On February 20, Microsoft issued a new update to the Beta channel of Microsoft Edge. Insiders received Microsoft Edge Beta 81.0.416.12, which is features a number of features, fixes, and improvements new to the Beta branch.
The change log is as follows.
What's new in Microsoft Edge Beta 81.0.416.12
Feature updates
- Collections is now available. You can get started by clicking the Collections icon next to the address bar. This opens the Collections pane where you can create, edit, and view Collections. We designed Collections based on what you do on the web. If you’re a shopper, a traveller, a teacher or a student, Collections can help. Learn more.
- Allow the removal (Hide from toolbar) of the Collections button from the Microsoft Edge toolbar for consistency.
- On-prem Active Directory account auto sign in will only be targeted to organizations that turn it on. If users were already signed in with an on-prem AD account, they will now be able to sign out of it. Now, users will only be automatically signed in with the primary account on their operating system if it is an MSA or an Azure AD account. Admins can enable auto sign in with an on-prem AD account using the ConfigureOnPremisesAccountAutoSignIn policy.
- Application Guard. Extensions support now available in the container.
- Added a message to inform users that Internet Explorer is not installed when a user navigates to a page that is configured to open in Internet Explorer mode.
- Updated the 3D View tool in Microsoft Edge DevTools with a new feature to help debug z-index stacking context. 3D View shows a representation of the DOM (Document Object Model) depth using color and stacking, and the z-Index view helps you isolate the different stacking contexts of your page. Learn more.
- Localized the F12 Dev tools in 10 new languages, so they will match the language used in the rest of the browser. Learn more.
- Added support for Dolby Vision playback. On Dolby Vision-enabled Windows 10 Build 17134 (April 2018 Update), websites can show Dolby vision content. See how to enable Dolby Vision content from Netflix.
- Microsoft Edge can now identify and remove duplicate favorites and merge folders with the same name. To access the tool, click the star on the browser’s toolbar and select "Remove duplicate favorites". You will be able to confirm changes and any updates to your favorites will be synced across devices.
- We heard from users it can be difficult to distinguish a normal browsing window in dark theme from an InPrivate window since both window frames are dark. The new solid InPrivate blue pill in the top right corner helps reassure users they are browsing InPrivate.
- Open external links in the correct browser profile. Select a default profile for links opened for external apps to open in from edge://settings/multiProfileSettings.
- Added a warning to alert users who sign into a browser profile with an account after being previously signed in with another account. This will help prevent unintentional data merging.
- If you have payment cards saved in your Microsoft account, you can use them in Microsoft Edge while filling out payment forms. The cards in your Microsoft account will sync across desktop devices and the full details will be shared with the website after two-factor authentication (CVC code and your Microsoft identity.) For further convenience, you can choose to securely save a copy of the card on the device during authentication.
- Line Focus is designed for users who like to focus on a limited part of the content as they read. It lets users keep the focus on 1, 3 or 5 lines at a time and dims out the rest of the page to let users read without distraction. Users can scroll using touch or arrow keys and the focus shifts accordingly.
- Microsoft Edge is now integrated with Windows Speller on Windows platforms 8.1 and above. This integration provides greater language support, with access to more language dictionaries and the ability to use Windows custom dictionaries. There is no further action needed from the users when a language has been added in the OS language settings and a language spellcheck toggle is enabled in Microsoft Edge settings.
- When PDF documents are opened using Microsoft Edge, users will now be able to create highlights, change color, and delete highlights. This helps in referencing important parts of the document later, and for collaboration.
- When loading long PDF documents that have been optimized for web, the pages being viewed by the user will be loaded faster, parallelly, while the rest of the document is loading.
- Now it's easier to start the Immersive Reader for a website by just pressing the F9 key.
- Now it's easier to start Read Aloud by using a keyboard shortcut (Ctrl + Shift + U).
Policy updates
New policies
12 new policies were added. Download the updated Administrative Templates from the Microsoft Edge Enterprise landing page. The following new policies were added.
- AmbientAuthenticationInPrivateModesEnabled - Enable Ambient Authentication for InPrivate and Guest profiles.
- AudioSandboxEnabled - Allow the audio sandbox to run.
- ForceLegacyDefaultReferrerPolicy - Use a default referrer policy of no-referrer-when-downgrade.
- GloballyScopeHTTPAuthCacheEnabled - Enable globally scoped HTTP auth cache.
- ImportExtensions - Allow importing of extensions.
- ImportCookies - Allow importing of Cookies.
- ImportShortcuts - Allow importing of shortcuts.
- InternetExplorerIntegrationSiteRedirect - Specify how "in-page" navigations to unconfigured sites behave when started from Internet Explorer mode pages.
- OmniboxMSBProviderEnabled - Enable Microsoft Search for Business provider in omnibox.
- StricterMixedContentTreatmentEnabled - Enable stricter treatment for mixed content.
- TLS13HardeningForLocalAnchorsEnabled - Enable a TLS 1.3 security feature for local trust anchors.
- ConfigureOnPremisesAccountAutoSignIn - Configure automatic sign in with an Active Directory domain account when there is no Azure AD domain account.
Deprecated policies
The following policies continue to work in this release. They will become "obsolete" in a future release.
- WebComponentsV0Enabled - Re-enable Web Components v0 API until M84.
- WebDriverOverridesIncompatiblePolicies - Allow WebDriver to Override Incompatible.
Microsoft recently released the first stable version of Microsoft Edge Chromium to the public. Starting with Edge Stable 80, the browser is available on ARM64 devices. Surprisingly, Microsoft Edge is still supporting a number of aging Windows versions, including Windows 7, which has recently reached its end of support. Check out Windows Versions Supported by Microsoft Edge Chromium.
Interested users can download MSI installers for deployment and customization.
For pre-release versions, Microsoft is currently using three channels to deliver updates to Edge Insiders. The Canary channel receives updates daily (except Saturday and Sunday), the Dev channel is getting updates weekly, and the Beta channel is updated every 6 weeks. Microsoft is going to support Edge Chromium on Windows 7, 8.1 and 10, alongside macOS, Linux (coming in the future) and mobile apps on iOS and Android.
Also check:
Microsoft Edge Roadmap: History Sync This Summer, Linux Support
Actual Edge versions
The actual versions of Edge Chromium at the moment of this writing are as follows:
- Stable Channel: 80.0.361.57
- Beta Channel: 80.0.416.12
- Dev Channel: 82.0.425.3
- Canary Channel: 81.0.432.0
You will find many Edge tricks and features covered in the following post:
Hands-on with the new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge
Also, see the following updates.
- Add or Remove Share Button in Microsoft Edge
- Enable Lazy Frame Loading in Microsoft Edge
- Enable Lazy Image Loading in Microsoft Edge
- Edge Chromium Receives Extension Syncing
- Microsoft Announces Performance Boost In Edge Chromium Preview
- Edge 80 Stable Features Native ARM64 Support
- Edge DevTools Are Now Available in 11 Languages
- Disable First Run Experience in Microsoft Edge Chromium
- Specify Default Profile to Open Links for Microsoft Edge
- Microsoft Edge Receives Remove Duplicate Favorites Option
- Disable Hardware Acceleration in Microsoft Edge
- Enable Collections in Microsoft Edge Stable
- Install Google Chrome Themes in Microsoft Edge Chromium
- Windows Versions Supported by Microsoft Edge Chromium
- Edge Now Allows Opening Selected Text in Immersive Reader
- Show or Hide Collections Button in Microsoft Edge
- Edge Chromium Won’t Automatically Install For Enterprise Users
- Microsoft Edge Receives New Customization Options for New Tab Page
- Change Default Download Folder in Microsoft Edge Chromium
- Make Microsoft Edge Ask Where To Save Downloads
- Enable QR Code Generator for Page URL in Edge Chromium
- Edge 80.0.361.5 Hits the Dev Channel with Native ARM64 Builds
- Edge Chromium Extensions Web Site Is Now Opened for Developers
- Prevent Microsoft Edge Chromium From Installing via Windows Update
- Edge Chromium Receives Pin To Taskbar Wizard
- Microsoft Enables Collections in Canary and Dev Edge with Improvements
- Edge Chromium Has Got New Tab Page Improvements in Canary
- Edge Receives Colorful Title Bars for PWAs
- Microsoft Reveals How Tracking Prevention Works in Edge Chromium
- Edge Receives Tight PWA Integration with Windows Shell
- Edge Chromium Will Sync Your Extensions Soon
- Edge Chromium Introduces Insecure Content Blocking Feature
- Enable Strict Tracking Prevention for InPrivate Mode in Microsoft Edge
- Edge Chromium Receives Full Screen Window Frame Drop Down UI
- Edge Chromium for ARM64 Devices is Now Available for Testing
- Enable Classic Edge and Edge Chromium Running Side-by-Side
- Export Favorites to HTML File In Microsoft Edge Chromium
- Edge for Linux is officially coming
- Edge Chromium Stable Is Coming on January 15, 2020 With New Icon
- Microsoft Edge Gets a New Logo
- Enable Dark Mode for All Sites in Microsoft Edge
- Edge Chromium Is Now Default PDF Reader, Here is How to Change This
- Edge Chromium Receives Weather Forecast and Greetings on New Tab Page
- Edge Removes The Block Option from Media AutoPlay Blocking
- Edge Chromium: Tab Freezing, High Contrast Mode Support
- Edge Chromium: Block Third-party Cookies for InPrivate Mode, Extension Access to Search
- Microsoft Gradually Gets Rid of Rounded UI in Edge Chromium
- Edge Now Allows Disabling Feedback Smiley Button
- Block Potentially Unwanted Apps For Downloads in Microsoft Edge
- Global Media Controls in Microsoft Edge Receive a Dismiss Button
- Microsoft Edge: New AutoPlay Blocking Options, Updated Tracking Prevention
- Turn Off News Feed on New Tab Page in Microsoft Edge
- Enable Extensions Menu Button in Microsoft Edge Chromium
- Remove Feedback Smiley Button in Microsoft Edge
- Microsoft Edge Will No Longer Support ePub
- Latest Microsoft Edge Canary Features Tab Hover Cards
- Microsoft Edge Now De-Elevates Itself Automatically
- Microsoft Details Edge Chromium Roadmap
- Microsoft Enables Global Media Controls in Microsoft Edge
- How to Use Cloud Powered Voices in Microsoft Edge Chormium
- Microsoft Edge Chromium: Never Translate, Prepopulate Find with Text Selection
- Enable Caret Browsing in Microsoft Edge Chromium
- Enable IE Mode in Chromium Edge
- Stable Update Channel Made its First Appearance for Microsoft Edge Chromium
- Microsoft Edge Chromium Receives an Updated Password Reveal Button
- What are Controlled Feature Roll-outs in Microsoft Edge
- Edge Canary Adds New InPrivate Text Badge, New Sync Options
- Microsoft Edge Chromium: Clear Browsing Data on Exit
- Microsoft Edge Chromium Now Allows Switching Theme
- Microsoft Edge: Support for Windows Spell Checker in Chromium Engine
- Microsoft Edge Chromium: Prepopulate Find with Text Selection
- Microsoft Edge Chromium Gets Tracking Prevention Settings
- Microsoft Edge Chromium: Change Display Language
- Group Policy Templates for Microsoft Edge Chromium
- Microsoft Edge Chromium: Pin Sites To Taskbar, IE Mode
- Microsoft Edge Chromium Will Allow Uninstalling PWAs as Desktop Apps
- Microsoft Edge Chromium Includes YouTube Video Info in Volume Control OSD
- Microsoft Edge Chromium Canary Features Dark Mode Improvements
- Show Icon Only for Bookmark in Microsoft Edge Chromium
- Autoplay Video Blocker is coming to Microsoft Edge Chromium
- and more
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