Chrome introduces genius new feature to make life easier

Google Chrome
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Google has rolled out a new ‘Copy Link to Highlight’ feature in Chrome that lets users link to a specific segment of highlighted text for easy sharing with others. 

One of several new productivity-focused features in Chrome 90, the new tool lets you pinpoint information you want to share then link directly to it. When clicked, the link will take you straight to the highlighted section, rather than dumping you at the top of the page and leaving you to hunt for the relevant info.

The Copy Link to Highlight feature first surfaced in the latter part of 2020 in Chrome Canary, where new features are routinely trialed before hitting the mainstream. 

A wider rollout of the feature was firmed up by Google Chrome’s Director of Engineering Adrienne Porter Felt, who tweeted to confirm it was happening.

Google has been tinkering with the feature for a while: a recent Chrome extension, ‘Link to Text Fragment’, provided the same functionality in Chromium and Chrome, but it's now becoming a native feature of the Chrome browser and comes packaged with Chrome 90, which recently rolled out in its stable version.

Should you find yourself needing to share a designated fragment of text with someone, you can follow the steps below.

Google Chrome

(Image credit: Google Chrome Blog)
  1. Highlight the block or specific text quote you'd like to share.
  2. Right-click on the text. 
  3. There should be an option to Copy Link to Highlight to copy the item to the clipboard.
  4. The copied link will now open the corresponding chunk of text when a person clicks on it in Chrome or Chromium. 

And that's that: simple, but very effective for conveying the finer details of that wordy blog or lengthy article. It follows a slew of updates to the Chrome platform, including the Sharing Hub for Chrome desktop and a bunch of auto-fill improvements

Google is gradually pushing out the feature to Chrome 90 users on desktop and Android over the next week, so don't worry if this hasn't yet appeared for you. The feature will also be coming soon to iOS.

More: The best Chromebooks you can buy right now

TOPICS
Luke Wilson

Luke is a Trainee News Writer at T3 and contributor to Tom's Guide, having graduated from the DMU/Channel 4 Journalism School with an MA in Investigative Journalism. Before switching careers, he worked for Mindshare WW. When not indoors messing around with gadgets, he's a disc golf enthusiast, keen jogger, and fond of all things outdoors.

Read more
Chromebook on a table
5 game-changing Chromebook features you need to try
A photo of the Google Chrome logo on a white background, displayed on the screen of a large MacBook Pro which is situated on a table with green foliage behind.
I use these 7 Google Chrome keyboard shortcuts every day to save me time
Google Lens illustrations
Google Lens just got smarter — new iPhone feature lets you search instantly
and image of the Google Chrome logo on a laptop
Google Chrome just rolled out a huge AI upgrade to help protect you from scams
and image of the Google Chrome logo on a laptop
Google Chrome just updated its rules to stop future Honey scandals: here's what's changed
Google Chrome app on iPhone
iPhone users just got their own version of Google’s Circle to Search — here’s how it works
Latest in Browsers
iPhone 16 Pro Max shown in hand
Your iPhone has a custom voice command feature — here's how to use it
iPhone 16 Pro Max shown in hand
You can change your iPhone's default browser — here's how
Google Chrome on Android
How to stop your personal data from appearing in Google searches
Opera Air
I just tested the world’s first mindful browser — it’s calmly convinced me to ditch Google Chrome
A photo of the Google Chrome logo on a white background, displayed on the screen of a large MacBook Pro which is situated on a table with green foliage behind.
Google Chrome just got three new modes — and it's a game changer for performance
Google Calendar app on iPhone
Google Calendar just got the dark mode we’ve been waiting for — here’s how to activate it
Latest in News
NYTimes Connections
NYT Connections today hints and answers — Thursday, March 20 (#648)
A phone with the Plex logo in front of an out-of-focus background of movie posters
Yikes! Plex is getting a price hike and this key feature is going behind a pay wall
back of Iris Pixel 9a
Google Pixel 9a pre-orders delayed due to 'component quality issue' — here's when you can get one
An open lock depicting a data breach
Half a million teachers hit in major data breach with SSNs, financial data and more exposed — what to do now
Sony A95K QD-OLED TV in front of windows in a living room
This new TV breakthrough looks like a game-changer for OLED TVs
Apple iPhone 16 & 16 Plus hands-on.
Forget USB-C — a truly portless iPhone just got the all-clear from the EU