It is quite possible that you are already familiar with the caret surfing functionality offered by Microsoft Edge or the older version of Internet Explorer that came with Windows 10. Microsoft’s most recent Edge browser, which is built on Chromium, now offers the feature.
In case you are unaware, the caret surfing feature inserts a caret onto online pages that resembles the one used on word processors. Users can choose the contents of any web page in this way using only their keyboard. This makes it more convenient for those who do not use a mouse with their computers, although, in my honest view, using the touchpad to pick sizable portions of text is not the most advanced method.
It’s important to note that Caret browsing is currently only supported in Edge Canary. But don’t be alarmed! The Dev Channel and Beta Channel will soon include the feature.
Enable Caret Browsing on Chromium-Based Edge
1. Download the most recent version of Edge Canary to get going. Enter “ge:/flags” into Edge Canary’s address bar. As this browser is built on Chromium, you will now see a page that looks a lot like the Chrome flags page.
2. Type Enable Caret Browsing in the search field and choose Enabled from the drop-down list. You can also enter edge:/flags/#edge-caret-browsing into your address bar to access the flag.
You can use caret browsing on your Edge Canary following a browser restart.
3. On your keyboard, click the F7 key to begin caret browsing. When you do this, a cursor similar to the one in the image below will appear on your browser. By simply pressing the F7 key once more, you can disable the option if you choose not to use it.
We’ll have to wait to see if Google Chrome adds this capability. There isn’t currently a flag for this in Google Chrome Canary. So, did you miss Edge’s caret browsing? Please tell us in the comments.
Download the Edge Canary based on Chrome.
