safari shortcut for inspect element

How to Inspect Element on Safari for Mac

This is how you Inspect Element on Safari for macOS

When you know how to Inspect Element on Safari for Mac, you can delve into the HTML and CSS code of a web page, to see how it's really functioning behind the scenes or to make changes to how the site looks or functions (these are only temporary and the changes will be discarded after you close your browser). 

If you're on a website you've built, you can use Inspect Element to debug issues with a page's front end.

Chrome and Firefox users will be used to simply right clicking on a page element and then selecting Inspect Element. However, with Safari the Inspect Element feature is not enabled by default, so you may be scratching your head about where to find it, especially if you're unfamiliar with Apple's browser. To enable Inspect Element, you first have to switch on Safari's Developer Menu.

If you aren't sure how, fear not, as this guide will show you exactly how to Inspect Element on Safari. All you need to do is read on.

• In Safari, click Safari in the tool bar
• Click Settings and head to Advanced
• Check Show Develop menu in menu bar
• On a webpage, right click an element
• Click Inspect Element

Read on to see illustrated instructions for each step.

1. Open Safari's settings

With the browser open, click Safari in the top left, then click Settings .

2. Under Advanced, enable the Develop menu

Click the Advanced tab , then check Show Develop menu in the menu bar . You can now close the Settings window .

3. Right click and select Inspect Element

Right click a page element and select Inspect Element from the menu.

4. Inspect the page code

You can now inspect the page code in HTML and CSS. Have fun!

If you'd like to learn more ways to get the most out of your Mac, we have lots of helpful tutorials just like this one. Find out how to enable macOS beta updates , so you can see and test the new features coming to your Mac in upcoming OS releases. I

f your Mac is behaving a little sluggishly, learn how to clear the cache on Mac , as this may help speed things back up. If you're sick of screenshots sitting on your desktop and spoiling your clean background, discover how to change the screenshot save location on Mac . Messy desktop? Learn how to use desktop stacks on Mac .

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Peter is Reviews Editor at Tom's Guide. As a writer, he covers topics including tech, photography, gaming, hardware, motoring and food & drink. Outside of work, he's an avid photographer, specialising in architectural and portrait photography. When he's not snapping away on his beloved Fujifilm camera, he can usually be found telling everyone about his greyhounds, riding his motorcycle, squeezing as many FPS as possible out of PC games, and perfecting his espresso shots. 

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How to use Inspect Element on Mac using the Safari browser

If you’re just getting started as a front-end developer or need to debug errors while testing web applications, Safari is likely in your list of browsers to check for compatibility. With this comes the need for a tool called Inspect Element.

Enable Inspect Element for Safari on Mac

Open inspect element in safari, how to use inspect element on mac.

Going beyond just checking the source code of a page, Inspect Element lets you view everything going on behind the scenes of a webpage. You can see the HTML, style sheets, media, and other elements, all in one spot. Here’s how to use Inspect Element on Mac.

What You Need

Mac computer

Safari browser

Before you can use the Inspect Element tool on Mac, you need to enable it in Safari.

Step 1: Open Safari and click Safari > Preferences from the menu bar.

Step 2: Select the Advanced tab.

Step 3: Check the box for Show Develop menu in menu bar .

Inspect Element is now available and ready for you to use in Safari on Mac .

With the tool enabled. you can access it a couple of different ways. If you want to look at a particular element on the page, you can select it first. Otherwise, you can simply open Inspect Element and select it from there.

Either click Develop > Show Web Inspector from the menu bar or right-click the page and pick Inspect Element from the shortcut menu.

Once you open Inspect Element, you’ll have all the tools you need to review every item on the webpage. And there are a lot of tools at your fingertips. Let’s take a look at the basics of using Inspect Element.

Step 1: Move and resize Inspect Element.

You can dock the tool at the bottom or on the side of the page or pop it out to a separate window. Use the icons on the top left of the inspector toolbar to move it where you want. If you dock the tool, you can drag the border to increase or decrease its size.

Step 2: Customize the tabs.

Inspect Element provides nine tabs for you to work with across the top of the toolbar. These include Elements, Storage, Layers, and Timelines. You can hide those you don’t need if you like. Right-click a tab and then select the ones you want to see. This places checkmarks next to them and puts the tabs in the toolbar.

Step 3: Inspect an element.

To select items on the page to display in the tool, click the compass icon in the toolbar. Then, drag through or click the element on the page. You can also select the code or item in the tool for that element to display on the page.

Step 4: Search for an element.

If you want to find a specific item on the page such as a text string, click the search icon on the right of the toolbar. Enter your search term into the box on the left and view your results directly beneath.

Step 5: View warnings or errors.

If the tool detects warnings or errors on the page, you’ll see these icons display in the toolbar as well. Click an icon to view either the warnings or errors.

Step 6: Adjust the settings.

To change the appearance of Inspect Element, show page rulers, enable source maps, zoom, and more, click the gear icon on the far right of the toolbar to open the Inspect Element settings.

When you finish using Inspect Element in Safari, click the X on the top left of the toolbar to close it.

You can take your code inspection, application testing , or debugging to the next level with Inspect Element on Mac for Safari.

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Inspect element (Mac)

Martina Nikolova

Hey there! If you’re a budding front-end developer or working on debugging web applications, you’ve probably been using Safari as one of your go-to browsers. And for a good reason, too! Safari comes with a fantastic tool called Inspect Element that allows you to dig deep into the nitty-gritty of a webpage. Let us walk you through how to use this fantastic tool on your Mac.

How to enable Inspect Element on Mac

Before diving in, you’ll need to enable Inspect Element on your Mac’s Safari. Just follow these simple steps:

• Fire up Safari, click the browser’s menu from the menu bar on the top, and go to Preferences.
• Jump over to the Advanced tab in the Safari Preferences window.

Voila! Inspect Element is now enabled and ready to roll in Safari on your Mac.

To access this powerful tool, you have a couple of options:

• Either click on Develop > Show Web Inspector in the menu bar.
• Or right-click the page and choose Inspect Element from the context menu that appears.

Mac Inspect Element shortcut

You can also use the Inspect Element shortcut on your Mac’s Safari to access the feature more quickly. Simply select/highlight the element on a webpage that you wish to inspect and press together Command, Option, and i keys and the interface of the feature will appear.

Inspect Element on Mac Overview

Once you’ve got Inspect Element up and running on your Mac’s Safari, you’ll be able to dissect every single component of the webpage you’re working on. Here’s a quick primer on using this awesome tool:

• Adjust the position and size of the Inspect Element interface to suit your needs. Possible ways you can do hat are by docking it to the side or bottom of the page or even popping it out into a separate window.
• Customize each of the tabs in the toolbar to your liking. You’ll find tabs like Elements, Storage, and Timelines, and you’ll be able to choose which ones to be shown.
• If you’re searching for a particular item on the page, just click the search icon on the right side of the toolbar and type your search term in the box that appears.

That’s the lowdown on using Inspect Element in Safari for Mac! This incredible tool is an invaluable resource for web developers or anyone curious about how websites tick. So, go ahead and dive into code inspection, testing, and debugging like a boss. Good luck!

How to use Inspect Element (Safari)

We’ll now show you ways you can use the Inspect Elements feature in Safari and how to customize in accordance with your preferences.

First up, let’s optimize the Inspect Element interface to suit your preferences. You have the freedom to situate the tool at the bottom, along the side of the page, or even detach it into a standalone window. To achieve this, simply interact with the icons nestled in the top left corner of the toolbar. And if you desire more or less visual space, effortlessly drag the border to resize it to your liking.

With the layout tailored to your needs, it’s time to customize the tabs. Inspect Element boasts an array of nine tabs, encompassing Elements, Storage, Layers, and Timelines, among others. Feel empowered to conceal the ones you deem unnecessary by right-clicking a tab and cherry-picking the ones you’d like to keep in plain sight. This action will place checkmarks beside your elected tabs and exhibit them in the toolbar.

Eager to scrutinize an element on the page? Activate the compass icon within the toolbar, then either glide through or click the element that piques your curiosity. Alternatively, you can cherry-pick the code or item inside the tool, and it’ll materialize on the page for your convenience.

Suppose you’re on a quest to locate a specific item on the page, such as a text string. Fear not! Merely click the search icon on the right extremity of the toolbar, input your search term, and behold! Your results will materialize beneath the search box.

During your creative process, you might observe warning or error icons emerging in the toolbar. These notifications are invaluable for pinpointing issues. To delve deeper, just click on the corresponding icon.

Should you feel inspired to modify Inspect Element’s aesthetics, enable page rulers, or make use of additional features like zooming and source maps, venture to the gear icon on the toolbar’s far right. This action will unveil the settings menu, where you can make a plethora of adjustments to mold the tool to your unique preferences.

Upon completing your work with Inspect Element in Safari, simply tap the X icon in the top left corner to bid the tool farewell. And there you have it! Armed with Inspect Element, you’re now poised to elevate your code inspection, application testing, and debugging prowess to unparalleled heights. Revel in the thrill of uncovering the hidden depths of web pages on your Mac using Safari’s exceptional Inspect Element tool!

Martina likes to get into nitty-gritty of tomorrow’s tech, from product design across to security based solutions. A long time mac user and developer, she has the expertise and strives to give new insight

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Productivity

How to use Inspect Element in Chrome, Safari, and Firefox

There's a powerful tool hiding in your browser: Inspect Element.

Right-click on any webpage, click Inspect , and you'll see the innards of that site: its source code, the images and CSS that form its design, the fonts and icons it uses, the JavaScript code that powers animations, and more. You can see how long the site takes to load, how much bandwidth it used to download, and the exact color in its text.

Or, you could use it to temporarily change anything you want on the page.

Inspect Element is a perfect way to learn what makes the web tick, figure out what's broken on your sites, mock up what a color and font change would look like, and keep yourself from having to Photoshop out private details in screenshots. Here's how to use Inspect Element—your browser's secret superpower—to do all the above and more.

Table of contents:

Why should I use Inspect Element?

If you've never peeked at a website's code out of curiosity, you might wonder why you should learn how to use Inspect Element. Below are just a few reasons why different roles can benefit from learning this trick of the trade. 

Designer: Want to preview how a site design would look on mobile? Or want to see how a different shade of green would look on a sign-up button? You can do both in seconds with Inspect Element.

Writer: Tired of blurring out your name and email in screenshots? With Inspect Element, you can instantly change any text on a webpage.

Support agent: Need a better way to tell developers what needs to be fixed on a site? Inspect Element lets you make a quick example change to show what you're talking about.

Web developer: Need to look for broken code, compare layouts, or make live edits to a page? Inspect Element does that, too.

For these and dozens of other use cases, Inspect Element is a handy tool to know. For now, let's see how to use the main Elements tab to tweak a webpage on your own.

How to inspect element on Google Chrome

Method 1: Right-click anywhere on the webpage, and at the very bottom of the menu that pops up, click Inspect .

Method 2: Click the hamburger menu (the icon with three stacked dots) on the far-right of your Google Chrome toolbar, click More Tools , then select Developer Tools . 

Once you take your preferred route to opening the Developer Tools pane, by default, it will show the Elements tab—that's the famed Inspect Element tool we've been looking for.

If you want to change the orientation of the Inspect Element pane, click the three vertical dots on the top-right side of the Inspect Element pane near the "X" (which you'd click to close the pane). Now, you'll see options to move the pane to the bottom, left, or right side of your browser or to open the pane in a completely separate window (undock view).

For this tutorial, let's dock the pane on the right side of our browser window to give us more space to work. You can make the Developer Tools panel wider or narrower by hovering over the left-side border. Once the ↔ cursor appears, drag the pane left to widen it or right to narrow it.

How to inspect element on Firefox

To get to Inspect Element on Firefox you have three options (just like on Chrome).

Method 1: Right-click anywhere on the page and click Inspect at the bottom of the menu.

Method 2: Click the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right corner of the window), select More tools , then click Web Developer Tools .

Method 3: The keyboard shortcut on Firefox is command  + option + I for Macs and Control + Shift + C for PCs.

The Element pane in Firefox likes to pop up at the bottom of the window, which doesn't give you much room to work with. To move that pane to the side and free up more room, click the hamburger menu (three horizontal dots, next to the "X" in the top-right corner) and click Dock to Right (or left, if you prefer). 

If you like, you can also move the pane into a separate window in this menu. You can also expand the pane further or narrow it by hovering over the edge until your cursor changes, and then drag it to the left or right.

How to inspect element on Safari

To launch Inspect Element with Safari, you'll need to activate the developer capabilities in the advanced settings first. Here's how.

Click the Safari dropdown in the top navigation bar above the Safari window, and then click Preferences .

Navigate to Advanced , and check the box at the bottom of the window by Show Develop menu in the menu bar . Close the window.

Now, you should be able to right-click anywhere on the page and click Inspect Element to open the Elements pane.

The pane should appear along the bottom of your window. To move it to a side alignment and give yourself a little more space to look at the code, click the Dock to right of window (or left of window) option on the top-left corner of the pane, next to the "X."

I prefer right, but you can easily switch this to the other side or detach the pane into its own separate window if you prefer. To make the pane wider or narrower, just hover over the edge until the cursor changes to the dragger, then drag to move the edge.

Tools you can access through Inspect Element (+ tutorials)

Now that we're in Inspect Element, there's an array of useful tools at our fingertips that we can use to make any site look exactly how we want. For this tutorial, we'll focus on the Search , Elements , and Emulation tabs. These aren't the only useful tools Inspect Element opens up—not by a long shot—but they're extremely helpful ones that beginners can start putting to use right away.

Note that, for simplicity, I'll be using Chrome to demonstrate, but the instructions should be essentially the same for all three browsers.

Use Inspect Element Search to find anything on a site

Wondering what goes into your favorite sites? Search is your best tool for that, aside from reading a site's entire source code.

You can open the default Elements view, press Ctrl + F or command + F , and search through the source code. But the full Search tool will also let you search through every file on a page, helping you find text inside CSS and JavaScript files or locate an icon image you need for an article.

In the search field, you can type anything— anything —that you want to find on this webpage, and it will appear in this pane. Let's see how we can use this.

Type meta name into the search field, press Enter, and you'll immediately see every occurrence of "meta name" in the code on this page. Now, you can see this page's metadata, the SEO keywords it's targeting, and whether or not it's configured to let Google index it for search. That's an easy way to check what your competitors are targeting—and to make sure you didn't mess anything up on your site.

Search is an effective tool for designers as well since you can search by color, too. Type #ff4a00 into the search field and press Enter (and make sure to leave the Match Case button unchecked to view all of the results). You should now see every time the color #ff4a00, Zapier's shade of orange, appears in this site's CSS and HTML files. Then, just click the line that reads "color: #ff4a00;" to jump to that line in the site's HTML and tweak it on your own (something we'll look at in the next section).

This is a handy way for designers to make sure a site is following their brand's style guide. With the Search tool, designers can easily check the CSS of a webpage to see if a color is applied to the wrong element, if an incorrect font family is used on a webpage, or if you're still using your old color somewhere on your site.

The Search tool is also the perfect way to communicate with developers better since you can show them exactly where you've found a mistake or exactly what needs changing. Just tell them the line number where the problem exists, and you'll get your fix that much quicker.

Or you can change the webpage yourself with Elements , the core part of Chrome's Developer Tools.

Change anything with Elements

Front-end developers use the Inspect Element tool every day to modify the appearance of a webpage and experiment with new ideas—and you can, too. Inspect Element lets you tweak the appearance and content of a webpage by adding temporary edits to the site's CSS and HTML files.

Once you close or reload the page, your changes will be gone; you'll only see the changes on your computer and aren't actually editing the real website itself. That way, you can feel free to experiment and change anything—and then copy and save the very best changes to use later.

Let's see what we can do with it.

Click the Elements tab in the Developer Tools pane—and if you want more room, tap your Esc key to close the search box you had open before. You should see the HTML for this page—now you know how the sausage gets made.

In the top-left corner of the Developer pane, you'll see an icon of a mouse on top of a square. Click it, then you can select any element on the page you want to change. So let's change some things!

Change the text on a webpage

Ever wanted to change text on a site? Perhaps to see how a new tagline would look on your homepage or to take your email address off a Gmail screenshot? Now you can.

Click the icon of a mouse cursor on a square in the top-left corner of the pane.

Double-click the highlighted text in the Developer Tools pane (not the text on the live page) to turn it into an editable text field.

Type anything you want in this text field ("Auri is a genius" should work just fine), and press Enter .

Voila! You've just (temporarily) changed the text on the webpage.

Refresh the page, and everything will go back to normal.

Fun? Let's try another way to change some things on this page by closing out of the Developer pane altogether. You can then highlight any part of the live webpage you want to edit, then right-click it and hit Inspect .

When your Developer Tools pane opens, it should automatically highlight that sentence. Pretty neat, huh? It's the little things that count.

Now that we've selected a sentence to change on our blog, let's change how it looks.

Change the color and font of elements

On the lower half of the Developer Tools pane, you'll see a sub-pane with a few additional tabs that allow you to change how this text looks on the page. Let's get started on the Styles tab.

You may notice that some things are crossed out. This means that these styles are not active for the element we've selected, so changing these values will have no effect. 

Let's try changing something.  

Look through the code for the "font-size" field and click into it. Let's change it from 34px to 42px.

Now scroll down to "color" and change it to Zapier's signature #ff4a00.

This will look a bit cramped, so let's finish by changing the "line-height" to 44px.

Now check the blog post to see the difference.

Now let's try something really cool.

Change element states

Want to see how a button or link will look once someone interacts with it? Inspect Element can show that, too, with force element state tools. You can see how the element will look once a visitor hovers over the element (hover state), selects the element (focus state), and/or has clicked that link (visited state).

As with the other examples, you'll need to click the mouse cursor/box icon. For this example, we'll select the "Artificial Intelligence (AI)" tag on the "What is AI" article to try a color change. 

In the Developer Tools pane, right-click on that code in the Elements tab, hover over Force state , and click the :active: option. Do this one more time, but click the :hover: option this time.

That will change the button's background to black, which is what happens when you hover over the button on the live site. 

Now, change the "background-color" value to #ff4a00.

You should instantly be able to see what the new hover color will look like.

Try experimenting—change the :hover: color, then uncheck :hover: in the right-click menu and drag your mouse over the button to see the new button color.

Change images

You can easily change images on a webpage with Inspect Element, too. Using the same "What is AI?" blog post as an example, let's replace the orange solid color background on the "Power your automation with AI" button with a dramatic photo of a solar flare from NASA.

First, copy this link to the image: https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8314/7931831962_7652860bae_b.jpg

Open Inspect Element on the orange background of the "Power your automation with AI" button and look for the "background-color" code in the pane.

Click "background-color" and replace color with image —this should cause an error. Just replace the color code with url and then paste the URL you copied into the parentheses.

This should automatically replace that boring single-color background with a flashy new image.

Note: You can also change a photo to a GIF or a video—all you need is a link to the file, and you can add it in.

Editing text is handy, swapping out images is fun, and changing colors and styles just might help you quickly mock up the changes you want made to your site. But how will that new tagline and button design look on mobile?

That's where Emulation comes in—it's where everything we've reviewed so far can be applied even further. Let's see how.

Test a site on any device with Emulation

Everything has to be responsive today. Websites are no longer only viewed on computers—they're more likely than ever to be viewed on a phone, tablet, TV, or just about any other type of screen. You should always keep that in mind when creating new content and designs.

Emulation is a great tool to approximate how websites will look to users across various devices, browsers, and even locations. Though this does not replace actual testing on a variety of devices and browsers, it's a great start.

In the Developer Tools pane, you'll notice a little phone icon in the top-left corner. Click it. This should change the page into a tiny, phone-styled page with a menu at the top to change the size.

Resize the small browser to see how things would look if you were browsing on a tablet, phone, or even smaller screen. Or, click the menu at the top to select default device sizes like Surface Duo or iPhone 12 Pro—let's go ahead and select the latter.

The webpage screen should shrink down to the device's size, and you can zoom in a bit by clicking the percentage dropdown next to the dimensions.

If you change the device preset to "Responsive," you can enlarge the view by dragging the right edge of the webpage emulation right. See what happens? Dragging the screen along the grid allows you to see how the webpage will change as the screen size changes. You can even toggle portrait and landscape views by clicking the little rotation icon at the end of the top menu.

Play around with the other devices to see how the webpage and screen resolution changes. All of the other developer tools we've gone over so far will also react to the device view. 

Emulate mobile device sensors

When you start interacting with a device preview, you may notice that your mouse now appears as a little circle on the webpage. This allows you to interact with the page as if you're on your mobile device.

If you click while dragging the page down, it doesn't highlight text like it normally would in your browser—it drags the screen down like you're on a touchscreen device. Using this view, you can see how large touch zones are on a webpage. This means you can see which buttons, icons, links, or other elements are easily touchable with the finger.

You can even make your browser act like a phone. Press your Esc key to open the Search pane in Inspect Element again, and this time click the hamburger menu on the top-right. Select More tools and then Sensors to get four new tools: Location, Orientation, Touch, and Emulate Idle Detector state.

Touch lets you choose whether the circle selector that acts more like a finger than a normal mouse cursor is forced or device-specific. 

Orientation lets you interact with motion-sensitive websites, such as online games that let you move things by moving your phone. 

Location lets you pretend you're in a different location.

Emulate Idle Detector state allows you to toggle between different idle user conditions.

Let's try viewing this site from Berlin. Just click the dropdown and select the city—nothing changes, right?

This is because there isn't content on this page that changes based on your location. If you change the coordinates on a site like Groupon.com that uses your location to show localized content, though, you would get different results. Go to Google.com in a different location, and you'll perhaps see a new Google logo for a holiday in another country, or at least will get the results in a different language.

Emulation is a great way to put yourself in your user's shoes and consider what the user may be seeing on your webpage—and it's a fun way to explore the international web.

Emulate mobile networks

You can also see what it's like to browse a site on different networks—perhaps to see if your site will load even if your users are on a slower 3G network.

To give it a try, click the hamburger menu in the top-right corner of the pane, hover over More tools , and select Network conditions .

There, you can choose from fast or slow 3G, or offline to see how the page works without internet. Or, click Add... to include your own testing (perhaps add 56Kbps to test dial-up internet). Now, reload the page, and you'll see just how long it'd take for the site to load on a slow connection—and how the site looks while it's loading. That'll show why you should improve your site to load faster on slow connections.

You can also change your user agent—uncheck Use browser default in the User agent field and select Firefox — Mac perhaps to see if the site changes its rendering for other browsers on different devices. That's also a handy hack to make webpages load even if they claim they only work in a different browser.

Inspect Element keyboard shortcuts

Now that you've learned the ropes, here are some Inspect Element keyboard shortcuts that'll make using it even easier. 

Related reading:

This article was originally published in January 2015 by Auri Pope. The most recent update, with contributions from Dylan Reber, was in May 2024.

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Bryce Emley

Currently based in Albuquerque, NM, Bryce Emley holds an MFA in Creative Writing from NC State and nearly a decade of writing and editing experience. His work has been published in magazines including The Atlantic, Boston Review, Salon, and Modern Farmer and has received a regional Emmy and awards from venues including Narrative, Wesleyan University, the Edward F. Albee Foundation, and the Pablo Neruda Prize. When he isn’t writing content, poetry, or creative nonfiction, he enjoys traveling, baking, playing music, reliving his barista days in his own kitchen, camping, and being bad at carpentry.

• Software & web development
• Internet browsers

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How to Inspect Element in Safari

You can use the Inspect Element feature to view and manipulate a website’s front-end. Web developers, designers, or marketers often need to inspect web elements to debug elements, conduct layout tests, or do CSS editing like fonts, colors, etc. This article explains how to inspect web elements on the Safari browser on your Mac.

The Inspect Element feature is a handy tool that enables you to see a website’s inner workings so that you can see what’s really happening in the background.

Enable Inspect Element in Safari

Open inspect element, use inspect element.

The first step is to enable Inspect Element. Here is how:

• In Safari, click Safari and Preferences.
• Click the Advanced tab.
• Select the “Show Develop menu in menu bar” box.

There are a few ways to access Inspect Element so that you can start changing, adding, and removing page elements:

1. Using your mouse or trackpad, right-click (control-click) anywhere on the webpage and select “Inspect Element”

2. You can use the Develop menu. In Safari, click Develop and choose “Show Web Inspector”.

3. You can also use keyboard shortcuts. Simply press these keys together: Option-Command-i.

4. And lastly, you can customize the Safari toolbar to add the Web Inspector icon for easy access. Here is how:

• In Safari, click View > Customize Toolbar.
• Using your mouse or trackpad, drag the Web Inspector icon into the toolbar.

Safari’s Inspect Element will open in a pane at the bottom of the screen.

You have a few options:

• Click the “Dock to side of window” icon to move the pane to the right side of the window.
• Click the “Detach into separate window” icon to open the pane in a separate window.
• To close the Inspect Element page, click the close (X) icon.

Along the top of the panel, you will see tabs:

• Elements: This is the main screen. This shows all of the page code (HTML, CSS, Javascript etc) and other details such as the page’s grid system.
• Console: This shows error messages. It is a warning log.
• Sources: This shows the page’s HTML code.
• Network: This shows a detailed list of the requests made to and from the server.
• Timelines: This shows a visual analyzer that includes all of the activity such as network requests, Javascript, or memory.

If you click the gear settings icon, you can customize the pane. For example, you can select a dark or light theme.

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Dr. Serhat Kurt worked as a Senior Technology Director specializing in Apple solutions for small and medium-sized educational institutions. He holds a doctoral degree (or doctorate) from the University of Illinois at Urbana / Champaign and a master’s degree from Purdue University. He is a former faculty member. Here is his LinkedIn profile and Google Scholar profile . Email Serhat Kurt .

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How to Inspect Elements in Safari, Chrome, and Firefox on Mac

Inspecting elements is an essential skill that allows anyone to understand how a website is built and to make necessary adjustments. You don’t have to be a web developer to benefit from inspecting elements on a Mac with any modern browser with just a few simple clicks. Fortunately, inspecting elements is a built-in tool in all modern browsers, and you don’t need any special software to do it. This tutorial provides step-by-step instructions on how to inspect elements in Safari, Chrome, and Firefox on Mac.

Tip : looking to switch from Chrome to Firefox as your default browser? We provide everything you need to ensure a smooth transition.

What Is Inspect Elements?

How to inspect elements in google chrome on mac, how to inspect elements in safari on mac, how to inspect elements in firefox on mac, frequently asked questions.

Inspect Elements is a powerful feature available on all modern web browsers that allows you to learn more about a webpage, like its structure, layout, and styling of it. Developers and online content designers often use these tools to debug, experiment, and troubleshoot a web project. You can easily select an element of a website, and the inspection tool will give all the information beneath a particular element, like the color, font, size, and other elements.

The inspection tool also allows you to modify the code temporarily and view the changes being applied to the webpage in real-time. However, the changes will only be visible to you. It is a powerful tool for you, whether you’re an experienced developer or just curious to learn how a particular website is built.

Did you run into the Firefox Relay pop-up? We show you how to remove the Firefox Relay drop-down from email fields .

Let’s start with how to inspect elements in Chrome, as it is the most popular browser. The steps are fairly simple, allowing you to get started in no time.

How to Open the Inspection Panel in Google Chrome

• Open the Chrome browser, and visit any website you’d like to inspect.

• Right-click on any blank space and select “Inspect.”

• You will see the inspection panel on your screen.

Good to know : not using Chrome for Mac? Discover how to use Google Chrome’s “Inspect” tool for website diagnostics on a Windows PC.

How to Inspect a Particular Element of a Webpage in Google Chrome

Now that you have successfully opened the inspection panel, let’s learn how to interact with an element.

• From the left corner of the inspection panel, click on “Select an element to inspect it.”

• Select any element. For this example, we’re inspecting an image on the webpage. You can do this with any element you would like. You will see a white box with some basic information, like the type of element, name of the file, etc. On the right side, you will see the code associated with the particular element.

How to View the Mobile Version of a Website in Google Chrome

• From the left side of the inspection panel, click on the “Toggle Device Toolbar” option.

• You will see the website react on a mobile device. You can still perform your inspection by clicking on the element, and the information will be based on smartphones.

• If you click on the “Responsive” drop-down above, you can select a device of your choice from the list. When you do so, you will see how the webpage reacts to a particular smartphone model.

How to Change the Location of the Inspection Panel in Google Chrome

• Click on the vertical three-dot ellipsis from the right corner of the inspection panel.

• Select the location for the inspection dock: on the left, below, or on a pop-up window.

The inspect elements feature is turned off by default on Safari, as it is a part of the developer option. So first, we need to enable the “Develop Menu.”

Tip : making the switch from Chrome to Safari as your default browser on your Mac? We have all the steps to help you transition without losing your favorite bookmarks, extensions, and more.

How to Open the Inspection Panel in Safari

• Once you open Safari and are already on the website you want to inspect, click on the “Safari” icon in the top menu bar and select “Settings.”

• This will take you to the “General” tab. Select the “Advanced” tab on the far right.

• Click the checkbox next to “Show Develop menu in the menu bar” to have access to all advanced features of Safari.

• Right-click anywhere on the website and select “Inspect Element.” This will open the inspect elements panel in Safari.

• For more advanced options, click on the “Develop” tab in the menu bar.

How to Inspect a Particular Element of a Webpage in Safari

• Click on the “inspect” icon that looks like a bullseye in the left corner of the inspection pane.

• Use your cursor and select the element you would like to inspect. We are inspecting the title tag for this example, but you can inspect any element you would like.

How to View the Mobile Version of a Website in Safari

• From the top menu bar, click on the “Develop” option and select “Enter Responsive Design Mode.”

• Select any device model you want to use to inspect the webpage.

How to Change the Location of the Inspection Panel in Safari

From the left side of the inspection panel, select the location you would like, and the inspection pane will be moved accordingly.

Firefox is a popular choice among seasoned developers and designers when working on web projects. Let’s see how we can inspect elements in Firefox on Mac.

How to Open the Inspection Panel in Firefox

• Once you are on the webpage you want to inspect in the Firebox browser, right-click and select “Inspect.”

• This will open the inspection panel on the Firefox browser.

How to Inspect a Particular Element of a Webpage in Firefox

• Click on the “cursor” icon that you see in the left corner of the inspection panel.

• Move your cursor to the element you’d like to inspect. For this example, we are inspecting a heading tag, but you can do this with any element you would like.

How to View the Mobile Version of a Website in Firefox

• From the right corner of the inspection panel, click the smartphone icon.

• This will convert and load the website into a smartphone-shaped viewer. You can click on the “Responsive” toggle to select a mobile device of your choice.

How to Change the Location of the Inspection Panel in Firefox

• Click on the horizontal three-dot ellipsis in the right corner of the inspection dock.

• Select the location you’d like to enable, and the inspection panel will be moved accordingly.

How does inspecting elements differ from viewing the page source?

Inspect elements is a developer tool built into modern browsers to interact, modify, and troubleshoot a webpage for its HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. When you check the page source of a webpage, you simply see a static HTML code that was delivered by the server to the browser. You can analyze the overall structure, content, and tags, like the metadata, etc., but the inspection tool renders the webpage with all of its elements, corrects errors, and more.

Which other types of data can I discover from using the inspect elements tool?

With inspect elements, you get a comprehensive view of how a website is built. You gain access to the actual HTML code with hierarchy and nesting. You can modify the CSS and see the changes in real time, including elements like color, font size, etc. You can also see the JavaScript code, allowing you to debug the code and analyze it. The “Network Requests” feature makes it easier for you to understand the resources that are being loaded externally, like the Console Output fonts, DOM manipulation, and more.

Can website owners see inspect element activity on their websites?

Technically, yes. To clarify, all modern websites have analytics and other tracking tools installed, which essentially track everything that you do on a website, from how long you remain on the site to where you click. However, you will never be personally identified by the website, and you are simply a data point in a cluster of users that matches your demographic and behavior. These systems are in place to monitor the website’s performance and improve user experience.

Image credit: Unsplash . All screenshots by Abbaz Uddin.

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Abbaz is an experienced Freelance Tech writer. He has a strong passion for making technology accessible to non-tech individuals by creating easy-to-understand content that helps them with their technological needs.

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How to inspect element on Mac

Updated on:

What you need to know :

• To inspect elements on Safari: Open Safari → Right-click the webpage → click Inspect Element ; Open Safari → tap the trackpad with two fingers .
• The shortcut to open Inspect Element in Safari and Chrome is Option + Command + I.

Are you just starting as a front-end developer? Inspect Element is an essential component for every UI engineer to test and alter the HTML or CSS content. While the Firefox and Chrome browsers have a straightforward method, the method is complicated if you’re using Safari on Mac.

Moreover, I’m not giving you any ideas, but you can also use the Inspect Element feature to mess with your friends by changing the prices of certain goods or adding texts to webpages, etc. Read along to learn how to use the Inspect Element feature and more about it.

What is inspect element?

View source code in safari on mac, inspect element in chrome on mac, how to change the text using inspect element.

Inspect Element allows users to access developer tools embedded in web browsers. These tools allow them to view or edit the HTML and CSS source code in which a webpage is written.

You can view the changes made to the code in real-time on the web pages; however, the inspect element changes are temporary and will not be reflected anywhere other than on your web browser. Its primary purpose is to give you an idea of how changes made to the code will affect the webpage.

How to inspect elements on a Mac

The Inspect Element feature is not available by default on Mac if you’re using the Safari browser. Other browsers like Chrome and Firefox have simpler procedures in comparison. If you were looking for a reason to switch your default browser , now would be the right time.

Here’s how to do it on different browsers:

Before you can Inspect Element/ Source Code on Mac, you must change a few settings and turn on the Developer menu in Safari. Here’s how to do it;

• Open Safari browser.
• Click Safari at the top left → select Preferences .
• Click Advanced .

Now that you’ve turned on the Develop menu, here’s how to inspect elements on Safari:

• Open Safari . 
• Right-click the webpage.
• Click Inspect Element .

You can now view the source code of the website!

Using Inspect Element on Chrome does not come with complications. Here’s how it works:

• Open the Chrome browser.
• Right-click or tap the trackpad with two fingers .

That’s it! You can now view the website’s source code on the right. You can follow the same steps to inspect elements on Firefox.

Now that you’re well-versed with how to open the Inspect Element tool on your Mac in Safari and Chrome, here’s how you can change the text using it.

• Open Safari/Chrome browser.
• Right-click or tap the trackpad with two fingers when you want to inspect the text.
• In the source code, replace the original text with the text you want to add.

You can see the results reflected in real-time. Note that these changes are temporary and do not permanently impact the web page!

FAQ’s

The shortcut to open Inspect Element on Mac in Safari and Chrome is Option + Command + I.

While it is legal to view the source code of any website, you need to take the necessary permissions from the website owner if you intend on using it.

No. You cannot disable the Inspect Element tool in browsers. There are some workarounds but you cannot turn off the Inspect Element tool entirely.

If the password you entered is hidden and you want to view it,  right-click  the password box → select  Inspect Element  → look for  type=u0022passwordu0022  and replace the password with text. The hidden password will be visible now.  

To view the source code in Safari on Mac, you must enable the Develop menu. Simply follow the steps shown above. Once your turn it on, the Inspect Element option will be visible.

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How to Inspect Element in Safari on Mac

Web developers and designers often need to dive deep into the structure of a website to understand its components. Even if you’re not a developer, being able to inspect elements can be valuable for troubleshooting issues or understanding how a website is built.

Safari on Mac offers an “Inspect Element” feature, and this blog post will guide you through how to use it.

Why Use Inspect Element?

There are several reasons to use the Inspect Element feature:

• Debugging : Quickly identify issues in your HTML, CSS, or JavaScript code.
• Learning : Understand how other websites are constructed.
• Styling : Experiment with different styles without affecting the live website.

Requirements

To follow this guide, make sure you have:

• A Mac computer
• Safari browser installed

Enable the Develop Menu

Before you can inspect elements in Safari, you need to enable the Develop menu .

Step 1: Open Safari Settings

Open Safari and go to Safari > Settings or use the shortcut Command + , .

Step 2: Access the Advanced Tab

Once the Preferences window is open, click on the “Advanced” tab.

Step 3: Enable Develop Menu

At the bottom of the Advanced settings, check the box that says “Show Develop menu in menu bar.”

Using Inspect Element

Now that the Develop menu is visible, you can start inspecting elements.

Step 1: Right-Click on an Element

Find the element you want to inspect, right-click on it, and select “Inspect Element.”

Step 2: Navigate the Inspector

A new window will appear at the bottom of the Safari browser, showing the HTML and CSS for the selected element.

Step 3: Edit and Experiment

You can click on the code to edit it, try new styles, or even toggle elements on and off.

Step 4: Access JavaScript Console

The Inspector also includes a JavaScript Console where you can run and debug JavaScript code.

Keyboard Shortcuts

If you plan on inspecting elements often, you might find these shortcuts helpful:

• Open/close Inspect Element: Option + Command + I
• Directly inspect a specific element: Option + Command + C

Additional Tips

• Changes made in Inspect Element are not permanent; they will disappear when you reload the page.
• The Inspector has many other features, like network monitoring and performance profiling, which you can explore as you get more comfortable with it.

Inspect Element is a powerful feature in Safari that allows you to delve into the intricacies of web development. Whether you’re a professional developer or a curious user, understanding how to use this tool can greatly enhance your understanding and troubleshooting capabilities.

Professionally, I am a software developer. I am also a tech enthusiast and always curious about operating systems, softwares, internet and apps.

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How to Inspect an Element on a Mac

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What to Know

• In Safari: Right-click on a webpage and select Inspect Element .
• In Chrome, you can right-click and click Inspect .
• To enable the feature in Safari: Safari > Preferences > Advanced > check the Show Develop menu in menu bar box.

This article teaches you how to inspect a website's element on Mac. It looks at how to do so via Safari and Google Chrome. 

How Do You Use the Inspect Element Feature on a Mac?

Before inspecting elements on Mac when using Safari, you need to enable the developer menu within the browser. Here's a look at how to switch it on and what to do to inspect an element. 

If you can see Develop between Bookmarks and Window, the Developer Menu has already been enabled, and you can skip to step 4.

Using the Inspect Element Feature in Safari

Here's how to use Inspect Element in Safari, the default browser on Mac computers.

In Safari, click Safari > Preferences .

Click Advanced .

Click Show Develop menu in menu bar then close the window.

When browsing a website, right click on the item you wish to inspect. 

Click Inspect Element .

You can now view the code behind the website you've inspected.

Using the Inspect Element Feature in Chrome on a Mac

If you use Chrome instead of Safari on your Mac, it's even easier to view an element as there's no need to enable the feature. Here's what to do.

In Chrome, browse to a website.

Right click on the element you wish to inspect.

Click Inspect .

You can now view the code in a side window on Chrome. 

Why Can’t I Inspect on My Mac?

You might not be able to inspect an element on your Mac if you haven't enabled the Developer menu within Safari. Here's a reminder of how to do it.

How to Make Website Changes by Inspecting the Element

Besides allowing you to view the code on a website, it's also possible to temporarily change any website element through Inspect Element. Here's how to do so via Safari.

The process is very similar on other browsers.

When browsing a website, right click on the item you wish to inspect.

Double click on the text in the code to make it editable.

Delete it or enter a new string of text.

The code has now been temporarily changed just for your benefit. 

Why Would You Want to Use the Inspect Element Feature?

Being able to inspect an element is helpful for many reasons.

• To change code on the fly . Website designers can temporarily change things around on a website to see how the changes affect things. 
• To check the code . Both designers and marketing people can check the code to confirm that things like Google Analytics details are there. 
• To view images separately from a site . If a site doesn't allow you to open an image in a new tab or window, viewing the element makes it possible. 
• Tinker . Seeing the code of a web page can help you understand what you see, removing the mystery of what and why of what's up with the site you are on. It's like taking apart an appliance to see how it works, but there are no screws to lose in this case.

Yes. However, if you plan to use any code or assets from a website, be sure to check with the owner and add a copyright note.

In Chrome, right-click the page and select Inspect , then go to the top section and right-click the <html> tag (e.g. <!doctype html>). Select Copy > Copy outerHTML , then paste the code into a text or HTML file.

Yes. Right-click the element you want to copy and choose Inspect . Right-click on highlighted code and select Copy > Copy styles .

To reveal hidden passwords, right-click on the password text box and select Inspect . In the highlighted section, look for type=”password” and replace password with text . There are easier ways to show all your passwords in Chrome .

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How to Inspect Element on a Mac on Any Browser

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Ever been curious about the source code of a webpage? Almost every web browser, including your Mac's native browser, has a feature that lets you look at it—it's called Inspect Element.

Not only can you see the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript webpage code with Inspect Element, but you can also modify it. This allows developers to test webpages and web applications with the feature, but users can also use it to alter fonts in their personal browsers.

Check out the steps below to learn how to use Inspect Element on any browser on your Mac and start changing code.

How to Inspect Element in Safari and Other Browsers on a Mac

Using the Inspect Element feature is the same across all web browsers available for macOS. You can activate it with just a few clicks. The exception to this is Safari, which requires Inspect Element to be enabled before it can be used. We've outlined how to enable it in a separate section below.

But to use Inspect Element on your favorite Mac browser in general (or once it's enabled):

• Open your desired browser and navigate to a webpage you want to inspect.
• The Inspector tool will open, and the source code for the webpage will appear. Read or make alterations to the code however you want; for example, you can edit webpages on Safari using Inspect Element to tinker with text and images .

How to Enable Inspect Element in Safari

To enable the Inspect Element feature in Safari on your Mac, you have to activate the Develop menu. To do this:

• Open Safari, go to Safari > Settings from the menu bar, or hit Cmd + , on your keyboard.
• Head to the Advanced tab.
• Check the Show Develop menu in menu bar box.

The Develop menu should now appear in the top menu when you're using Safari, and you should be able to access Inspect Element on your Mac from the context menu!

When to Use Inspect Element in Your Browser

Developers can use Inspect Element to try layout changes on webpages and web applications and test functionality for users in different browsers. But it can be used by normal users as well.

If a webpage has a font you find difficult to read, or if it's in a color you don't like, you can use Inspect Element to alter it so the page is more legible or pleasant to look at. You can also change webpage headers via Inspect Element to prank your friends .

Inspect Element only changes things on your Mac and the specific browser you're using. So, use it any time you want a quick change to a website to suit your preferences.

Inspect Element: A Feature to Improve User Experience

Knowing how to use Inspect Element on your Mac can make your use of webpages more streamlined and pleasant. It can offer quick fixes to formatting issues and let developers fix bugs.

We hope our guide helps you utilize the feature, so the next time you have issues with a webpage in Safari or any other browser, you know you have a solution!

Q: How Do I Use Inspect Element in a PDF on My Mac?

To use Inspect Element in PDFs on your Mac, the process is quite straightforward. Open a PDF in the Preview app and click on the information icon . Here, you'll then be able to access numerous aspects—such as file size, the content creator, and more.

Q: How Do I Use Inspector Element Without Right-Clicking on My Mac?

Using Inspector Element without tapping on your trackpad is incredibly simple. All you need to do is press command + option + I simultaneously. After doing that, the Inspector Element window should appear at the bottom of your screen; you can close it in the same way you would with the right-click method. You can use plenty of other Mac keyboard shortcuts for several other functions on your device, too.

Q: Does Inspector Element Automatically Open Across All Windows?

No—the Inspector Element window will only open in the tab that you're currently using. If you want to use the feature in another one of your tabs, you'll need to then go manually to that and follow the same protocol you did for the first.

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How to Use Inspect Element in Chrome, Safari, & Firefox

Published: May 20, 2024

When I started my coding journey, I couldn’t always pinpoint what made a web page great — all of the code underneath that craft a well-designed experience. So, I would use the inspect element on my browser to peel back the curtain. Here, I could see how pages were coded so I could understand how to recreate elements for my own projects.

The inspect element feature lets us view and even modify any website’s front end. This simple trick can help you understand how websites work and even help you build your own.

In this post, I’ll discuss what it means to “inspect” page elements and how to do so on three common web browsers. If you’re in a pinch, jump ahead to what you’re looking for.

Table of Contents

How to Inspect Elements in Chrome

How to inspect elements in safari, how to inspect elements in firefox, get a closer look with inspect, what does “inspect element” mean.

Inspect element is a feature of modern web browsers that enables anyone to view and edit a website’s source code, including its HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and media files. When the source code is modified with the inspect tool, the changes are shown live inside the browser window.

Inspect is a web professional’s scout team. Developers, designers, and marketers frequently use it to peek inside any website (including their own) to preview content and style changes, fix bugs, or learn how a particular website is built. For instance, if I find an intriguing interface on a competing website, the inspect element lets me see the HTML and CSS that make it up.

I also think of my browser’s inspect feature as a “sandbox” of sorts. I can play around with a web page as much as I want by changing content, colors, fonts, layouts, etc. When finished, I just refresh the page to revert everything to normal.

Inspect doesn’t change the website itself — only how it appears in your browser. You can then experiment without worry!

Inspect is also an incredibly valuable tool for those learning web development. Instead of viewing plain source code, I can use the inspect element to interact with the page and see how each line of code maps to an element or style.

By better understanding what constitutes the typical web page, I can communicate effectively with developers in the case of an error or if I want to make a change.

Inspect may be a “developer tool,” but you don’t need to write any code or install any additional software to use it. You can do everything I’ve described right inside your browser. Let’s learn how.

How to Inspect Elements

To inspect elements, you have to right-click any part of a web page and click Inspect > Inspect Element. Alternatively, you can press Command+Option+i on your Mac or F12 on your PC to do the same.

Every modern web browser has a native tool for inspecting elements. It can be accessed in any browser, but some browsers like Chrome and Safari have slight differences. Let’s discuss how to use the inspect tool in three desktop web browsers: Google Chrome, Apple’s Safari, and Mozilla Firefox.

Chrome comes with a handy developer tool that allows you to inspect individual elements. This allows you to see the code behind a web page and even edit it on your own browser. (Note that the changes are only visible to you, not to anyone else across the web.)

Here's how to get started.

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1. Launch Chrome and navigate to the page you want to inspect.

To use the element inspector in Google Chrome, I first navigate to any web page. In these examples, I’ll be using HubSpot.com .

2. Open up the Inspect panel.

Once I arrive at my desired page, I have several ways to open Chrome's Inspect tool.

• Option 1 : I can right-click any part of the page and choose Inspect . Right-clicking a specific page element will open that element in the inspector view.
• Option 2 : In the top menu bar, I can select View > Developer > Developer Tools .
• Option 3: I can click the three-dot icon in the top right corner of the browser window. From there, I can choose More Tools > Developer Tools . Then, I can click the Inspect tab in the popup.
• Option 4 : I can use the shortcut control-shift-C on Windows or command-option-C on macOS.

3. Change the location of the inspect panel.

To better view the code, I can change the position of the inspector window.

The Chrome Developer Tools panel will open at the bottom of the browser window, but sometimes it opens in a separate window altogether.

If I want to change the location of the panel, I can click the three-dots icon in the top right corner of the panel (next to the X icon), and then choose my preferred dock position.

Pro tip: Choosing Dock to right makes it easier to view the rendered page and its source:

Along the top of the inspect panel, I see tabs for Elements , Console , Sources , etc. These are all tools I can use to assess a page’s contents and performance. However, everything I need to inspect is under the Elements tab.

4. Look at the source HTML code of the page.

The biggest area of the panel will contain the source HTML of the current page. I always spend some time exploring this region. Hovering the cursor over the piece of code highlights the corresponding element on the page.

Blue indicates the contents of an element, green corresponds to padding, and areas in orange are margins.

Pro tip: If you’re a beginner and want to learn more about the different elements you’re inspecting, check out this HTML guide for beginners.

5. Select a specific element to inspect.

Rather than trying to read through the code to find an element, I can also do the opposite. I can locate a piece of code by hovering over the page element itself. To do this, I click the Element select icon in the top left corner of the panel.

8. Edit the page's CSS code.

Moving down the Chrome inspect panel, I see the Styles tab. This shows me what CSS styling has been applied to the selected element. I can click on lines of code to rewrite them, or I can activate/deactivate certain declarations by checking/unchecking the boxes next to them. I’ll do this for my <h1> element’s font-weight property:

9. View the page's mobile version.

Finally, let’s cover one more feature of Chrome’s inspect feature: mobile view. When building a site, designers need to consider how its pages appear on desktop, mobile, and tablet screens alike.

Fortunately, Chrome lets me preview the same web page in multiple screen resolutions. Start by clicking the Toggle device icon in the top left corner of the panel:

Now, when I click a page element, the Web Inspector reveals the corresponding source code.

7. Edit, add, or delete page elements.

Like Chrome’s inspector, Safari lets me modify, add, and remove page elements. To edit the page, I can right-click an HTML element in the inspect panel. I can then choose an option from the Edit menu.

Web Inspector will prompt me for a new text input and then display my changes in real time:

If I want to delete a page element, I just select some code and delete it. Or, I can right-click and choose Toggle Visibility to hide an element without deleting it.

8. Activate or deactivate the page's CSS code.

To the right, I have the Styles column, where I can change or activate/deactivate CSS declarations for any element, like so:

When testing content and style changes, I want to see the effect on mobile screens as well as desktops. I’ll cover that next.

Pro tip: When seeking inspiration from other web pages, I always take advantage of the Styles tab in my browser’s developer tools to tailor the CSS according to how I envision it on my own page. Try it out. This allows you to refine and adapt design elements to suit your specific preference before moving forward with coding it in your own workspace.

Safari’s Responsive Design Mode allows me to preview a website across common devices.

To view the page in a mobile viewport, I choose Develop → Enter Responsive Design Mode . In this mode, I can use the same inspector tools on pages formatted for Apple devices or set the dimensions myself:

What I like: Safari’s responsive design tab not only lets you test your web page’s responsiveness on devices, but you can also test its behavior across different browsers. Serving as a one-stop-shop for testing responsiveness, the Safari dev tools are a huge time saver.

Firefox is another great option for inspecting a web page in either macOS, Windows, or Linux. Here’s how to get started.

1. Open Firefox's inspect element tool.

To open the Firefox Inspector, I have several options:

• Option 1: I can right-click any part of the page and choose Inspect Element . Right-clicking a specific page element will open that element in the inspector view.
• Option 2: I can select Tools → Browser Tools → Web Developer Tools from the top menu bar.
• Option 3: I can use the shortcut control-shift-I or press f12 in Windows or command-option-I in macOS.

Next, I go to the web page I’d like to inspect. I’ll be using HubSpot.com again.

3. Change the location of the inspector panel.

The Firefox inspector appears along the bottom of the window by default. To change its position, I can select the three-dots icon in the top right corner of the inspector, then choose an alternative display option.

4. Look at the HTML code of the page.

Firefox’s inspector panel is comparable in features to Chrome’s and Safari’s. The HTML source code indicates the corresponding page element with color codes — content is blue, padding is purple, and margins are yellow:

I can also find code by selecting elements on the page. To enter selection mode, I click the cursor icon in the top left corner:

I can then click any page element to reveal its source code in the inspect panel.

6. Modify or delete page elements.

To modify or delete a page element, I select its code in the inspector. Then, I can either double-click to change the text, right-click and choose Edit as HTML, or click Plus Button next to the “Search HTML” bar to add code. Or I can simply delete the code and see the resulting changes on the page.

7. Toggle the page's CSS styles.

To toggle the CSS styling of an element, I use the Filter Styles region at the bottom of the inspect panel. There, I can uncheck the box next to a CSS declaration to deactivate it (or write in new code myself):

8. View the page's mobile version.

Finally, Firefox’s tools also come with a mobile preview option. To use it, I can click the Responsive Design Mode icon in the top right corner of the panel:

Responsive Design Mode lets me choose from several preset screen resolutions or set my own. I can also toggle connection speed and device pixel ratio:

What I like: As a software developer, it is very important that I make web pages that can be easily used by anyone. Firefox’s accessibility tab in its inspector tool allows me to check if my nodes accessibility tree is missing any important properties. I can verify color contrasts too.

The quickest way to access this feature is by right clicking on the page → choose Inspect → select the two arrows next to debugger → select Accessibility .

Once you learn the basics of your browser’s inspect tool, you might realize just how much information about your favorite websites is publicly available. With a few clicks, you can explore how exactly web pages are built, what styles they use, how they optimize for search engines, how they format on mobile screens, and a lot more.

Editor's note: This article was originally published in December 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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4 Easy Ways to Inspect Element on an iPhone

Last Updated: August 1, 2024 Fact Checked

• Safari Developer Tools
• Web Inspector
• JavaScript Bookmark
• Edit Webpage Shortcut

This article was reviewed by Luigi Oppido and by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA . Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 54,720 times.

Need to debug a website on your iPhone but can't find "Inspect Element?" While this common browser feature isn't built into Safari on your iPhone, there are still ways you can inspect website elements without paying for an app. The official way is to use Safari Developer Tools, which requires you to connect your iPhone to a Mac. If you're not near a computer, you can install a free app called Web Inspector, or create a JavaScript bookmark (which also works on Chrome). Or, if you're not debugging a web app and just want to change the way a website looks, you can use an iPhone shortcut called Edit Webpage.

Things You Should Know

• Use Safari Developer Tools to inspect elements by connecting your iPhone to your Mac.
• To inspect an element without a computer, install the Web Inspector app, or use a JavaScript bookmark.
• To edit text or remove images from a website, try the Edit Webpage shortcut in the Shortcuts app.

Using Safari Developer Tools

• You will need to use a USB cable to connect , as connecting with Wi-Fi won't allow you to inspect an element.

• Open your iPhone's Settings .
• Scroll down and tap Safari .
• Scroll down and tap Advanced .
• Tap the "Web Inspector" switch to turn it on (green).

• Click the Safari menu.
• Click Settings .
• Click Advanced .
• Select "Show Develop menu in menu bar." [2] X Research source

• As you select items in the Elements tab on your Mac, you'll see the selected element highlighted on your iPhone. [3] X Research source
• If you want to continue using Inspect Element without leaving your iPhone plugged in to your Mac, click the Develop menu again and select Connect via Network .

Using the Web Inspector Extension

• Web Inspector is useful for inspecting elements in Safari as it doesn't require you to connect your iPhone to a Mac. If you want to debug in Chrome, you'll need to use a JavaScript bookmark instead.
• While this extension does have the same name as Safari's "Web Inspector," it's not an official Apple tool.

• Open Safari and go to any website.
• Tap Aa in the address bar.
• Tap Manage Extensions . [4] X Research source
• Tap the switch next to "Web Inspector" to enable it.

• To allow Web Inspector to inspect elements on this website for one day only, select Allow for One Day .
• If you choose the latter option, you won't have to give Web Inspector permission to access websites again in the future.

• When you're finished, double-tap Aa to close Web Inspector.

Using a JavaScript Bookmark

• 1 Go to the website you want to inspect. This trick involves creating a bookmark that contains a string of JavaScript code to bring Inspect Element to any iPhone web browser. This trick will work in both Safari and Chrome, though the process of creating the bookmark will be a little different.

• Chrome: Tap the three-dot menu and select Add to Bookmarks .
• Safari: Tap the Sharing icon at the bottom, then tap Add to Favorites .

• Chrome: Tap the three-dot menu and select Bookmarks at the top. Tap and hold the new bookmark, then tap Edit Bookmark. [6] X Research source
• Safari: Tap the open book icon at the bottom, then tap Favorites . Tap and hold the bookmark you just created, then tap Edit . [7] X Research source

Using the Edit Webpage Shortcut

• You'll find the Shortcuts app in your App Library. [8] X Research source
• This is helpful if you want to edit text or remove images and other objects from a website you're viewing.

• Scroll down and tap Shortcuts .
• Tap Advanced .
• Toggle on "Allow Running Scripts."

• Tap any element to edit it. Now you can edit text and images on the website without having an official Inspect Element feature built into Safari.

Expert Q&A

• Adobe Edge Inspect was a popular tool for inspecting elements on websites, but the tool is no longer in development or receiving updates. [10] X Research source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• There are also several paid apps that will allow you to inspect web elements on your iPhone, including Achoo HTML Viewer & Inspector and Inspect Browser. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/safari/use-the-developer-tools-in-the-develop-menu-sfri20948/mac
• ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/safari-developer/inspecting-overview-dev1a8227029/mac
• ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/get-extensions-iphab0432bf6/ios
• ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/bookmark-favorite-webpages-iph42ab2f3a7/ios
• ↑ https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/188842?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS&oco=0#zippy=%2Cedit-a-bookmark
• ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/shortcuts/welcome/ios
• ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/guide/shortcuts/apdfeb05586f/ios
• ↑ https://helpx.adobe.com/edge-inspect/system-requirements.html

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How to Use Inspect Element in Chrome, Safari and Firefox

Have you ever found yourself wanting to pull the hood up on your favorite website? If you’re a web developer , web designer , or just interested in the technologies of the Web , then this “ Inspect Elements ” feature can really get to be very informative.

How to Use Inspect Element in Chrome, Safari, & Firefox

This article will walk you through how to use Inspect Element on Chrome , Safari , and Firefox , covering every aspect in detail so that using and understanding this powerful tool will be easy for you.

Table of Content

What is Inspect Element in Web Browsers?

Why use inspect element, 1. debugging, 3. learning, 4. examination, how to use inspect element in chrome, steps to open inspect element in chrome, exploring chrome developer tools, how to use inspect element in safari, enable the develop menu in safari, steps to open inspect element in safari, exploring safari web inspector, how to use inspect element in firefox, exploring firefox web developer tool commands, common features of inspect element.

Inspect Element is a feature in modern browsers that lets you see and change any webpage’s HTML and CSS in real time. This is one important feature in web development and design for debugging , testing , and enhancing one’s web page , probably available in most modern browsers like Chrome , Safari , and Firefox . HTML is an abbreviation and stands for HyperText Markup Language . HTML is the standard language used in creating web pages . CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets and describes the visual style of those HTML elements, either on screen, paper, or any other medium. Inspect Element allows the user to view the outline and style of a webpage , and therefore gives the user an idea of the webpage’s design and functionality .

Using Inspect Element can be beneficial for several reasons:

Inspect Element is a tool that enables the user to discover mistakes in HTML , CSS , and JavaScript so that they can be rectified. Suppose you have an element that doesn’t show the way you want, then this facility is what you use to find out if a certain element is hidden by some CSS or if there is some error in the HTML structure of the element.

With Inspect Element , the web designer can test and try different styles and layouts. You could alter colors, fonts, and other CSS properties quickly and see immediately how changes are going to affect the design without changing code.

As for beginners, it only gives you the chance to really understand how websites are built. It gives you a proper view on how different elements of a website are arranged and styled. This is actually a good way to learn it.

Web developers constantly require the testing of their websites for process correctness with different browsers and devices. Inspect Element makes it possible to test it really quick and then make corrections when necessary.

Chrome Developer Tools , or DevTools , offer web developers a gigantic, capable box of doo-dads to look through, debug , and analyze web pages . Here’s how one goes through the process of navigating and putting the Inspect Element capability in Chrome’s DevTools to use:

• Right-Click Method : Right-click anything on the page and select ‘ Inspect Element ‘ from the context menu. This will open DevTools’ Elements panel to the element’s DOM .

• Keyboard Shortcut : Press Ctrl+Shift+I (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Option+I (Mac). This shortcut.
• Navigate : Open Chrome and click on the three dots at the top right, then on “ More tools ,” and finally on “ Developer tools .”

1. Elements Panel

The Elements panel exposes the HTML structure of the web page and its associated CSS . You can live-edit the elements directly and see the result without the need to save or refresh the document. Right-click on any HTML tag within the panel to have all the options to add, edit, or remove attributes or styles.

2. Console Panel

This is an area from which the console panel is run to test the JavaScript codes , get to know the errors’ messages, and log information. It’s rather helpful for script testing and debugging .

3. Network Panel

The Network panel shows you all requests a web page sends over the network. This allows for the simulation of network load times, error checks, and performance optimizations.

4. Performance Panel

The performance panel is used to analyze load time, rendering, and complete performance on the webpages . Users can record the performance session and get deep breakdowns of where the time is being spent.

5. Source Panel

The Source panel gives you a possibility to inspect and debug your JavaScript code : set breakpoints, virtually execute your code line by line, and examine code variables to find some trouble you may have with JavaScript .

6. Application Panel

The Application panel is used for general storage viewing, such as Cookies , Local Storage , and Session Storage . It helps organize and debug the data your web application has saved.

7. Security Panel

The Security panel gives information on the status about the web page security , SSL/TLS , and security-related errors.

Safari’s Web Inspector is equivalent to Chrome’s DevTools if you need to check something out within the environment of the Safari browser . Here is how you can access and use Inspect Element in Safari :

• Open Safari Preferences : Choose Safari in the menu bar > Preferences .
• Advanced Tab : Check the box next to “Show Develop menu in menu bar.” Now the Develop menu has been activated—that gives the ability to use Safari’s Web Inspector .
• Right-Click the Page Element : Right-click on any page element and select “ Inspect Element ” from the context menu. This will open the Web Inspector with the element that was selected.

• Keyboard Shortcut : Open Web Inspector via Cmd+Option+I without any further delay.
• Develop Menu : Go to Develop > Show Web Inspector in the menu bar. This method will be very helpful if you belong to the ‘Menu’ type of users.

1. Elements Tab

Where you are given the HTML structure of the page and CSS styles applied to elements. You can edit these elements inline, just as in Chrome .

2. Console Tab

The Console tab can be worked on to run some JavaScript code and to look at several different logs and errors. It can be more useful when testing and debugging scripts .

3. Network Tab

The Network tab displays all network requests that are created by the webpage with resources and load times. It becomes helpful during the optimization of performance and problems debugging.

4.Resources Tab

The Resources tab is used to gain access to the data saved by the web page , such as cookies , local storage , and session storage .

5.Timelines Tab

The Timelines tab will help you to measure and analyze the performance of your webpage . With it, you can get the exact loading times as well as a complete rendering performance breakdown.

6. Storage Tab

It is the place where cookies , local storage , and session storage can be viewed and controlled as it is specifically done in the Application panel in Chrome .

Firefox comes with a complete set of checking and debugging facilities for web pages . Inspect Element in Firefox can be accessed and used by performing the following steps:

Steps to Open Inspect Element in Firefox

• Right Click Method : Right-click any element on the web page and then choose ‘ Inspect Element ‘, that should have opened the Inspector Panel with that element pre-selected.

• Keyboard Shortcut : The hotkey Ctrl+Shift+I (Windows/Linux) and Cmd+Option+I (Mac) opens up the Inspector panel view .
• Accessing the Menu : Use the three lines located at the top right in Firefox . This will display a drop-down, where you should click on “ Web Developer ,” leading to “ Inspector .” This is a bit helpful when you rely more on navigating through the menus rather than the settings.

1. Inspect Panel

The Inspect panel shows the HTML structure of a webpage and CSS styles . You can edit in real-time the elements within, similar to acting in real time with Chrome , Safari , and localhost .

The Console panel offers various facilities to a user: executing JavaScript code , displaying logs , and catching errors , which is very useful when spinning out scripts .

3. Debugger Panel

Allows viewing and debugging of JavaScript code . One can establish breakpoints , go line by line through the source code , and check variables .

4. Network Panel

A Network panel extorts web pages , offering a list of all the network requests , resource sizes , times , and possible errors in loading.

5. Performance Panel

The Performance panel is used to analyze loading activities , rendering , and other performances on the page. Record a performance session and you can see a detailed breakdown of where it’s spending the time.

6. Storage Panel

The Storage Panel provides you access to the data stored by the page: cookies , local storage , and session storage .

7. Accessibility Panel

Inspect the accessibility of roles , properties , and labels in your webpage to check for accessibility .

Tools to inspect elements are very common, with most of them having quite a few attributes in common that render them highly useful to not only web developers but also to designers .

1. HTML and CSS Editing

The ability to view and adjust HTML and CSS in real time with Inspect Element is what truly makes it so powerful. This comes in handy during tasks such as debugging , layout examination , or prototyping changes so as to save one actual time editing the code on the site. For example, one could change the color of a particular button , increase its font size , or even alter some layout just to view the impact it causes to the design .

2. JavaScript Console

The console is such a helpful, powerful means of running JavaScript through code debugging and logging . It allows you to run JavaScript code right on the console, present error messages , and log information . This helps you identify and rectify issues in your scripts .

3. Network Monitoring

The network panel details every network request made from the webpage , including the sizes of the files and their load times , and the HTTP status codes returned. You can use this to watch all resources load, look for errors , and check to make sure your site is running as quickly as possible — say, for example, an image taking too long to load or a script not loading.

4. Performance Analysis

Use performance tools for analyzing the load time , rendering , and the page’s performance . You can record the session performance and then display time spent . This would help you identify bottlenecks and improve user experience .

5. Responsive Design Mode

Responsive design mode allows one to see how their webpage will look on different devices and screen sizes . This means you can simulate several screen resolutions , orientations , and user agents . It is important in recent times for creating a responsive site viewable best on different sides of the devices due to the variation in user access to websites .

Inspect Element is an amazingly multipurpose tool useful for practitioners in web development or design at any level, even with just the slightest involvement. Whether debugging code , testing out some new design , or just looking at how others did something on their website , all that is truly doable with Inspect Element in Chrome , Safari , and Firefox . The following article should provide you with all the information you need to access and utilize your all-powerful Inspect Element .

Also Read: How to Block Websites in Browsers? How to Enable or Disable Notifications from Web Browsers? The Future of Web Browsers

How to Use Inspect Element in Chrome, Safari, & Firefox – FAQs

What is the inspect element shortcut.

Chrome: Ctrl+Shift+I (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Option+I (Mac) Safari: Cmd+Option+I Firefox: Ctrl+Shift+I (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Option+I (Mac)

Is Inspect Element Possible on Any Website?

Yes, you can use Inspect Element for viewing and editing of any website’s HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Is Inspect Element Safe to Use?

It’s safe to use Inspect Element unless you share or apply changes unauthorizedly with the websites. Any modifications using Inspect Element are temporary and visible only to you on your device.

How Do I Save Changes Made in Inspect Element?

Additions, edits in the Inspect Element tab, represent only temporary changes. Sources show how to make those changes permanent with edits in source code files sitting on a web server or on your local computer.

Can I Apply Inspect Element on Mobile?

Yes, most modern browsers on mobile devices also include developer tools with Inspect Element. However, the process to get to them is a little different.

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