Intent to Continue Experimenting: Shared Element Transitions

[Vladimir Levin]

Contact emails

vmp...@chromium.org, chri...@chromium.org, vol...@chromium.org, khusha...@chromium.org

Explainer

https://github.com/vmpstr/shared-element-transitions/blob/main/README.md

Summary

Shared Element Transitions is a proposal for a new script API that allows a simple set of transitions in both Single-Page Applications (SPAs) and Multi-Page Applications (MPAs). This feature enhances the visual polish of pages without requiring a large development effort from developers to make transitions look nice. By selecting from a set of user-agent implemented transition effects, the developers can achieve a polished transition look with minimal effort.

Blink component

Blink>Animation

TAG review

https://github.com/w3ctag/design-reviews/issues/631

TAG review status

Pending

Risks

Interoperability and Compatibility

Low. As a new feature, the risk here is that other browsers do not implement it, but since this is a progressive enhancement, sites should be able to drop usage of the feature easily in browsers where it is not supported.

Gecko: No signal

WebKit: No signal

Web developers: Positive Interest in the feature: https://twitter.com/jaffathecake/status/1386673316354797570 Main feedback is requests to provide more customizability and power: https://github.com/WICG/shared-element-transitions/issues/28 https://github.com/WICG/shared-element-transitions/issues/9

Ergonomics

None.

Activation

Low. As with interop/compat risks, the difficulty stems from this being a new feature without support in other browsers. A polyfill for the SPA case would be beneficial, but it will not be possible to polyfill MPA behavior. That said, dropping the customized transition should not impact the usability of a site, fundamentally, so this can easily be dropped on browsers that do not support the feature.

Security

The current implementation handles transitions in Viz in anticipation of MPA scenarios. More details on this are outlined in the design doc. See also the security and privacy self-review questionnaire that was completed as part of the TAG review process: https://github.com/WICG/shared-element-transitions/blob/main/security-privacy-questionnaire.md

Goals for experimentation

The API shape is currently limited, providing only a stock set of transition types. We've already seen engagement on the WICG and a desire for more customization (see web developer response). We hope to learn more about the utility of the default transition types and experiences partners would like to create, but are unable to achieve with the limited API (we have two external partners who have indicated interest). Based on that feedback, we may make changes to the API to add more customization. We also want to know how easy it is to adopt this API on an existing site.

Reason this experiment is being extended

We have gathered feedback from partners, but some amendments to the feature are needed in order for them to utilize the feature. Specifically, easing function, duration, and delay controls for shared elements is needed to better animation control. We are working on adding the controls and would like to extend the experiment. Original experiment start date: M92 Original experiment end date: M94 Proposed new end date: M96

Ongoing technical constraints

None.

Debuggability

It is possible to set breakpoints inside post-preparation and post-transition handlers, but beyond this there is no way, presently, to debug an unexpected transition. Specifically, there currently is no way to scrub through a transition, or to inspect the shared/transitioned elements. These are potential areas for improvement if we get developer feedback that these would be helpful.

Will this feature be supported on all six Blink platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS, Android, and Android WebView)?

No

Currently no support for Android WebView. WebView presents challenges due to its rendering architecture.

Is this feature fully tested by web-platform-tests?

No

Flag name

DocumentTransition

Requires code in //chrome?

False

Tracking bug

https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=1150461

Estimated milestones

OriginTrial desktop first	92
OriginTrial desktop last	96
OriginTrial android first	92
OriginTrial android last	96

Link to entry on the Chrome Platform Status

https://chromestatus.com/feature/5193009714954240

Links to previous Intent discussions

Intent to prototype: https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/g/blink-dev/c/7SMI3IklO4g/m/JS-JojxNAwAJ
Intent to Experiment: https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/g/blink-dev/c/UgZAAElUWzU

This intent message was generated by Chrome Platform Status.

[Yoav Weiss]

LGTM to extend the experiment till M96 (inclusive)

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[Arthur Sonzogni]

Hi Vladimir,
Could you confirm this is a continuation of the OriginTrial supporting only Single-Page transitions? We weren't sure by reading this intent.

Arthur @arthursonzogni

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[Vladimir Levin]

On Tue, Sep 7, 2021 at 10:33 AM Arthur Sonzogni <arthurs...@google.com> wrote:

Hi Vladimir,
Could you confirm this is a continuation of the OriginTrial supporting only Single-Page transitions? We weren't sure by reading this intent.

Arthur @arthursonzogni

Yes, I can confirm that this is a request for continuation of OT for Single-Page App transition API only.  We intend to file a separate origin trial request, if needed, for any version of the API that includes the Multi-Page transitions.

Thanks!

Vlad

[Khushal Sagar]

Hello API-OWNERS,

We want to request an extension to the end date of this OT from December 14 (current) to Jan 4. An engaged partner is running field experiments and they can use the extension to collect more data. The end milestone is still the same (M96), the new date aligns with the stable release of the next milestone.

Please let me know if this requires a new Intent or if we could get a quick LGTM here.

Thanks.
Khushal

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[Chris Harrelson]

LGTM to extend to Jan 4.

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