Windows 10 Fall Creators Update: Microsoft Edge

On October 17, 2017 Microsoft released their fourth major feature update for Windows 10 which is know as the Fall Creators Update.

This is one part of our overall coverage for the release and you can visit Windows 10 Fall Creators Update: Review Central for links to all of the other elements of our post-release content.

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The Microsoft Edge browser passed its second year of official availability back in July and continues to make steps towards greater stability and functionality in Windows 10. As part of the Fall Creators Update it gets a few more enhancements to continue that slow and steady growth.

Because Microsoft Edge is tightly integrated into the operating system instead of a separate app that can be updated independent of Windows 10, it only gets major updates on a semi-annual basis. That slows down its development and progress, especially in contrast to stand-alone browsers.

Another area of slow growth for Microsoft Edge is the extensions library which after one year has just over 70 items total. I recently took inventory of Microsoft Edge and its extensions library which you can check out here.

That said, Microsoft Edge does have some new elements in its Fall Creators Update. Let's look at them.

Browse on Phone and Continue on PC

In another part of our Windows 10 Fall Creators Update coverage I talked about the ecosystem between Windows 10, iOS and Android and covered these enhancements that tie to Microsoft Edge.

When you have the Microsoft Edge app installed on iOS or Android it provides you an option to push a site you are browsing on the mobile device to a Windows 10 Fall Creators Update based computer. That link can be opened immediately in Microsoft Edge or it can be sent to your Action Center as a link to be opened later.

You can also use the Microsoft Apps app on Android and Continue on PC app on iOS to share items between your mobile device and a Windows 10 Fall Creators Update device.

Pin Website Shortcuts to Taskbar and Editing Favorites

If you have websites that are accessed nearly every time you get on your computer then this feature will save you a few steps in opening that site.

Just browse to the website you want pinned on the taskbar and select the More menu and select Pin this page to the taskbar.

Pin websites to the taskbar in Microsoft Edge on Windows 10 Fall Creators Update

The shortcut will use the sites favicon when it is pinned to the taskbar and it does not appear that changing it is an option. That is unfortunate because some favicons are not very legible  depending on your theme colors.

Despite that shortcoming - this is a very handy feature to have at last as part of Microsoft Edge.

Another handy addition to the management tools for Microsoft Edge is the ability to edit the URL of a site you already have in your Favorites list.

Just open the Favorites list and right click on the item you want to edit and select Edit URL.

Editing a URL for a Microsoft Edge Favorite in the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update

You can also select a specific folder location, or create one, as you are saving new Favorites in Microsoft Edge.

Read Aloud

Using Microsoft's narrator technology you can now have webpages and PDF files read aloud to you through Microsoft Edge.

Just open the More menu and select Read aloud to begin.

Read Aloud Option for Websites and PDF Files in Microsoft Edge on the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update

You can modify the speed and voice through the Read Aloud settings on the speech bar:

Read Aloud Settings in Microsoft Edge on the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update

PDF and E-Books Markup

You can now make notes on PDF files and e-books that you are reading in Microsoft Edge.

You also have the ability to highlight text so that it will stand out in when reading the document in the future.

Highlighting a PDF document in Microsoft edge in the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update

Making a note in a PDF document using Microsoft Edge in the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update

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Be sure to check out all of our Windows 10 Fall Creators Update coverage.