Mark text fragments

[kiru]

Hello,

Chrome has a new feature which allows highlighting certain parts of the content.

Like this: https://sometimesright.com/2020/04/25/blogging-vs-twitter/#:~:text=To%20me,quantity

It would be more user friendly to add the parts int he URL.

edit: they are called text fragments: https://twitter.com/david_bokan/status/1267902225281622020

[Fastidious]

@kiru are you sure authors would want to include something that is browser specific? I agree that text fragments seems to enrich the web, but it is only usable in Chrome, and its derivatives (Edge, for example).

[caraya]

@kiru I would also look at the issues raised in https://github.com/mozilla/standards-positions/issues/194

[tomayac]

Tom here from the Google Chrome team. I came here to file exactly this issue… :-)

[A]re you sure authors would want to include something that is browser specific? I agree that text fragments seems to enrich the web, but it is only usable in Chrome, and its derivatives (Edge, for example).

The Text Fragments URL syntax will simply be ignored by browsers that don't understand it. Edge does support it, too. See my article for the full details. Happy to answer questions.

[Fastidious]

@tomayac no need to advertise your article, thank you.

We all know that browsers without Text Fragments implementation will ignore it. On my comment I wrote "it is only usable in Chrome, and its derivatives (Edge, for example)," so you are not adding anything new, other than trying to plug your article (which I will not read).

[tomcritchlow]

@tomayac we are definitely exploring the idea of using text fragments. In practice however we've found the implementation incredibly inconsistent (see this post I wrote for more: https://tomcritchlow.com/2020/06/10/scrolltotextfragment/). Perhaps you can help us integrate it correctly into the app?

[Fastidious]

@tomcritchlow for what is worth, all the examples you provided on your post worked for me, using Chrome Version 83.0.4103.97 (Official Build) (64-bit) under macOS.

[tomcritchlow]

@Fastidious indeed. Those examples are currently working for me too. The inconsistency drives me crazy. The same link on different days can work/not work.

[tomayac]

The inconsistency drives me crazy. The same link on different days can work/not work.

First, there is a known limitation with Text Fragments links not to work with JavaScript redirects as used on Twitter (https://t.co). Follow https://crbug.com/1055455 for details.

Second: there're some security restrictions in place: https://web.dev/text-fragments/#security (@[redacted], don't click this link, please).

@tomcritchlow All your examples in your article work when opened in a new tab.

[Y]ou are not adding anything new, other than trying to plug your article (which I will not read).

🕊 In order not to overly promote my article, here's the new bit, extracted exclusively for @[redacted]:

Text fragment directives are invoked only on full (non-same-page) navigations that are the result of a user activation. Additionally, navigations originating from a different origin than the destination will require the navigation to take place in a noopener context, such that the destination page is known to be sufficiently isolated. Text fragment directives are only applied to the main frame. This means that text will not be searched inside iframes, and iframe navigation will not invoke a text fragment.

Perhaps you can help us integrate it correctly into the app?

The code is open-source (@[redacted], sorry for plugging the repo):

• https://github.com/GoogleChromeLabs/link-to-text-fragment/blob/master/content_script.js
• https://github.com/GoogleChromeLabs/link-to-text-fragment/blob/master/background_script.js