Sidebar Refreshes When Switching Between Tabs in Microsoft Edge

Question

We are encountering a problem where the sidebar in Microsoft Edge refreshes or reloads every time a user switches between browser tabs, causing them to lose any in-progress work or context within the sidebar. This disrupts the browsing flow and requires users to repeatedly set up or reload the sidebar content.

Environment Details

• Operating System: macOS (Sequoia v15.2)

• Browser Version: Microsoft Edge (latest stable release)

• Extension: A typical sidebar extension that loads interactive content or services

Issue Description

When users open the sidebar on a specific tab, then navigate to a different tab, and switch back, the sidebar does not retain its previous state. Instead, it appears to reload or refresh entirely. This can lead to lost form inputs, reset navigation state, or other inconveniences.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open Microsoft Edge and install/enable the sidebar extension.
2. Open multiple tabs in the browser.
3. Launch the sidebar in one tab.
4. Switch to a different tab.
5. Switch back to the original tab.

Actual Result: The sidebar reloads or resets, losing the user’s previous state.

Expected Result: The sidebar should remain in its current state when returning to the original tab.

Thank you for your assistance!

Answer 1

Hi Rishab Lamba,

I wanted to share some details about the Microsoft Edge sidebar reloading issue that occurs every time you switch tabs and return, leading to the loss of unsaved data, input, or navigation state within the sidebar.

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Why Your Sidebar Keeps Reloading

• Edge's Resource-Saving Feature ("Tab Off")
  Edge is designed for efficiency. It automatically puts inactive tabs to sleep to save memory and CPU. When a tab goes to sleep, its contents—including any open sidebars—are removed from memory. When you return to that tab, the sidebar must reload from scratch.
• Sidebar Doesn't "Remember" Its State
  Think of the sidebar as a separate mini-webpage or extension view. If the sidebar isn't specifically programmed to store temporary data (like typed form entries, scroll position, or navigation state), all of this information will be lost when the tab is unloaded.
• OS Limitations (Especially on macOS)
  macOS has strict memory management mechanisms, which can cause browsers and tabs to load slower and increase the likelihood that your sidebar will need to reload.
• No Persistent Background Connection
  If the sidebar doesn't maintain a persistent connection to a background service, it can't "remember" its context. Each reload is like starting over from scratch—with no saved state.

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Solutions You Can Try

1. Turn Off Sleeping Tabs in Edge

1. Go to Edge > Settings > System and Performance.
2. Turn off the option: Save resources with sleeping tabs.
3. Optionally, add important sites to the Never put these sites to sleep exception list.

2. Turn Off Auto-Discard via edge://discards/

1. Open edge://discards/ in your Edge browser.
2. Find the tab that runs the sidebar or app.
3. In the "Auto-Discard" column, click the toggle to set it to false.
   This prevents Edge from putting that tab to sleep automatically.

3. Add Important Sites to the Exceptions List

1. Go to Edge > Settings > System and Performance.
2. Under "Never put these sites to sleep", add the domain name of the website or extension you want to keep running.

4. Provide Feedback to the Extension Author

If you're using an extension's sidebar, consider contacting the developer. They may be able to implement better state persistence in their extension.

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These steps should help you manage and reduce sidebar reloading in Microsoft Edge. If you have any other questions or need further assistance, feel free to ask!

Answer 2

Hi Rishab Lamba,

I wanted to share some details about the Microsoft Edge sidebar reloading issue every time the user switches tabs and comes back, causing loss of unsaved data, input, or navigation state within the sidebar.

  Why your sidebar keeps reloading:
_Edge's resource-saving feature (Tab Off): Edge is designed to be efficient. It automatically puts inactive tabs to sleep to save memory and CPU. When a tab goes to sleep, its contents—including any open sidebars—are removed from memory. So when you return to that tab, the sidebar has to reload from scratch. _Sidebar Doesn't "Remember" Its State: Think of the sidebar as a separate mini-webpage or extension view. If it isn't specifically programmed to store temporary data like what you've typed into a form, where you've scrolled, or where you've navigated, all of that information will be lost when the tab is removed. _OS Limitations (Particularly on macOS): macOS, in particular, has a pretty strict memory management mechanism. This can cause the browser and tabs to load slower than other systems, increasing the likelihood that your sidebar will have to reload. _No Persistent Background Connection: If the sidebar doesn't have a persistent connection to a background service, it has no way to "remember" its context. Each reload is like starting over from scratch, with no saved state.   Here are some solutions you can try

1. Turn Off Sleeping Tabs in Edge: Go to Edge > Settings > System and Performance. Turn off "Save resources with sleeping tabs". You can also add important sites to "Never put these sites to sleep" to prevent them from being dismissed.  
2. Turn off Auto-Discard via edge://discards/: Go to edge://discards/ in your Edge browser. Find the tab that the sidebar or app is running in. In the "Auto-Discard" column, click the toggle to set it to false. This will prevent Edge from automatically putting that particular tab to sleep.  
3. Add important sites to the exceptions list: Go to the same settings page as above (Edge > Settings > System and Performance). Under "Never put these sites to sleep," add the domain name of the website or extension that you want to keep running.  
4. Provide feedback to the extension author: If you're using an extension's sidebar, consider contacting the developer. They could implement better state persistence in their extension.  

I hope this information is helpful and gives you some ways to manage sidebar reloading. Let me know if you have any other questions or need further assistance!

Answer 3

Hi @Rishab Lamba ,

Thank you for your feedback. Please note that it has been identified as a known issue that the sidebar is not automatically displayed again when the user switches to a tab in which the sidebar was previously open (Issue #142).

The Edge Dev Team has been actively investigating this issue. You can follow the issue post for more information. Thank you for your understanding.

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