Differences between Microsoft Edge and WebView2

WebView2 is based on the Microsoft Edge browser. You have the opportunity to extend features from the browser to WebView2-based apps, which is useful. However, since WebView2 isn't limited to browser-like apps, there are some browser features that need to be modified or removed.

This article covers:

• The modified browser features and supporting information.
• The ability to turn on or off the feature.
• Guidance on keyboard shortcuts.

Design guidelines

In the context of WebView2, browser features adhere to the following design guidelines:

• Most features work the same in WebView2 and Microsoft Edge. If a feature doesn't make sense in the context of WebView2 or for other reasons, the feature is modified or turned off.

• WebView2 features don't include Microsoft Edge branding.

Browser features

The following table displays the WebView2 features that differ from the Microsoft Edge browser:

• Default state indicates that the feature is part of the default experience on a new WebView2 instance.

• Configurable indicates that you can turn on or off the feature using WebView2 APIs or command-line switches.

Web platform features

The following WebView2 platform features are currently unavailable:

Blocked internal URLs

The following Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome settings webpages aren't available in WebView2:

• chrome-search://local-ntp/local-ntp.html
• edge://application-guard-internals
• edge://apps
• edge://compat
• edge://extensions
• edge://favorites
• edge://help
• edge://management
• edge://network-error
• edge://new-tab-page
• edge://newtab
• edge://omnibox
• edge://settings
• edge://supervised-user-internals
• edge://version

Google Authentication

Google has disabled Google Authentication in embedded webviews, which includes WebView2, due to a security policy they have set. See Upcoming security changes to Google's OAuth 2.0 authorization endpoint in embedded webviews.

To stay up-to-date on the latest discussion, in the WebView2Feedback repo, see Google Auth Flows and WebView2.

Additional keyboard shortcuts information

Keyboard shortcuts or key bindings are supported in Microsoft Edge and WebView2.

Preventing shortcuts from changing during update

When Microsoft Edge is updated, the default key bindings might change. Furthermore, a keyboard shortcut that is turned off by default might instead be turned on, if the feature is now supported in WebView2.

To avoid such changes to your keyboard shortcuts, you can set AreBrowserAcceleratorKeysEnabled to FALSE, which turns off all keys that access browser features, but keeps all basic text-editing and movement shortcuts turned on.

Shortcuts that are turned off

The following shortcuts are always turned off in WebView2, or are effectively turned off. An asterisk (*) indicates that the shortcut isn't turned off, but the feature that it accesses is turned off, or the feature doesn't apply to WebView2.

Shortcuts turned off except when event not handled

The following keyboard shortcuts are always turned off, except in windows that display when the NewWindowRequested event isn't handled:

Shortcuts turned off if AcceleratorEnabled is False

If you set AreBrowserAcceleratorKeysEnabled to FALSE, the following additional keyboard shortcuts are turned off:

Customizing an individual key

To customize any of the keys individually, use the AcceleratorKeyPressed event.