14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft used the Build developer conference to announce a bunch of new features for its new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser.
First of all, it’s Collections, a new feature that allows you to group content, like photos and text, into a central hub and then export it apps like Word and Excel.
Collections uses cloud-power intelligence to keep the structure of your content, so, for example, you can easily transform things like a shopping list to a spreadsheet straight from the browser. This new feature is still in its early days, and it is supposed to arrive in the preview version of the browser at a later time.
Additionally, Microsoft is introducing new privacy controls, including a dashboard concept with preset levels of information sharing. Users will thus be able to configure Edge with pre-defined privacy profiles suggested by Microsoft, and these include settings for trackers and cookies.
MacOS preview “coming soon”
The Redmond-based software giant is also introducing an early version of the Microsoft Edge-powered WebView, which brings Chromium to Win32 and UWP Windows apps.
“For Windows developers, we’re showing a first look at our new Microsoft Edge powered WebView, which brings the fidelity of the Chromium platform to Win32 and UWP Windows apps, allowing for sophisticated hybrid apps that can blend native capabilities with your choice of an always up-to-date or versioned web platform. Interested developers can try our first preview of the Win32 WebView control and give feedback, and stay tuned for more updates the weeks and months ahead,” Microsoft announced.
Developers are also provided with an Internet Explorer mode for full IE11 compatibility for internal sites and apps, a feature that’s supposed to come in handy particularly for enterprises who developed their own apps for employees.
Microsoft Edge remains exclusive to Windows 10 for now, with preview builds only available for Microsoft’s latest OS. Testing builds for macOS and previous versions of Windows will launch soon, the company says.
