Microsoft has said that it is bringing the Acrobat PDF experience to 1.4 billion Windows users through Microsoft Edge. Acrobat PDF will come embedded in Microsoft Edge and will be available to all Windows 11/10 users beginning in March 2023.
Adobe and Microsoft to bring Acrobat PDF experience to Windows users through Microsoft Edge
Together, they are trying to give the experience users wanted while accessing PDFs in Microsoft Edge through Adobe Acrobat PDF engine. Microsoft believes that this will give users a unique PDF experience that includes higher fidelity for more accurate colors and graphics, improved performance, strong security for PDF handling, and greater accessibility, including better text selection and read-aloud narration. All these features come free of cost and continue to be so.
Users who want advanced features like the ability to edit text and images, convert PDFs to other file formats, and combine files can purchase an Acrobat subscription. This enables the features even on Microsoft Edge via a browser extension. Existing users with an Acrobat subscription can use the Acrobat extension on Microsoft Edge at no extra cost.
Microsoft in its press note said,
“In the age of digital transformation, the web browser is the place where people collaborate, share information, and get work done in the cloud. Users across the world interact with trillions of PDF files across the web, mobile, and desktop. With Adobe Acrobat capabilities powering the PDF experience in Edge, Windows 10 and Windows 11 users can use Adobe’s best-in-class PDF capabilities within the Microsoft Edge web browser, without the need to download or switch to a separate application.”
Adobe Acrobat features to meet the needs of organizations with managed devices, will occur in phases with an initial opt-in option for managed devices. The Microsoft Edge PDF solution with the legacy engine is scheduled to be removed in March 2024.
