I am aware of the answer provided here.
If you browse an official discussion, the only answer that can be found is also to switch on Instant search.
I have a few problems with this. The main one is that Instant limits to 10 results. I want keyboard navigation but I can only get 10 results to navigate with my keyboard. It's like some kind of a joke, except it's not a joke.
Anyway, no animosity toward Google. The very reason that I'm ticked off is testament to the quality of the product itself, after all.
So the real question is, does anyone have a Tampermonkey userscript or Chrome browser Extension that lets me keep Instant off while giving me keyboard navigation?
I found some links from many years ago, but userscripts.org is now defunct. Besides, even if I did find a solution for running in Chrome and Firefox, I use Safari on my Mac, and even with Google Instant search the Tab key doesn't work at all in Safari.
I would cook up my own bookmarklet, I don't want to reinvent a wheel. (and besides, I still don't know how to bind a bookmarklet to run by pressing one key) —- If I had to resort to doing this, I could do it in under an hour. I don't care how sophisticated or spaghettified a webpage is, a keyboard handler that does something useful can be hacked together in an hour. It boggles the mind how this isn't a feature that exists.
Best Answer
I think Gleebox will do what you need. Simply set your shortcut to invoke it, and type '2' on a google search page and hit enter.
If you're in an input field, use alt+ [whatever your binding is in extenstion-->settings] and it will auto escape you from that field to allow you to navigate.