First look at Grammar Tools in the new Microsoft Edge
Microsoft's upcoming Chromium-based web browser Microsoft Edge comes with Grammar Tools in the browser's reading mode.
Reading mode is a useful feature of the browser that resembles services, scripts and browser extensions such as Tranquility for Firefox, the web service Readable, the now-retired Readability service and extension, and many others.
What sets it apart is that it is built-in the Microsoft Edge web browser similarly to how recent versions of the Firefox web browser come with such a mode.
Reader Mode is not a new feature, Microsoft added it to Internet Explorer 11 in 2014, and the classic Edge browser supports it as well.
Grammar Tools are part of Reader Mode in Microsoft Edge. The classic Edge browser supports Grammar Tools and the upcoming Microsoft Edge that is based on Chromium will as well. A core difference is that users of the classic Microsoft Edge browser have to download Grammar Tools from the Microsoft Store while the feature is integrated in the new Microsoft Edge browser natively.
Note that the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser is still in development and that things may change before final release. Right now, Grammar Tools is available in the latest builds but it is hidden behind a flag.
Enabling Grammar Tools in Microsoft Edge
Right now, it is necessary to enable Grammar Tools before the tools become available. Here is how that is done:
- Load edge://flags in the Microsoft Edge address bar.
- Use the search to find Grammar.
- Set the status of Grammar Tools in Reading View to enabled.
- Restart Microsoft Edge.
Grammar Tools are enabled in Reading View mode after the restart. You may launch Reading View mode on most sites with a click on the "open book" icon in the Edge address bar.
Microsoft Edge displays only article titles, text, and images afterward. Any other page element of the site is removed including menus, navigation, or advertisement.
A click on Grammar Tools at the top displays the available options. Basically, what you may do right now is highlight verbs, nouns, or adjectives, and to split words in syllables.
Just check any of the option -- or multiple -- and you will notice that Edge changes the text based on the enabled options. If you enable verbs, all words are color-coded in red to make them distinguishable from other content.
There is also an option to show labels. These highlight the type, e.g. v for verbs, to make it even clearer on first glance.
Closing Words
Grammar Tools are designed to highlight certain parts of speech to identify them. It may improve accessibility or help English learners, but it is probably not something that most Edge users may find super-useful.
Now You: what is your take on the Grammar Tools feature? (via Techdows)
I enabled it, per your instructions. You are correct in that, at the moment, it isn’t very useful to a native English speaker.