigned access), shown in the next screenshot to open the dialog for creating the kiosk.
On the Set up a kiosk page, click Get started.
Type a name to create a new kiosk account or choose an existing account from the populated dropdown list and then click Next.
On the Choose a kiosk app page, select Microsoft Edge and then click Next.
Note
This only applies to Microsoft Edge Dev, Beta, and Stable channels.
Pick one of the following options for how Microsoft Edge displays when running in kiosk mode:
- Digital/Interactive signage - Displays a specific site in full-screen mode, running Microsoft Edge.
- Public browser - Runs a limited multi-tab version of Microsoft Edge.
Select Next.
Type the URL to load when the kiosk launches.
Accept the default value of 5 minutes for the idle time or provide a value of your own.
Click Next.
Close the Settings window to save and apply your choices.
Sign out from the kiosk device and sign in with the local kiosk account to validate the configuration.
Functional limitations
Microsoft Edge Chromium Roll Out
With the release of this preview version of kiosk mode we're continuing work on improving the product and adding new features.
We currently don't support the following features and recommend that you turn off:
See also
As of Wednesday, January 15, Microsoft will make the non-beta version of its new, Chromium-based version of the Edge browser to Windows 10 Home and Pro users. We covered the beta version of Chromium-based Edge in November. The beta was still pretty raw then—but 'raw' is a relative term. The new Edge project began with a complete and fully functional Web browser—Chromium—so it worked fine for browsing the Web. There were just a few rough edges as far as installing extensions, logging into them, and the like.We've seen one take waxing nostalgic for the old, purely Microsoft developed version of Edge, but we don't think many people will miss it much. It's not so much that Edge was a bad browser, per se—it just didn't serve much of a purpose. Edge didn't have the breadth of extensions or the user-base enthusiasm of Chrome or Firefox—and it was no better than they are at running crusty old 'Internet Explorer Only' websites and Web apps.
While there is some validity to worrying about one company 'controlling the Web' and one of Google's biggest competitors now becoming a Google downstream, we don't think those concerns add up to much. We don't want to see the full-on Google Chrome become any more indispensable than it already is—but we don't think Microsoft trading in its own fully proprietary, closed-source HTML-rendering engine for one of the two biggest open source rendering engines is a bad thing.
Microsoft Edge Chromium Mac
We downloaded the final beta version of Chromium-based Edge—the one available on the afternoon of the 14th, one day before the official launch—and took it for a spin in a Windows 10 virtual machine. Mostly, it still just looks like a slightly plainer version of Chrome—which isn't a bad thing! Sites load snappily, UI elements are familiar, and so forth. One of the biggest obvious improvements since the last time we test-drove Chromium Edge is the ability to install extensions from the official Chrome Web store.
AdvertisementMicrosoft's own Web store is still extremely sparse—we went looking for the must-have, EFF-developed HTTPS Everywhere, and instead we got a recommendation for 'NBC Sports'—which does not seem well-loved by its users. However, typing 'chrome Web store' in the address/search bar took us right where we needed to go and presented us with an obvious tool-tip for installing third-party extensions. That was that—HTTPS Everywhere installed with a single click, just as you'd expect it to on Chromium or Google Chrome itself.
Microsoft Edge Chromium Group Policy
Chromium-based Edge is still missing a couple of obvious features to compete with the full Google Chrome experience—most notably, browser history and extensions don't sync between devices yet. This is described as a temporary problem in the 'Known Issues' page, and it may even be fixed already in the production version launching today.
Pushing the new Edge as something to look forward to right now is difficult—we suspect most people who really care about their browser will continue using Chrome, Firefox, or whatever less-well-known variant they've found and learned to love. Meanwhile, the people who have actually been actively using Edge likely won't notice much of a change—unless Microsoft bobbles something in the user data import functionality when they push the official, non-beta version out through Windows Update later this month.
In all likelihood, the change absolutely will improve the lives of the folks who 'just click the blue E' in the long run, though. It will likely make it easier for Microsoft to lure more technical users—who demand feature and extension parity but might be interested in Edge's Azure authentication back-end—away from Google Chrome.
Microsoft Edge Chromium Download
This article initially stated that Chromium-based Edge was being pushed over Windows Update beginning on the 15th; a Microsoft representative reached out to correct us: it was only available for download beginning on the 15th, and will not be pushed over Windows Update until later this month. The article has been updated accordingly.