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Articles by Patrick Brosset
New in Edge for developers – Create better components and make your site agent-ready
Welcome back to New in Edge for developers, our recurring roundup of recent web platform updates in Microsoft Edge.
Calling for Interop 2027 proposals
The Interop 2027 call for proposals is open, submit your ideas now! Over the past six years, the Interop project has helped bring key web platform features to a state where developers can rely on them across browsers. Technologies such as CSS layout and utilities, View Transitions, anchor positioning, popover, and shadow DOM have all benefited from the focused effort that Interop makes possible.
New in Edge for developers – Style layout gaps, improve keyboard accessibility and migrate your PWA to a new origin
Welcome to New in Edge for developers, a new series featuring recent web platform updates in Microsoft Edge that help web developers build better sites and apps. In this first edition, we’ll look at CSS gap decorations for styling the space between layout items, the focusgroup attribute for easier keyboard navigation, same-site PWA origin migration for moving an installed web app without disrupting users, and other improvements such as text-fit, flex-wrap: balance, and faster clipboard reads.
Développer des applications bureau sans code natif
Développer des applications bureau sans code natif Patrick Brosset - SnowCamp 2023 Patrick Brosset Twitter: @patrickbrosset Mastodon: @patrickbrosset@mas.to Web: https://patrickbrosset.com Demos: https://github.com/microsoftEdge/demos Des applications de bureau? En quoi sont-elles différentes et nécessaires?
Building desktop apps in the age of the web
Building desktop apps in the age of the web Patrick Brosset - @patrickbrosset 2022 👋🏽 Hey, I’m Patrick! I’m a Product Manager at Microsoft. I work on Edge. 🐥 @patrickbrosset 🐘 @patrickbrosset@mas.to 🕸️ patrickbrosset.com Let’s talk about desktop apps! Who here remembers winamp? Demo time! 🤞🏽 What’s a desktop app exactly? Desktop apps … 💾 Can be installed. 💡 Always works, whether you’re connected or not. 📂 Can handle local files. 🪟 Control the content of their entire windows.
AI on the web platform
1 Start with the demos first, without saying anything about how they work yet. Show one SLM Prompt API demo, and one image processing WebNN demo. http://localhost:8080/on-device-ai/summarize-email-thread.html https://webmachinelearning.github.io/webnn-samples/face_recognition/ 2 ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ What if this was running on your device, without relying on a cloud service? No privacy concerns, less latency, no cloud AI cost, and offline support.
Baseline web features for the win
Skip ⬇ Video By now, you've probably heard of Baseline. There are banners on MDN, on the top of Can I Use pages as well. Web.dev also uses Baseline to blog about new features that are now available across the web platform. One web agency, Clearleft, has also adopted Baseline to redefine its browser support strategy. And finally, RUM Archive has launched a tool that helps you discover the percentage of users that you'd be able to target with each version of Baseline.
Implementing an accordion component in 2026 🪗
Mutually exclusive <details> elements By setting the name attribute of <details> elements to the same value, only one section can be open at a time. Opening a section automatically closes any other open section with the same name value. Mutually exclusive <details> elements have been supported by all major browsers since September 2024.
Monitor and improve your web app’s load performance
Today, large web applications are often assembled from many independent pieces, which all load their own data and resources. When all these pieces compete for the same network connection, congestion can build up and the user experience can suffer. To address this problem, we’re excited to introduce a new feature which web developers can start testing in Microsoft Edge today: Network Efficiency Guardrails.
Making keyboard navigation effortless
Do you use a keyboard to navigate websites? If so, you’ve probably run into countless accessibility issues where groups of inputs or widgets are not easy, or even possible to get to with just the keyboard. A keyboard-accessible website lets you easily reach its various sections and then navigate within them in an intuitive way. Unfortunately, inaccessible websites are common on the internet.
Microsoft Edge and Interop 2026
Microsoft Edge is commited to a more powerful, predictable, and reliable web platform. One way we pursue those goals is via our ongoing participation in the Interop project. This year marks the sixth edition of the project, and once again, we’re collaborating closely with Mozilla, Igalia, Google, and Apple to push for a more interoperable web. We’ve received a lot of proposals for inclusion in Interop 2026, and we’re very grateful to everyone who provided input.
Making complex web apps faster
On the web, speed is everything. The responsiveness of your browser, the time it takes for a web app to appear, and how quickly that app handles user interactions all directly impact your experience as a web user. At Microsoft, we care deeply about improving web performance, and we’re making progress on it from several directions: Within the browser itself, by making Edge faster and more responsive. Under the hood, by making the browser engine run complex web apps faster.
Masonry: Things You Won’t Need A Library For Anymore — Smashing Magazine
20 min read CSS, Design, Techniques, CSS Grid Share on Twitter, LinkedIn CSS Masonry is almost here! Patrick Brosset takes a deep dive into what this long-awaited feature means for web developers and how you could make use of it in your own work. About 15 years ago, I was working at a company where we built apps for travel agents, airport workers, and airline companies. We also built our own in-house framework for UI components and single-page app capabilities.
Unlock text editing use cases with highlightsFromPoint and other FromPoint APIs
We’re excited to announce the availability of the highlightsFromPoint() method in Microsoft Edge 140, and other Chromium-based browsers, a useful addition to the CSS Custom Highlight API, which makes it possible to find existing highlights at a given x, y coordinate. Drawing highlights in CSS The CSS Custom Highlight API allows you to highlight arbitrary ranges of text, without having to add new elements to the DOM.
Calling for Interop 2026 proposals
The Interop 2026 call for proposals is now open, submit your ideas now! We’re very proud to have been part of the Interop project for the past 5 years, and it’s amazing to see the collective enthusiasm of our industry for pushing the limits of what’s possible for developers to do on the web.
The Edge 2025 web platform top developer needs dashboard Original
For the fifth year in a row, together with our partners at Igalia, Google, Mozilla, and Apple, we’re working hard on improving the consistency of some of the major features which web developers need the most. Indeed, the Interop 2025 project is now operating at full speed and already bearing fruit: the overall interop score has now reached 50%, up from its starting 28% score at the beginning of the year.
Creating a more accessible web with Aria Notify
We’re excited to announce the availability, as a developer and origin trial, of ARIA Notify, a new API that’s designed to make web content changes more accessible to all users. You can try ARIA Notify today as an Origin Trial starting with Microsoft Edge 136, or locally by enabling the --enable-blink-features=AriaNotify feature flag.
Contextual logging with console.context() Original
If you work on a large enough code base involving multiple teams at your organization, you probably have to deal with large amounts of logs when inspecting your webapp. This is an area that we’re interested in improving, and are proposing a new feature, based on the console.context() method, to enable helpful contextual logging in DevTools.
Minding the gaps: A new way to draw separators in CSS
Drawing separator lines between various sections of a webpage is a common design technique, which can help to structure the content and make it more readable, as well as more aesthetically pleasing. As we’ll see in this article, there are techniques you can use today to draw separator lines with CSS, but they also come with limitations. In this article, we’re introducing CSS gap decorations, a new proposal which we would love your feedback on.
Microsoft Edge and Interop 2025
Microsoft Edge is very pleased to announce our participation in the fifth edition of the Interop project: Interop 2025. We’re joining forces with our colleagues at Apple, Bocoup, Igalia, Google, and Mozilla, to improve interoperability on the web platform. Interoperability matters because it ensures that the code you write for the web will work the same way for your users regardless of browser and device.
Request for feedback: Incoming call notifications API for web apps
In this post, we’re announcing, and requesting feedback on a new proposal to extend the Notifications API to allow web apps to send incoming call notifications. Web applications have been able to alert users via notifications for about a decade now. By using the Notifications API, a web app can display messages in the operating system’s built-in notification center. When used well, notifications can be a powerful tool to keep users informed about important events.
Looking forward to an Interop 2025 that addresses your top needs Original
The Interop 2025 call for proposals is now open! If there’s an area of the web platform you’d like to see included in next year’s Interop project, please submit it via the submission form. Since its inception in 2021, the Interop project has brought many improvements to the web platform, which address some of the most important pain points that web developers have been telling us about.
Seamless SVG copy-paste on the web
Today we’re announcing support in Microsoft Edge, and Chromium browsers, for SVG files in the Async Clipboard API. This means copying and pasting SVG data across any app that wants to use SVG, whether it’s native or web, is now possible. SVG images are a great option for rendering high-quality visuals and graphics on the web. They’re space efficient and the image quality isn’t affected when resizing the image. But, when it comes to handling SVG image formats in apps, the story is a bit different.
Microsoft Edge and Interop 2024
Microsoft Edge is pleased to, once again, join Apple, Mozilla, Google, Bocoup, and Igalia in announcing the launch of Interop 2024. This is a continuation of a multi-year cross-organization project which acknowledges web developer pain points and aims at making the web platform more pleasant to work with. We’re doing this by implementing frequently requested features and fixing the top cross-browser compatibility issues.
Inside the all-new Edge DevTools user interface Original
Microsoft Edge DevTools has a brand-new look! Let’s go over what it is, why we made it, and the main improvements that the redesigned UI brings. We first started working on a redesign of DevTools almost two years ago. At the time, our starting point was the realization that, over the years, DevTools had started to become visually and conceptually overwhelming. We wanted to reduce the learning curve and complexity of the tools.
Navigate the unexpected: using Copilot in Edge and DevTools
We’re very excited to announce that, starting with Microsoft Edge 120, we’re making a new experimental DevTools feature available to all. You can now ask DevTools to explain any error or warning, and any code snippet by using Copilot in Edge. Whether you’re new to web development or have already been building websites, errors and warnings in the DevTools Console is something you probably deal with all the time.
Navigate the unexpected: using Copilot in Edge and DevTools
We’re very excited to announce that, starting with Microsoft Edge 120, we’re making a new experimental DevTools feature available to all. You can now ask DevTools to explain any error or warning, and any code snippet by using Copilot in Edge. Whether you’re new to web development or have already been building websites, errors and warnings in the DevTools Console is something you probably deal with all the time.
Collaborating with the Office Performance team for better web performance tools
On the Microsoft Edge team, we spend a lot of time working with product teams across Microsoft to support them in building great web experiences, and jointly raising the bar for how these apps perform for everyone, whatever device they may use. In this post, we’ll review some new DevTools capabilities we have recently built in partnership with the Office Performance team, which enable concrete performance improvements in production web experiences.
Collaborating with Open Web Docs for great PWA docs
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) enable immersive app experiences across all devices and platforms. PWAs are supported across platforms, including Windows 10 and 11, and can be installed as apps from browsers including Microsoft Edge, or from the Microsoft Store. Whether you’ve already created a Progressive Web App, or are looking to get started, the Progressive Web Apps section of the MDN Web Docs site is a great place to start or to continue learning.
Popular DevTools Tips — Smashing Magazine
17 min read DevTools, Browsers, Debugging, Testing, Tools Share on Twitter, LinkedIn You might think you know all the tricks when it comes to browser DevTools, but did you know that there are dozens of panels and hundreds of features waiting to supercharge your debugging workflow? Whatever your debugging use case is, there’s probably a tool that’s right for the job. Let’s discover the most popular DevTools tips that can boost your productivity.
What’s New In DevTool: Halloween Edition 🎃 — Smashing Magazine
12 min read Tools, Browsers, Debugging, DevTools, Testing Share on Twitter, LinkedIn In this article, Patrick Brosset gives an update on the most impactful new features that are now available in DevTools, across Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Edge. I can’t believe it’s already been nine months since I last wrote about the new DevTools features across browsers! You folks are due for an update.
Closing a 30 pixel gap between native and web
We talk a lot about Progressive Web Apps (PWA) in the context of mobile devices, but they have an enormous potential on desktop operating systems that’s only beginning to materialize. Recently, with many new web capabilities in the Chromium browser engine and UX changes in Microsoft Edge and on Windows, installed desktop web apps are really starting to look and feel like native apps. One remaining gap in how web apps appear on desktop is their ability to create their own title bar experiences.
Debug the web in 3D with the 3D View tool
Microsoft Edge DevTools has had a 3D View tool for some time already, and it’s a really great way to visualize how web pages are constructed. The tool is becoming even better! We’ve recently added new functionality to it and updated the navigation interface to make it more powerful and easier to use. In this article, we’ll look at some of the great ways you can use the 3D View tool to solve common web development problems such as DOM complexity, unwanted scrollbars, or z-index stacking issues.
Mobile-First CSS: Is It Time for a Rethink?
The mobile-first design methodology is great—it focuses on what really matters to the user, it’s well-practiced, and it’s been a common design pattern for years. So developing your CSS mobile-first should also be great, too…right? Article Continues Below Well, not necessarily.
What’s That (Dev) Tool? — Smashing Magazine
16 min read Tools, Browsers, DevTools, Techniques Share on Twitter, LinkedIn Quick summary ↬ How many browser DevTools panels do you commonly use in your day-to-day web development? One? Three? Probably not that many more. In this article, Patrick Brosset shines the spotlight on a number of tools that people don’t use or even know about. Let’s dive in! Have you ever looked to see what other tools were available to you within the DevTools toolbox?
Find and manage your installed apps and sites
Installing websites as Windows applications with Microsoft Edge has never been easier. If Microsoft Edge detects that a site is installable, the App available button appears in the address bar. But even if the site isn’t installable (i.e. if it’s not a Progressive Web App), you can still install it. This is currently done by going into the Apps menu and clicking Install this site as an app.
Designers, (Re)define Success First
Illustration by Dougal MacPherson About two and a half years ago, I introduced the idea of daily ethical design. It was born out of my frustration with the many obstacles to achieving design that’s usable and equitable; protects people’s privacy, agency, and focus; benefits society; and restores nature.
Styling elements for real
Styling <select> elements consistently across browsers has long been a difficult task. While it is now possible to style the button part of a <select>, styling its contents – the box that contains the list of options, and the options themselves – remains very limited. These limitations often push web developers to use libraries that provide custom select-like controls.
30 days of PWA: Fall in love with Progressive Web Apps
April 14, 2022 If you recently started your journey learning web development and if you are interested in building apps without having to also learn about iOS, Android, or desktop app development, then you’re about to fall in love with Progressive Web Apps.
Improving DevTools together: Announcing the new Edge DevTools feedback repository
If you work in software development, you probably already know how vital getting feedback about your product can be. Only your real users know what it feels like to use the product to accomplish their day to day tasks. You know a lot too, but being so close to the development means you’re biased. Here on the Microsoft Edge DevTools team, it’s the same thing. We are building a product for developers, and even if we are developers ourselves, we depend on your feedback to build the right tools for you.
The selectmenu HTML Tag | CSS-Tricks
I want to introduce you to a new, experimental form control called <selectmenu>. We’ll get deep into it, including how much easier it is to style than a traditional <select> element. But first, let’s fill in some context about why something like <selectmenu> is needed in the first place, as it’s still evolving and in development. Ask any web developer what they think is missing from the web platform today, chances are the ability to style form controls will be on their list.
CSS Custom Highlight API: A First Look | CSS-Tricks
Styling ranges of text in software is a very useful thing to be able to do. Thankfully, we have the CSS Custom Highlight API to look forward to because it represents the future of styling text ranges on the web. One example: if you’ve ever used text editing software like Google Docs, Word, or Dropbox Paper, you’ll see they detect spelling and grammar errors and displaying nice little squiggly underlines below them to attract attention. Code editors like VS Code do the same for code errors.
What’s New In DevTools? — Smashing Magazine
11 min read Tools, Browsers, Debugging, DevTools, Testing Share on Twitter, LinkedIn Quick summary ↬ What’s new in Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox? Patrick Brosset breaks it down with the latest features in DevTools across browsers. In September last year, I wrote about some of the latest updates in our beloved DevTools, across Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Edge.
Looking back at Microsoft Edge for developers in 2021
2021 was an eventful year for Microsoft Edge.
Debug memory leaks with the Microsoft Edge Detached Elements tool
Memory leaks occur when the JavaScript code of an application retains more and more objects in memory that it doesn’t need any longer instead of releasing them for the browser to garbage collect (GC). For long-running apps, small memory leaks of only a few kilobytes can add up to noticeably degrade performance over time. Web developers who use the React framework know that React maintains a virtualized copy of the DOM.
Breaking Out of the Box
CSS is about styling boxes. In fact, the whole web is made of boxes, from the browser viewport to elements on a page. But every once in a while a new feature comes along that makes us rethink our design approach. Article Continues Below Round displays, for example, make it fun to play with circular clip areas. Mobile screen notches and virtual keyboards offer challenges to best organize content that stays clear of them.
A Content Model Is Not a Design System
Do you remember when having a great website was enough? Now, people are getting answers from Siri, Google search snippets, and mobile apps, not just our websites. Forward-thinking organizations have adopted an omnichannel content strategy, whose mission is to reach audiences across multiple digital channels and platforms. Article Continues Below But how do you set up a content management system (CMS) to reach your audience now and in the future?
Minding the "gap"
You might already know about the CSS gap property. It isn’t exactly new, but it did gain an important new ability last year: it now works in Flexbox in addition to CSS Grid. That, and the fact that I believe the property is more complicated than it appears, made me want to go back and explain exactly how it works. Let’s take a proper look at gap and its associated properties, and understand how and where they work.
What’s New With DevTools: Cross-Browser Edition — Smashing Magazine
18 min read Tools, Browsers, Debugging, Testing, DevTools Share on Twitter, LinkedIn Quick summary ↬ Learn what’s new with developer tools in Firefox, Edge, Chrome and Safari. Discover new and powerful features that will help you be more comfortable and productive when testing and debugging across browsers. Browser developer tools keep evolving, with new and improved features added all the time. It’s hard to keep track, especially when using more than one browser.
Throttle the network speed to test your website on slower connections
While you may develop your website on a fast network connection at home or at work, your users may not be able to use it with an equally fast connection. Perhaps they're in a moving car, or on the subway, or they don't have access to high-speed internet at their place. Whatever it is, they may experience your site very differently than you do because of this. Testing your site with a slower connection helps you understand how it loads and appears on the screen.
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