The first stable release of Vivaldi for 2018, version 1.14, is out now with several new features not seen in other browsers, including a vertical reader mode which is aimed at addressing the needs of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean users. Additionally, Markdown support has been added to Notes, and Web Panels are now rearrangeable on the sidebar of the browser.
In a blog post describing the release, Vivaldi co-founder and CEO Jon von Tetzchner said:
“A vertical display is one of the default ways to view written text in East Asian languages. We are confident that if you use any of these languages, the option to use vertical reader mode will be a useful addition. Now you can read texts in these languages comfortably with no distracting page elements. The vertical orientation is also a great use of your screen’s real estate. Select your reading preference by heading to Webpages in Settings and click on vertical text direction to try it out.”
If you use Notes in Vivaldi, you’ll now be able to stylise your notes using Markdown. You’ll probably be familiar with Markdown if you use GitHub, Reddit, Stack Exchange, the Neowin forums, or any other well-featured text editor. Markdown allows you to define headers, make text bold, add bulleted lists and much more, making for a more dynamic Notes experience.
Another major change is movable Web Panels. In Vivaldi 1.14, users can now customise the order of Web Panels in the sidebar of the browser to make for a more convenient experience. While we are on the topic of reordering items, the new update now also allows you to change the order of your search engines simply from the Search Settings pane.
Vivaldi 1.14 is now available for download at the Vivaldi website.