Is Microsoft Edge Getting New PDF Feature to Compete With Google Chrome

For both professionals and individuals, PDF files are important. They come in the form of tutorials, agreements, forms, research articles, newsletters, resumes, and more. This makes having a powerful PDF reader important. 

With Microsoft getting the fancy PDF feature for Edge, things now seem to streamline. The built-in PDF feature that you will find in Chromium-based Edge allows opening PDF files embedded in web pages and online PDF files. Also, users can annotate PDF files and can access Microsoft Edge PDF Reader on Windows and macOS.

With that being said, in this post, we will explain PDF reader features, how to make Microsoft Edge default PDF viewer and more.

Features Of Microsoft Edge PDF Reader

Starting off the year the tech giant added a dictionary feature that allowed users to look up words without having to open a new tab. 

Alongside this, it also offers the following features: 

Reading

Rotate, Zoom, Fit to page/width, jump to page and search features that can be accessed via the pin-able toolbar. 

Page view

Different PDF views are supported in Microsoft Edge. Users can change the layout by clicking Page View > choose either Single Page or Two Page. 

Caret mode browsing

Using this mode users can interact with PDFs opened in Microsoft Edge via keyboard. To enable it, press F7 anywhere in the browser, you will be asked to Turn on Caret mode

When enabled the user will see a blinking cursor on the PDF. Also, Caret mode will be available for all the content accessed in Microsoft Edge. To disable it again press F7. 

With Caret mode users can navigate through the file, select text by pressing Shift, and moving the cursor. 

Inking

Want to take quick notes from a long PDF file? Add inking to a PDF page.

Highlight

Microsoft Edge PDF reader also comes with the support of adding and editing highlights. To highlight, select the text > right-click > select highlights in the menu and select the color with which you would want to highlight. 

Using a pen, highlights can be created.

Text Notes

Journal your thoughts by adding notes to what you are reading. Select the text you wish to add a note to > right-click > Add Comment. You will now get a text box here to add your comments. 

This will highlight the selected text and you will see a comments icon. 

Apart from these features, other features worth mentioning are: 

• Read Aloud
• Protected PDFs
• High Contrast Mode
• Keyboard Accessibility 
• Screen reader 

Do you find all this interesting? Would you like to open PDF files by default in Microsoft Edge? 

Well, if that is the case here you go. 

How to make Microsoft Edge default PDF viewer?

To make Edge the default PDF viewer on Windows 10, follow these steps:

1. Press Windows + I to open Settings.

2. Click Apps.

3. From the left pane, hit Default apps.

4. Scroll down and click the Set defaults by app option.

5. Again, scroll down look for Microsoft Edge, and select it > Manage

6. Next to PDF, you will see the default browser selected. If it is not Microsoft Edge. Click on it and select Microsoft EdgeSource: Windows Central.

Once this is done, close all the Windows. Now try to open the PDF file, it should automatically open in Microsoft Edge. 

How to get the PDF toolbar?

After following the above-mentioned steps when you open the PDF document in Microsoft Edge and you don’t see the toolbar at the top take the mouse pointer to the top right corner of the document and click the Pin button.

In addition to this, using the left side of the toolbar, you can jump to the page you want. 

Unlike the PDF reader in the legacy version, the new release will not give a table of contents or search option. However, you can use the current page field, to type a page number & jump to another section in the document.

T1he new version also gives a Draw button, for digital inking, sketching writing notes, and so on. 

Using Eraser can delete strokes. You can also print using the Print button. 

This is all that you will get with the Microsoft Edge PDF feature. Though still in development you might find some glitches. But once everything that Microsoft is planning to bring has been implemented Microsoft Edge will be one of the best browsers. 

With these changes that Microsoft is adding to the Chromium version of Microsoft Edge, it seems soon Google Chrome will have a contender. 

Also, no longer Microsoft Edge is tied to the Windows 10 release, which means now the updates, improvements will be pushed more quickly, and we will see more new features. 

What do you think about this? Do you think the actual PDF will be blown out because of this change? Or do you think this is the way Microsoft is challenging Google and bringing a strong opponent that people will love using?

Do share your opinion about the same in the comments section. We love hearing from you. Do write to us.