Microsoft Edge Dev improves PDF navigation with new caret mode

Edge
Edge (Image credit: Windows Central)

What you need to know

  • A new Microsoft Edge Dev channel build is rolling out now.
  • This build adds caret navigation for PDFs, along with many crash fixes.
  • You can download this release now as version 88.0.680.1.

We're nearing the end of another week, which means it's time for another weekly build for the Microsoft Edge Dev channel. Today's build, which comes in at build number 88.0.680.1, includes a new way to navigate PDFs as a new feature. There are also several fixes tagging along, including corrections for some crash bugs.

The biggest feature addition here is support for Edge's caret mode for PDFs. Caret navigation allows you to tap through a document to get to and select text with just your keyboard keys. For PDFs, that means you'll now be able to use the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard to move through the document, and the side arrows to select text.

Here's a full look at what's new and improved, courtesy of Microsoft's release notes:

  • Adding support for Caret Mode to PDFs.
  • Added a warning dialog when closing a Web Capture that's been inked on but not saved.
  • Added support for enhanced copy and paste on Mac.
  • Added a management policy to control Startup Boost. Note that updates to documentation and administrative templates haven't happened yet.
  • Fixed a crash on launch.
  • Fixed a crash when viewing PDFs.
  • Fixed a crash when printing a PDF.
  • Fixed a crash that sometimes shows an error with cookie_exporter.exe.
  • Fixed a hang when running the favorites deduplicator.
  • Fixed an issue where edge://tracing fails to load.
  • Fixed an issue where the Security section in Settings is missing.
  • Fixed an issue where the Downloads management page only shows the 30 most recent downloads.
  • Fixed an issue where Web Captures are sometimes taken at the wrong page zoom level.
  • Fixed an issue when taking a Web Capture where pages with fixed headers or footers aren't captured properly.
  • Fixed an issue where Password Monitor alerts are seen even when the feature is turned off.
  • Fixed an issue where websites installed as apps sometimes use icons that are too big on the Start menu.
  • Fixed an issue where using the Highlighter tool on a PDF sometimes results in more text being highlighted than intended.
  • Fixed an issue where the search Sidebar can't be closed because the close button is missing.
  • Fixed an issue where data is sometimes able to be copied from Information Protected files when it shouldn't be.
  • Fixed an issue where text notes sometimes get created unintentionally in a Collection.
  • Deprecated the ProxyMode, ProxyServer, ProxyPacUrl, and ProxyBypassList management policies since they're all superseded by the ProxySettings policy.

This update is rolling out now for those who are already testing the Dev channel. You can get it manually by going to the "About Microsoft Edge" portion of the settings menu and checking for an update. Otherwise, the Beta, Dev, and Canary channels are all available to download directly from the Microsoft Edge Insider site.

Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl