Redmond introduces EPUB file format support in Edge

Nov 18, 2016 06:49 GMT  ·  By

They say Internet Explorer was the best browser to download Google Chrome, but since IE is no more and Microsoft is betting big on Edge, it was only a matter of time until the Internet came up with a new joke.

Microsoft Edge is now often described as the best PDF reader that’s available for Windows 10 users, and it turns out that Microsoft is not at all upset with this joke because yes, Edge can open PDF documents in a pretty neat way, just like a fully-featured app specifically developed with this goal in mind.

And since Edge is not only a browser but also a PDF document viewer, Microsoft wanted to improve it even more beyond the browser dimension and introduced a new feature that allows it to handle the EPUB file format. This means that you can open ebooks right in Microsoft Edge, without the need for any other third-party software.

Currently available for insiders exclusively

This feature was introduced with Windows 10 build 14971, which debuted only a few hours ago, but will most certainly be part of the Creators Update (also known as Redstone 2) seeing daylight in early 2017.

Microsoft says that even if Edge was specifically designed to be a browser, the EPUB file format support is one of the best on the market, so you are very unlikely to miss any critical feature. And of course, since this is work in progress, you can always submit your suggestions in the Feedback Hub.

“When you open an unprotected e-book in Microsoft Edge, you will be taken into a customizable reading experience where you can change the font and text size and choose between 3 themes: light, sepia, and dark. As you read, you can leave bookmarks. To navigate through an e-book, you can use the table of contents or seek bar at the bottom of the browser. And you can also search for words or phrases and use Cortana to define specific words,” Microsoft says.

This feature is currently available exclusively for insiders enrolled in the Fast Ring, but development advances quickly and more users should try to get it in the coming months. The debut of the Creators Update is expected to take place in March.