Microsoft recently revamped the way it handles web URLs in Edge browser based on Chromium. With the change, Microsoft Edge started pasting URLs as a hyperlinked title instead of plain text. While a hyperlinked title may serve better in specific use cases, a significant number of Edge users including me are not happy about it. Today, you’ll learn how to restore the old URL pasting mechanism on Edge.
What exactly does Edge’s new pasting feature do?
Web browsers typically paste the entire web address when you paste a URL. Microsoft decided to replace the URL with the title of the page as link text. As a result, pasted URLs started to look like this:
- What exactly does Edge’s new pasting feature do?
- Remove Edge’s new Paste Mechanism
- Paste as URL without changing the Default Setting
Instead of this:
If you think this was a harmless change, I beg to differ. The major inconvenience I found with this approach was how it broke embedding YouTube links. Even if I ignore the functionality of this, the new behavior was forced upon Edge users without any warning or indication whatsoever. Due to this sneaky under the hood change, some users even suspected that third-party apps are causing this, which is certainly not the case.
- Now that you know how the change affects users, here’s how you get back to the old method of pasting links. Firstly, open Edge browser, click on the horizontal three dots button in the top-right corner, and choose ‘Settings’.
Paste as URL without changing the Default Setting
If you prefer the new hyperlink pasting mechanism but want the flexibility to paste as URLs at times, you have two options: First up, copy the web address you want and right-click in the paste destination. From the ‘Paste as’ option that appears now, choose ‘Link’. Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut ‘Ctrl + Shift + V’ to paste the URL as plain text.
