Forum Discussion
MicrosoftRoadmap 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
I would like to give feedback on this PDF Functionality. AS I read you description I believe you have covered the functionality of my PDF needs. As I work with you in testing the release of this add on I will provide feedback to you. Aditi_Gangwar
hi! i've recently updated my microsoft edge to a newer version and have just found that the draw, highlight, and erase tool can not function in any PDF i open. this wasn't an issue before (i was also using the new edge), just that when i updated into the latest version, i suddenly can no longer annotate my PDFs. big sad for me 😞 attached is a photo of my problem:
hoping that someone has a solution/explanation for my problem ❤️ big thanks!
vygadekamaebe00 just to confirm, is it happening on a particular PDF or all the docs you open? Asking this as we honor the read only properties of the documents and disable annotation capabilities. You can message me directly to follow up further.
-Vyankatesh Gadekar
Program Manager, Microsoft Edge
vygadeka hi! thank you for the fast reply. upon seeing your reply i checked out other files as the ones i've been opening were downloaded off the web from my professor's sources. when i opened local files i made for myself, they work perfectly fine! it does have something to do with the files themselves and their properties. thank you so much! sorry for the inconvenience, i didn't know there were settings on PDFs that disable annotation 🙂 again, thank you so much!
Aditi_Gangwar Steady progress on PDF reader. But we cannot use Edge until it supports named destinations for PDF. Clicking a link like "somepdf.pdf#nameddest=section6" opens the pdf to the bookmark named section6. This works in IE11 w/Adobe reader addin, Chrome and Firefox's built-in readers but Edge opens it only to the first page of the file. Please consider adding this feature. Also, if you want to one-up Chrome and Firefox, consider making PDFs searchable in the reader. IE w/reader addin has it and it is very much used.
Thank you
Aditi_Gangwar I will very much appreciate the text notes. I can live with some UX quirks, but the lack of notes precludes the Edge as my main annotation tool. There are 2 ways to make it - one is hidden notes, which are revealed ofter click on the note icon. Actually, it is not very useful.
I would prefer the text notes as visible text on top of the PDF's content. Yeah, I can scribble something with the pen, but the proper type is much more legible.
Thanks for your good work.
- vygadeka
AndrewSienx this is great feedback. We have plans for both text notes (hidden ones) and text boxes (not hidden). Please stay tuned.
-Vyankatesh Gadekar
Program Manager, Microsoft Edge
Great job on the smooth scrolling and table of contents features.
A couple of requests from a research scientist (lots of longish scientific PDFs to read/annotate).
- 2 page side view is key for us (I know it's on the roadmap. Thanks!).
- back/forward buttons to navigate internal hyperlinks.
Usual use-case: a hyperlink reference in the text which takes you to the bibliography in the back. There is now no way to go back to the position of the original link short of searchign the text. - Saving of position of last view when you go back to the document, at least inside of the same session
Currently: if you click on an external hyperlink and you go back, you lose your position inside the PDF.
Important to me is display signed PDF (pades or certificate based).
also Viewing MIP files protected in other tenants is interesting.
Thanks for going this way!
/peter
I'd also like to the navigation pane of headings/bookmarks to appear in Edge aswell. This is a really useful feature of other PDF readers
I am happy that a good PDF reader built into Windows (or at least Edge) is slowly becoming reality, as I long missed that capability and had to install 3rd party products to get what should nowadays be standard operating system functionality.
2 minor comments
- In the pre-Chromium Edge, the built-in PDF reader had an option to view 2 pages side-by-side. This is great if you have a good screen that is wider than high. Is there any chance this will be available in the new Edge as well?
- Another annoying thing is that I always have to go and install when I'm coming to a new system is the PDF iFilter, to enable system search in PDFs. iFilter now comes from Adobe or other 3rd parties. Is there a chance a PDF iFilter functionality gets built into Windows?
I do like turn-key operating systems that come with most of the tools provided. Microsoft is largely there, with the exception of PDF support, which comes built-in or pre-installed on MacOS, iOS, Android.
Aditi_Gangwar wrote:- Smoother scroll experience: We are bringing the smooth scroll of Legacy Edge to the modern browser.
God bless you for that feature
Aditi_Gangwar Hi, thanks for the list! Is there any time estimate on bringing back smooth scroll? Or is the list trying to be chronological at least? As in is smooth scrolling going to be the first priority?
Thanks!
Cheers, Robert
