AZ-204 tricks - Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure Updated: 2024

Last month, Microsoft revealed that they were entering the foldable device market, with two new Surface dual-screen devices: Neo and Duo. Surface Neo includes two 9” screens that unfold into a 13” display, while Surface Duo has two 5.6” screens that unfold into an 8.3” display.

As part of this announcement, the company also revealed a new operating system, Windows 10X, that is designed for dual-screen devices. 

RELATED CONTENT: Foldable technology will force developers to think outside the box

Now, the company is providing guidelines and advice for developers looking to develop for these types of devices. According to Microsoft, there are two stages for optimizing apps for dual screen devices: 1) making sure that websites and apps work and 2) embracing dual-screen experiences. 

Microsoft stated that developers will not have to start from scratch on these devices. “Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for your existing websites and apps to work well on dual-screen devices,” Kevin Gallo, corporate vice president of the Windows Developer Platform, wrote in a post. 

Developers can use existing investments and tools for Web, UWP, and Win32 on the Surface Neo. Surface Duo will bring together Android apps, OS, and Surface hardware. According to Microsoft, current websites and Android apps will continue to work on a single screen. Developers will also be able to stay in their current workflows and use their existing tools. 

The next stage is to embrace dual-screen experiences.  It is currently working on “identifying key postures and layouts across dual-screen and foldable PCs so that you can take advantage of both.”

For native app development, it will introduce a common model. The common model will be built on top of existing tools and frameworks for Windows and Android. The APIs used to access this model will be tailored to the operating system’s developer platform. 

According to Microsoft, the web will continue following a standards-based model. It will work to create the right web standards and APIs that will allow web developers to take advantage of cross-platform dual-screen capabilities. 

Microsoft has been relaunching its browser, which first started with the EDGE HTML rendering engine and now Chromium. While Internet Explorer is still there on Windows 10, Edge HTML will be called Edge Legacy, the new Chromium-based Edge Browser will soon be delivered through Windows Update. This post offers you some cool Edge Browser Chromium Tips and Tricks that will help you get the best of this new web browser and its features in Windows 11 and Windows 10.

Here are some tips and tricks that will help you get the best out of the new Microsoft Edge Chromium browser on Windows 11/10:

1. Enable Dark Mode
2. Force Dark Mode for Web Contents
3. Change default search
4. Customize Edge New tab page
5. Customize Edge Browser
6. Set Multiple Homepages
7. Manage passwords & autofill
8. Add a Home button
9. Import favorites, passwords, history into Edge
10. Show the Favorites bar
11. Auto-Hide the address bar
12. Make a Web Note
13. Pin Edge Browser website shortcut to Taskbar
14. F12 Developer Tools
15. Open the web page in IE & Edge Legacy
16. Install Chrome Extensions and Themes in Edge
17. Enable and manage Data Sync in Edge Chromium
18. Change default obtain location of Edge Chromium
19. Edge keyboard shortcuts
20. Use a custom image option for New Tab Page in Edge
21. Take a scrolling screenshot of the webpage
22. Enable and use Command Palette
23. Use Math Solver
24. Remove Duplicate Favorites

You can quickly access the Edge Chromium Settings either by using “edge://settings/” in the URL or click on the three dots and then click on settings. I have also highlighted the direct path for each of the settings for quicker access.

1] Enable Dark Mode

The default is set to the light theme, but you can change it to Dark or use System mode. The latter will automatically enable dark mode when you use Dark Mode in Windows 10.

• Go to Settings > Appearance > Theme (edge://settings/appearance)
• Click on the dropdown, and choose Dark.
• It will instantly enable Dark mode without a restart.

Read: How to enable or disable Audio, Video, and Screen Capture in Edge.

2] Force Dark Mode for Web Contents

If you want to force websites to become dark, you can force it using a flag—Force Dark Mode for Web Contents. It works on Chrome as well because of the Chromium Engine.

• Use edge://flags to open the settings.
• Search Force Dark Mode for Web Contents
• When you find it, enable it using the dropdown
• Restart browser.

You should know that when you force a website to change, it is possible that some of the text will not be visible to you. Chromium Engine offers different ways to force dark mode. Experiment with them to find what works for you. There are various ways like HSL, RGB, and so on.

Read: How to lock the Edge or Chrome browser with a password.

3] Change default search

The default search engine in Edge Chromium is going to be Bing, but you can always change it. You can choose to create custom search engines to search on websites directly.

• Go to Settings > Privacy and services. Scroll down to find address bar (edge://settings/search)
• Under Search engine used in the address bar, click on the dropdown to change from Bing to Google.

Now every time you type on the address bar, it will search on Google. If there is another search engine you want to add, click on Manage Search Engines, and you can add based on some parameters.

You can include Google or any other search engine in the list of Edge browser. Our post on how to change Default Search to Google in Edge offers step-by-step instructions in this regard.

Read: How to find those parameters and add them.

4] Customize New Tab or Home Page

Every time you open Edge Chromium, you should see a new wallpaper as a background. It’s a signature feature of Edge that has been there for long. You get a search bar, background image, and a bunch of recently visited pages in the form of aligned boxes.

The New tab page in the Edge browser now features  4 new modes. This helps you customize the experience to fit your preferences. See ‘Change New Tab Page layout in Edge‘ to know the complete procedure.

You can change this layout by clicking on the cog icon on the right.

Apart from this, you also have On Startup option (edge://settings/onStartup), where you can choose open a new tab or Continue where you left off and open a specific page every time.

Read: How to block a website in Microsoft Edge.

5] Customize Edge Browser

Edge offers some customization options. Visit this page if you would like to customize the Edge browser.

6] Set Multiple Homepages

A home page is the main page of a website where visitors can find hyperlinks to other pages on the site. Also, it is a web address that opens automatically when you launch the web browser. Here, you can set your favorite website, blog or search engine as your home page or you can set a blank page too. Like all web browsers, the new Edge too, lets you configure multiple homepages. Just access ‘Settings and more‘ menu > ‘Settings’ > ‘On startup‘ > ‘Open a specific page or pages‘ > ‘Add a new page‘.

Then, enter the URL of the homepage and you are good to go!

TIP: You can edit an Image using built-in Image Editor Tool of Microsoft Edge

7] Manage Passwords and AutoFill

Just like Chrome and Firefox, Microsoft Edge Chromium offers its inbuilt password manager that can sync across devices. Edge is also available on Android and iPhone.

• Navigate to Settings > Profiles and click on Passwords (edge://settings/passwords)
• Here you can search for saved passwords, export passwords, view, and delete them. There is no way to edit.
• If you do not want to use this feature  or secure it, you can
  • Toggle off option where Edge asks to save passwords. It will also disable autofill.
  • Turn off the option to Sign-in automatically.

When you turn off sign-in, you will have to enter the password every time you use the password manager to sign in.

You can do away with the requirement of saving passwords manually! The process can be simplified by enabling the Form-fill option. This feature configures your browser to fill the web forms, automatically. Refer to our earlier post – Manage Passwords and Form-Fill.

8] Add a Home button

The home button in a browser is a legacy thing which used to take the user back to a new tab and open it as it has been set. It is like the house icon next to the address bar.

The Home button represents a physical button that aids the navigation by taking users directly to the Home screen (starting point of the site). It is turned off by default in Edge Chromium but you can add it anytime. See this post for more details –  add a Home button.

• Go to Settings > Appearance (edge://settings/appearance)
• Toggle on Show Home Button
• Set if you want to open a new Tab page or a URL.

9] Import favorites, passwords, history into Microsoft Edge Chromium

If you are planning to use Edge over any other browser, it would be a good idea to import settings, etc. from the old browser. The Import Feature works with Microsoft Edge (Legacy), Chrome, Firefox, and more.

• Go to Settings > Profile > Import Browser Data (edge://settings/importData)
• Select the browser from the dropdown, and select what you want to import.
• You can import favorites, saved passwords, search engines, browsing history, and Home Page.

TIP: You can also use enable and use Password Monitor.

10] Show the Favorites bar

• Click on the three-dot menu next to the profile icon.
• Navigate to Favorites > Show Favorite Bar or use Ctrl + Shift + B
• You can choose between Always, Never, or Only on new tabs. The later is useful if you do not want to access favorites from each tab.

In Edge Chromium, you have a better way to access favorites—Favorites Button. It appears at the end, and outside of the address bar. When you click on it, it will reveal all the bookmarked pages and folders. It is better to use the button as it is less intrusive.

11] Auto-Hide the address bar

Press F11 to go full-screen. The Edge address bar will auto-hide. To make it appear, simply move the mouse to the top edge.

There’s more! You might take interest in checking out some of the features of the Edge browser so that you are completely familiar with all the features of the web browser. It talks about how to Delete browsing history and cache, Share web pages, use Reading View, create Reading List, use the built-in PDF Reader, the Hub, Sync Support, Page Prediction feature, support for Dolby Audio and more. There are also some new security features in Edge you may want to take a look at. Having done this, you might want to also take a look at and configure

12] Make a Web Note

Edge is the only browser available to date that allows you to annotate a web page right on the screen and then save your markings as notes. It lets you take notes, write, highlight directly on web pages or scribble on the web. To check this, open a PDF file with Edge and you’ll see the ‘Draw‘ option below the address bar that will allow you to create WebNotes, readily.

13] Pin Edge Browser website shortcut to Taskbar

The earlier version of Edge allowed adding websites to the Start Menu. That’s not possible with the Chromium version. Instead, you can choose to Pin websites shortcut to Taskbar.

• Open the website you want to pin to Taskbar
• Click on the ellipse menu (three dots) > More tools > Pin to Taskbar
• You should see the Favicon of the website on the taskbar

Interesting to note that all these pinned websites are treated as Apps and are available under Menu > Apps > Manage Apps (edge://apps/)

14] F12 Developer Tools

n case you are interested in developing add-ons for Microsoft Edge, you might want to know about developer tools provided by Microsoft.

Click on Menu More Tools and then click on Developer Tools. You can use Ctrl + Shift + I to open it quickly.

This will automatically launch the tools undocked. As a Developer, you might be excited to use the Network tools. Use them to change User-Agent, Mode, Display, Geolocation too.

15] Open the web page in IE & Edge Legacy

If you still need to use IE for some of the websites and applications, follow this method for IE. When it comes to Edge HTML or Edge Legacy, you need to enable it manually. Once done, follow the same steps we have asked for IE.

16] Install Chrome Extensions in Edge

Since Microsoft Edge is now based on Chromium, it supports most of the Chrome extensions. You can now install extensions in Edge from outside Microsoft Store to enhance your web browsing experience. You can also install extensions from the Chrome Store.

When you visit the Chrome Extension Webstore, Edge will prompt that you can install the extension from here or any third party website. Click on Allow to enable extensions from other stores. You can also install Chrome Themes.

Related: How to manage, add, remove Extensions in new Microsoft Edge browser

17] Enable and manage Data Sync in Edge Chromium

Just like Firefox and Chrome, you can sync data, profile, extensions, and passwords across browser instances. If you use Edge on multiple computers, you can sync data between them. You will have to enable it manually, so follow our guide. It is my favorite of our Edge Chromium Tips Tricks, and I am sure if you love using Edge, you will like it too.

TIP: if you middle-click the Back and Forward buttons, this action will open the site in a new tab.

18] Change default obtain location of Edge Chromium

It is best to set the obtain location separate from the default obtain folder if you obtain a lot of things at one place.

19] Edge keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts are something that every browser supports. Microsoft’s browser is no exception to this rule. You can use these shortcuts to fasten your navigation process. For example, you can bookmark a website by simply hitting CTRL+D keys in combination and choose a folder to save the bookmark. See the complete list of these browser keyboard shortcuts.

20] Use Custom image option for New Tab Page in Edge

• Launch Edge
• Open New tab page
• Click on Page Settings > Page Layout
• Click on Custom> Background > Your own image
• Select Upload and select your Picture you want to be displayed
• Save and restart Edge.

21] Take a scrolling screenshot of the webpage

You can take a scrolling screenshot of the webpage you are viewing. Press CTRL+Shift+S in Edge. Then use the pointer to select the entire webpage – even the part that is below the fold.

22] Enable and use Command Palette

Command Palette feature in Edge browser (version 105 and higher) lets you perform actions that you may need in day-to-day browsing. For example, this feature lets you clear browsing data, toggle developer tools, move a tab backward, bookmark all tabs, and lots more from a single panel. Here is how to enable and use Command Palette in Microsoft Edge:

1. Type edge://flags in the address bar of Microsoft Edge and press Enter
2. On the Flags page (Experiments), there is a Command Palette setting
3. Select the Enabled option for that setting using the drop-down menu
4. Restart Microsoft Edge.

After enabling Command Palette, use the Ctrl+Shift+Space shortcut key to open the Command Palette panel. Type some keyboards in the text box and related actions will be visible.

23] Use Math Solver

Math Solver is one of the interesting features of Microsoft Edge. It helps to solve Math problems (Calculus, Arithmetic, Trigonometry, Quadratic equations, etc.) with step-by-step explanations.

To enable the Math Solver feature in Microsoft Edge:

1.  Access the Appearance category of Microsoft Edge Settings
2. There, turn on the Math Solver button.

Math Solver icon will appear on the Microsoft Edge toolbar. You can click that icon and then use the Math Solver feature in Microsoft Edge.

24] Remove Duplicate Favorites

You may have imported a lot of favorites from other browsers as well as created many bookmarks over the period of time in Microsoft Edge. And, some of those favorites might be duplicated. Thankfully, Microsoft Edge comes with a built-in option to remove duplicate favorites from a profile with the same URL and name.

For this, open the Edge browser and access a user profile. Press Ctrl+Shift+O hotkey to open the Favorites menu. There, click on the More options icon, select the Remove duplicate favorites option, and complete the process.

Also read: 10 Work from Home extensions for Microsoft Edge browser.

There’s more! You might take interest in checking out some of the features of the Edge browser so that you are completely familiar with all the features of the web browser. It talks about how to Delete browsing history and cache, Share web pages, use Reading View, create Reading List, use the built-in PDF Reader, the Hub, Sync Support, Page Prediction feature, support for Dolby Audio and more. There are also some new security features in Edge you may want to take a look at.

I hope these tips and tricks for Microsoft Edge Chromium come in handy for you. we have also covered Edge Browser Tips and Tricks for Android & iOS.

Is Microsoft Edge better in Windows 11?

The answer is a Yes. Microsoft Edge is definitely better in Windows 11 as well as Windows 10. Ever since it is based on Chromium, many interesting features came into existence. There are so many features such as vertical tabs, Web capture, voice typing, security settings, family safety, sleeping tabs, efficiency mode, etc., that provide a better user experience.

How can I make Edge faster in Windows 11?

There are some tweaks for Microsoft Edge that can make it faster. Startup Boost is a feature in Microsoft Edge that makes it launch faster than usual. You can enable it in Edge Settings. Installing more extensions can also slow down a browser. Uninstall or disable unnecessary extensions from Edge. You can also optimize your new tab experience to make Edge faster.

If you liked this post, you might want to check out  Windows 10 as well as Windows 11 Tips and Tricks too. Chrome users may want to take a look at this Google Chrome tips & tricks post and Firefox users, this Firefox tips & tricks post.

A lot of teams work from home, and they must have a tool that helps them communicate, manage tasks, get on video calls, and so on. Microsoft Teams is a viable solution that anyone can use; it is available without any extra cost. In this post, I am sharing 10 Microsoft Teams tips and tricks that will help you Improve your experience with the product.

These are some of the important Microsoft Tips and Tricks you should know and try. Some of them will need an IT admin or Office 365 admin to enable the feature.

1. Bookmark specific content
2. Search and Filter
3. Connectors
4. Navigation
5. Tabs
6. Translation
7. Immersive Reader
8. Microsoft Planner
9. Background Blur
10. Email to Teams.

Microsoft Teams offers tons of features, and if you use features that you think will be worth adding to the list, let us know.

1] Bookmark

Conversations could be lengthy, and they can be in large volumes. That’s where the bookmark feature in Microsoft Teams comes into the picture. Any message or attachment in a conversation can be bookmarked. Select the message, and it will reveal emoji picker along with three dots. Click on it, and you have the option to “Save this message.”

To access saved message, click on your profile on the top-right, and then select “Saved.” It will reveal the list of all the saved messages. When you click on any of the bookmarked messages, it will open the whole conversation, and it’ll temporarily highlight the saved message with a yellow background.

To remove a message from the list, select or hover over it, and then click on the “unsave this message” menu. You can also unsave any message by hovering over it on the list, and then clicking on the bookmark icon.

Read: How to integrate Zoom with Microsoft Teams.

2] Search and Filter

It is a powerful feature which you should master to find anything in the ocean of messages. Click on the search box, and you can type forward-slash(/) to see all the commands, mention feature(@) to find a contact and all the conversation, The “@” feature can also be used to interface with installed apps.

3] Connectors

Not everyone uses the same service, and if you have just moved to Microsoft Teams or want to connect with other services, then you can use the Microsoft Teams’ connectors. You can use it to receive notifications and messages from your web, RSS feeds, and even o push content from different Office 365  applications into Microsoft Teams.

Connectors are available in the Teams menu and are similar to apps, but they work differently. If your company has built a custom connector, then you can publish it into the store and access it or ask IT to deploy it for the company.

4] Navigation Buttons (< >)

If you are using an app, the navigation buttons are going to be your savior. Available on the top left, these buttons act as the browsing buttons (back and forward) like on the browser. So if you opened the inbox and then want to back to your team conversation, use the nav buttons to move back and forth.

5] Tabs

Teams allow you to add multiple sections or tabs. You can add a wiki, a calendar, a website, or even a file. To add a table, click on the ‘+’ sign on the right -hand side of the channel and then search for what it is you want to add in the tab.

6] Translation

Microsoft has done an incredible job when it comes to translation, and it is powerful enough to translate messages in real-time. If you are conversing with people around the world, the translation feature will be handy. Once enabled by the administrator, you can click hover over any message, click on the three-dot menu, and then choose to translate in your default language.

7]  Immersive reader

To read all the messages in a distraction less view, Microsoft has integrated immersive reader for all team message. It is useful, especially for those who need special assistance. In the immersive view, you can read the message with clarity, and also use the audio tool to read the message aloud. To have eth best experience, set the speed, and audio selection.

Click on the menu button of any message, and select Immersive Reader. It also offers extra features such as translation, line focus, change text size, bookmarks, and more.

8] Microsoft Planner integration for task management

If you have access to the Microsoft planner under Microsoft 365 subscription, then it is going to be the most straightforward task manager for you. It is recommended for those who do not use any third-party task manager and need one for the Team. Once integrated, you can create a task out of any message and assign it to any person. You can also “pin” the Planner app to any channel to make it more accessible in one click.

9] Background Blur

If you have used Skype meetings, I am sure you already know about this feature. It allows you to hide what is in your background to keep your privacy.  Microsoft teams offer video calling, and it uses Skype, which means you can use the same set of features.  If you want to activate Background Blur during meetings, click on the more actions on the call menu and select ‘Blur My Background.’

TIP: You can also use Custom Backgrounds in Microsoft Teams.

10] Email into Teams

While Teams-Outlook integration is yet to happen, until then if you want to forward any email into your Team, you can enable the built-in feature, click on the Teams menu, and then select Get email address.  It will then reveal a unique email id to which you can forward an email to appear on the teams. The configuration allows you to let anyone send emails, or only members of Team or only from the fixed set of domains.

That said, there can be a lot of tips tricks available for Microsoft teams. These are some of the best and will make sure you get to learn something new and help you use Microsoft Teams even better.

What are the best messaging apps for Windows PC?

While there are many, for general consumers, the best apps are WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Slack, Telegram, and Discord. Now that WhatsApp works well on PC as well, you can use it without the phone on up to four devices.

Does Windows have integrated instant messaging?

No, but Windows 11 offers Team Chat as part of the OS that you can use to organize meetings and chat with friends and family. You can also quickly launch it using Win + C keyboard shortcut.

Microsoft’s Copilot might not be breaking ground in quite the same way as ChatGPT seemed to when it first debuted, but there are still some useful abilities for this desktop-ready chatbot AI that is now available to pretty much anyone running the latest version of Windows 11. It doesn’t have a huge range of abilities yet, confining itself to changing some Windows settings, opening apps for you, and performing the creative writing and web search functions available through its contemporaries.

But you can make Copilot work for you and work well, and there are some tips and tricks you’ll want to employ to make the most of it. Here are some of my favorites.

Go hands-free

While the latest natural language AIs might be primarily text-based, many of them now include voice and audio support, and Windows Copilot is much the same. While this might seem like merely a more clunky way to interact with Copilot — and it is kind of clunky — this is an important feature because it means you don’t have to use your hands to prompt it. Beyond clicking the little microphone button, you can get back to whatever you’re doing while asking it a question or requesting something from it.

For me, this means I can ask it to find me information on a Topic for an article I’m writing, summarize a webpage, or give me some tips on how to do something, all while working on something else. This is particularly useful when you’re writing an article about Copilot tips and tricks, as you can have them play out while you’re writing it. When I’m writing a best-of list, though, I can have it grab a spec sheet for me, which saves me around a minute of time for each request. Those minutes quickly add up.

Beyond my needs, though, voice support is also an important accessibility feature. You don’t even need to be able to type to enjoy Windows Copilot. Young children or those with mobility difficulties can interact with and receive useful responses from it just like everyone else. For those who struggle to use a mouse or keyboard, this could greatly Improve their ability to interact with Windows naturally.

When I had a pinched nerve in my back recently and found using a mouse painful, Copilot was able to reduce my reliance on it. It’s not perfect, or even great, yet, but it has the potential to be huge.

You’ll need to be signed in to use all its features

Windows Copilot has a few additional functions that require additional information from you. In the case of generating images, you’ll need to be signed in to the Windows Image Creator service. 

This is also a good help tip if you find that you can’t use Copilot because its icon is missing or it just won’t open. Make sure you’re signed in to your online Microsoft account.

Integrate Edge with Windows Copilot

One of the few features that Copilot currently has that works really well is interacting with Edge. As a Microsoft product, this is perhaps no surprise, but it expands the functionality of Copilot beyond the bounds of Windows itself and, crucially, allows it to interact with your web session in a range of ways.

I often pull up articles with every intention of practicing them, only to find out that it will take me 20 minutes, and who has time for that? I’d certainly like to, but at this time in my life, I don’t, so Copilot can quickly summarize it for you. It can find specific information within the page, too, which can be great for finding a quote or reference you need from a lengthy interview or video transcript.

It works with PDFs

One of my favorite ways to use AI chatbots so far is searching through lengthy PDF documents for board game rule references. I’ve tried a few different options, but Windows Copilot does a pretty good job. In this case, I asked about a rule for the complicated board game Twilight Imperium. To do so, I uploaded the living rules to a cloud service, opened the file in Edge, and had it share my on-screen content with Copilot.

It found the right rule reference and added additional (largely unnecessary) clarification. It’s not perfect, but with a less nuanced or complicated request, it could be more effective.

It works in a range of other apps too

If you use Teams, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, or other Microsoft applications, it might be worth paying the additional subscription fee of $30 per user per month to get Copilot into your 365 applications. You’ll be able to do things like make an entire PowerPoint presentation just from a quick prompt or get AI-generated text right in Word.

Be precise and be prepared for errors