What is caret browsing and how to turn it on in Microsoft Edge

Caret browsing allows you to browse webpages just like you would go through a text document or a Word document on your desktop, or even a text field on an HTML form. In Firefox you can straight away turn on caret browsing and in Google Chrome there is an add-on that allows you to turn caret browsing on. This is  what a caret looks:

Basically, caret browsing means an ability to use web pages the way you browse editable documents with a caret constantly blinking at your current location on the document. Normally, you see a caret blinking exactly where you are going to insert a character when typing.

Why would you turn on caret browsing in a browser like Microsoft Edge?

For convenience. Sometimes it is easier to navigate around a web page using your keyboard  keys rather than the mouse. Besides, selecting text using a touchpad on a laptop can be difficult but it’s very easy  using your keyboard  when caret browsing is turned on.

Normally when you have to select text on a web page you have to left-click at the place where you want to begin and then keep the mouse pressed and while keeping it pressed you have to move the cursor until you have selected the entire portion you want to select.  Again, this can be cumbersome using the touchpad on a laptop. On the other hand, if you can move the cursor around using your keyboard, just the way you can use it in a document editor, simply press the shift key and then use your left, right, up, down arrow keys to select the text.

How do you turn on caret browsing in Microsoft Edge?

Very easy. Just press the F7 key on your keyboard. A small dialogue box will appear that will ask you whether you want to turn on caret browsing on the Microsoft Edge browser.

That’s it. Click the “Turn on” button and caret browsing will be turned on in Microsoft Edge. Once you have turned it on, it will remain turned on even when you close the browser and then restart. What if you want to turn off caret browsing? Just press the F7 key again and it will let you turn off caret browsing in Microsoft Edge.