In Dorico Pro, the caret is a vertical line that extends above and below five-line staves but appears shorter on percussion staves and tablature. It shows the rhythmic position at which notes, chords, or notation items are input, which can be partway through tie chains.
A caret is a mark that is commonly used when proofreading published text to denote the position at which something should be inserted or added; for example, a missing letter or a word. In software, the caret shows where something is inserted. The caret is also known as an “insertion point” or “cursor”. In this documentation, we use “caret” to refer to the line that appears during note input, and “cursor” to refer to the line that appears during text input.
If you are inputting notes, the caret advances to the next rhythmic position automatically. If you are inputting chords or notes on tablature, the caret does not move automatically, and you must move it to the next rhythmic position manually.
The caret has a note symbol beside it, which indicates the stem direction and type of the currently selected voice. It is accompanied by a + symbol if the voice is new.
The appearance of the caret changes depending on the input mode and the currently selected voice number.
- Multiple staves
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The caret extends vertically across all the staves onto which notes and notations will be input. This allows you to input, for example, the same dynamics or playing techniques on multiple staves simultaneously, or to play in chords on a MIDI keyboard and distribute the notes in those chords onto multiple staves. The note symbol and rhythmic grid also appear for each included staff.
Caret when inputting notes onto multiple staves - Insert
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The caret shows V and inverted V shapes at the top and bottom. Dotted lines are shown on staves affected by the Insert mode scope across which the caret does not already extend. In Insert mode, inserted notes shift existing notes after the caret along by the input duration instead of overwriting them.
Caret when Insert (Voice) is active 
Caret when Insert (Player) is active 
Caret when either Insert (Global) or Insert (Global Adjustment of Current Bar) is active NoteInsert mode also affects some edits outside of note input, such as copying/pasting, deleting, and lengthening/shortening notes.
- Chords
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The caret shows a plus symbol at the top left. During chord input, you can input multiple notes at the same rhythmic position.
Caret when inputting chords NoteChord mode also affects some edits outside of note input, such as copying/pasting and lengthening/shortening notes and items.
- Lock Duration
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The caret is dashed. Lock Duration allows you to repitch notes without changing their duration or rhythm.
Caret when Lock Duration is activated - Grace Notes
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The caret is shorter than the default caret. It allows you to input grace notes at the caret position.
Caret when inputting grace notes - Voices
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To identify voices, the caret shows the following:
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An up-stem or down-stem note symbol to indicate the stem direction of the voice
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The voice number into which you are about to input notes, for second voices and above
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A plus symbol at the bottom left, if the voice is new
Caret when inputting notes into the first up-stem voice 
Caret when inputting notes into a new down-stem voice 
Caret when inputting notes into a new, second up-stem voice -
- Slash voices
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To identify slash voices, the caret shows the following:
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An up-stem or down-stem slash note symbol, indicating the stem direction of the slash voice, and whether it has stems or is stemless
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The number of the slash voice into which you are about to input notes, for second voices and above
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A plus symbol on the left at the bottom, if the slash voice is new
Caret when inputting notes into an up-stem slash voice 
Caret when inputting notes into a new, second up-stem slash voice 
Caret when inputting notes into a new, stemless slash voice -
- Percussion kits
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The caret appears significantly smaller than usual when inputting notes into percussion kits. The name of the kit instrument into which you are currently inputting notes is shown above the rhythmic grid.
Caret when inputting notes into percussion kits - Tablature
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The caret appears significantly smaller than usual when inputting notes into tablature. On tablature, the caret behaves as if chord input is always active, meaning you must advance the caret and move it to other string lines manually.
Caret when inputting notes on tablature