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Microsoft has added new productivity and online shopping tools to its Edge browser. The shopping features will primarily be available in the U.S., while some can be accessed in other regions as well.
Last month, Microsoft introduced an easy way to take a screenshot using keyboard shortcut CTRL + Shift + S or by selecting Web capture from the menu options. Now, people will be able to digitally ink and annotate directly onto screenshots by clicking on add notes, and then save or share it.
The ability to capture a full webpage in a single click, will be available later this month, the tech giant noted in a blog post.
In addition, Edge users will now be able to annotate and add text to PDF documents. They can just select the text, right click on it to add a comment and then save it.
The new ‘friendly URLs’ feature on Edge is designed to make web links look good. When a user pastes a copied link from the address bar, it will be converted from a long URL address to a short hyperlink with the website title. Users can retain the full URL using the context menu.
Enterprise users signed into Edge with their Azure Active Directory work account, now have an option to easily toggle between Office content and the new “My Feed” section, with relevant work and industry news content that can be further personalised based on their interests, Microsoft noted.
Shopping features
Edge now has new coupons feature built into the desktop and mobile version of the browser in the U.S. The feature will alert users if there are coupons available when visiting retailer websites. It proactively surfaces the coupon codes when a user is ready to checkout.
The browser also gets an enhanced price comparison tool for the U.S market that will check the prices of a shopping item at competing retailers to let a user know if a lower price is available elsewhere.
Further, the new ‘Shop the Look’, which builds off previous Microsoft Bing visual search technology, is designed to help users find their next look. For instance, when a user searches for ‘coats’, the browser will show a variety of different outfits with visuals and direct links to the retailer’s web page. The feature is only available in the U.S. market.
The deals hub on Edge, lets users browse the latest online deals across various retailers, sorted by popular products, brands and product categories. The browser also gets a new shopping hub, for users to browse and discover items in curated categories such as home décor, gift ideas, clothing, and jewellery. Deals hub is only available in the U.S. and the U.K., while shopping hub is available in the U.S, the U.K, Australia, Canada, France, and Germany, according to Microsoft.
