When an HTML document has been switched to designMode, the document object exposes the execCommand method which allows one to run commands to manipulate the contents of the editable region. Most commands affect the document's selection (bold, italics, etc.), while others insert new elements (adding a link) or affect an entire line (indenting). When using contentEditable, calling execCommand() will affect the currently active editable element.
document.designMode controls whether the entire document is editable. Valid values are "on" and "off". According to the specification, this property is meant to default to "off". Firefox follows this standard. The earlier versions of Chrome and IE default to "inherit". Starting in Chrome 43, the default is "off" and "inherit" is no longer supported. In IE6-10, the value is capitalized.