Microsoft is improving its Achilles heel — the extension support for its browser. The company has rolled out the preview Build 14291 for Windows Insiders in its Fast ring, which will signal the arrival of a new modernistic Edge browser.
On Thursday, Microsoft pushed out the Windows 10 Preview Build 14291 for Windows Insider program users, which brings extensions for the Microsoft Edge browser, among other new features.
"Today we are releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14291 for both PC and Mobile to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring. There are some very cool new things in this build, including one of the top requested features by Windows Insiders — extensions for Microsoft Edge!" notes Microsoft.
The new extensions for Microsoft Edge are only available for PC. To test out an extension, Windows Insiders will need to click on "More," which is located on the top right side of the browser. Next, one needs to click on "Extensions," which will open the extensions pane. Then, click on "Get Extensions."
Currently, preview build 14291 brings the following extensions for PC: Microsoft Translator, Mouse Gestures and Reddit Enhancement Suite. Microsoft has revealed that more extensions are "on the way."
The extensions that are expected soon are LastPass, AdBlock, Amazon, Adblock Plus, Evernote and more.
Even though users will need to manually install the extensions as of now, in the near-term, they can be installed from the Windows Store.
For those wondering why Microsoft took so long to bring support for extensions for Microsoft Edge browser, it was because it did not want to compromise security.
"[O]ne of our highest priorities is to ensure that Microsoft Edge is the safest, most reliable and fastest browser we could build, and our experience over the past 20 years has taught us that poorly written or even malicious add-ons were a huge source of security, reliability and performance issues for browsers. With this in mind, we have built Microsoft Edge so customers can add extensions to the browser with the confidence that they will operate as expected," noted Drew DeBruyne, Microsoft's GM for Edge.
The preview build 14291 update also brings pinned tabs Microsoft Edge users' way — a feature available on other browsers. Basically, users will be able to pin the most-used Web apps and sites at hand thanks to the feature. To pin a tab, one will simply need to right-click on the tab and then choose the "Pin tab option."
The update also brings improvements to copy and paste. Copying a link on the clipboard is now easy, and one can right-click on the Microsoft Edge browser's address bar and select "Paste and go" in the context menu. The URL is pasted into the address bar, and the user is directed to the site with ease. Users will also have the ability to copy words onto their clipboard and select the "paste and search" option.
Photo: Mike Mozart | Flickr
