Last week, Google released a new version of its web browser for all users: Chrome 87 . This new version of the browser has focused mainly on bringing a large number of internal corrections and optimizations, although it did not bring great news for users. At least with the naked eye. However, after analyzing the changes in Chromium we have been able to discover an important novelty in this new version of Windows 10: a new PDF reader similar to the one brought by Edge, Microsoft‘s browser.
Google Chrome is one of the web browsers that can open all kinds of PDF documents without problems. However, its document viewer is very simple and basic, especially if we compare it with that of other browsers, such as Edge. This has made Google have to put the batteries so that its rivals do not eat the ground and has begun a complete renovation of its PDF viewer.
Although not finished yet, the new Chrome 87 hides a revamped PDF viewer packed with functions and features. Next we will see how it is.
Chrome 87 PDF viewer changes
The first of the changes that we will find in this renewed PDF viewer is a side panel similar to the one we can find in Adobe Acrobat or Word. In this panel we will find a thumbnail of all the pages of the document so that we can locate the page we need very quickly.
Another important novelty is that, finally, we have a table of contents . Thanks to it, we will be able to see the index of the document and quickly go to the part we want with just one click.
Google has also enabled ” two-page view ” within its PDF viewer. Thanks to this, we will be able to read the entire document more comfortably on the PC screen. The upper toolbar is now always visible, and from there we will finally be able to adjust the zoom of the document with a couple of mouse clicks.
There are still several things that need to be improved in this PDF viewer. For example, the table of contents is very confusing and chaotic – nothing to do with Edge’s – and the double page view does not allow us, for example, to separate the cover of the document from the rest of the pages so that the reading is more real to that of a magazine.
However, that Google is working on this revamped PDF viewer is great news. We look forward to seeing the final result.
How to activate it
This new PDF viewer is still in an experimental phase. Therefore, Google has decided to take it in this version 87 of Chrome disabled by default. However, users who want to try it can do so without problems from the experimental features, or flags, of the browser.
To do this, the first thing we will do is write in the address bar:
chrome://flags/#pdf-viewer-update
And we will mark this flag as enabled. Restart the browser and voila, when it reopens we will have this new viewer activated so that we can start testing its changes and improvements.
