We’ve reported Microsoft wants to bring Native Caret browsing to Chromium, the feature is now available behind a flag in latest Canary Edge version 78.0.240 and can be enabled in the browser.
What is Caret browsing?
The feature when activated offers a movable cursor and allows to select text on a web page by using keyboard keys without using mouse pointer can be called as caret browsing. According to feature design doc, Microsoft says Caret browsing “enables navigate web content using the keyboard keys and common shortcuts for the character, word, and line-level navigation”.
The feature enables “full range of text navigation and selection functionality within web content without additional pointing devices like mice, trackpads and touchpads.” the doc says.
Enable Caret browsing in Chromium Edge
1. Ensure you’re using the latest Edge Canary build 78.0.240. or higher, visit edge://flags page
2. Search for “Caret” and for “Enable Caret Browsing” flag, choose “Enabled”
3. Restart the browser.
When you press the F7 key, the browser asks for your permission to activate the feature by saying, by doing so “allows you to select text with your keyboard” and informs, you can use F7 shortcut to enable or disable the feature.
When you click “Turn on”, the caret cursor blinks from then on and you can use arrow keys to go through the content in the website. FYI, the feature is also available in Firefox browser, Internet Explorer and Classic Edge also.
Do note Caret browsing will be turned off when you close browser and you can use the shortcut to do the same.
Limitations with extensions:
Till now, Caret browsing feature is not available in the Chrome browser, Google offers an extension for the same on the Chrome Web Store.
Microsoft notes generally, extensions aren’t allowed to use in the enterprise environment and may not available in incognito mode or when the guest profile is used. The company wants the feature to be available out of the box for all Chromium applications with little or no work.
You can now see Caret browsing available as an experimental feature because of them and soon this might get into Chrome Canary also.