Hi all, apologies for the delay. A few of the
recent review comments on #1404
<https://github.com/whatwg/dom/pull/1404>are on
API shape rather than purely editorial, so we
won't be shipping in 149. I'll follow up with
the new release target once those are resolved.
Since the original intent:
* Mozilla and WebKit: positive signals on
standards-positions.
* Alex: no external OT feedback yet beyond the
Microsoft Editor SDK team, who plan to
integrate ahead of ship.
* Rick: looking into the Edge-vs-Chrome WPT
diffs; will follow up.
* Philip: the open API-shape comments on #1404
are the remaining blocker.
Thanks for the patience.
On Wednesday, May 6, 2026 at 8:11:19 AM UTC-7
Philip Jägenstedt wrote:
What are the remaining blockers to land
https://github.com/whatwg/dom/pull/1404? All
of the checkboxes are checked, is it a
matter of editorial review now?
On Wed, May 6, 2026 at 3:54 PM Rick Byers
<[email protected]> wrote:
It would be nice to hear more about OT
feedback, but knowing that the Microsoft
Editor SDK has validated the design and
plans to adopt it meets my bar for
developer feedback on a relatively small
feature like this. So LGTM1 from me.
It's nice to see the WPT suite
<https://wpt.fyi/results/dom/ranges/tentative?label=experimental&label=master&aligned>
very green. Is someone looking at why a
few tests appear to be passing in Edge
but failing in Chrome?
Rick
On Mon, May 4, 2026 at 2:42 PM Alex
Russell <[email protected]> wrote:
Hey Stephanie (et al.),
Excited about this feature. Am I
right in assuming that nobody has
been able to provide OT feedback
yet? If there has been feedback, can
you summarize it here?
Best,
Alex
On Wednesday, April 29, 2026 at
12:12:53 PM UTC-7 Stephanie Zhang wrote:
*Contact emails*
[email protected]_,
[email protected]_,
[email protected]_,
[email protected]_
*Explainer*
_https://github.com/MicrosoftEdge/MSEdgeExplainers/blob/main/OpaqueRange/explainer.md_
<https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2FMicrosoftEdge%2FMSEdgeExplainers%2Fblob%2Fmain%2FOpaqueRange%2Fexplainer.md&data=05%7C02%7Cstephanie.zhang%40microsoft.com%7C81a0a04d7bb341a3e49408dea5563241%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C639129986872058065%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=qHzQqtSg2jDdVrEVcd3ms2PDr8nwb5KbNq7s8Z1%2Fpcc%3D&reserved=0>
*Specification*
_https://github.com/whatwg/dom/pull/1404_
<https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fwhatwg%2Fdom%2Fpull%2F1404&data=05%7C02%7Cstephanie.zhang%40microsoft.com%7C81a0a04d7bb341a3e49408dea5563241%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C639129986872070768%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=KkvkSV5EI8Y%2Bo6vEs0kjkkP7xU6ydqCCH2yb5Zbpsy8%3D&reserved=0>
*Summary*
`OpaqueRange` represents a live
span of text within a form
control’s value, such as a
`<textarea>` or text-based
`<input>`, so developers can
work with value text using
range-like APIs. It enables
operations such as
`getBoundingClientRect()`,
`getClientRects()`, and
integration with the CSS Custom
Highlight API for UI such as
inline suggestions, highlights,
and anchored popovers. It
preserves encapsulation by
exposing only value offsets
while returning `null` for
`startContainer` and
`endContainer`, so DOM endpoints
and internal structure are not
exposed.
*Blink component*
_Blink>DOM_
<https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fissues.chromium.org%2Fissues%3Fq%3Dcustomfield1222907%3A%2522Blink%253EDOM%2522&data=05%7C02%7Cstephanie.zhang%40microsoft.com%7C81a0a04d7bb341a3e49408dea5563241%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C639129986872081509%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=HPwyv0vG7LVjeVQhvsiKMdcyxJaqervtEOH6YqMUYTg%3D&reserved=0>
*Web Feature ID*
Missing feature
_New feature ID for OpaqueRange
· Issue #3863 ·
web-platform-dx/web-features_
<https://github.com/web-platform-dx/web-features/issues/3863>
*Motivation*
Currently, developers can’t get
accurate text geometry or apply
the CSS Custom Highlight API to
text inside native `<textarea>`
and text-based `<input>`
controls. As a result, they
often avoid native form controls
and build editable `<div>`-based
workarounds to anchor UI, such
as autocomplete popovers, or to
highlight matches. These
workarounds require
reimplementing native editing
behavior and can have
accessibility gaps.
`OpaqueRange` enables
range-based operations on the
control’s value text, so
developers can measure text
geometry and build text-anchored
UI directly in native controls.
*Initial public proposal*
_https://github.com/whatwg/html/issues/10614_
<https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fwhatwg%2Fhtml%2Fissues%2F10614&data=05%7C02%7Cstephanie.zhang%40microsoft.com%7C81a0a04d7bb341a3e49408dea5563241%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C639129986872101415%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=BKt7yavrtM8tgFneyHXhDqJCNVLuxh8wPpTh5eh%2FppQ%3D&reserved=0>
*TAG review*
_https://github.com/w3ctag/design-reviews/issues/1206_
<https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fw3ctag%2Fdesign-reviews%2Fissues%2F1206&data=05%7C02%7Cstephanie.zhang%40microsoft.com%7C81a0a04d7bb341a3e49408dea5563241%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C639129986872111131%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=r2iH%2BQ9l72LwxV2s69aeHlP2E9m8iXutC25JNdF594c%3D&reserved=0>
*TAG review status*
Pending
*Origin Trial Name*
OpaqueRange
*Goals for experimentation*
Validate API design and gather
developer feedback on whether
the API meets their needs.
*Chromium Trial Name*
OpaqueRange
*Origin Trial documentation link*
_https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp9C68TZXiE_
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp9C68TZXiE>
*WebFeature UseCounter name*
kOpaqueRange
*Risks*
*Interoperability and Compatibility*
`OpaqueRange` adds new methods,
such as `createValueRange()`, to
`<textarea>` and supported
text-based `<input>` elements so
authors can create ranges over
value text. It does not change
existing editing or selection
behavior, so the risk to
existing sites is low. The main
interoperability risk is lack of
implementation across engines,
which could make text-anchored
UI or highlights inside native
controls work in only some browsers.
/Gecko/: No
signal
(_https://github.com/mozilla/standards-positions/issues/1289_
<https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fmozilla%2Fstandards-positions%2Fissues%2F1289&data=05%7C02%7Cstephanie.zhang%40microsoft.com%7C81a0a04d7bb341a3e49408dea5563241%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C639129986872120773%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=QHBPgBumqgNIEJ%2B3RCSizi6y%2BYqCC6BOQZgacx0ZyEM%3D&reserved=0>)
/WebKit/: No
signal
(_https://github.com/WebKit/standards-positions/issues/541_
<https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2FWebKit%2Fstandards-positions%2Fissues%2F541&data=05%7C02%7Cstephanie.zhang%40microsoft.com%7C81a0a04d7bb341a3e49408dea5563241%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C639129986872130815%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=d4mAnntEEzmtFS294m9idCHVZOx5CuunvtSl%2FHaHYUE%3D&reserved=0>)
/Web developers/: Positive
_https://github.com/w3c/csswg-drafts/issues/4603_
<https://github.com/w3c/csswg-drafts/issues/4603>:
request for ranges inside
`<textarea>`/`<input>` to
support spellchecking/grammar
highlights.
_https://github.com/w3c/csswg-drafts/issues/10346_
<https://github.com/w3c/csswg-drafts/issues/10346>:
request for selection/caret
geometry in
`<textarea>`/`<input>` to anchor
autocomplete popovers and
similar UI.
_https://github.com/MicrosoftEdge/MSEdgeExplainers/issues/1104_
<https://github.com/MicrosoftEdge/MSEdgeExplainers/issues/1104>:
developer feedback that
`OpaqueRange` (previously
`FormControlRange`) would be
useful because existing overlay
workarounds are hard to keep in
sync and can visibly lag.
/Other signals/:
*Ergonomics*
`OpaqueRange` is typically used
with selection offsets and with
geometry/highlighting APIs. The
geometry calls are synchronous
and can trigger layout, similar
to existing `Range` geometry
methods. Since the range is
live, offsets are updated as the
control’s value is edited.
*Activation*
Moderate. Developers need to
learn the value-offset model and
how it differs from `Range`
(there are no DOM endpoints).
*Security*
No new data exposure beyond
existing access to form control
values and selection. Exposes
only value offsets and geometry
and does not expose internal DOM
(`startContainer`/`endContainer`
are `null`).
*WebView application risks*
/Does this intent deprecate or
change behavior of existing
APIs, such that it has
potentially high risk for
Android WebView-based applications?/
Low. `OpaqueRange` adds a new
method to `<textarea>` and
supported text-based `<input>`
elements, but does not change or
deprecate any existing behavior.
*Debuggability*
No DevTools changes required.
*Will this feature be supported
on all six Blink platforms
(Windows, Mac, Linux, ChromeOS,
Android, and Android WebView)?*
Yes
Works on all platforms that
support `<input>` and
`<textarea>` elements.
*Is this feature fully tested by
**_web-platform-tests_*
<https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchromium.googlesource.com%2Fchromium%2Fsrc%2F%2B%2Fmain%2Fdocs%2Ftesting%2Fweb_platform_tests.md&data=05%7C02%7Cstephanie.zhang%40microsoft.com%7C81a0a04d7bb341a3e49408dea5563241%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C639129986872169769%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=7gMJYElkxzN5Bs5Hnns%2BTpasHNu3e974vzsod5Nw%2FYM%3D&reserved=0>*?*
Yes
_https://wpt.fyi/results/dom/ranges/tentative?label=experimental&label=master&aligned_
<https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwpt.fyi%2Fresults%2Fdom%2Franges%2Ftentative%3Flabel%3Dexperimental%26label%3Dmaster%26aligned&data=05%7C02%7Cstephanie.zhang%40microsoft.com%7C81a0a04d7bb341a3e49408dea5563241%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C639129986872179399%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=BoQHWaf8mMxkz6HDuaRR4L%2FEmba7AAaeNFmOj%2Bncggo%3D&reserved=0>
*Flag name on about://flags*
/No information provided/
*Finch feature name*
OpaqueRange
*Rollout plan*
Will ship enabled for all users
*Requires code in //chrome?*
False
*Tracking bug*
_https://issues.chromium.org/issues/421421332_
<https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fissues.chromium.org%2Fissues%2F421421332&data=05%7C02%7Cstephanie.zhang%40microsoft.com%7C81a0a04d7bb341a3e49408dea5563241%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C639129986872189082%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=bJL4Ql41Aj%2Bg3mB2XJfgclU%2BgkK8mud%2BrkgFiS3ZwkY%3D&reserved=0>
*Measurement*
UseCounter `OpaqueRange`
measures successful creation of
`OpaqueRange` objects on
`<textarea>` and text-based
`<input>` elements.
*Availability expectation*
Feature is available only in
Chromium browsers for the
foreseeable future.
`OpaqueRange` is at WHATWG Stage
2 with informal approval of the
current spec direction from
Mozilla and WebKit reviewers and
is moving toward Stage 3. We are
continuing to seek official
standards positions from Mozilla
and WebKit.
*Adoption expectation*
Feature is expected to be used
by specific partner(s) within 12
months of launch in Chrome. The
Microsoft Editor SDK team has
confirmed plans to adopt the
feature and intends to land
integration behind a switch
ahead of ship.
*Adoption plan*
Stay engaged with Microsoft
Editor SDK on rollout. Continue
WHATWG work toward Stage 3; seek
formal Firefox/WebKit positions.
Monitor use counter and bug
reports post-ship. Developer
outreach already underway on
Mastodon, Bluesky, YouTube,
LinkedIn.
*Non-OSS dependencies*
/Does the feature depend on any
code or APIs outside the
Chromium open source repository
and its open-source dependencies
to function?/
No
*Estimated milestones*
Shipping on desktop 149
Origin trial desktop first 148
Origin trial desktop last 150
DevTrial on desktop 148
Shipping on Android 149
Origin trial Android first 148
Origin trial Android last 150
DevTrial on Android 148
Shipping on WebView 149
Origin trial WebView first 148
Origin trial WebView last 150
*Anticipated spec changes*
/Open questions about a feature
may be a source of future web
compat or interop issues. Please
list open issues (e.g. links to
known github issues in the
project for the feature
specification) whose resolution
may introduce web compat/interop
risk (e.g., changing to naming
or structure of the API in a
non-backward-compatible way)./
No known non-backward-compatible
spec changes are expected. The
spec PRs are under active
review, and any remaining
feedback is expected to be
editorial or otherwise
backward-compatible.
*Link to entry on the Chrome
Platform Status*
_https://chromestatus.com/feature/6297362687066112?gate=6322608320282624_
<https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchromestatus.com%2Ffeature%2F6297362687066112%3Fgate%3D6322608320282624&data=05%7C02%7Cstephanie.zhang%40microsoft.com%7C81a0a04d7bb341a3e49408dea5563241%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C639129986872199016%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=PS%2F6dCcXujSjM5wRJeg4PQItZOUtpR10DiUmSM0kkKU%3D&reserved=0>
*Links to previous Intent
discussions*
Intent to Prototype:
_https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/d/msgid/blink-dev/LV9PR21MB5189A114B34C8A3685A3C4A4805CA%40LV9PR21MB5189.namprd21.prod.outlook.com_
<https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroups.google.com%2Fa%2Fchromium.org%2Fd%2Fmsgid%2Fblink-dev%2FLV9PR21MB5189A114B34C8A3685A3C4A4805CA%2540LV9PR21MB5189.namprd21.prod.outlook.com&data=05%7C02%7Cstephanie.zhang%40microsoft.com%7C81a0a04d7bb341a3e49408dea5563241%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C639129986872209532%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=0R0lijpaaqqU98Cy4%2BMUKZFvSS98%2BLEX%2BgxN%2F97mUhw%3D&reserved=0>
Intent to Experiment:
_https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/g/blink-dev/c/jrIXiBUbQm0_
<https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroups.google.com%2Fa%2Fchromium.org%2Fg%2Fblink-dev%2Fc%2FjrIXiBUbQm0&data=05%7C02%7Cstephanie.zhang%40microsoft.com%7C81a0a04d7bb341a3e49408dea5563241%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C639129986872219502%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=WIBn3BC8npIdGiIZMXRihFMpjRK1XX%2BCB1Kj8iiOr8g%3D&reserved=0>
This intent message was
generated by _Chrome Platform
Status_
<https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchromestatus.com%2F&data=05%7C02%7Cstephanie.zhang%40microsoft.com%7C81a0a04d7bb341a3e49408dea5563241%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C639129986872230077%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=N%2BjycMAQH6qmt4FMWiMCB1Az2XDQURi0edef9DX6AMg%3D&reserved=0>.
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