Microsoft‘s new Edge is much more than just a browser. Microsoft is betting very strongly on it to turn it into an all-in-one browser, as complete as possible, for Windows 10. In addition to starting to seriously stand up to Chrome, Microsoft wants this program to be one of the most complete PDF viewers that we can install in Windows 10. And, for this, it is adding all kinds of interesting functions that, very soon, will reach all users.
The classic version of Edge, before changing the engine, was a fairly complete browser, with functions and features not seen in other browsers. However, given the low popularity of this browser, they have always been in the background. Now, with the jump to the Chromium engine, Microsoft has almost redesigned its browser from scratch and, in addition to bringing all the news and features of Chrome, is working on porting all the features of the classic Edge, as well as implementing other functions to turn it into an all-in-one program as complete as possible.
Edge Chromium – the most comprehensive PDF viewer for Windows 10
Although it is true that any web browser can open PDF documents, the functions that browsers offer are rather simple. They allow us to scroll through the document, search, print and little else. The classic Edge was one of the most comprehensive PDF viewers we could find for Windows 10, but even so, users preferred not to use it.
Since Microsoft Edge has made the leap to Chromium, the company has been working on bringing all the functions and features of the classic version of the browser to its new program. And among them are all the functions of your PDF viewer.
Some of the functions that we can find in this browser are designed to make it easier to open and navigate through our documents. For example, we can see the smooth scrolling that allows us to move through the document without jumps, also the possibility of opening a table of contents to see the index of the document and move quickly through it, and a dark mode that will help us protect our view when we have to read documents on the computer screen.
Edge will also bring us a large number of functions to improve the document reading experience. For example, we are going to find a function that will allow us to read the document aloud using the Windows engine, or a double page view to read the documents as if they were a book.
We are also going to find other very interesting functions and features that will help us forget about any other program when opening a document with this browser. For example, it supports digital signatures , has an underlining tool , and allows you to fill and save documents without using Adobe software.
When will we see all these news
Microsoft is still working on these features. Some have already landed on the stable version of the browser, although most are disabled as they are not fully debugged to avoid problems.
Microsoft’s intentions are to enable all of these features for the release of version 88 of Edge. Users of the Canary branch of the browser can now test all the functions of the browser’s PDF viewer, although users who use the stable version of the browser will not be able to test them until this version becomes the stable branch.
Edge Chromium 88 is scheduled to launch on January 21, 2021. In the meantime, either we use the Canary version of it, or we hang on a bit longer with another PDF viewer for Windows.
