Easy Ways to Inspect Element on Mac in Different Web Browsers

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Learn how to inspect and use web developer tools on Mac

Co-authored by Darlene Antonelli, MA Reviewed by Stan Kats

Last Updated: September 15, 2023

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• Safari
|
• Chrome
|
• Firefox

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Is there a box or element on a page that you want to inspect? If you're on a Mac, inspecting elements is easy, no matter which browser you're using! This wikiHow article teaches you how to inspect elements on Mac using different web browsers.

Things You Should Know

• In Safari, first enable the developer tool, then press "Cmd + Opt + I."
• In Chrome, press "Cmd + Opt + C."
• In Firefox, press "Cmd + Opt + I."

Steps

Section 1 of 3:

Safari

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1. 
   1
   Open Preferences or Settings in Safari. Once you launch Safari (the app icon looks like a blue compass with a red and white needle), click Safari in the Apple menu and choose Preferences or Settings, depending on your version of macOS.

   • You first have to enable the "Inspect Element" tool before you can use it in Safari.
2. 
   2
   Click the Advanced tab. It's to the far right of the window with gear icons.
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3. 
   3
   Click to check the box next to "Show Develop menu in menu bar"

   

   . Once the box shows a checkmark, you're able to continue to the next step! If this box is already checked, don't uncheck it.
4. 
   4
   Inspect a page. Go to a page with an element you want to inspect, then inspect it three ways:

   • Go to Develop > Show Web Inspector OR
   • Right-click or ctrl-click the page and click Inspect Element from the drop-down menu OR
   • Press Cmd + Opt + I on your keyboard.
   • To close this window, click the X in the top left corner of the toolbar.
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Section 2 of 3:

Chrome

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1. 
   1
   Launch Chrome. Click the multicolored orb icon to launch Chrome.
2. 
   2
   Navigate to the site you want to inspect. Use the address bar to go to the page with elements that you want to look at.
3. 
   3
   Inspect the page. You can do this in a few different ways:

   • Right-click or ctrl-click the page and select Inspect OR
   • Press Cmd + Opt + C.
   • When you're done, close the Web Inspector window by clicking the small X in the toolbar.
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Section 3 of 3:

Firefox

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1. 
   1
   Open Firefox. Click the icon that looks like a fox encircling a purple-blue ball.
2. 
   2
   Navigate to the site you want to inspect. Go to the page with elements on it that you'd like to look at.
3. 
   3
   Inspect the page. You can do this in a few different ways:

   • Right-click or ctrl-click the page and select Inspect OR
   • Press Cmd + Opt + I.
   • When you're done, close the Web Inspector window by clicking the small X in the toolbar or press Cmd + Opt + I again.
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