Hey there, let’s discuss about the topic of how to Show or Hide Hubs Sidebar Policy in MS Edge Browser using M365 Admin Center. The Hubs Sidebar Policy in Microsoft 365 lets administrators control the visibility and functionality of the sidebar in Microsoft Teams and other collaboration spaces.
This policy decides which apps, features, and shortcuts appear in the sidebar, helping companies keep things neat and focused for their users. Also, the Hubs Sidebar Policy control admins fine-tune things, so they can set different settings for certain groups or departments.
The Microsoft Edge sidebar is a handy feature that lets us access important tools and services quickly, and all that without having to leave our browser. By managing how the sidebar looks, organizations can boost security, improve navigation efficiency, and reduce the distractions.
If we enable the Hubs Side bar policy, the Sidebar is always visible. If you disable this policy, the Sidebar is never shown. Now we will see how to deploy enable or disable the Hubs Side bar Policy in MS Edge Browser using M365 Admin Center.
Table of Contents
How to Restore the Windows Sidebar?
To fix this problem, we need to follow these steps – Click Start > then click All Programs > click Accessories > right-click Command Prompt > select Run as administrator.
Show or Hide Hubs Sidebar Policy in MS Edge Browser
In this post we are going to explain the step-by-step guidance on deploying Show or Hide Hubs Sidebar Policy in Microsoft Edge through the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. For this, we need to log in to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
- Go to Microsoft 365 Admin Center > Settings > Microsoft Edge > Configuration Policies > Create policy.
- Enable Disable Search Bar Allowed in Edge Through Microsoft 365 Admin Center Policy
- Configuration Profile for Edge Browser Extensions and Sidebar Management using Microsoft 365 Admin Center
- Enable Autofill For Addresses In MS Edge Browser Using Microsoft 365 Admin Center Policy
Basics
In a Policy configuration, it is important to assign a clear name to the policy and provide a detailed description for the policy. While description of the policy is not mandatory but, name of the policy is important.
| Name | Description | Policy Type | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hubs Sidebar Policy | If we enable this policy, the Sidebar is always visible | Intune | Windows 10 and 11 |
Settings
In Settings tab, we need to click “Add settings“. This is important to choose a configuration setting for deploying a policy. So we need to search for the policy we want to deploy from Additional settings by clicking +Add Settings.
Configure a Setting
Clicking Add Settings takes us to the Configure a Settings page. Here, we can find the policy by searching its name or find through categories. Each policy usually has two sections: one to change its Value setting and another with More details.
More Details
More details tab helps us to know more about the policy’s purpose and functionality. Click “More Details” to view its complete description, including technical specifications and implementation guidance. Here we need to understand the impotant informations about the policy.
| More Details |
|---|
| The Sidebar is a launcher bar located on the right side of Microsoft Edge |
| If you enable this policy, the Sidebar is always visible |
| If you disable this policy, the Sidebar is never shown |
To enable the policy, just tick the check box next to its name in the list, then click Next to continue with the configuration process. This step confirms our choice and proceed in the policy setup workflow. If we wish we can edit or delete the policy settings here.
Extensions
In the Extensions section, we can control how extensions customize through various policies, including installation settings and permissions, and URLs. If we need more features, click + Add extension to include them. If we don’t need any extensions to be added, we can proceed with default extension.
Assignments
The next important step is Assignments, where we can choose to whom we assign this policy. To assign it, click + Select group and choose the appropriate group from the available Microsoft Entra groups.
- Click + Select group
The Assignments tab is where we manage who gets our policy. So after the selection of the group from the Microsoft Entra groups, a pop-up notification will appear on the page confirming that the group has been updated. Here we assigned the group Test_HTMD_Policy.
Finish
To finish setting up the policy, click Review + create to check all our settings before the policy going to be installed. The summary screen shows the options we have configured, like assignments, rules, and exceptions, which lets us do a final quality check. Once we are sure everything is okay, click Create.
Here the portal will display a success message confirming that the policy has been created successfully. The new policy will then be visible in the Configuration Policies section.
- Settings> Microsoft Edge> Configuration Policies > Policy name.
Device and User Check-in Status
For making sure that the new policy is applied to devices, we need to do manual sync via the Company Portal. After syncing, the policy will be visible in Microsoft Intune. To verify its successful installation, check the policy’s status in the Intune Portal.
- Go to Devices > Configuration, locating your policy in the Policies tab, and confirming a succeeded status.
Client-Side Verification
We can check the policy status using the Windows Event Viewer. Navigate to Applications and Services Logs > Microsoft > Windows > DeviceManagement-Enterprise-Diagnostics-Provider > Admin and look for Event ID 814.
MDM PolicyManager: Set policy string, Policy: (HubsSidebarEnabled), Area (microsoft_edgev99~Policy~microsoft_edge), EnrollmentID requesting merge: (B1E9301C-8666-412A-BA2F-3BF8A55BFA62), Current User: (Device), String: (), Enrollment Type: (0x6), Scope: (0x0).
End Result – Hubs Side Bar Enabled
We can access this feature on Edge Browser. Here i search for HTMD in Edge browser, and the result came as shown in the screenshot below. Then we need to right click, and click on Open in sidebar, so our search result will appear in the right side of the screen. Refer the screenshot below for clarity.
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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.