Microsoft and Adobe have partnered to integrate the Adobe Acrobat PDF rendering engine directly into the Edge browser, replacing the existing PDF engine.
Starting in March 2023, new versions of Microsoft Edge for Windows 10 and Windows 11 will roll out that includes this new PDF engine.
However, managed devices in the enterprise can opt-in to the new feature, allowing companies to test the new PDF integration for their business activities.
“Together, the two companies are enhancing the PDF experience and value users have come to expect in Microsoft Edge by powering the built-in PDF reader with Adobe Acrobat’s PDF rendering engine,” reads today’s announcement from Adobe.
“This will give users a unique PDF experience that includes richer rendering for more accurate colors and graphics, improved performance, strong security for PDF handling, and greater accessibility — including better text selection and read-aloud narration.”
“These capabilities will continue to be free of cost.”
The announcement warns that Microsoft will retire its current Microsoft Edge PDF engine in March 2024, a year after the new integration is released.
This phased rollout will give businesses ample time to test the new rendering engine with PDF documents used in their operations.
The new features coming to Microsoft Edge with this integration are outlined in the video below.
Users who want more advanced PDF features, such as the ability to edit text and images, convert PDFs to other file formats, and combine files, can purchase an Acrobat subscription that enables these features in Microsoft edge through a browser extension.