Mozilla has released a new update for the Firefox browser. The release of version 106.0 brings many improvements. Among other things, you can now sign documents digitally without additional programs.
Although Firefox has been able to display PDFs and fill out forms for many years, the whole thing was still cumbersome and outdated at times. With the update, users can now add their own digital annotations to PDF documents. You can type directly into a PDF, draw with the mouse or write.
The new version also includes a so-called Firefox view, which gives a quick overview of 25 recently closed tabs. When synchronizing the browser data of other mobile devices, it is then the last three active tabs there.
Electronically sign PDFs in Firefox viewer
A wide range of colors, sizes, line widths and opacity are available for your own annotations and drawings. The PDF document is initially only open in the Firefox browser when it is edited. This has the advantage that a local save is only necessary after the changes. The changes are then immediately available as a PDF and there are no longer any problems when displaying them in other programs. Cross-device PDF processing is a clear advantage of the Firefox feature.
Draw and sign in PDFs
If you want to sign a PDF document like a sales contract, you have to open the file in Firefox. The PDF now appears as a new tab. At the top right you can select the colour, thickness and opacity of the drawing or signature by clicking on the pen symbol.
A signature or handwritten annotations in the PDF are no longer a problem using the mouse or a pad. Even if writing with the mouse is a bit shaky, Firefox automatically smoothes out the lines in the PDF viewer.
It should be noted that not every contract can be validly signed with such an electronic signature. It depends on legal form requirements, some of which require a digital signature. Digital signatures require a recognized certification authority. This can use an encrypted ID to prove the identity of the signer and digitally link it to the document.
For example, electronic signatures that work like in the Firefox PDF viewer are sufficient for sales contracts and letters of offer. You can read what you should know about the difference between a digital and electronic signature in the linked article.
Fill out PDF forms in Firefox
As a further option, PDF forms can now be filled out using the keyboard after the update. To do this, simply click on the text bar symbol, also in the top right corner. The color and size of the font can also be changed there.
Update brings improvements for screen readers
Firefox’s PDF viewer can also access a hidden text layer embedded in some PDFs. This enables programs for optical text recognition (OCR programs) to pass on the information in a text to a so-called screen reader, a reading application.
With the help of a voice output (voiceover), users with visual impairments, among others, can then get easier access to information from texts. Mozilla has more innovations for Firefox 106.0 in one blog post summarized.