Dev channel update to 81.0.416.3 is live

[josh_bodner]

Hello Insiders, today we’re releasing build 81.0.416.3 to the Dev Channel.  We expect this to be the last build for major version 81, which means we will soon be bringing it to the Beta channel.  Additionally, for those of you who have the Stable channel installed, we released our first update to Stable last week, bringing it up to major version 80, and for people on ARM64 machines, installing the native ARM64 build of Stable.  We also started a discussion last week around Edge Legacy’s Tab Preview feature and what you’d like to see us do with it in the future:  https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/discussions/tab-preview-discussion/m-p/1160569.  Finally, all of the features and fixes worth mentioning this week: 

Added features: 

• Added blue color to the account button in InPrivate windows as suggested by user feedback. 
• Added a tool on the Favorites management page to remove duplicate favorites. 
• Enabled Collections sync for all channels that currently have Collections available. 
• Added the ability to highlight text in PDFs. 
• Added support for web-optimized PDFs that download one page at a time as they’re viewed. 
• Added a feature to Immersive Reader to focus on only one or a few lines at a time. 
• Added a dialog to inform users when an extension is disabled because it has the ability to change settings (new tab page, search provider, etc.)
• Added a message when a user tries to use IE mode and Internet Explorer isn’t installed. 
• Added support for syncing the “Sign in automatically” setting under edge://settings/passwords. 
• Added an option in edge://settings/profiles/multiProfileSettings to choose a default profile to use when opening links in external applications. 
• Added a management policy controlling the ability to import Top Sites from another browser. 
• Added a management policy controlling the ability to import Extensions from another browser. 
• Added a management policy controlling the ability to import Cookies from another browser. 
• Added a page to Settings to help users download Edge mobile. 

Improved reliability: 

• Fixed an issue where saving a PDF sometimes crashes the tab. 
• Fixed an issue where watching encrypted video from sites like Netflix sometimes causes the device to freeze.  Note that this issue is actually fixed by updating to the latest video drivers, so the Edge fix for this is to avoid the issue by degrading video playback on devices with old drivers. 
• Fixed some issues where signing into the browser fails, or succeeds but doesn’t allow for sync.
• Fixed a crash on browser shutdown for users of Family Safety.    
• Fixed a browser crash during the First Run Experience. 

Changed behavior: 

• Fixed an issue where text on a webpage would occasionally appear corrupted. 
• Fixed an issue where the “Move to new window” tab context menu entry contains a gibberish string. 
• Fixed an issue where the Jumplist is missing or has incorrect entries. 
• Fixed an issue where the keyboard shortcut to start Read Aloud isn’t shown in menus. 
• Fixed an issue where changing settings on the New Tab Page sometimes results in the settings not getting applied to subsequent new tabs until the browser is restarted. 
• Fixed an issue where IE mode can’t be used and gives a message that Internet Explorer isn’t installed even though it is. 
• Fixed an issue where a message that a new Edge window can’t be opened because Edge is currently running with administrator privileges is unexpectedly seen. 
• Fixed an issue where dropping an extension file or folder onto the Extensions page when Developer Mode is enabled doesn’t install the extension. 
• Fixed an issue where the UI to switch profiles when opening a link has invisible text in Dark Theme. 
• Fixed an issue where some images weren’t loading in Immersive Reader. 
• Fixed an issue where new profiles sometimes show the option to sign into the browser even though sign in is disabled via management policy. 
• Fixed an issue where toggling certain website permission settings doesn’t update the UI. 
• Fixed an issue where certain DRM-protected video only shows a black screen on HDR-capable devices. 
• Fixed an issue where creating a new Collection or viewing a Collection appears to rename all existing Collections to “Collections”. 
• Fixed an issue where dragging a link into a Collection doesn’t properly add the item. 
• Fixed an issue where re-ordering items in a Collection using the keyboard doesn’t scroll the pane as the item is moved beyond the current window size. 
• Permanently disabled Flash on ARM64 devices. 

Known issues: 

• Some users are seeing favorites get duplicated after we made some fixes in that area last month. 
• The dialog to install a website as an app sometimes doesn’t appear.  In those cases, interacting with the address bar or navigating in the same tab will sometimes bring it up. 
• Users of certain security software packages will see all tabs fail to load with the error STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION. The only way to prevent this behavior is to uninstall that software. We’re currently engaging with the developers of that software to try to find a fix. 
• After an initial fix for it recently, some users are still experiencing Edge windows becoming all black. UI popups like menus are not affected and opening the Browser Task Manager (keyboard shortcut is shift + esc) and killing the GPU process fixes it.  Note that some of these fixes don’t yet exist in the Stable channel, and the issue only appears to affect users with certain hardware.
• There are some issues where users with multiple audio output devices sometimes don’t get any sound from Edge. In one case, Edge becomes muted in the Windows Volume Mixer and unmuting it fixes it.  In another, restarting the browser fixes it. 
• At certain zoom levels, there is a noticeable line between the browser UI and the web contents.

As always, thanks for all your feedback and suggestions! 

[#2]

Extension importing feature from other browsers is great! I hope soon we get Extension Syncing on Edge too.

[#3]

@josh_bodner

PDF highlighting is a nice feature, but there is a bug in your implementation. If I highlight in yellow, and then the same text in blue, I end up with with green!

I don't think this is the behaviour most people are expecting, and there is also no option to remove the highlighting in case you make a mistake or change your mind. Can you also add a toolbar button please, as well as the right click menu.

[#4]

@Tom_Fox 

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@Tom_Fox wrote:

@josh_bodner

PDF highlighting is a nice feature, but there is a bug in your implementation. If I highlight in yellow, and then the same text in blue, I end up with with green!

I don't think this is the behaviour most people are expecting, and there is also no option to remove the highlighting in case you make a mistake or change your mind. Can you also add a toolbar button please, as well as the right click menu.

---

Hi, about 1 month ago I had the same question, so I asked and here is the answer the Edge developers gave me:

"Selection is not needed to modify (change color) or to delete existing highlight. Option to delete a highlight is displayed with right click over an existing highlight.

When a selection is made, options displayed are to create a highlight from selection and thus can be used to create overlapping highlights."

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/discussions/the-option-to-remove-highlights-from-pdfs-is-gone...

To complete that:

1. When you want to highlight a piece of text in your PDF, you first highlight it with your mouse/touch and then right-click on it and select Highlight => Color
2. When you want to change the color of your already-highlight text, you no longer need to highlight the same text with your mouse/touch. all you have to do is to move your mouse cursor on the already-highlighted (with color) text, then right-click and choose another color.
3. In order to remove a highlight, just like Step 2, you move your mouse cursor over the already-highlighted (with color) text, right-click => Highlight => None.
4. There are only 4 colors available (Yellow, Green, Light Blue, Pink). in order to create other colors, we have the ability to mix them together! to do that, just like Step 1, you highlight a text, after that repeat Step 1 once again and this time choose a different color, you will see you created a different color. if you choose the same color again, you will create a darker shade of it.

I can create a quick demo video for you if you want :)

[#5]

@HotCakeX 

Okay, I get it now. It's a different implementation to every other Microsoft product I use at the moment, where you only get 1 highlight colour, but I can live with it 

I still think they need to add a toolbar button for it though, and all of the missing PDF features that you get in Classic Edge and other browsers.

[#6]

@josh_bodner I'd rather prefer the top left corner button for InPrivate (and AppGuard), but I guess it'll have to do how things are now with the colored button.

Also, I wanted to try if AppGuard mode has a colored accent now, but it doesn't appear to want to start. The starting dialog box shows up, takes it sweet time sitting at "Starting 90%" then it disappears without displaying an AppGuard window. The AppGuard VM is however running.

I have other Hyper-V VMs running just fine, and Sandbox also fires up properly with VGPU enabled. So I'm not sure why AppGuard doesn't work.

[#7]

@josh_bodner 

Running this version of Edge Dev is causing lsass.exe to start and run at about 15-17% cpu and go on and on even after closing Edge Dev - had to restart Windows 10 laptop to stop it. Repeats behaviour every time. Not a problem with current Edge Canary.

However, as you have dealt with 0 out of 3 of my sine qua non issues with Chromium Edge features, have given zero sign of any intention to address them, and I only run Dev and Canary to check on any progress with those issues, don't feel you need to rush to fix bugs on my account.

[#8]

@josh_bodner 
Great job.
The O365 new tab page is very useful, though I do not understand why you keep this feature for business users only. Why not let all Office 365 users have access to this feature?

[#9]

@Tom_Fox personally, I agree that a toolbar button for the highlighter would be useful!  Can you (and anybody else who wants it) please file feedback asking for it?  That way, it puts a work item in our database and we can measure how many people want it compared to other things.  

[#10]

Also, for all the people hitting Application Guard issues, I'll see if I can get somebody from the Application Guard team on here to figure out what's going on.  

[#11]

@Tom_Fox 

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@Tom_Fox wrote:

@HotCakeX 

Okay, I get it now. It's a different implementation to every other Microsoft product I use at the moment, where you only get 1 highlight colour, but I can live with it 

I still think they need to add a toolbar button for it though, and all of the missing PDF features that you get in Classic Edge and other browsers.

---

Yeah It takes some time to figure it out.

IMO the best way to implement it is like this: when you highlight a piece of text (with mouse or touch), the highlight option should automatically appear above the highlighted text to offer the color options and other missing features from Edge classic like word definitions, add notes etc)

so this way you won't need to right-click anymore.

I think this dynamic style is better than the static toolbar solution.

[#12]

@FasihSayin 

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@FasihSayin wrote:

The O365 new tab page is very useful, though I do not understand why you keep this feature for business users only. Why not let all Office 365 users have access to this feature?

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Like for home users?

But Home, personal and student Office 365 subscriptions don't have the same functionalities as Business, ProPlus and Enterprise subscriptions. the latter has central management capabilities while the former is just for single personal use. so for Home/Student/Personal Office 365 subscriptions, the O365 NTP would be as good as the normal NTP.

[#13]

@HotCakeX 
I don't think you'd need central management capabilities. The home user's account is usually connected to microsoft account and synced through onedrive anyway. For me a work-dashboard with my latest dcoment files and upcoming meetings and today's tasks is way more valuable than a speed dial page.

[#14]

@FasihSayin 

Spoiler

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@FasihSayin wrote:

@HotCakeX 
I don't think you'd need central management capabilities. The home user's account is usually connected to microsoft account and synced through onedrive anyway. For me a work-dashboard with my latest dcoment files and upcoming meetings and today's tasks is way more valuable than a speed dial page.

---

I know, but meetings like from Microsoft Teams, documents from Sharepoint and other parts of the Office 365 business products are Not available on Office 3650 Home subscriptions.

so it's normal not to see Office 365 NTP on Edge for Home subscriptions of Office 365.

Home means only you and probably your family is using not all, but few main Office products. in that area, there is no work meeting, no work document etc.

all of that belong to the business/enterprise tiers.

Sharepoint and Microsoft Teams.

[#15]

@josh_bodner 

I tried the "tool on the Favorites management page to remove duplicate favorites" and now I have so many new duplicates I can hardly find anything :( 

[#16]

- Fixed an issue where text on a webpage would occasionally appear corrupted.

This was driving me bonkers! Thanks for the fix guys and gals!! :)

[#17]

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Added an option in edge://settings/profiles/multiProfileSettings to choose a default profile to use when opening links in external applications. 

Oh, thank you! ❤

That's the most important update in a browser, since I started using browsers with multiple profiles.

This day just turned much better.

[#18]

@Eyal_Shahar 

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@Eyal_Shahar wrote:

I tried the "tool on the Favorites management page to remove duplicate favorites" and now I have so many new duplicates I can hardly find anything :( 

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Is one of your Edge channels connected to your MSA stable channel?

[#19]

Which is what?
Anyway, I used the tool the third time (it's free, right? :) ) and all duplicates are gone now.
Many of my favorites lost their symbols/icons but it looks like the icons are coming back after I click on each one of them.

[#20]

lol okay I think I need to reword that,
for me duplication happens on stable Edge channel only (version 80) and then passes those duplicated favorites to the other channels (Canary). but Canary never creates duplicates.
so I asked if you have more than 1 Edge browser connected to your MSA (Microsoft account) and syncing and whether one of them is Stable channel?