Update - March 1st, 2021: We've published an updated version of this roadmap. Check out Aditi's update over here, and we encourage you to continue to drop your PDF reader feedback into the comments of that post! Over the course of last year, we worked hard on building a powerful PDF reader that fulfils the needs of compatibility, reliability and security for you and your organization. The feedback we received from you with the Edge Insider builds has been really encouraging, and here are some of the most asked features that are available today, across Windows and Mac: Create highlights with Highlight mode: Draw attention to parts of the PDF that you find interesting with Highlights. With Highlight mode, you can now create highlights directly by selecting text, as you would do with a highlighter and paper. Fill PDF forms Ink on PDF files with colors and stroke width of your choice View PDFs in Dark mode Open Microsoft Information Protection (MIP) and Information Rights Management (IRM) protected PDF and view permissions Accessibility support including keyboard accessibility, screen reader support, and capability to view PDFs in high contrast mode Read Aloud Here are the features we’re currently working on: Smoother scroll experience: We are bringing the smooth scroll of Legacy Edge to the modern browser. (Edge 086: In Canary, Dev, and Beta today) Table of Contents: You will soon be able to view the contents of PDF files and navigate through the file with the same. (Edge 086: In Canary, Dev, and Beta today) Text notes: With this, you will be able to add their own notes to text in PDF files. These notes will travel with the PDF. Protected PDF files: Microsoft Information Protection adds a layer of security to your documents. It ensures that only the users who have certain permissions as view, copy, annotate can take those actions on the file. Hence, no matter where the document goes, the data of your organization remains secure. Viewing labels of protected files: You will soon be able to view the sensitivity labels Viewing MIP files protected in other tenants: This will enable you to view the files protected in other organizations, or in other tenants in the organization. Digital signatures: View and validate certificate based Digital signatures on signed files. Accessibility improvements: With this, you will be able to fill PDF forms using screen readers, and navigate through PDF documents using caret mode. We are actively looking at feedback from you about the features you find important. Please feel free to comment below, or submit detailed feedback through the browser (Shift+Alt+I).

This is fantastic progress, thank you! My most wanted feature for the PDF reader in Edge is the ability to reopen PDF documents at the same page location as when they were closed. Thank you again, Aditi_Gangwar

Aditi_Gangwar I would first like to appreciate all the great work Edge team has done for the new edge browser and pdf reader. I see a lot of great features regarding pdf reader coming to new edge, however I would like to bring to your notice a great feature from old edge browser, Page View, that doesn't seem to be planned for new Edge. Part of my daily work is to read & review research papers and being able to see two pages on one screen (Two Page Layout mode) great improves my productivity. I guess this is the only feature that's stopping me from completely moving to new edge. I hope Edge team plans to implement this feature soon.

"Ink on PDF files with colors and stroke width of your choice".We can already do this, but there is no pressure sensitivity, making it a sub-par experience when signing PDF documents with digital ink. Is this being worked on?

Aditi_Gangwar Great news to hear that you are actively working on the inbuilt PDF reader, this is one of the major blocking issues from rolling out Edge as our default browser in my company of 7000 workstations. We want to move away from Adobe Reader asap! In addition to the mentioned planned features, please can you add the following: "Rotate counterclockwise" button on the toolbar"Next/Previous page" buttons on the toolbar"Full Screen" button on the toolbar"Hand" scroll option like in Firefox/Adobe ReaderThe "Find" toolbar from Edge ClassicThe ability to sign PDF files with a digital signature"Document Properties" button like in Firefox

Aditi_Gangwar,Need to get Edge to work as PDF previewer for Outlook. Without this business need to deploy Adobe Reader for Outlook, so it doesn't really matter what Edge can do.

Aditi_Gangwar

Microsoft

Jun 16, 2020

Roadmap for PDF reader in Microsoft Edge

Update - March 1st, 2021: We've published an updated version of this roadmap. Check out Aditi's update over here, and we encourage you to continue to drop your PDF reader feedback into the comments of that post!

Over the course of last year, we worked hard on building a powerful PDF reader that fulfils the needs of compatibility, reliability and security for you and your organization.

The feedback we received from you with the Edge Insider builds has been really encouraging, and here are some of the most asked features that are available today, across Windows and Mac:

Create highlights with Highlight mode: Draw attention to parts of the PDF that you find interesting with Highlights. With Highlight mode, you can now create highlights directly by selecting text, as you would do with a highlighter and paper.
Fill PDF forms
Ink on PDF files with colors and stroke width of your choice
View PDFs in Dark mode
Open Microsoft Information Protection (MIP) and Information Rights Management (IRM) protected PDF and view permissions
Accessibility support including keyboard accessibility, screen reader support, and capability to view PDFs in high contrast mode
Read Aloud

Here are the features we’re currently working on:

Smoother scroll experience: We are bringing the smooth scroll of Legacy Edge to the modern browser. (Edge 086: In Canary, Dev, and Beta today)
Table of Contents: You will soon be able to view the contents of PDF files and navigate through the file with the same. (Edge 086: In Canary, Dev, and Beta today)
Text notes: With this, you will be able to add their own notes to text in PDF files. These notes will travel with the PDF.
Protected PDF files: Microsoft Information Protection adds a layer of security to your documents. It ensures that only the users who have certain permissions as view, copy, annotate can take those actions on the file. Hence, no matter where the document goes, the data of your organization remains secure.
- Viewing labels of protected files: You will soon be able to view the sensitivity labels
- Viewing MIP files protected in other tenants: This will enable you to view the files protected in other organizations, or in other tenants in the organization.
Digital signatures: View and validate certificate based Digital signatures on signed files.
Accessibility improvements: With this, you will be able to fill PDF forms using screen readers, and navigate through PDF documents using caret mode.

We are actively looking at feedback from you about the features you find important.

Please feel free to comment below, or submit detailed feedback through the browser (Shift+Alt+I).

194 Replies

Replies have been turned off for this discussion

Stace76
Copper Contributor
Jun 28, 2020
Assume the protection will cover AIP, we'd happily get rid of Adobe Reader and having to maintain updates along with the AIP Pugin if Edge can handle instead.
jacobarmiger
Copper Contributor
Jun 23, 2020
Aditi_Gangwar
Hello,
There doesn't seem to be a way to un-highlight text. I tried 'ctrl +z' and highlighting the same area.
Thanks!
- vygadeka
  Microsoft
  Jun 26, 2020
  jacobarmiger have you tried the option in context menu to delete the highlight? We are also adding support for eraser to work on highlights as well. Which would make it easier to remove highlights.
  
  -Vyankatesh Gadekar
  
  Program Manager, Microsoft Edge
  - pneenkoalabear
    Iron Contributor
    Jun 27, 2020
    hi. did you see my comment? would appreciate a response.
- jacobarmiger
  Copper Contributor
  Jun 23, 2020
  jacobarmiger
  Also, I think it would be great if Edge could identify headings and sub-headings and generate a table of contents as a sidebar.
AlliKo1997
Copper Contributor
Jun 23, 2020
I can't wait to be able to directly highlight in the PDF, this would have made my life 10000% times easier in grad school, but I'm sure it will help now that I'm in law school!
pneenkoalabear
Iron Contributor
Jun 22, 2020
Does Chromium migrating the PDF component off of PPAPI impact your work on the PDF reader (specifically scrolling)? And you guys prefer React over Polymer. How come? I'm especially curious because when you scroll in various pages such as history, the items have to load in. The items don't noticeably load in on Chromium. I know that there's some lazy loading going on in Chromium as you cannot find on the page (IT'S DIFFERENT TO SEARCHING!).

Actually, how come there's no table of contents in Edge's PDF reader? It's in Chromium. Did you guys completely rewrite the UI from scratch? Yikes.

Oh and what are your thoughts on restyling the win32, wpf and winforms controls? Just take a look at the cert info dialog. Oh and how about finally restyling the form controls? They don't have a separate hover state and colour. Infuriating. And uh. Where's the MSIX installer if it's so great?

The other day I got an email saying that you guys were working on my feedback from over a year ago lmfao.
versus208
Copper Contributor
Jun 20, 2020
Aditi_Gangwar
HI, for solving problem with the SPen & detail during the hand-free note, i put down the difference writing the same word with LEGACY & CHROMIUM.

Up Legacy
Down Chromium
- vygadeka
  Microsoft
  Jun 21, 2020
  versus208 noted. Thanks for putting this together. We are working on continuously improving the quality of ink in new Edge browser.
  
  -Vyankatesh Gadekar
  
  Program Manager, Microsoft Edge
qq_Zhao
Copper Contributor
Jun 20, 2020
我在更新全新的浏览器后发现我之前PDF中创建的备注全部变成了乱码，我不知道是为什么，希望有人能帮助我，找回我之前的笔记谢谢！！I don't know why ,and what to do.
- vygadeka
  Microsoft
  Jun 21, 2020
  qq_Zhao thanks for your feedback. We have observed some issues with Chinese font rendering in Chromium. We will investigate this issue.
  
  -Vyankatesh Gadekar
  
  Program Manager, Microsoft Edge
versus208
Copper Contributor
Jun 20, 2020
Aditi_Gangwar

Guys u improved the drawing function, but this is nothing in compare with the LEGACY one.
Couldn't u get back it, i think that was the perfect system to free hand drawing on a .pdf never seen something like this.
Nei_Andres
Copper Contributor
Jun 19, 2020
Permitan un verdadero modo oscuro en el lector de pdf del navegador, cuando pones el tema oscuro en el navegador la pagina del documento sigue saliendo de color blanco, eso no es un verdadero modo oscuro.
Este es el modo oscuro que necesito
- Aditi_Gangwar
  Microsoft
  Jun 21, 2020
  Got it.
  Thanks Nei_Andres! The reader can then mimic high contrast behaviour with softer colors to prvide a smooth reading experience.
  We'll take this up in our backlog.
  - Nei_Andres
    Copper Contributor
    Jun 22, 2020
    Aditi_Gangwar It is understood. Thank you for attending my request. It is something that surprises me that they have not updated in the browser's pdf reader. I have to read many pdf files and my eyes are sensitive to that white color lighting on the pages. Please make that modification.
Ken Layton
Copper Contributor
Jun 19, 2020
Aditi_Gangwar Do these PDF reader features apply to both Windows and Mac versions? Also, is there a timeline for a Linux version and if so will it have feature parity at release?
- Aditi_Gangwar
  Microsoft
  Jun 21, 2020
  Hello Ken,
  Yes, the features apply to both Windows and Mac. For Linux, support is planned, but it is too early for a timeline currently..
Dragdrop
Copper Contributor
Jun 19, 2020
Legacy Edge allows you to select text in a PDF and drag it into another application. This is particularly useful with the Surface pen but not possible in Chr Edge. Aditi_Gangwar
- Aditi_Gangwar
  Microsoft
  Jun 21, 2020
  Got the requirement Dragdrop 🙂
  We will add this to the planned improvements to Surface pen support.

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Roadmap for PDF reader in Microsoft Edge

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