diff --git a/src/rime/context.cc b/src/rime/context.cc
index 905ced34ee..c1dee3dd82 100644
--- a/src/rime/context.cc
+++ b/src/rime/context.cc
@@ -121,6 +121,27 @@ bool Context::Select(size_t index) {
   return false;
 }
 
+bool Context::Highlight(size_t index) {
+  if (composition_.empty() || !composition_.back().menu)
+    return false;
+  Segment& seg(composition_.back());
+  size_t new_index = index;
+  size_t candidate_count = seg.menu->Prepare(index + 1);
+  if (index >= candidate_count) {
+    DLOG(INFO) << "selection index exceeds candidate pool, fallback to last";
+    new_index = candidate_count - 1;
+  }
+  size_t previous_index = seg.selected_index;
+  if (previous_index == new_index) {
+    DLOG(INFO) << "selection has not changed, currently at " << new_index;
+    return false;
+  }
+  seg.selected_index = new_index;
+  update_notifier_(this);
+  DLOG(INFO) << "selection changed from: " << previous_index << " to: " << new_index;
+  return true;
+}
+
 bool Context::DeleteCandidate(
     function<an<Candidate>(Segment& seg)> get_candidate) {
   if (composition_.empty())
diff --git a/src/rime/context.h b/src/rime/context.h
index e31ea3cd53..8eb793fd79 100644
--- a/src/rime/context.h
+++ b/src/rime/context.h
@@ -44,6 +44,8 @@ class RIME_API Context {
 
   // return false if there is no candidate at index
   bool Select(size_t index);
+  // return false if the selected index has not changed
+  bool Highlight(size_t index);
   bool DeleteCandidate(size_t index);
   // return false if there's no candidate for current segment
   bool ConfirmCurrentSelection();
diff --git a/src/rime_api.cc b/src/rime_api.cc
index 1baf679fbd..f44ee4a81e 100644
--- a/src/rime_api.cc
+++ b/src/rime_api.cc
@@ -1066,6 +1066,37 @@ static bool do_with_candidate_on_current_page(
   return (ctx->*verb)(page_start + index);
 }
 
+Bool RimeChangePage(RimeSessionId session_id, Bool backward) {
+  an<Session> session(Service::instance().GetSession(session_id));
+  if (!session)
+    return False;
+  Context *ctx = session->context();
+  if (!ctx || !ctx->HasMenu())
+    return False;
+  Schema *schema = session->schema();
+  if (!schema)
+    return False;
+  size_t page_size = (size_t)schema->page_size();
+  auto& seg(ctx->composition().back());
+  size_t current_index = seg.selected_index;
+  size_t index =
+      backward ? (current_index <= page_size ? 0 : current_index - page_size)
+               : (current_index + page_size);
+  DLOG(INFO) << "current selection: " << current_index
+             << ", flipping " << (backward ? "backward" : "forward")
+             << ", new selection " << index;
+  seg.tags.insert("paging");
+  return ctx->Highlight(index);
+}
+
+Bool RimeHighlightCandidate(RimeSessionId session_id, size_t index) {
+  return do_with_candidate(session_id, index, &Context::Highlight);
+}
+
+Bool RimeHighlightCandidateOnCurrentPage(RimeSessionId session_id, size_t index) {
+  return do_with_candidate_on_current_page(session_id, index, &Context::Highlight);
+}
+
 RIME_API Bool RimeSelectCandidate(RimeSessionId session_id, size_t index) {
   return do_with_candidate(session_id, index, &Context::Select);
 }
@@ -1231,6 +1262,9 @@ RIME_API RimeApi* rime_get_api() {
     s_api.get_prebuilt_data_dir_s = &RimeGetPrebuiltDataDirSecure;
     s_api.get_staging_dir_s = &RimeGetStagingDirSecure;
     s_api.get_sync_dir_s = &RimeGetSyncDirSecure;
+    s_api.highlight_candidate = &RimeHighlightCandidate;
+    s_api.highlight_candidate_on_current_page = &RimeHighlightCandidateOnCurrentPage;
+    s_api.change_page = &RimeChangePage;
   }
   return &s_api;
 }
diff --git a/src/rime_api.h b/src/rime_api.h
index d679c147eb..264f35dd05 100644
--- a/src/rime_api.h
+++ b/src/rime_api.h
@@ -664,6 +664,13 @@ typedef struct rime_api_t {
   void (*get_prebuilt_data_dir_s)(char* dir, size_t buffer_size);
   void (*get_staging_dir_s)(char* dir, size_t buffer_size);
   void (*get_sync_dir_s)(char* dir, size_t buffer_size);
+
+  //! highlight a selection without committing
+  Bool (*highlight_candidate)(RimeSessionId session_id, size_t index);
+  //! highlight a selection without committing
+  Bool (*highlight_candidate_on_current_page)(RimeSessionId session_id, size_t index);
+
+  Bool (*change_page)(RimeSessionId session_id, Bool backward);
 } RimeApi;
 
 //! API entry