How do I change how COLLECTIONS in EDGE are now launching & displayed

I have a question about a “change” that has mysteriously happened when I click on any of my “Collections” within Edge browser.

For the record, I am running Windows 10 (x64) version 22H2 (latest) with Edge (latest version).

For some reason, when I try to start any of my Collections, I now have to LEFT CLICK on the three dots (see image #1) circled in RED and then select Open in New Window.

And then (see image #2), I get an extra new TAB, which is left most mini-TAB named as the Collection name (circled in RED) and each of the tabs has this blue line at the top (circled in BLACK) of each individual tab.

It used to be that I would just select COLLECTIONS, and from the available list, I would just RIGHT CLICK on the collection I need, select OPEN in NEW WINDOW and they would populate as regular TABS (without collection name and those blue extra lines).

Has something change in the settings of Edge? Am I missing something?

All help is much appreciated!

To change how Collections in Microsoft Edge launch and are displayed, you can adjust the settings within the Edge browser. Here's how you can modify the behavior:

Open Microsoft Edge.
Click on the three dots menu button (the More Actions button) located in the upper-right corner of the browser window.
In the dropdown menu, select "Settings."
In the Settings page, navigate to the "Appearance" section.
Under Appearance, find the "Open new tabs with" option.
By default, it is set to "Top sites and suggested content." Click on the dropdown menu and select "A blank page."
This will prevent the extra new TAB with the collection name from opening.
To remove the blue line at the top of each individual tab, you can enable the vertical tabs feature in Edge. Right-click on an empty area of the tab bar and select "Turn on vertical tabs."
By adjusting these settings, you should be able to launch and display Collections in a way that suits your preference.