Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune

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Let’s discuss Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune. Microsoft Intune provides open in sidebar policy to control whether users can open websites and apps directly in the Microsoft Edge sidebar.

Enable Open in Sidebar policy allows you to access browser’s multitasking capabilities on Microsoft Edge. With this policy, users to access a secondary website or application without having to switch tabs. Overall this policy helps to improve productivity.

Open in Sidebar policy, beneficial for users, admins and organization. They can either provide a powerful multitasking tool or simplify the browser to reduce distractions. The sidebar allows users to be more efficient on work.

Users can reference a document, chat with a colleague, or use a calculator without ever leaving the webpage they’re working on. Organizations can use Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge policy to manage the adoption of new browser features.

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Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune

Admins can ensure consistent user interface cross all managed devices. Imagine you are an Admin on a It Firm and using Microsoft Edge as the Default browser. The company wants to maximize the efficiency of its support agents. This policy allows support agents to work more efficiently by having multiple resources open at the same time without switching tabs.

Steps to Configure the Policy

By signing in Microsoft Intune admin center, you can start configuring Component Updates in MS Edge. Open the Microsoft Intune Admin center. Go to Devices > Configuration > +Create >+ New Policy.

Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune - Fig.1
Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune – Fig.1

Profile Creation

To create the profile, you have to select platform and profile type. It is a very necessary step and you cannot skip this. Here I would like to configure the policy to Windows 10 and later platform and settings catalog profile. Then click on the Create button.

Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune - Fig.2
Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune – Fig.2

Filling Basic Details on Basic Tab

Basic tab helps you to give an identify for the settings you have to select for policy creation. You should add appropriate name and description for policy. Here is Name is mandatory and description is optional. After adding this click on the Next button.

Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune - Fig.3
Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune – Fig.3

Configure Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge

On the Configuration Tab, you can see the +Add settings hyperlink to access specific settings. When you click on this hyperlink, you will get Settings Picker. Here, I would like to select the settings by browsing by Category. I choose Microsoft Edge. Then, I choose Enable Open in sidebar settings.

Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune - Fig.4
Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune – Fig.4

Disable Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge

Disabling the policy ensures a more focused and work-only browsing environment. Disable is the default value of this policy, and if you want to go with this value, click on the Next button.

Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune - Fig.5
Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune – Fig.5

Enable Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge

Many users find the sidebar convenient, and allowing its use can improve overall satisfaction with the corporate browsing environment. Here I would like to enable this policy and click on the Next button.

Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune - Fig.6
Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune – Fig.6

Selecting Scope Tags

Scope Tags sections help you add restrictions to the visibility of the Policy. But it is not a mandatory step, so you can skip this step. Here, I don’t add scope tags for Copilot Access to Page Context for Microsoft Entra ID Profiles Policy. Click on the Next button.

Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune - Fig.7
Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune – Fig.7

Assignment Tab for Select Specific Groups

To assign the policy to specific groups, you can use the Assignment Tab. Here I click, +Add groups option under Included groups. I choose a group from the list of groups and click on the Select button. Again, I click on the Select button to continue.

Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune - Fig.8
Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune – Fig.8

Review + Create for Policy Completion

Review + Create tab allows you to complete the policy creation. Before creating the policy, you can recheck each and every details like, Policy Name, Settings, Scope Tags, Assigned groups to apply specific policy to targeted groups effectively. After verifying all the details, click on the Create Button. After creating the policy, you will get a success message.

Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune - Fig.9
Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune – Fig.9

Device Check-in Status on Intune Portal

When you created the policy, immediately syncing the device on Company portal helps you to fastly deploy the policy on client device. After that, you can check the policy status on the Intune Portal. Open the Intune Portal. Go to Devices > Configuration > Search for the Policy. Here, the policy shows as successful.

Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune - Fig.10
Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune – Fig.10

Event Viewer for Client Side Verification

After the policy created successfully created, you can check the client-side verification on Event Viewer. To do this, you have to open the Event Viewer on the Client Device. Then go to Application and Services Logs > Microsoft >  Windows > DeviceManagement-Enterprise-Diagnostics-Provider > Admin.

  • You will get the success result on Event ID 814
Event ID Details
MDM PolicyManager: Set policy string, Policy: (EdgeOpenlnSidebarEnabled), Area:
(microsoft_edgev128~Policy~microsoft_edge), EnrollmentID requesting merge:
(EB427D85-802F-46D9-A3E2-D5B414587F63), Current User: (Device), String: (),
Enrollment Type: (0x6), Scope: (0x0).
Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune – Table.1
Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune - Fig.11
Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune – Fig.11

Removing the Assigned Group from these Settings

If you want to remove the Assigned group from the policy, it is possible from the Intune Portal. To do this, open the Policy on Intune Portal and edit the Assignments tab and the Remove Policy.

To get more detailed information, you can refer to our previous post – Learn How to Delete or Remove App Assignment from Intune using by Step-by-Step Guide.

Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune - Fig.12
Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune – Fig.12

How to Delete Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge

You can easily delete the Policy from the Intune Portal. From the Configuration section, you can delete the policy. It will completely remove it from the client devices.

For detailed information, you can refer to our previous post – How to Delete Allow Clipboard History Policy in Intune Step by Step Guide.

Control Access to Open in Sidebar for Microsoft Edge Browser using Intune - Fig.13

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Author

Anoop C Nair has been Microsoft MVP for 10 consecutive years from 2015 onwards. He is a Workplace Solution Architect with more than 22+ years of experience in Workplace technologies. He is a Blogger, Speaker, and Local User Group Community leader. His primary focus is on Device Management technologies like SCCM and Intune. He writes about technologies like Intune, SCCM,   Windows, Cloud PC,  Windows, Entra, Microsoft Security, Career, etc

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