webkitRequestFullscreen

webkitRequestFullscreen is a legacy, vendor-prefixed method on DOM elements used to request fullscreen mode in WebKit-based browsers. It predates the standardized Fullscreen API and was implemented in older WebKit implementations, notably in Safari and older Chromium builds. The method is invoked on an element to attempt to display that element in fullscreen.

Usage and options: element.webkitRequestFullscreen() is called to request fullscreen for the element. In some WebKit versions, an optional parameter Element.ALLOW_KEYBOARD_INPUT could be supplied to permit keyboard input while in fullscreen; this parameter is deprecated and not supported in all browsers. The call may not return a value in many implementations, and the success of the request is typically observed through the fullscreen state rather than a returned result.

State and compatibility: Modern browsers expose the standard API, including Element.requestFullscreen() and the related properties document.fullscreenElement and document.exitFullscreen(). The legacy webkitRequestFullscreen method corresponds to older WebKit implementations and may require fallbacks or feature detection for compatibility. When writing cross‑browser code, it is common to attempt the standard API first and fall back to the WebKit-prefixed form if available, while acknowledging that the prefixed method is increasingly deprecated.

Notes: Fullscreen requests generally require a user gesture and may be subject to security and UX restrictions. On iOS or restricted environments, fullscreen behavior can differ and some WebKit features may be limited. For current development, prefer the standard Fullscreen API and use vendor-prefixed fallbacks only for legacy support. See also the Fullscreen API, Element.requestFullscreen, and Document.exitFullscreen.