Roadmap for PDF reader in Microsoft Edge

[Aditi_Gangwar]

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

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

Reading and Navigation:

• Table of Contents enables you to view the contents of PDF files and navigate to different parts seamlessly, improving your productivity.
• Page view enables you to view the PDF file in a book format, with the option to view the cover page separately.
• Caret mode lets you navigate through your PDF files and select text directly through your keyboard by enabling Caret mode by pressing F7.
• Accessibility support including keyboard accessibility, screen reader support, and capability to view PDFs in high contrast mode.
• Fill basic PDF forms directly in the browser. (Please note that XFA forms are currently not supported)

Annotation tools:

• Ink on PDF files with colors and stroke width of your choice.
• Text notes can be added quickly to text in the file to jot down thoughts for easy reference later.
• Create highlights with Highlight mode enables you to draw attention to parts of the PDF that you find interesting. With Highlight mode, you can now create highlights directly by selecting text, as you would do with a highlighter and paper.
• In-context annotations opens a quick menu right when you select text on PDF files, enabling you to take quick actions as highlight, copy without losing context.

Enterprise and Education:

• Read Aloud is now supported on PDF documents. You can use it either to retain focus while reading through it or to listen to PDF documents while multitasking!
• Dictionary and search through in-context menu keeps helps you understand the content and research better, while keeping you in context.
• Open Microsoft Information Protection (MIP) and Information Rights Management (IRM) protected PDFs and view permissions seamlessly within Microsoft Edge, without the need of any add-ins. MIP adds a layer of security to your documents. It ensures that only the users who have certain permissions such 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 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.
• Certificate based Digital Signatures, which is currently under preview allows you to view and validate digital signatures present on PDF documents directly in the browser.

Here are the features we’re currently working on:

• View recovery: On re-opening a PDF file, reach your last-read location easily.
• File preview of PDF files in File Explorer and Outlook
• Add text box annotations: Add text boxes to fill forms, or take notes on PDFs
• Validate Certificate based Digital Signatures: We’re currently working on adding support for signatures with long-term validity.

Further down the line:

• Viewing labels of protected files
• Digital Signatures:
• Validating ETSI signatures
• Add Digital Signatures
• Accessibility improvements: Advanced capability to fill forms and navigate through a PDF document using screen readers.

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 by going to " ... menu > Help and feedback > Send feedback”.

[#2]

@Aditi_Gangwar 

Please add a send pdf by email as attachment button.
This would greatly simplify sharing a pdf with another person.

Br,

Henrik

[#3]

@Aditi_Gangwar

We would like to see this as well. It was something heavily used with the Adobe reader plug in for IE, as we try to move away from IE it has been a huge inconvenience to have nothing to replace this.

[#4]

@Aditi_Gangwar Hi,

You guys have done a tremendous job so far, please keep it up.  

I'm not sure why I don't see an entry on the roadmap to translate PDF's in the browser.  It would seem logical that, if we have read aloud we should have the text we need to pass to the translator.

Doesn't it seem logical that if we can click on a weblink that goes to a PDF that we should be able to see the translation of that PDF WITHOUT OTHER TOOLS?

if it won't be added, I'm sure you guys have a great reason that I have not considered, so please explain it.

If, as in many cases with user comments, I've missed the information somewhere, please point me to the roadmap entry or other plan that shows translations of PDF's in the browser.

-Obrigado!

-e

[#5]

@Aditi_Gangwar 

Is there a way to view a PDF's properties in Edge? Sometimes it's useful to know who created it and when.

TIA

Simon

[#6]

@posinha 



I'm now in Edge V93, how can we enable the policy that would allow us to disable the prompts for the messages i mentioned?

"We are adding a policy in Microsoft Edge v93 that would allow you to disable the prompts."

[#7]

@CASTRO1450 - The details for the policy are at Microsoft Edge Browser Policy Documentation | Microsoft Docs.

Configure Microsoft Edge for Windows | Microsoft Docs contains details on how to configure Microsoft Edge policy settings on Windows

Hope this helps!

[#8]

@Aditi_Gangwar Is there any chance you guys are thinking of allowing Bookmarking / Table of Contents creation?

[#9]

@Aditi_Gangwar Great work so far pushing pdf reader in Edge to this level!

In your YouTube presentation you announced the abillity for adding signature images for CY 2020. Any news about this interesting feature? I could not find it in current release.

Greeting from Germany!

[#10]

@Aditi_Gangwar 

Do we know if Microsoft is coming out with the functionality to open up Portfolio PDF documents within Edge's native PDF browser? Having to download and then open in Adobe is cumbersome when we try to keep the most up-to-date documents on our intranet.

[#11]

@Aditi_Gangwar 

Dear Aditi,

I would require a digital signature functionality for PDF Forms in Browser which can use a local Token ( conforming to the PIV-Smartcard Standard NIST-SP 800-73-4 ).

The background is an electronic approval workflow, which needs digital signature for jurisdictional conformance.

It seems that we will have several similar projects in the public sector sool.

Kind reagrds,

Berny_Speedy

[#12]

The only thing I am missing in Edge's PDF viewer is the "send in mail" ability to have the viewed PDF attached as an attachment (not link) to a new mail via default mail client, is there any plans on adding this?

[#13]

@MaWi1 I was able to do that.  I selected Share from the toolbar, then Windows Share options, then the Mail share.  That, unlike the one on the top level menu, attached the file.  Not streamlined, but maybe a work around for now.  At least you don't have to save the file then separately open up mail.

[#14]

@ericleigh007 

The share option only works if the top url resolves the pdf in question (eg. ends in ....pdf) if you need to send a pdf thats "embedded" in the webpage, the share option is not helping to resolve those issues.

So Please +1 for the "Send as Email" funtion in the pdf viewer.

/Henrik

[#15]

Will Microsoft add the ability to Edge to view attachments within PDF files?

[#16]

I'm amazed at how things have come along with the PDF reader in the new Edge. It's now my go-to PDF app. Inking in particular has improved tremendously.

But what about dark mode or night mode? That is, how do I make the backgrounds of my PDF's dark and the text light? (I'm not talking about the theme.) I can invert the colors of the entire Windows system, and that inverts colors for my PDF's, but that makes other apps with night mode (Mail, OneNote) too bright! Other PDF solutions have this feature. I am hoping you are considering this as I find this essential for long-term reading.

Thanks,

Andrew

[#17]

@Aditi_Gangwar
Great improvements, but I can't understand if collaborative annotation is ever coming to Edge/OneDrive.
I am on Edge 95.0.1020.40 (Mac) and find PDF reading much improved, but integration with OneDrive drives me crazy.
If I open a file from a OneDrive-folder in the Finder, I can annotate, save or "save as..". I would prefer automatic save, but it works, although I cannot really understand what happens if another user comments on the same file at the same moment.
If I open the same file via OneDrive in the browser (which is what I normally do), I have the option of "opening it in the browser", but if I make annotations, I am then asked to save the file with a different name, which defeats the purpose of the integration with OneDrive.
This is not a problem if I work alone (I can use any desktop application), but I often need to do "collaborative annotation" on a PDF with students and colleagues.
Right now, the only half-good solution within OneDrive is converting the PDF to Word and share the new file with "commenting rights", but this solution is sub-optimal because it requires extra work, and it is easy to mess-up the file (although Word has become better and better at doing the conversion).
Or I can share the PDF on Google Drive, which offers a crude PDF viewer, but allows collaborative comments.
For students who have grown up with collaborative writing, collaborative reading/annotation would be a natural extension of their workflow: can we expect that it becomes possible in OneDrive in a foreseeable future?
Thank you in advance and keep up the great work!

[#18]

"integration with OneDrive drives me crazy" ... "If I open the same file via OneDrive in the browser ..."

I find the same issue in Windows. Opening a PDF from Office online, I have to "Save As" rather than simply save. No such problem if I opened a local copy in Explorer (syncing with OneDrive).

[#19]

@Aditi_Gangwar when is the "Attachments: Show file attachments" function expected to be integrated?

[#20]

Any update on "File preview of PDF files in File Explorer and Outlook"? Still waiting for the preview feaure!

[#21]

@Aditi_Gangwar 
How about future support for tagged PDFs like Firefox Viewer? (https://blog.mozilla.org/attack-and-defense/2021/10/14/implementing-form-filling-and-accessibility-i...

So we can use screen readers to access these tag informations or document structure like table, ...