Blisk (browser)

By default, the main user interface consists of tabs, address bar (Omnibox), toolbar, toolbox, device content, splitter, and desktop content.[8]

Tabs are the main component of Blisk's user interface and located at the top of the window rather than below the controls. Presence and appearance of device and desktop contents are managed by the user and may vary depending on the tab.

The Omnibox is a URL box that combines the functions of both the address bar and search box. If a user enters the URL of a site previously searched from, Blisk allows pressing Tab to search the site again directly from the Omnibox. When a user starts typing in the Omnibox, Blisk provides suggestions for previously visited sites (based on the URL or in-page text), popular websites (not necessarily visited before), and popular searches. Suggestions based on previously visited sites cannot be turned off. Blisk will also autocomplete the URLs of sites visited often. If a user types keywords into the Omnibox that don't match any previously visited websites and presses enter, Blisk will conduct the search using the default search engine.

Blisk's toolbar includes Toggle Developer Mode button to the left, and Back, Forward, Refresh/Cancel buttons to the right. A Home button is not shown by default, but can be added through the Settings page to take the user to the new tab page or a custom home page.

Browsing Mode (top image) and Development Mode (bottom image) in Blisk version 14.0.69.187

Blisk is the software aimed to increase the performance of IT specialists while browsing the web or building and testing web applications. The users are able to work in either Browsing Mode or Developer Mode on each tab. Both modes may be used simultaneously across different tabs.

Browsing Mode is used to look for something across the web and view web content and media. This mode displays same layout and behaves same as other popular web browsers like Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Safari or Firefox. Developer Mode uses custom layout with menu and displays devices. This mode is used for web development and testing of web applications.

Developer mode is an extended mode and includes the features for web development and testing. With enabled Developer mode, Blisk displays devices and additional interface elements and controls: menus, notifications, device panes, devices, dialog overlays, etc.

To enable Developer mode, the user should click the Developer Mode button to the left of Omnibox. This opens the last used device set or launches Device Manager, where user can select devices to use in a Device Set. Devices are hidden by default unless the user selects a device from the Device Manager at the top right corner. In addition to Devices, Blisk offers Chrome-like desktop view that is a regular browser web view same as in Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Safari or Firefox.

The button "Development Domain" in Blisk

For web development and testing purposes, the users may need to use Development Domain option in launched Developer Mode. After navigating Blisk to a specific domain (e.g. localhost), this option becomes available. Click the Development Domain button to add the current domain to the list of Development Domains. The next time the user navigates to a given development domain, Blisk automatically launches Developer Mode for it.[9]

Blisk comes with a pre-installed set of phones, tablets, laptops, and desktops that can be simulated, making it easy for developers to test how their code renders across multiple devices and browsers. The feature can be used to compare how the design responds to different screen resolutions and pixel ratios.[10] Device simulation enables developers to test the page behavior in various environments without having to rely on actual devices. Blisk's devices natively support original screen resolution, portrait or landscape orientation, device pixel ratio, user agent, and touch events.[11] As of May 2019, Blisk supports more than 50 devices for web development and testing needs.[11]

OSs: Android and iOS.

Vendors: Apple Inc., Google, LG, Samsung, OnePlus.

iOS devices:

Android devices:

OSs: Android and iOS.

Vendors: Apple Inc., Google.

Device Manager in Blisk version 14.0.69.187

iOS devices:

Android devices:

OSs: macOS and Windows.

Vendors: Apple Inc., Dell.

macOS devices:

Windows devices:

OSs: macOS and Windows.

Desktops:

With version 14,[6] Blisk introduced the view called "Chrome-like desktop view" which replaced the previous Desktop view. The Chrome-like desktop view is a regular web view same as appears in other popular web browsers.

With enabled Developer Mode, Blisk starts monitoring for page errors in JavaScript and resources that failed to load across each launched devices. Whenever an error or a warning appears, Blisk displays a notification at the bottom left corner of each device panel. By clicking error notification, the user opens a window with the list of errors and warnings, that are grouped by text and may be sorted by type.

With enabled Developer Mode, the users may use different capturing options: take different types of screenshots or record a video of their screen.

The user may take screenshots of the whole Device Set (all launched devices will appear on a screenshot) or take screenshot of a single device. Depending on the setting "Auto-upload to cloud storage" in Menu > Settings > Captures, the user is able to:

• Upload the screenshot to the cloud storage.
• Edit the screenshot in a dedicated tool called Image Editor.
• Download the screenshot and save on the file system.

The user is able to record a video of his screen with a limited duration. As of January 2021, the duration of a video recording is limited to 2 minutes. The video may be recorded in both Browsing and Developer Modes.The user may also switch between modes while recording a video of his screen.

When looking at two different devices, developers can easily see how elements of their projects translate across devices with simultaneous scrolling, meaning if the user scrolls on his/her screen, Blisk also scrolls the same amount on the emulated device he/she chooses.[10] The developer can focus on web development without needing to update the page manually every once in a while.

Blisk can automatically track changes to local code, and accordingly refresh the page, making development easier.[5] Since version 3.1.62.192, Blisk can also automatically update website styling based on file system changes to referenced CSS files.[12] Page Auto-refresh uses low-level native system API to watch for changes in files and folders specified by the user. When a watched file or a folder gets modified, Blisk automatically refreshes web pages that are displayed on devices, making it easier for the developer to notice, how the new piece of code affects the visual appearance and functionalities of a web page.

Blisk features Incognito mode, which prevents the browser from permanently storing any history information or cookies from the websites visited. Incognito mode is similar to the private browsing feature in other web browsers. It doesn't prevent saving in all windows: "You can switch between an incognito window and any regular windows you have open. You'll only be in incognito mode when you're using the incognito window".

The JavaScript virtual machine used by Blisk inherited from Chromium, the V8 JavaScript engine, has features such as dynamic code generation, hidden class transitions, and precise garbage collection.