How To Inspect Element on iPhone [4 Quick Methods]

If you have ever clicked Inspect Element on your computer before and scrolled through a long list of elements, then used your arrow keys to click on one in particular; there is no easy way to search through pages upon pages of HTML tags like that on your smartphone so if you need to figure out something specific within a website, element inspection will be your best friend.

You can learn about any element on your iPhone by using the Inspect Element feature in Safari, which allows you to preview any element on your screen without leaving your browser window.

Inspecting elements on your iPhone will help you learn what code is behind the website you’re visiting and how it works, but if you need to report an error to the website owner, you should use the Error Console in your browser (Chrome/Safari) instead. Here’s how to inspect element on iPhone so you can learn more about all of the elements that make up your screen!

4 Different Ways to Inspect Elements on iPhone Devices

Inspecting an element is essential for web developers and other professionals in a similar line of work. There are many ways to inspect elements on your iPhone devices. Here, we will discuss four popular methods for inspecting elements on iPhones.

1. Using TestGrid on iPhone Devices:

It helps you inspect elements on different mobile devices. Testing out website designs and functionality can be a pain if your tester doesn’t have access to all of your target devices. But it gives you more control, no matter where you are! Here’s how to use it to look at all elements within your site. If there’s something you can tap or swipe on your device, it will help you discover what it does.

The platform is a valuable tool for cross-browser testing; Although that could quickly set the stage for the task of inspecting elements, however, developers may need some time to check for responsiveness as well as other mobile-specific issues. The steps below will instruct you on how to check components using the iPhone.

1. First, open TestGrid in your browser as it is a cloud-based testing tool.
2. Start the browser, select the iPhone viewport on the left side of the device panel, and type in the URL you wish to view.
3. Click the debugger button to launch the web inspector. You can then begin checking elements on either the iPhone or iPad.

It is also possible to right-click anywhere on the screen and choose “Inspect the element” to access the toolkit for developers.

2. Using Safari Developer Tools to Inspect Element on an Actual Device:

If you’re having trouble with a website and want to figure out why knowing how to use your browser’s developer tools can help. One of these is Safari Developer Tools on iOS, which is excellent for looking at elements on a page. The process isn’t complicated once you know how to use it.

The easiest method to inspect elements on iOS devices is to use the inspect element feature on the iPhone Safari browser for desktops. You may have guessed that Apple developed this method, as Apple created it specifically to work with their browser; however, they don’t offer alternatives for Android or other operating systems.

To inspect elements with Safari Developer Tools, you require three items – an iPhone/iPad, a Mac, and a USB cable.

Below are the steps for inspecting elements on iPhone Safari with the help of Safari developer tools:

1. After you have three devices connected. Start the Safari web browser on Mac and select Preferences.
2. Then, go to the Advanced tab and check the “Show Develop menus in the menu bars” option. Both of these options are highlighted in the image below.
3. You’re now ready to use Mac to inspect elements on your iPad or iPhone. Enabling the “Show Develop menu in the menu bar” option makes the “Develop” option available in the browser’s options bar. When you select it, the name of your device will appear in the menu.

It will launch the web inspector on the device you are connected to.

Pay attention to the above, where we mentioned Mac repeatedly since this only applies to those using an Apple device. If you’re using something other than a Mac, you won’t be able to install the Safari web browser in Windows.

3.Debug Using the Web Inspector Feature

Debugging issues on mobile web pages can be a challenge at times. But, beginning with iOS 6, Apple offers a Web-inspector that makes troubleshooting web pages much easier for iPhones or iPads. Follow these steps to make use of it:

1. Make sure to connect the iOS phone to your machine.
2. Enable the Web-Inspector function. To do this, go into settings and then Safari, then Scroll to the bottom, then open the Advanced Menu >
3. Switch on the Web Inspector
4. Navigate to the website you want to preview or debug on your smartphone Safari browser. After that, enable your Develop option on your Mac device.

To activate the Develop menu, follow these steps:

1. Launch the Safari browser
2. Click Safari on the top, then open Preferences, then Advanced.
3. Make sure to check the box that says “Show Develop menu in menu bar” in the Menu Bar to allow it.
4. Then, you’ll see your Develop menu on the top bar. When you click on it, you’ll see your the linked iPhone or iPad and the URL currently in Safari.
5. After clicking on the URL, a new inspector window will pop up, letting the developer inspect, view or debug the page on an iPhone device using their Mac. Simply click on the Resources tab, and all interactions with web-based elements will be highlighted in real-time on the iPhone.

4. Adobe Edge Inspect:

Adobe Shadow is a tool created by Adobe in 2011 and later changed to Adobe Edge Inspect. Adobe Edge Inspect was a component of the Adobe Edge suite with the capability of inspecting components on several devices. Adobe Edge Inspect overcomes the difficulties of previous solutions since it doesn’t require macOS operating devices. Additionally, it’s available on all versions of Windows and macOS.

Adobe Edge Inspect also supports synced browsing. The website is opened on one device and synced across all associated devices, i.e., it’ll be open across all devices. Connectivity between all devices using Wi-Fi.

Here are some methods on how to examine components on iPhone by using Adobe Edge Inspect.

1. To use Adobe Edge Inspect and inspect elements on iPad/iPhone, download the software and ensure all the devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi connection.
2. When you open a website, a dialogue box will appear on all devices. All devices will show the debugger sign in front of them.
3. Put the debugger in front of the element that you want to inspect.

This will launch the developer tools, allowing you to inspect the elements of your iOS device as you would a website on a PC. It is a simple, quick, and effective solution.

There were some inconsistencies and drawbacks to this method, but these issues have been fixed by Adobe now. However, its executable files are accessible from the internet for all operating systems.

The app also lacks a critical component of web app development: the ability to perform local web testing. Web developers waste hours inspecting elements on various devices because they do not want their issues to become the customers’ problems. If you release a new feature on an already published website, it’s a different story. But if you’re developing the website for the first time, you may not have an URL to open it on the Adobe Edge Inspect for inspection on an iPhone.

How to Inspect Element on iPhone Without a Computer?

If you don’t have a Mac or you want to sneak into a site directly via your iPhone If so, you’ll be happy to know there’s the iOS Shortcuts application that can do this. The Shortcuts app on iOS provides a variety of pre-made options which let you look at the page’s source code, edit a webpage, download images from websites, and search for older versions of websites through the Safari application.

Unfortunately, there isn’t one shortcut that can provide full-fledged Web debugging capabilities on iOS, which is why you’ll require the shortcuts for each of these reasons.

• Depending on how you want to inspect web pages on iOS, you can add any shortcuts to your iPhone by searching for them inside Shortcuts > Gallery.

• In your search results, you will find the shortcut you wish to add to your iPhone.

• When you see a preview window open, click on the ‘Add Widget’ option at the lower right.

• The shortcuts are visible in the My Shortcuts > All Shortcuts screen and will be accessible from the Safari Share Sheet.0

• To view a page, open it on Safari and click the share button on the right.

• In the share sheet, scroll down to locate the shortcuts you created for your iPhone.

• Selecting Edit Web Page will allow you to modify parts of the website directly. If you choose one of the three other choices, you’ll be asked to select whether you’d like the shortcut to access the page. Click on “Allow Once’.

How to Inspect Element on iPhone Google Chrome

Inspecting website elements using a Chrome browser on your iPhone is simple. Just launch the Chrome browser on your iPhone and visit a website. You must type view-source: before the HTTP or HTTPS in the address bar. Here, reload the page to view the full inventory.

Conclusion

Inspecting and evaluating elements on a page is an essential part of web development and design. However, it can be tricky to locate them, especially if you’re working with an app that doesn’t include developer tools or if you’re using a browser other than Chrome.

Source: This article was originally published at testgrid.io.