Microsoft Edge's native PDF viewer gets translation feature. Here's its first look

Remember when we reported that a translation feature was coming to Microsoft Edge‘s native PDF viewer? Well, the first look of this feature has just been spotted on the browser’s Canary experimental channel. 

Now, as spotted by Edge enthusiast @Leopeva64, the first look of this feature has just been rolled out for several insiders. 

The following options are available to you, as you can see: search for the selected text (not yet available), listen to a translation, or suggest an edit.

The new PDF translation pane now works (Edge Canary), there are several options, including searching for the selected text (not working yet), listen to translation or suggest an edit:https://t.co/OysDMGTVcc
.https://t.co/LJImFogWAb pic.twitter.com/9KK6ScAKpp

— Leopeva64 (@Leopeva64) September 14, 2023

However, we can confirm that this is a controlled rollout and even if you’re in the Canary channel, there’s still a chance that you may not see this feature.

In case you missed it, Microsoft will soon let you translate PDF natively on Edge using a new dedicated side panel. 

Sure, there is an automatic translation feature on the browser, and you can see it on the translation icon in the address bar, but there isn’t one on the native PDF reader.

It is still good news that Microsoft is finally adding a translation feature to its native PDF reader, as this is something that other browsers have already done. 

For example, Google Chrome, Edge’s sole competitor, has a native translation feature for PDFs that works similarly: simply highlight the text you want to translate, right-click, and then select “Translate to English” (or any other language you want).