If you"ve been eagerly waiting for Microsoft to offer you a Windows 10 preview build that contains some of the neat new features that have been showcased at Build 2016, the folks in Redmond are doing just that, with today"s release of Windows 10 build 14316 to Insiders in the Fast ring.
This preview build is for PC-only due to a bug in the version for mobile, and doesn"t have everything that was presented at the developer conference; however, there are some interesting new things to play with in Microsoft Edge on build 14316 for both normal users and web developers.
- Drag and drop folders: Users can now upload folders to sites like OneDrive, Dropbox, and Google Drive by dragging and dropping into Microsoft Edge.
- Better tab behavior on Mobile: Microsoft Edge keeps your tabs under control when you use it with apps on your phone. If you tap on a link in an app that opens a new tab in Microsoft Edge, pressing the back button when you’re done will close that tab, then take you back to the app. Your tabs list stays lean and relevant, by smartly closing tabs you’re done with.
- Better copy/paste on Mobile: We"ve made a couple of improvements to copy and paste on the phone. When you are typing into an edit box on a web page, you will now be able to use the paste button above the keyboard. Also, if you select text on a web page the copy button will appear immediately near the selection.
- Better favorites importing: You can now import favorites from Firefox, in addition to Chrome and Internet Explorer. When you import favorites from any browser, they will now land in a separate clearly labeled folder, instead of mixed in with your existing favorites.
- Favorites tree view: Organizing your favorites is now easier using the new "tree" display in the Hub. You can expand and collapse folders to see the contents of as many or few as you like, and easily move favorites between folders with drag and drop.
- Download reminders: Edge now gives you a reminder of in-progress downloads whenever you close Edge. This gives you the opportunity to complete downloads prior to closing Edge.
- Default save location: You can now set where downloaded files are saved by default. Just open “Settings”, choose "Advanced settings", and find the new option under “Downloads."
Insiders have long asked for a better way to manage Favorites, as well as an easier way to import their Favorites from a third-party browser, so it"s nice to finally see these improvements show up in Edge. It"s worth noting that Microsoft Edge does have an issue where large downloads in build 14316 may require a bit of work from you in order to complete successfully, but fortunately that"s the only known issue.
In terms of extensions, there are new versions available for Microsoft Translator, Reddit Enhancement Suite, and Mouse Gestures, and now you can play with two new extensions: OneNote Clipper and the Pin It Button. As each of their name suggests, the first is for quickly snipping articles or full webpages, and the other helps you save interesting ideas or creative works for later viewing.
Both OneNote Clipper and Pin It Button have been ported from the Chrome extensions with the same names, but a notable difference is that OneNote Clipper for Edge can"t yet snip a portion of a webpage, and instead captures the entire canvas. In any case, both are time savers that power users will most certainly enjoy.
There are also some new things for web developers in this new version of Edge:
New in the F12 Developer Tools:
- Accessibility tree view
- DOM API profiling
- Extension debugging
New JavaScript features:
- Default parameters
- Async\await
- Object.values and Object.entries
Experimental JavaScript features (enable via about:flags):
- ES6 Regex symbols
New Web Platform features:
- Opus audio format
- Time element
- Data element
- Output element
- Input type = color
- Canvas Path2D objects
- Web Speech API (Synthesis)
- Experimental support for Fetch API (enable in about:flags)
- Experimental support for Web Notifications API (enable in about:flags)
Furthermore, you should probably know that the new Platform Issues portal announced a few days ago is live, so head there and help the Edge team by filing any bugs you may find. If you"re looking for interoperable API analytics, there"s a portal for that as well.
Have you installed build 14316? What do you think about the new features in Microsoft Edge? Sound off in the comments section below.
Source: Edge team