Windows 10 Build 15007 boosts Edge browser

Microsoft’s newly released Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15007 promotes the struggling Edge browser by making it easier to import data from other browsers. In addition, the build adds capabilities for Universal Windows Platform, Bluetooth, and Cortana.

The build for PCs and mobile devices was released Thursday, Jan. 12, to Windows users in the fast ring, which is the fastest beta test group. The 15007 build follows by a few days the 15002 build, which added capabilities like an improved interface and metered connection status for Wi-Fi and unplugged Ethernet connections.

For PCs, the 15007 build’s revised Edge application makes it easier to bring data like favorites, browsing history, and saved passwords from another browser when switching to Edge, said Dona Sparker, software engineer in Microsoft’s Windows and Devices Group. The revised Edge can also share tabs with compatible Windows apps.

XAML scrollbar improvements for Universal Windows Platform, for both the PC and mobile versions of the OS, ensure the scrollbar’s availability when needed while taking up less space. The panning indicator now appears when the user mouses over a scrolling region, and the full scrollbar appears when a user wants to directly interact with it. This improvement will be visible in apps using the Windows 10 Creators SDK.

The new Bluetooth APIs, for both PC and mobile devices, can be tried out for GATT Server, Bluetooth LE Peripheral role, and unpaired Bluetooth LE device connectivity. The updated device setting lets mobile users manage both Bluetooth and other connected devices from a single page.

For Windows Hello facial recognition, build 15007 improves discovery and enrollment. There’s now a visual indicator that tracks your face in real time, plus an improved progress indicator and guidance on how to orient your face for sign-in.

Keyboard navigation improvements in the Snipping Tool on PCs let users take a screen capture using a keyboard shortcut — a throwback to the Windows 95 days’ use of the now-rare PrtScr key.

Microsoft also is highlighting an addition to the Cortana personal digital assistant to help find links in Edge, SharePoint, and various cloud storage services in the Action Center when switching between PCs. It’s similar in concept to the browser window synchronization in Apple’s Safari, but works with more than web pages.

Enterprise mobile users can now also sync settings using Azure Active Directory, including passwords, Wi-Fi profiles, Edge favorites, the Edge reading list, and app data across desktop and mobile devices. (This feature was previously available to PC users.) They also can reset a mobile app back to its original state, such as to clear a corrupted app.

Build 15007 also fixed several bugs:

• Tearing off an Edge tab could cause a PC to run a bug check.
• The Virtual Touchpad was missing from the taskbar context menu.
• Remote Desktop connections could fail due to invalid credentials were in fact valid.

Some known bugs remain, include nonstop exceptions in the Spectrum.exe service in which PCs can lose audio, disk I/O usage becomes very high, and apps like Edge can become unresponsive. Microsoft says the workaround to this issue is to delete C:ProgramDataMicrosoftSpectrumPersistedSpatialAnchors and reboot.