Microsoft is now rolling out Windows 10 build 16188 for PCs enrolled in the Fast ring of the Windows Insider Program. In this new test version of Windows 10, part of the Redstone 3 update (version 1709) due in September, delivers a number of new features and improvements over the previous build.
Windows 10 build 16188, according to Microsoft, introduces new PDF features for Microsoft Edge. Cortana finally gets its own settings page in the Settings app, and the Magnifier settings page gets updated with a number of new options and changes.
Alongside the new features, there are a few new improvements and known issues you should be aware of before installing this build.
What’s new on Windows 10 Redstone 3 (build 16188) for PC
Microsoft Edge
In this new flight, Microsoft Edge introduces a new PDF Reader with a bunch of new features, including:
- PDF Form filling: You can now edit PDF forms on the web, save and print as necessary.
- Microsoft Edge PDF Reader button
- PDF Annotations: While you’ve been able to use Windows Ink to annotate web pages for some time, it wasn’t possible to add notes to PDFs. Now you can click the “Make a Web Note” button on the top-right to annotate PDF files. In addition to annotations, you can use this feature to highlight and erase text.
- Microsoft PDF annotation
- Table of content: For ebooks and long PDF files, you can even use the Table of Contents for easier navigation. You’ll see the Table of Contents button on the left of the PDF toolbar. Then simply click on any heading to jump to that part of the document.
- Microsoft Edge table of content
- Viewing and navigation: Some PDF files, such as those that are scanned documents, may not have proper orientation. The new PDF Reader includes a button to rotate the document. Using the “Layout” flyout menu on the toolbar, now you can switch from one page to two page layouts and change to page-wise scrolling for a better navigation experience for longer documents.
Cortana
Starting with Windows 10 build 16188, based on feedback to make settings more discoverable, Microsoft migrates the Cortana settings to the Settings app. Now instead of opening Cortana, you can simply go to Settings > Cortana to configure the digital assistant.
PDF Form filling: You can now edit PDF forms on the web, save and print as necessary.
Microsoft Edge PDF Reader button
PDF Annotations: While you’ve been able to use Windows Ink to annotate web pages for some time, it wasn’t possible to add notes to PDFs. Now you can click the “Make a Web Note” button on the top-right to annotate PDF files. In addition to annotations, you can use this feature to highlight and erase text.
Microsoft PDF annotation
Table of content: For ebooks and long PDF files, you can even use the Table of Contents for easier navigation. You’ll see the Table of Contents button on the left of the PDF toolbar. Then simply click on any heading to jump to that part of the document.
Microsoft Edge table of content
Viewing and navigation: Some PDF files, such as those that are scanned documents, may not have proper orientation. The new PDF Reader includes a button to rotate the document. Using the “Layout” flyout menu on the toolbar, now you can switch from one page to two page layouts and change to page-wise scrolling for a better navigation experience for longer documents.
Magnifier
Microsoft is also announcing that is improving the experience for low vision users as well as for user who casually use the Magnifier.
On build 16188, the Magnifier settings page is getting updated with a bunch of new options and changes, including:
- You can now easily follow Narrator around the screen with Magnifier by selecting “Follow the Narrator cursor”.
- There is an embedded list of all the available Magnifier shortcuts into the Settings page for quick reference.
- You can now zoom using your mouse wheel by using the Windows key + Ctrl keyboard shortcut.
- A new option has been added to open the Magnifier settings from anywhere in Windows 10, simply use the Ctrl + Windows key + M keyboard shortcut.
- You can now set your preferred Magnifier mode in Settings.
- A new option has been added to select your preferred zoom increment when using Magnifier.
Windows Update
On Windows 10 build 16188, you’ll no longer see a popup dialog box when a new update is ready to be install. Instead, a new toast notification will replace the old dialog box, so it doesn’t interrupt your work.
Windows Defender Application Guard
Windows 10 Enterprise PCs enrolled in the Fast ring can now try Windows Defender Application guard for Microsoft Edge.
Windows Defender Application guard is a new feature that sandboxes web pages to offer maximum protection level from malware and zero day attacks on Windows 10.
In order to try this feature, you first need to enable Windows Defender Application Guard using “Turn Windows features on or off”. Once the feature is enabled, restart your computer, launch Microsoft Edge, click the menu button on the top-right, and click the “New Application Guard window” option.
When you click the option, a new Edge Window will open, and any website you open will be isolated in Application Guard from your system.
Other improvements and known issues
Alongside the new features, Windows 10 build 16188 adds a few new improvements, such as universal dismiss of Cortana reminders is now enabled across Windows devices on this build or higher, and localized apps on localized x64 Windows 10 Insider Preview builds will now work.
As for known issues, in this flight the PC Reset feature will not work for now-English testers. Surface 3 devices fail to update to new builds if a SD memory card is inserted. Computers may hang during restart, and navigation the Settings app may crash the experience.
Microsoft is also releasing Windows 10 Mobile build 15210 to the Fast ring, but it only includes a few minor improvements and a couple known issues.
Microsoft is listing the complete set of fixes and known issues for build 16188, and build 15210 for phones, at the Windows Blog. In case you missed it, you can read all the changes for Windows 10 build 16184 in this article.
You can also use the following resources:
- Windows 10 version release history tracker
Windows 10 build 16188 for PC is available immediately through the Fast ring. It’ll download and install automatically on your device, but you can always force the update from Settings > Update & security > Windows Update and clicking the Check for updates button.