Discover 10 valuable tips and tricks to enhance your experience with Chrome DevTools

Discover 10 valuable tips and tricks to enhance your experience with Chrome DevTools

Discover 10 valuable tips and tricks to enhance your experience with Chrome DevTools. Unleash the Full Potential of Chrome DevTools: Uncover Hidden Gems for an Enhanced Experience

Uncover the hidden treasures of Chrome DevTools and tap into its vast potential as a versatile Swiss army knife for web development. This formidable tool allows you to delve deep into the inner workings of any web page, gaining a browser’s perspective.

While some of its features may come naturally, there exists a multitude of lesser-known tips and tricks that can elevate your debugging and optimization endeavors to unparalleled heights. Within this article, we have curated a collection of invaluable insights to empower you in maximizing your Chrome DevTools experience.

Revealing the Marvels of Chrome DevTools: Valuable Insights and Expert After a Decade of Mastery

For more than a decade, I have been a devoted user of Chrome DevTools, even during the time when Mozilla was resolving its memory leak problems. As a front-end developer, I rely heavily on DevTools as an essential component of my daily workflow. It enables me to inspect CSS, perform performance tests, and more.

Throughout the years, I have gathered a valuable collection of tips and tricks, some of which may not be immediately apparent. While I highly recommend consulting the official documentation for a comprehensive understanding of DevTools’ capabilities, it is also crucial to stay updated with the latest features and tools. One way to achieve this is by regularly checking the “What’s New in DevTools” page.

To effectively navigate this resource, you have two options: you can utilize the CTRL+F shortcut to search for specific keywords that interest you, or you can use the Table of Contents above to quickly jump to a particular example. As my knowledge expands, I anticipate this page growing further, so feel free to bookmark it for future reference.

Now, let’s begin with a practical yet immensely useful tip: rendering a website without CSS or JavaScript by blocking resources for testing purposes.

Sometimes, it can be advantageous to examine a website without its CSS or JavaScript to pinpoint dependency problems or evaluate its fundamental content structure. Using Chrome DevTools, achieving this is a simple process by obstructing specific resources. Here is a step-by-step guide on how you can accomplish it:

To access Chrome DevTools, you have two options. The first option is to right-click on the web page and choose “Inspect.” Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+I (or Cmd+Option+I on macOS).

Once you are in the DevTools panel, navigate to the “Network” tab.

To capture all the network requests made by the website, simply reload the page.

If you want to locate and block specific resources, you can utilize the filter options to narrow down the resources by type (e.g., CSS, JavaScript).

To block a particular resource, right-click on it and select either “Block Request URL” or “Block Request Domain.” This action will prevent the selected resource from loading.

After blocking the resources, refresh the page. You will now see the site without the blocked resources, providing you with a glimpse of how it would appear without CSS or JavaScript.

Remember that this blocking is temporary and only affects your local browsing session. Once you close DevTools or reload the page without blocking the resources, the website will return to its original state.

By using this technique, you can analyze the fundamental content structure of a site, identify potential performance issues, or troubleshoot dependency-related problems without the influence of CSS or JavaScript.

Effortlessly monitor and export CSS modifications with simplicity

Have you ever found yourself deeply engrossed in tweaking CSS settings using DevTools, only to realize later that you have to painstakingly retrace your steps across ten different properties just to save those modifications? We’ve all experienced that frustration at some point.

Thankfully, there’s a more efficient solution to this problem.

Effortlessly Monitor and Export CSS Changes

To streamline the process of tracking and exporting CSS changes made in Chrome DevTools, follow these simple steps:

1. Open the “Customize and control DevTools” menu (represented by three vertical dots) and choose “More tools.”
2. Select “Changes” from the options presented. This will open a dedicated tab within DevTools that displays all the code changes you’ve made.
3. Alternatively, you can quickly access the Changes panel using the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+P, then typing “Changes” in the Run console.
4. Once you’re in the Changes panel, you’ll find a “Copy” button at the bottom. Clicking this button enables you to directly export all the changes made during your session.

By leveraging this feature, you can conveniently keep track of your CSS modifications and export them for future use, eliminating the need to manually backtrack across multiple properties.

Enhance Grid & Flexbox Layout Structures

In addition to my recent article on the top CSS layout generators, I have a valuable tip to help you enhance your layout customization. Follow these steps to modify the structure of a container using Grid or Flexbox:

1. Inspect the container element you want to modify using Chrome DevTools. You can do this by right-clicking on the element and selecting “Inspect,” or by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+I (or Cmd+Option+I on macOS).
2. Once you’re in DevTools, find the CSS property assigned to the container element that determines its display. Look for the property that sets the value of “display” as either “flex” or “grid,” depending on the layout system you prefer.
3. To switch between Flexbox and Grid, modify the value of the “display” property accordingly. For example, if the current value is “display: flex;”, change it to “display: grid;”, or vice versa.

By adjusting the display property, you can easily switch between Grid and Flexbox layouts for the selected container. This flexibility allows you to experiment and fine-tune the layout structure according to your specific requirements.

Discover the World of Layout Editing and CSS Grid Inspector

Adjacent to the aforementioned CSS property, you’ll find a small clickable icon known as the editor. Clicking on this icon unveils a panel that grants you access to positioning properties tailored specifically for Grid or Flexbox layouts.

This valuable feature empowers you to experiment and test new layout alignments in real-time, streamlining the process of refining your design. It provides a convenient way to adjust and visualize the impact of different positioning properties within your chosen layout system.

Furthermore, the Chrome development team has introduced an impressive tool called the CSS Grid Inspector. They have offered a detailed explanation of its capabilities. The CSS Grid Inspector offers advanced functionalities for analyzing and optimizing CSS Grid layouts, offering valuable insights into grid areas, tracks, and more.

By utilizing both the layout editing functionality and the CSS Grid Inspector, you can enhance your workflow and gain a deeper understanding and control over your grid-based layouts in Chrome DevTools.

Enhancing Accessibility Debugging through Integrated Tools

The accessibility-focused development community has placed great importance on ensuring inclusive design practices. Nowadays, component libraries, UI kits, and CMS platforms like WordPress integrate these practices seamlessly. Recognizing the significance of accessibility, Chrome DevTools offers a range of valuable tools to aid in accessibility debugging.

One particularly useful tool is the accessibility tree, which is accessible within Chrome DevTools. By enabling this feature, you gain the ability to examine and analyze the accessibility attributes and structure of your web page. Follow these steps to activate the accessibility tree:

1. Open Chrome DevTools by either right-clicking on the web page and selecting “Inspect” or using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+I (or Cmd+Option+I on macOS).
2. Within the DevTools panel, locate the “Elements” tab and find the accessibility tree icon, which resembles an outline of a person. Click on this icon to activate the accessibility tree.
3. Once enabled, you can navigate through the accessibility tree and explore the accessibility attributes associated with each element. These attributes include details such as role, name, state, and more.

By utilizing the accessibility tree in Chrome DevTools, you can effectively debug and ensure that your web page adheres to accessibility guidelines. It provides valuable insights into how assistive technologies interpret and interact with your page, empowering you to identify and address any accessibility issues that may arise.

Eliminate the Potential of Accessibility Insights through Chrome DevTools

To improve the comprehension of your web page’s accessibility, Chrome DevTools offers a powerful tool known as the accessibility panel. Follow these steps to enable and effectively utilize this feature:

1. Open Chrome DevTools by either right-clicking on the web page and selecting “Inspect,” or using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+I (or Cmd+Option+I on macOS).
2. Once in DevTools, locate the “Settings” icon in the top-right corner of the panel, typically represented by a gear or three vertical dots. Click on this icon.
3. In the settings menu, navigate to the “Experiments” tab and click on it.
4. Look for the “Accessibility Panel” option and activate the checkbox next to it.
5. After enabling the checkbox, refresh your DevTools to activate the accessibility panel.
6. Once the page has reloaded, you will notice a new accessibility icon in the top-right corner of the Elements window. Click on this icon to display the entire structure of the site in a DOM tree view.
7. Now, within the accessibility panel, you can examine individual sections and elements of the site. Make sure that they have been assigned an ARIA label, as this is crucial for accessibility purposes.

Presenting the Source Order Viewer of Chrome DevTools

In the accessibility panel of Chrome DevTools, there is a checkbox called “Show source order.” When this checkbox is enabled, it provides valuable information about the sequence in which elements are displayed for visitors who rely on assistive tools. Follow these steps to make the most of this feature:

1. Activate the accessibility panel in Chrome DevTools, as mentioned earlier.
2. Locate the checkbox labeled “Show source order” within the panel.
3. Click on the checkbox to enable it.
4. Once the “Show source order” option is enabled, the elements on the web page will be rearranged in the DOM tree view according to their source order.

By utilizing the Source Order Viewer, you can evaluate the order in which elements are presented to users who depend on assistive technologies. This ensures that the content is properly structured and follows a logical flow for accessibility purposes.

To observe the order in which items will appear on your web page, you can enable the “Show source order” checkbox in the accessibility panel. This is particularly useful when working with Grid or Flexbox layouts, as they provide properties like “order: 1;” to rearrange the display order of items.

Chrome DevTools also offers color suggestions for the low-contrast text, which is helpful for ensuring accessibility. It’s important to consider not only individuals with severe visual impairments but also others who may experience eye strain or discomfort due to low or high-contrast colors. Combinations like white on red or green on blue can be problematic. To address these issues, it’s advisable to adjust the color choices to ensure sufficient contrast and legibility.

By paying attention to color contrast and utilizing the available color suggestions in Chrome DevTools, you can enhance the accessibility and readability of your web page, providing a better experience for all users, regardless of their visual capabilities.

To make minified code more readable, you can follow these easy steps using Chrome DevTools:

1. Open Chrome DevTools by right-clicking on the web page and selecting “Inspect” or by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+I (or Cmd+Option+I on macOS).
2. Once in DevTools, go to the “Sources” tab.
3. Find the minified JavaScript or CSS file that you want to format.
4. Click on the file to open it in the DevTools editor.
5. In the bottom-left corner of the DevTools editor, you’ll see a curly brackets icon ({ }). Click on it to trigger code formatting.
6. After clicking the icon, the minified code will be automatically converted into a more readable and structured format.
7. By utilizing this handy feature in Chrome DevTools, you can easily format minified JavaScript or CSS code into a more readable form directly from the DevTools console. This eliminates the need to import the code into an external editor for formatting, resulting in a streamlined and efficient workflow.
8. Apart from code formatting, Chrome DevTools also offers various other capabilities, such as enhancing editing capabilities with the designMode feature.

The Web API specification includes a feature known as designMode, which allows for direct editing of on-page elements, albeit with certain limitations. This feature enables text editing within elements and offers the capability to remove other elements entirely. It’s important to note that while designMode may lack official documentation, it proves useful when working with CSS math functions and other text-specific properties. Here’s a step-by-step guide on leveraging designMode:

1. Open the browser’s developer tools by either right-clicking on the web page and selecting “Inspect” or using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+I (or Cmd+Option+I on macOS).
2. Within the developer tools, navigate to the “Console” tab.
3. To enable designMode, enter the following command and press Enter: document.designMode = "on";
4. With designMode enabled, you can now directly edit the text content of elements on the page. Simply click on the text you wish to modify and begin typing.
5. Additionally, you can completely remove elements by using the delete key. Click on the element you want to eliminate and press delete.

Although designMode may lack official documentation, it serves as a valuable tool for making text-specific edits and removing elements within the browser’s developer tools. It offers a convenient way to experiment with CSS math functions and other text-related properties, thereby enhancing your development workflow.

Using a capture device emulator to mimic a device frame, one can take screenshots

In the past, I relied on external tools like Snip or browser extensions like Awesome Screenshot to capture screenshots. However, I recently discovered a convenient built-in feature in Chrome DevTools that allows you to capture screenshots directly from the Device Emulator. What’s more, you can even include the device frame to enhance the authenticity of the representation. Let me guide you through the step-by-step process:

1. To begin, open Chrome DevTools by either right-clicking on the web page and selecting “Inspect” or by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+I (or Cmd+Option+I on macOS).
2. Once you’re inside DevTools, look for the toggle device toolbar icon. It’s represented by a mobile and tablet icon. Click on it, or you can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+M (or Cmd+Shift+M on macOS) to activate the Device Emulator.
3. Inside the Device Emulator, choose the mobile or tablet device you want to emulate from the device menu. If necessary, you can specify a custom resolution as well.
4. With the Device Emulator active, locate the “More options” icon in the top-right corner of the DevTools panel. It’s represented by three vertical dots.
5. From the dropdown menu that appears, select “Capture a screenshot.”
6. By default, the screenshot will include the device frame to provide a more authentic representation. However, if you prefer a frameless screenshot, you can uncheck the “Include device frame” option.
7. By following these steps, you can effortlessly capture screenshots directly from the Device Emulator in Chrome DevTools. Whether you need to showcase responsive designs or create realistic mobile previews, this feature proves to be a valuable asset in your web development toolkit.

To effortlessly capture screenshots directly from the Device Emulator in Chrome DevTools, follow these simple steps. Whether you want to showcase responsive designs or create realistic mobile previews, this feature will prove invaluable in your web development toolkit.

1. Open Chrome DevTools by either right-clicking on the web page and selecting “Inspect,” or by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+I (or Cmd+Option+I on macOS).
2. Once you’re in DevTools, locate the toggle device toolbar icon, which is represented by a mobile and tablet icon. Click on this icon to activate the Device Emulator.
3. In the top-right corner of the DevTools panel, you’ll notice a menu icon represented by three vertical dots. Click on this icon to open the dropdown menu.
4. Within the dropdown menu, choose the option “Show device frame.”

By following these steps, you’ll be able to enable the device frame specifically for mobile and tablet screenshots in Chrome DevTools. This feature adds realism to your screenshots by including the frame of the selected device, providing an accurate representation of how the webpage would appear on an actual device.

Enabling the Device Frame in Chrome DevTools for Specific Devices

Here are the rewritten steps to enable the device frame for specific devices in Chrome DevTools when capturing screenshots:

1. Open Chrome DevTools by right-clicking on the web page and selecting “Inspect” or by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+I (or Cmd+Option+I on macOS).
2. Once in DevTools, activate the Device Emulator by clicking on the toggle device toolbar icon, represented by a mobile and tablet icon.
3. In the top-right corner of the DevTools panel, click on the menu icon (three vertical dots).
4. From the dropdown menu, choose “More tools,” and then select “Sensors.”
5. Within the Sensors panel, find the “Dimensions” section and click on the “Edit” button next to it.
6. In the Edit Dimensions menu, manually enable the device frame for specific devices. The available frames are:
   • iPhone 5/SE
   • iPhone 6/7/8 & Plus
   • Nexus 5 & 5x
   • Nexus 6P
   • iPad Check the corresponding checkboxes for the desired device types.
7. Once you have enabled the device frames for the desired devices, close the Edit Dimensions menu.
8. Now, when you capture a screenshot using the Device Emulator, the selected devices will display the device frame along with the webpage content. Note that only the devices for which you manually enabled the frame will show it in the screenshots.

DevTools can be leveraged to extract colors from external sources

In a recent update, DevTools unveiled an exciting new feature that empowers you to extract colors from sources beyond the browser. If you’re already familiar with the Color Picker tool, this enhancement will prove particularly valuable, as it grants you the ability to directly select colors from your desktop, whether they originate from an image or a specific icon. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you leverage this feature:

1. Launch Chrome DevTools by either right-clicking on the web page and choosing “Inspect” or using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+I (or Cmd+Option+I on macOS).
2. Once you’re inside DevTools, navigate to the “Elements” tab.
3. Identify the element or area where you intend to apply color.
4. Locate the Styles panel within DevTools, and there you will find the Color Picker tool represented by an eyedropper icon. Click on the Color Picker tool.
5. By default, the Color Picker tool is designed to select colors from within the browser window. However, if you wish to pick colors from outside the browser, simply move your cursor beyond the boundaries of the browser window onto your desktop.
6. As you move your cursor across various elements on your desktop, the Color Picker will automatically update and display the corresponding color in real-time.
7. Once you find the desired color, a simple click will select it. The chosen color will then be applied to the selected element in DevTools.

By following these straightforward steps, you can conveniently extract colors from sources outside the browser directly within DevTools. Whether you’re extracting colors from desktop images or icons, this feature significantly enhances your workflow by eliminating the need to switch between different tools.

SUMMARY

Chrome DevTools provides a comprehensive set of robust features and tools that aid web developers in analyzing and optimizing their web pages. Below are several valuable tips and tricks to maximize its potential:

1. Track CSS Changes (with Export): Take advantage of the Changes panel in DevTools to monitor and export CSS changes made during the debugging and optimization process.
2. Render without CSS/JavaScript: Temporarily disable CSS or JavaScript resources to visualize how a page would appear without them. This allows for evaluating the page’s structure and content.
3. Customize Grid & Flexbox Layout: Utilize the built-in editor in DevTools to modify positioning properties, experiment with different layout alignments, and observe real-time results.
4. Debug Accessibility with Built-in Tools: Enable the accessibility tree in DevTools to inspect and ensure proper accessibility of individual sections and elements on your website.
5. Source Order Viewer: Activate the “Show source order” checkbox to observe the order in which elements appear on the page. This aids users relying on assistive tools in better understanding the page structure.
6. Format Minified JavaScript/CSS: Open the minified file in the Sources panel of DevTools and click on the { } icon at the bottom of the console to format the code for improved readability.
7. Edit and Remove Elements with designMode: Utilize the designMode feature in DevTools to directly edit text elements on the page and remove unwanted elements.
8. Capture Screenshots with Device Emulator: Enable the device frame to capture mobile and tablet screenshots. Simply click on the “Toggle device toolbar” icon, access the top-right menu, and select “Show device frame.” You can also manually enable device frames for specific devices through the Edit Dimensions menu.
9. Select Colors from Outside the Browser: Use the Color Picker tool in DevTools to select colors from external sources like desktop images or icons. This provides flexibility in the design process.
10. Pseudo-Scraping with a copy(): Leverage the copy() function in the console to efficiently extract information from a web page. For example, you can mass-fetch URLs by executing the command copy($$('a').map(a => a.href).join('\n')).

By employing these tips and tricks, developers can significantly enhance their debugging, optimization, and accessibility efforts using Chrome DevTools.