Drop: a new way to send files, notes across mobile and PC devices

Drop: a new way to send files, notes across mobile and PC devices

Drop is a new file and notes sharing feature in the Microsoft Edge browser that lets users send files and notes across their mobile and PC devices. The Drop sharing feature is located in the sidebar widget. It works by synchronizing a shared file across your devices using Edge and OneDrive. A kind of AirDrop feature that lets you share and receive photos, documents, videos, links, and notes or text to another device instead of a person.

The company has been testing and developing this new file-sharing feature since May this year. It has since moved from the Edge Canary Channel for early testers to more stable Edge versions. It appears it is still not generally available as i didn’t see it in the normal Edge browser. However, once it gets to the Dev Edge Channel it is likely to soon show up in the Beta channel and to all.

The Drop file-sharing feature tries to make sending links, text, images, and video from one device to another simple. This feature looks great as it only involves you and not another person or account. So you won’t have to create a fake contact or spam someone’s chat message with things you want to pick up from another device.

It is also another way Microsoft could be testing file sharing across devices as it doesn’t have a definite solution. Currently, it encourages Windows PC users to use the Phone Link app.

microsoft edge drop file sharing feature explained Windows 10 and 11, Mac PC interface
how it looks on a desktop Edge PC browser

How Drop file sharing feature works

First, you need to sign in to your Edge browser on both sending and receiving devices with your Microsoft account.

Next, the easiest way to use the feature is to open the sidebar widget and click it. On a Windows PC you can press the shortcut, control + shift +forward slash (Ctrl+Shift+/) to get to the side widget. Or Alt+F to open settings, then scroll down and select Show sidebar. Microsoft by default have it added, but if it isn’t you can click on the add (+) sign to add it.

Then click on the Edge Drop feature. The logo looks like a paper airplane. It will open up what looks like a text chat interface on the side. With a “write a note to yourself”, a plus (+) to select a file or photo to send, and a send feature the visible options.

microsoft edge drop file sharing feature explained Android, iOs mobile interface
how it looks on a mobile Edge browser

When you send a file, you will get a “New Drop messages in Edge” notification on the other devices you are signed in to asking you to click to open the file. The sent file then goes to a newly created “MicrosoftEdgeDropFiles” folder on your PC. I did not find any newly created folders on my mobile phone. When you click to open the Edge Drop file on mobile it takes you to the widget in the browser and you see the file and proceed from there.

From my current understanding, the file is also stored in a new folder in your Microsoft OneDrive account. You will notice a “Microsoft Edge Drop Files” folder with all the shared files except links and text as shown in the image below.t also uses your cloud storage and Microsoft doesn’t give any additional storage for this. So if you use it often and with large files, you will have to have a larger OneDrive storage or keep deleting them afterward.

Microsoft Edge Drop Files folder in OneDrive

It will be interesting to see the final feature when Microsoft releases or announces Drop to the public.

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Microsoft releases Edge preview build for Linux, supports Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, openSUSE

Microsoft releases Edge preview build for Linux, supports Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, openSUSE

Microsoft Edge Linux preview build

Microsoft is announcing the release of the Microsoft Edge Dev Insider channel for Linux. The Microsoft Edge Linux preview build will support Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and OpenSUSE distributions.

The company announced it was bringing Microsoft Edge to Linux in May at Microsoft Build.

With this release, Microsoft is looking at two Linux customer categories. The Linux enthusiasts asking for Microsoft Edge and web developers for test automation.

This is to provide a representative experience for developers who want to build and test their sites and apps on Linux, notes Kyle Pflug, Microsoft Principal Program Manager Lead, Developer Experiences.

We’re particularly excited to offer web developers the same consistent and powerful web platform and developer tools. As on macOS or Windows, so you can build and test in your preferred environment and be confident in the experience your customers will have on other devices.

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You can download the Microsoft Edge Linux preview build for your repository from the Microsoft Edge Insider site. Or install it directly from the Microsoft Linux Software Repository.

Watch Microsoft Program Manager, Sean Larkin, talk about the availability of the Microsoft Edge Dev Channel for Linux.

Linux fan? Are you excited about this announcement? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.

Microsoft Edge browser features new icon, generally available January 2020

Microsoft Edge browser features new icon, generally available January 2020

Microsoft’s chromium Edge browser will spot a new icon and generally available January 2020 to Windows and Mac OS. The announcement comes as Microsoft shows plans for its various platforms at Microsoft Ignite 2019.

In January 2020, Microsoft will debut a new Edge browser. This new Microsoft Edge browser isn’t what you have know the previous browsers to be. It is built off a different engine than Internet explorer and Edge. The new browser runs on the Chromium web engine as the Google Chrome browser. What Microsoft did differently is that the company took the best parts of Google’s opensource chromium web engine. They then went on to add features users have requested for in Edge. Finally delivering a browser that doesn’t just compete with Chrome but outperforms it.

edge browser

The new edge has been in development going through several iterations with user feedback to improve it

Microsoft says the browser “has hit a milestone in enterprise readiness“.

The browser offers world-class compatibility and performance, with control and security from Microsoft and built-in productivity tools for the web. It recognizes the need of enterprise customers for a modern web, while respecting their investment in legacy apps. It also manages for security concerns in today’s online world and addresses the data overwhelm of modern employees.

Visit the Edge insider page, download and try it out or get more details.

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WhatsApp Web Works with Microsoft Edge Browser

WhatsApp Web Works with Microsoft Edge Browser

WhatsApp Web is finally available to Microsoft Edge browser users.
whatsapp web

Microsoft Edge is the official browser that comes pre-installed in Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile operating system. It’s also the browser that officially replaced Internet Explorer (still available in windows 10).

WhatsApp Web was introduced sometime in January 2015 as a web client that mirrors a persons chat account from your phone to your personal computer. This was introduced to provide a richer communication experience to users of WhatsApp. WhatsApp Web isn’t a different chat account or platform. It’s the same WhatsApp account setup on your phone that gets synchronized and mirrored to the PC, so you have the same information.

But up until now it wasn’t usable on Microsoft Edge browsers and still doesn’t support any Internet Explorer version.

WhatsApp Web

How do you go about this?

Minimum requirements to enjoy WhatsApp Web

  • You need to have an active WhatsApp account on your phone.
  • You need to have a stable internet connection on both your phone and your computer.
  • You need to use the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Firefox, Opera or Safari as your web browser on your computer.

Once you meet the browser specifications;

To get started with WhatsApp Web

  1. Visit web.whatsapp.com on your computer.
  2. Open WhatsApp on your phone.
    • On Windows Phone: under Chats go to Menu > WhatsApp Web.
    • On Android: in the Chats screen > Menu > WhatsApp Web.
    • On iPhone: go to Settings > WhatsApp Web.
    • On BlackBerry: go to Chats > Menu > WhatsApp Web. (On BlackBerry 10: Swipe down from top of the screen )
  3. Scan the QR Code on your computer screen from your phone with your camera.

From your phone, navigate to WhatsApp Web to view your logged in computers or to logout from an active  chat session.
WhatsApp Web  WhatsApp Web WhatsApp Web

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is this an added bonus to you?, because honestly I’ve been looking forward to this as I’ve decided to try out only Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer on a PC as only browsers. There have been some limitations as expected but with more extensions expected to be available in the next major Update  aka “RedStone”, I guess I wouldn’t have much to worry about.

With WhatsApp being used by people in doing several things like sharing vital information during natural disasters or health emergencies, finding a date, growing a small business, buying an engagement ring, or seeking a better life etc.  it comes in handy.

Microsoft Edge; The Name Chosen For Project Spartan Browser

Microsoft Edge; The Name Chosen For Project Spartan Browser

“The browser that turns browsing into doing.”

microsoft edge logo

Microsoft’s new internet browser designed to replace internet explorer code named “Project Spartan” has finally been revealed as “Microsoft EDGE” at the //Build/ 2015 developers conference.

The logo design picks up traits from internet explorer(IE), and the naming probably comes from the rendering engine; EdgeHTML.

Microsoft EDGE is going to be the main web browser on windows 10 devices, windows phones will run mainly on Microsoft Edge, but enterprise and desktop users will also have internet explorer still installed as an option.

Source : Kyle PFlug , Microsoft