Web browser tool

Browser tools extend the power of a web browser.

Some tools are built into the browser. Other tools must be added to the browser. Some tools are external to the browser.

View Source

Use the browser's View Source feature to view the source code for current web page.

The source code is the HTML (and CSS, and JavaScript) which the browser received from the server.

The source code in View Source does not reflect changes to the Document Object Model (DOM). The source code in View Source always shows the source code as it was received from the server.

Inspect Element

Use the Inspect Element feature to inspect the DOM, and perform other DOM-related tasks.

Inspect Element is supported in most modern browsers.

• In your browser window, right-click on the HTML element you want to inspect.
• The browser will display a pop-up menu. Select Inspect Element.
• The browser will display a control panel with a variety of features for getting detailed information about the DOM (and for manipulating the DOM)

Extensions and plugins

Some tools are Extensions, or Plugins, or Add-ons (they go by a variety of names).

These are features that can be added to a browser. Each of tools is written for a specific brower. Some may be written for multiple browsers.

You must specifically add these tools to your browser. They don't come with the browser by default, and they don't install themselves. (Features that install themselves include computer viruses.)

External browser tools

Some tools manipulate the browser itself. For example, a program acts as a scripted user, launching a browser window and then providing the browser with input simulating the input from a human user, with appropriate pauses, analysis of web page content, etc.

• Selenium