Microsoft Edge gets Fluent Overlay Scrollbars on Windows 11

Microsoft is introducing a new feature to Edge that will make the scrollbars more consistent with Windows 11 Fluent design. The feature is called Fluent overlay scrollbars, and it is available in Edge Canary. Here is how you can enable it.

Microsoft Edge with Fluent Overlay Scrollbars

Fluent overlay scrollbars is a new and adaptive scrollbar design that adjusts automatically to different devices or window sizes. The feature comes in two modes: minimal and full. The minimal mode is a thin line that indicates the scrollbar position. The full mode is a thicker bar that shows the buttons and the track of the scrollbar.

The scrollbar switches between the modes depending on the mouse cursor position.

Overlay scrollbars appear on top of the content instead of taking up space on the side. They are usually visible only when you hover over them.

Microsoft has already implemented Fluent overlay scrollbars for Chrome (canary), and now the company is bringing them to Edge to ensure that scrollbars that overlay the content will not show up every time the content changes size. This can improve the visibility and usability of the content under the scrollbars.

For instance, if you are chatting with someone and they send you many messages, the scrollbars will not flash with every new message.

How to Enable Fluent Overlay Scrollbars in Microsoft Edge

1. Open the latest Edge Canary 122.0.2282.02 or later.
2. Visit edge://flags.
3. Find and enable Fluent Overlay Scrollbars.
   
4. Restart the browser.
5. Visit Settings > Appearance > Customize browser, and disable the Always show scrollbars setting.
   

Visit any webpage and try to scroll down to notice that scrollbars only appear when you hover over them, and they don’t appear when they’re not needed.

Have you noticed any difference with Fluent Overlay Scrollbars enabled in Edge? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.