Reset quick links

Question

Is there any way to reset quick links on the new tab page in Microsoft Edge so that it starts over, automatically populating sites based on how often you use them?

I'm not asking how to hide or show quick links or how to add or edit them. I just want to know if it's possible to make Edge completely forget everything you've ever done with the quick links and have it start from scratch.

Answer 1

... make Edge completely forget everything you've ever done with the quick links and have it start from scratch.

It looks as if there are three sources for Quick links:

• Custom links, added using the ➕icon;
• Top Sites, those most visited;
• Defaults used to pre-populate the page.

Annoyingly, these are stored in different places and formats.

Custom links are stored in a node called "custom_links" in the profile's Preferences file, e.g.

C:\Users**{user}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Edge\User Data\Default\Preferences**

This is a plain text file containing JSON data. When Edge is completely closed down, you could open this file in Notepad and edit it to remove the entries it contains. It would be better, though, to use the Remove option on the tile's ⋯ (More Options) menu as Neil advised to avoid accidents.

Top Sites are identified by a complex algorithm using not only the frequency of visits to them. They are stored in an SQLite database called Top Sites in the same place as the Preferences file. You could delete this file when Edge is closed; it will be re-created empty next time you launch the browser.

I've no idea where the default links - which in my market include Ebay, Amazon, LinkedIn and Disney - come from. They go away if you add enough custom links and visit enough different sites frequently.

My own preference is to remove all of the quick links and then Add 16 of my own choice. I'm hoping they will never change unless I decide to change them. They're still there after many months.

Answer 2

Thanks for the info. The custom_links node in Preferences contains no entries — I haven't added any links manually since this file was created. Some sites I go to a lot still refuse to show up in the quick links.

My purpose here is not to have a permanent set of links — I'd use favorites for that if I wanted it — but to keep an unbookmarked list of "you go here a lot these days" that might change in the future if my browsing habits change. But for some reason some of the sites that used to show up here without me pinning them no longer do after I started mucking with the links and no matter how much I use those sites. I feel like Edge has remembered somewhere that "Oh, you deleted that link, so I'm not going to show it to you anymore," where what I really want is Edge to completely forget anything I've ever done with links so that it goes back to a completely default behavior regarding them.

Answer 3

You sure about that? Sites I remove don't come back with repeated visits.

Answer 4

Hi David,

Well, of course only remove the sites you want to remove and keep the ones you want to keep.

However, if you're having trouble then simply clear Edge's cache and this will restore the quick links functionality.

Here's how to do this:

Open Edge.

Press Ctrl+H on your keyboard to open the History box.

Click the 3 dots (...) at the top of the History box.

Click on "Clear browsing data”.

In the drop-down "Time range" box select "All time".

Make sure the first 4 boxes are checked (Browsing history, Download history, Cookies and other site data, and Cached images and files).

Click the "Clear now" button.

Let Edge clear the data.

Afterwards, close Edge.

Then re-open Edge.

You should now have several quick links back by default and any new ones should stick after several site visits.

I hope this helps.

Kindest regards,

Neil

Answer 5

Hi David, my name is Neil, and I'm an Edge user like you.

Yes there is! If you hover over any of your quick links you will see 3 little dots (...) Place your mouse over these and click and you will be presented with two options "Rename" and "Remove".

Click "Remove" and this will delete that quick link from Edge's memory. Do this for all your quick links and you can start from fresh.

I have included a screenshot of my Edge below showing where to hover and click.

I hope this answers your question.

Kindest regards,

Neil