This happens with computer users all the time. We keep tens of tabs open in our web browsers. Often, we keep tabs open because we want to go back to those pages (tabs) again.
The problem with multiple open tabs is that they consume system resources when they are kept open. In short, more open tabs means more system resource usage. For example, if you have dozens of tabs open in your Edge browser, the browser might easily be consuming about 1.5 GB of RAM.
Would not it be good if we could reduce the resource usage of tabs that we have not viewed for some time?
If your PC often runs out of RAM because of web browsers, then you can turn on the new Sleeping tabs feature in Edge to reduce the RAM usage by up to 25%.
What is the Sleeping tabs feature?
Sleeping tabs is a new feature currently available in the Dev and Canary channels of Microsoft Edge. The feature, when enabled, puts inactivate tabs to sleep mode to save computer resources. By enabling Sleeping tabs, you can save resources by over 25%.
This is how it works. When multiple tabs are open, and you are viewing only one tab for a prolonged period, Edge browser puts other inactive tabs to the sleeping state to save system resources.
Sleeping tabs is a fantastic feature to have. We urge users to turn it on and configure it correctly.
NOTE: The Sleeping tabs feature is currently available in the Edge Dev channel only.
Here is how to turn on or off and change the sleeping tabs settings in the Microsoft Edge browser.
Turn on or off Sleeping tabs in Microsoft Edge
Step 1: Click on the three dots (refer to the picture below) and then click Settings to open the Edge settings page.
Step 2: On the left pane, click on the System tab.
Step 3: In the Save resources section, turn on the option labeled Save resources with the sleeping tabs option to turn on the Sleeping tabs feature.
Change Sleeping tabs settings in Microsoft Edge
Step 1: In the Edge browser, click on the three horizontal dots and then click the Settings option. This will open the Settings page.
Step 2: In the left pane, click on the System tab. In the Save resources section, you can see options to change Sleeping tabs settings.
With default settings, tabs are put in sleeping mode after 30 minutes of inactivity. To change this, select any other number from the drop-down box next to Put inactive tabs to sleep after the specified amount of time option.
The page also offers an option to exclude specific website tabs from entering the sleeping mode.
For instance, you can prevent a tab showing the IntoWindows website from entering the sleeping mode. To add a website, click on the Add button, type the domain name, and then click the Add button. That is it!
Enable or disable the Sleeping tabs feature in Edge
Like most other features, one can enable or disable the Sleeping tabs feature via the Experiments page. Here is how to do that.
Step 1: Type Edge://flags in the address bar. Press the Enter key.
Step 2: On the Experiments page, search for Enable sleeping tabs option and then select the Enabled or Disabled option as per your requirements.
